I agree with much of what is said in this article with some exception. Focusing on the comment, “The child is responsible to the teacher for the homework,” I would replace that with “The child is responsible to the teacher in school and to the parent at home. Although most parents will support the teacher in the assignments sent home, the parent remains the authority at home and must have the final say if homework assignments are interfering with normal life.”
I also found this video, A Parent-Teacher Conference Gone Wrong, there. It is an exaggeration and somewhat silly but also highlights a point. I offered the following comment.
What I find interesting in
this video is the underlying issue of hierarchy, sadly missed in understanding
problems in parent-teacher relationships in general, and homework in
particular. The video is an obvious exaggeration, but one can respond with sympathies
for both the teacher and the parent. In each case, the dialogue goes awry when
individuals take charge of issues outside their zones of control. It is really
the parents' decision about the value of the various sports the child attends
and the parent has a right to emphasize the learning issues that need to be
addressed in the 504, particularly if the child's reading levels are so far
below grade expectations. On the other hand, the teacher needs a reasonably
free hand teaching in the class, without threats to her job and without
excessive pressure to meet standards promulgated by political forces, not
well-grounded in educational practice. In the end, homework becomes the
battleground for these conflicts because, by its nature, it traverses the boundaries
between home and school.
Here is the embedded video:
Dr. Kenneth Goldberg, is the author of The Homework Trap: How to Save the Sanity of Parents, Teachers, and Students, published by Wyndmoor Press.
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