Not sure where this will go, so I'm starting it here. A teacher in Montclair, NJ, is "assigning" homework to parents with the thread that it may affect their children's grades. Here's the link: Homework

Some quotes from the article:

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.
...
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.
....
Tracy Parsons, whose son Danny is the second of her two boys to be a student in Mr. Frye’s class, said that the weekly assignments had changed the way she approached homework with her children.

After reading the whole article, I am feeling differently from what I felt when I read the headline. Still ... I'm not sure where I would be on this if my kids were in Mr. Frye's class.

By Marcia on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 09:07 am:

I don't think it would be a huge deal to me if I only had one child to concentrate on, but I have 5. If all of their teachers did that, I wouldn't have time to take care of their basic needs!

By Dawnk777 on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 10:04 am:

If it's just something that I did once a week, then it would be okay. I thought, at first, that it was something that had to be done every night. Since I sometimes work until 8 or 9, in the evening and then I would have to come home and do "homework", too, it would have really hard! If you have a whole week to get it done, then I probably could do it.

When my kids were in 2nd and 3rd grade, they brought home "letters" on Friday and we had to respond with a "letter" of our own by Monday. It was a nuisance, but I always did it.

I don't think the kids should be penalized, if the parents don't choose to participate. I keep tabs on my kids stuff anyway and don't need to do homework to be involved.

By Melanie on Thursday, October 4, 2007 - 10:41 am:

I like it. Parents can opt out, if they choose, so if someone can't do it or doesn't want to, the kids don't get penalized. But I think it's a great way to involve parents.

By Amecmom on Friday, October 5, 2007 - 06:21 pm:

I resent the projects that are sent home now - in K and first grade. These, I call Mommy homework. I also dislike it when the teacher send home homework that the child has not gone over in class first.
Ideally, my child should be able to come home, sit down and do homework without my intervention.
On the HS level, I think it is absurd for parents to have to participate in this teacher's blog. It's just one more responsibility added to the parents' already huge burden.
What if the child has no one at home who can respond in English. What if the child is too embarassed to say that? I don't like it.
Ame

By Breann on Thursday, October 18, 2007 - 05:28 pm:

I think it's great to involve parents. But, I don't like the "threat" behind it. That would make me bitter towards the assignment, I think.