Just when I think I've read everything, I see an article about parents being assigned homework. "No way," I think to myself. A lot of the parents seem happy to do the work and feel that it is only fair since the teacher is giving so much of himself to his students. Some are delighted that they have topics to discuss with their kids. Giving parents homework based on what is going on in class is certainly a way to keep them involved with their children's lives, but how can they possibly keep up? What if they have several children and all of the teachers involved decide to do the same thing? What if they work 12 hour shifts and are exhausted at the end of each day?
So far, Mr. Frye, an English teacher at Montclair High School, has asked the parents to read and comment on a Franz Kafka story, Section 1 of Walt Whitman’s “Song of Myself” and a speech given by Robert F. Kennedy in 1968. Their newest assignment is a poem by Saul Williams, a poet, musician and rapper who lives in Los Angeles. The ninth graders complete their assignments during class; the parents are supposed to write their responses on a blog Mr. Frye started online.
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.
In fact, Mr. Frye has not penalized students whose parents have told him outright that they will not post responses. But in one case, when the parents neither did the homework nor explained why, a student did lose points — but not enough to lower the student’s overall grade, he said.
This sort of boggles my mind as I remember my own life as a working mother and teacher. It was hard enough to keep up with grading papers and helping my own kids with their homework. If I had had actual homework assignments, I probably would be in a fruit basket by now. My husband traveled a great deal, so I was the one that made sure we all were prepared and ready for the next school day. Wait a minute. I have to catch my breath just thinking about it.
Back to Mr. Frye and his group of 65 ninth graders. He seems to have established homework for parents as something that works for him. I hope that politicians don't jump on this bandwagon. While it might be just what the doctor ordered for some teachers and schools, it would be an organizational disaster for others. Personally, I always enjoyed the free time I had with my own kids. Keeping up with a blog of comments written by parents would not have been my cup of tea.
Damion Frye, who teaches literature to ninth graders at Montclair High School, insists that parents read and write comments on assignments.