Customer Reviews

Homework Talk!: The Art of Effective Communication About Your Child's Homework (School Talk series)

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This book came at the right time as my daughter and I had been battling it out over homework this school year. The great thing about this book is its broad approach. Whether your child struggles with the material or with your participation in her work (such as in my case), the book is chock full of helpful tips and tricks to make homework time rewarding, not rebellious.




Divided into five chapters, 'Homework Talk! by Cheli Cerra and Ruth Jacoby advises parents on how to empower their kids to do their homework consistently. The book offers homework contracts to gain a child's commitment; checklists for both student and parent to reference; charts to juggle seemingly overwhelming schedules; and useful 'homework' for the reader to check his own progress. Admittedly, the homework section might be challenging for some readers to actually complete. But it serves as a great reminder for us parents about how our kids must feel when they're assigned homework, too!




What I liked best about this book was its conversational tone. It offered literal 'snapshots' into real-life issues and questions parents have raised to the authors who are both school administrators. I appreciated the book's thoroughness and have earmarked several pages to photocopy to keep on hand in the event my kids(and I) need a little more guidance in the future.

Reviewed by Danielle Feliciano for Reader Views (7/06)

In their book "Homework Talk!" authors Cheli Cerra and Ruth Jacoby have given parents a priceless guide to help them conquer any issues that make homework difficult for their children. Cerra and Jacoby have identified more than 50 of the most typical problems surrounding the issue of homework and have given tips and advice for the parents to use to tackle these issues. The issues addressed in this book range from the basics of parental and student responsibility to homework, to the more complex issues of communicating with teachers and dealing with frustration and organizational issues.

"Homework Talk!" is filled with checklists, sample homework calendars, tips and self-evaluation surveys that make this book very easy to use. It is well-organized and easy for the parent to find the section or sections that are most appropriate to his or her situation. This book also confronts a common, yet often ignored, problem of the parents' ability to communicate with the teachers. Often, parent-teacher communication is relatively easy. However, for those times when it is not so easy, parents need to have somewhere to turn for help. This book offers parents tips and guidance on how to approach a teacher, how to communicate effectively, and how to get the situation resolved.

In this book, the authors have given parents a great gift of a load of useful information in one easy to use book. All parents of school-age children would benefit from having this book in their home. Additionally, teachers would benefit from reading it to have a clearer view of the problems that their students and parents face each night when homework time comes around.

Received book free of charge.