The Atlantic
Homeroom: How Can I Get My Child to Finish Her Work?
She says she’s “done” when she’s not. And when I try to intervene, it ends in tears.
ELENA XAUSA
Editor’s Note: Every Tuesday, Abby Freireich and Brian Platzer take questions from readers about their kids’ education. Have one? Email them at homeroom@theatlantic.com.
Dear Abby and Brian,
My seventh grader, Lucy, says that she’s “done” with her homework when she’s not. The tough thing is that she actually seems to believe she has completed her work. She checks it off in her planner, and submits it on the portal her school introduced when classes went virtual last spring. But she regularly forgets to submit the whole assignment or doesn’t read the directions closely, and as a result loses so much credit that she easily could have gotten if she had really focused. I’ve tried intervening, but that always ends with her in tears, and me being really frustrated. Is there anything I can do to help?