Category Archives: Moms (and Dads) on a Mission

A few weeks ago, I received an email from Dale O’Dair, the father of a first-grader in Niagara Falls, Canada. Dale, who holds a post-graduate degree and whose mother is a retired teacher, was fed up on the Wednesday he wrote me, because he had already spent 3 to 4 hours that week helping hisContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission–Success in Niagara Falls, Canada”

If you caught yesterday’s blog post, then you can skip down a paragraph to find out how the Middle and High School responded to Jodie Leidecker’s email about reducing or eliminating homework. Jodie Leidecker, a mother of two from Berea, Kentucky, who has been involved in the movement to save recess, wrote to tell meContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission–More from Berea, Kentucky”

Jodie Leidecker, a mother of two from Berea, Kentucky, who has been involved in the movement to save recess, wrote to tell me that she was planning to approach her Site-based decision making council (Kentucky’s schools governing boards) about a low or no homework policy. In an effort to enlist some parental support in advance,Continue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission–Berea, Kentucky”

This Monday, November 3, is the first Monday of the month. As I suggest every month in this blog, I hope you’ll send a note expressing your thoughts about homework to your children’s teachers or, perhaps, to a school administrator or School Board member. Even better, join with a few friends and send a collectiveContinue reading “First Monday”

Here’s an email I received from John Painter, the editor of readingtonparents.blogspot.com. You can read John’s earlier guest blog entry here. The Trouble with Internet Based Homework by John Painter My latest entry on

Here’s a letter Caroline Moellering of Chicago, Illinois sent to her first-grade son’s co-teachers at his private Catholic school when she learned that the teachers would be assigning weekend homework. When her older daughter was in the same school, there was no weekend homework. Please Don’t Assign Weekend Homework to First Graders by Caroline MoelleringContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission–Chicago, Illinois”

Readers of this blog are, at this point, pretty familiar with the work of Kerry Dickinson, a mother from Danville, California, who, last year, got her school district to reevaluate its homework policy and institute a new one. You can read Kerry’s earlier guest blog entries here and here and here. This year, Kerry, concernedContinue reading “Moms (and Dads) on a Mission: Danville Mom Doesn’t Stop”

Nick Caumanns, an independent running for the Surrey School Board near Vancouver, Canada, is running on a platform that excessive homework is detrimental. According to News1130.com, Caumanns, who has seen his own three children struggle with too much homework, argues that too much homework can have negative effects on student health, family life and fitness.Continue reading “Candidate for School Board runs on Reduced-Homework Platform”