Diana Toma is an artist and the mother of a pre-schooler and a second-grader who attends a public school in Atlanta, Georgia – a school which encourages parents to volunteer at least 10 hours a year. Before they moved to Atlanta, her daughter had attended an alternative school in Brooklyn, New York, where there wasContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission–Atlanta, Georgia”
Category Archives: Moms (and Dads) on a Mission
Moms and Dads on a Mission – Sharon, Connecticut
Fred Baumgarten, the father of two daughters in public school in Sharon, Connecticut, began talking to other parents in his daughter’s fifth grade class about homework after he read The Homework Myth, by Alfie Kohn, a college classmate. Fred, who has a M.S. in Education from Bank Street and is currently a director of Foundation,Continue reading “Moms and Dads on a Mission – Sharon, Connecticut”
“I Have Banned My Child from Doing Homework,” says English Mum
Rosie Scribble, a freelance writer in the U.K. who specializes in mental health issues and blogs about life with her 6 year old, wrote a wonderful piece about why she doesn’t make her daughter do homework. Many of the commenters also wrote that they didn’t make their children do homework, either. Now, if they couldContinue reading ““I Have Banned My Child from Doing Homework,” says English Mum”
Remember to Say Thank You
I always encourage parents to write thank you notes when they appreciate something that a teacher or administrator has done. (There are a few examples in The Case Against Homework.) Shelli and Tom Milley, the couple from Calgary, Canada who recently negotiated an opt-out-of-homework contract with their children’s school, wrote a beautiful letter to theContinue reading “Remember to Say Thank You”
More from Suburban Chicago
In October, I posted a piece by Mary Sullivan, a freelancer writer and mother to two fifth graders and a seventh grader in suburban Chicago. She has her own webpage, Too Much Homework, where she recently wrote about opting out of homework after she read the stories that I had written about a family inContinue reading “More from Suburban Chicago”
Even More from Fed-Up Mom
This is the sixth post by FedUp Mom, the mother of a fifth grader. FedUp Mom’s daughter used to attend a public school in suburban Philadelphia, but this year FedUp Mom moved her to a private Quaker school, hoping for a more relaxed environment. You can read her other posts here, here, here, here andContinue reading “Even More from Fed-Up Mom”
Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – Recess is Important
Denise Hills, a geologist, and her husband, a college geology professor, live in Tuscaloosa, AL with their two children, a first grader and a three-year-old. Last year, when her son was in kindergarten at the local public school, he didn’t get recess. Mid-year, Denise wrote a letter to the principal and local school board, expressingContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – Recess is Important”
The Milleys Capture Canada (and the U.S. and U.K. as well)
The day I wrote about the Milleys, parents from Calgary, Canada, who negotiated a contract with their children’s school allowing their children to opt-out of homework, the national press asked me to put it in touch with the Milleys. Since then, the Canadian newspapers, radio, and TV have reported the story, all of the coverageContinue reading “The Milleys Capture Canada (and the U.S. and U.K. as well)”
Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – San Anselmo, California
(I’ll be gone until Monday) Last year, I posted a piece by Torri Chappell, a teacher and mother from San Anselmo, California, who wrote about some of the success she had had in advocating for school reform. Two weeks ago, the high school in her community hosted a showing of Race to Nowhere, a documentaryContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – San Anselmo, California”
Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – Calgary, Alberta Family Gets to Opt-Out of Homework after a Two-Year Struggle with their Children’s Schools
Almost two years ago, I wrote about Shelli and Tom Milley, the parents of three children in Calgary, Alberta, who were trying to change homework policy and, at the very least, get an opt-out policy for their own children. At that point, the two lawyers had already been discussing the issue with the school forContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission – Calgary, Alberta Family Gets to Opt-Out of Homework after a Two-Year Struggle with their Children’s Schools”
Stop Homework 