Working parents rejoice! No more homework…
Today is the last day of school for my son and daughter. They are happy about it. But it was me, their mom, that was dancing around the kitchen this morning and singing about the last day of school as I made them French toast.
Why? No homework for two and a half months!
OK, I don’t actually do their homework but my husband and I have to spend time with the little buggers every day and help them out with assignments or go over them. It’s tough on some days when you’re so burnt out from work you can barely make dinner.
And jeez, the homework they do doesn’t seem like what we did in school many moons ago. My daughter Circe does math in a whole new way. And honestly, I was never that good at doing my homework when I was in school. I actually hated homework. And it didn’t help that my older sister Vaso had a bulging brain.
That’s why I was intrigued when I heard about a tutoring benefit semiconductor giant Intel recently started offering its employees.
“All children of Intel’s U.S.-based employees in grades 4-12 now have free access to Tutor.com, an innovative education service that Intel Capital invested in last year. Intel kids can log on to Tutor.com seven days a week, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Pacific Time, and connect with a professional tutor for help tackling homework and studying multiple subjects,” according to an Intel spokeswoman.
This is brilliant, I thought. I must talk to a worker that used the service.
The company connected me with father of four, Mark Dominguez, a technical program manager in the sales training group.
Talk about a man who needs homework help.
I asked him what he thought when Intel announced the new bene:
“Are you kidding me, I did a back flip,” he recalls.
The system is simple, students interact with the tutor via online chat and a whiteboard they can both write on.
So far, Dominguez’ 13 year old son Kyle is the only one that has used the service and it’s worked out great.
“The whole idea is that they complete homework as soon as they get home from school,” he explains. But unfortunately, he and his wife, who both work, aren’t always there to help them when they hit a homework snag.
Kyle did indeed hit a snag with his 7th grade algebra homework recently and the cyber tutor was there to help.
The huge value of the service, as Dominguez sees it, is “immediate access to somebody familiar with high school math, versus mom or dad saying ‘let me see if I can find that brain cell.’”
Hey, that brain cell is harder to find these days for many of us tired, working moms and dads.
Kudos to Intel for providing something that may seem small to some, but big to toiling parents.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:49 am
While, ideally, I’d love to be the one to help all of my kiddos with their school work, there’s just not enough of me to go around (we currently have six in school). A site like this is a welcome help when I’m stretched thin.
Thankfully, now that I’ve ditched my commute and started a new job in our hometown, I should have more time to help.
My biggest concern about time pressure right now relates to the fact that my boys love to fish. With the longer days and warmer evenings, they’re already spending time at the lakefront in town. Once they are out of school (at the end of this week), I’m afraid I’ll have a bucket of fish to clean every night!!!
June 3rd, 2008 at 10:50 am
I say, bring on the fish! Who needs homework!
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:11 pm
Amen Eve! We’re celebrating the end of homework here. Actually, I found a good solution. I work three full days a week, so I’ve hired a college student majoring in early education to get my son off the bus and be with him until I arrive home from the office. She handles the homework so that my husband and I don’t have that struggle when we get home, on top of making dinner and going to soccer games, etc. It’s really a win-win, we get the childcare and the tutor services all wrapped into one. None the less, it will be a treat not to have homework for the next 3 months!
June 3rd, 2008 at 8:54 pm
I love that idea Mary. Now, how to figure out how to get a college student on the cheap. Or to get our employer to pay for it.
OK, I have an intern. But that doesn’t count.
June 4th, 2008 at 8:21 am
While you might not have as many college students available over the summer months, when you do find one, just be creative with the compensation package. In addition to whatever monetary compensation you offer, consider the following:
- Most college students I’ve known won’t turn down a free meal. Have the student stay and have dinner with your family one or more evenings that s/he is working for you. Besides, it’s always nice to foster new friendships.
- Let the student do his/her laundry while at your place (prior to, during, or after the primary work time). It saves them money and a trip to they laudromat/campus laundry.
- If it works with your schedule, offer to take the student with you on your next primary household/grocery shopping trip. Many times, they may not be able to get to larger stores because they are often not located near the campus location. They may save more than a few dollars by visiting a larger store once in a while.
If you use either of those inducements, you may be able to secure the help of a college student for less cash, since each of those options will carry value to the student.
June 4th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Eve, My daughter is done Friday!
I am more excited than her!
GEEZ!
Joel Libava