Forty parents in Davis, California, sent their new Superintendent of Schools the following welcoming lettter. As a result, the Superintendent scheduled a meeting to discuss homework. Dear Mr. Superintendent, Welcome to your new position as Superintendent. I know you have many policy matters to assess, and we, the undersigned parents, believe that one of themContinue reading “Brilliant Idea from Parents in Davis, California”
Category Archives: Moms (and Dads) on a Mission
From My Mailbox: How a Teacher/Parent Handles Homework
A teacher in a K-12 school in Wisconsin, who thinks homework cuts too much into her family time, asked me how to approach her son’s teachers, who are also her colleagues. I gave her a few ideas and this is what she wrote me back: I just wanted to let you know I made itContinue reading “From My Mailbox: How a Teacher/Parent Handles Homework”
“I Hate Homework,” says Jeff Opdyke of the Wall Street Journal
So many readers have pointed me to an article in the Wall Street Journal How Homework Is Hurting Our Family by Jeff Opdyke that I’m posting it here. He begins: I hate school! Yes, I know that’s a bit immature for someone 41 years old. But it’s true. I hate school — so much soContinue reading ““I Hate Homework,” says Jeff Opdyke of the Wall Street Journal”
Mothers Organize Against Homework in Santiago, Chile
I recently heard from Viviana Izzo, a mother of 4 from Santiago, Chile, who, with her friend, Teresa Castro, met with their children’s small school to express their concerns about homework. Since then, a Santiago newspaper ran an article about their attempts to change homework policy, they were interviewed on TV, and they have startedContinue reading “Mothers Organize Against Homework in Santiago, Chile”
Step 2 in San Marino, California
In my previous blog entry, I wrote about Tracy Mason, of San Marino, California, who is organizing parents to challenge homework policies in her District. Here’s her follow-up email to parents who have expressed interest, urging them to come to the meeting, sign an online petition, and vote in the School Board election. (In TheContinue reading “Step 2 in San Marino, California”
Mother of Three Begins to Organize in San Marino, California
Less than a month ago, I heard from Tracy Mason, a mother of 3 from San Marino, California, who had experienced (one of many) long afternoons helping my 11 year old daughter battle the mound of homework she had been assigned. After “we” were finished, I decided to go online to see what I couldContinue reading “Mother of Three Begins to Organize in San Marino, California”
Parents Speak out Against Homework at a New Canaan, CT, Board of Education Meeting
At a meeting of the Board of Education in New Canaan, Connecticut, convened to talk about pushing forward by 15 minutes the start of the school day, parent after parent stood up and said that a reduced homework load would solve the lack-of-sleep problem, not a new starting time to the school day. According toContinue reading “Parents Speak out Against Homework at a New Canaan, CT, Board of Education Meeting”
Teachers: Don’t Assign Parents Homework
The New York Times asked me to write an op-ed about a high school teacher who was assigning homework to his students’ parents. But the op-ed was killed after the School Board publicly disavowed the teacher’s actions. Here’s what I submitted: Unpublished Op-ed Teachers: Don’t Assign Parents Homework by Sara Bennett Damion Frye, a ninth-gradeContinue reading “Teachers: Don’t Assign Parents Homework”
Guest Blogger: An Unsuccessful Organizing Attempt by a Mother/School Psychologist
Today’s guest blogger is Nini Engel, a school psychologist for almost twenty years in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area. Nini, a mother of three daughters, ages 18, 15, and 11, was appalled to find that her middle daughter’s new high school assigned upwards of 4 hours of homework per night. An Unsucessful Attempt Nini Engel, Ed.MContinue reading “Guest Blogger: An Unsuccessful Organizing Attempt by a Mother/School Psychologist”
Guest Blogger: Story From the Trenches–Part 3
Here’s an update from Lisa Grady, the parent from southern California who writes about what she’s doing to try to change homework policy in her fourth-grader’s public school. Organizing Other Parents (Continued) by Lisa Grady In my previous blogs, I have chronicled our group’s progress in reducing homework ( I would like to say eliminatingContinue reading “Guest Blogger: Story From the Trenches–Part 3”
Stop Homework 