EDLA 615
Current Issue #2
Title: Spreading Homework Out So Even Parents Have Some
Author: Tina Kelley
Published: October 4, 2007 - New York Times
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While not specifically an article on literacy, this entry is about a 9th grade English teacher in Montclair who requires his student's parents to read and comment on their child's assignment on a blog he has set up.
This section is noteworthy:
If the parents do not comply, Mr. Frye tells them, their child’s grade may suffer — a threat on which he has made good only once in the three years he has been making such assignments.
The point, he said, is to keep parents involved in their children’s ’ education well into high school. Studies have shown that parental involvement improves the quality of the education a student receives, but teenagers seldom invite that involvement. So, Mr. Frye said, he decided to help out.
“Parents complain about never getting to see their kids’ work,” he said. “Now they have to.”
Some parents, he added, seem happy to revisit their high school years.
“There was one parent last year who would write pages and pages of stuff. It was great, so good to read,” said Mr. Frye, who graduated from Montclair High in 1994.
Others are more resistant. “When my daughter told me about the homework, I looked at her and said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. I graduated. I’m done,’” said Lydia Bishop, a local real estate broker whose daughter Vanessa was in Mr. Frye’s class last year. “I did it very resentfully, but I did it.”
This policy has led to an increase in intellectual dialogue between parents and their children. Parental involvement has increased by default.Carol Jago, the incoming vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English is quoted as saying, "It has to do with what we talk to our students about, and what kind of models we are for our children as readers," and continues, "Common educational wisdom is that you don’t assign homework that kids can’t do on their own."
3 comments:
It is important for students to have support both at schools and at home. If they recieve it from both they are more likely to succeed. What this teacher does is forces the parents to be involved which increases the support the student gets. I do not know that I agree with forcing parents because I do not think that all will be happy with this and may be resentful, but the idea of a larger support system is there. Maybe it should be an option and not manditory.
I think that the idea of involving the parents in the child's homework is great. This is a innovative and creative idea that may bring positive results for everybody: students, parents and teachers.
I would like to try this idea, in a different way; I would assign homework that involves the parents and I would reward the students and parents who constantly do homework and have interesting things to say to others. I would not cut points for missing homework but I would praise/reward both the students and parents who have worked to accomplish something together.
I am all for parents being responsible. Over the years I have done everything imaginable to get kids to do h.w. When its not completed I partially blamme the parents especially if it involves a special needs or early childhood child. They need the guidance of someone seeing that they did it. Should it be mandatory for parents to see that they do it I say YES!
Children can only learn what is taught to them. Repsonsiblity has to come from the home. Parents have to step up to the plate and see that their children are being responsible or they lose a privilege. Parents most of the time do it for the child just so they can get on with their own things. I hope some day the Dept of Ed develops a stricter policy so teachers can teach and children can learn responsibilty.
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