COMPUTER ADDICTION

COMPUTER ADDICTION

Each afternoon, Nastasia, a suburban American pupil would come home from school and tell her mum she was going to her room to study. But instead of opening her notebook, she'd rush towards her computer to play her favourite CDs. Homework ? Forget about it. Nastasia, an attractive girl who dreams of a career as a fashion designer, had more important things to do - like watching her favourite TV program. Jhe lie lasted until her mum saw her first school report card filled with poor grades, in part because Nastasia has failed to hand in assignments. "I thought she was doing homework, " says Niran, Nastasia's mother, " I was really furious."

Nastasia wasn't the only kid in her class that year who neglected her homework. Her teacher, Barb Bachman says half of a typical class fails to complete all assignments. It's a problem that's been getting worse by the increasing number of broken homes and longer working hours, which prevent parents from keeping an eye on kids' study habits.

For Nastasia's family, the first step in solving the problem was getting a thorough diagnosis. They learned there was more to it than laziness. "Nastasia said she didn't understand assignments, " recalls her mother. The second step in reforming her study habits was taking away her CDs. Nastasia began spending afternoons in the family room with Mom, who watched her complete assignments.

Nastasia found an equally supportive tutoring system at her school. She became one of the dozen fourth grade pupils in a new program called School Success. Each week the director of the program met with the students to help them identify the reasons for not completing homework, from distractions at home to too many extracurricular activities. Each night the students brought home a "contract sheet" listing all their assignments, which they checked off and then had their parents sign. Kids who completed most assignments got prizes.

Like anyone in a recovery program, Nastasia went through some setbacks. But the program helped her get back on track and today her homework troubles are behind her. "I wasn't paying attention to my work and I didn't try hard," says Nastasia.