Homework Policy Unfair To Many Children

By Jeffrey K. Hazeltine

No wonder Socio-Economic Status (S.E.S.) is the best predictor of academic success.

Right now, there is no system in place which enables the adults responsible for this fiasco to answer these questions. Surprised? District officials and teachers are not supporting candidates who care about these 4000 students. They are supporting candidates who are committed to "improving communication". A value added assessment system will put the current No Child Left Behind regulations and the STAR system to good use: Identify which students are not receiving the education they deserve, in which classrooms that is happening, and all in time to address the problem before it is too late.

For years now, we have heard a lot about increasing parental involvement in schools. The result is schools sending much of the school work home for parents to teach their children. Many households are well equipped to handle this responsibility: Two parents who are often college educated with disposable income for extra tutoring and the free time required to instruct their children in school subjects. Many children don't take their school work home to such an environment. 20% of the families with school age children in Redondo Beach are headed by single Moms. (This doesn't count single dads.) Imagine supporting your family on your own and coming home and having to pre-read a chapter in your kids history book and then teaching them the material so that they can pass a test.

All teachers in California receive comparable training at the states universities. I have taught in low performing schools in other parts of L.A. County, and the quality of the teachers and their dedication compares well with Redondo. Redondo schools perform better than many others because many Redondo students come from homes that guarantee that their kids know the material. In my home, we receive a list of assignments and test dates from my children's teachers and my wife and I make sure "we" get it done. If the teaching was left to the teachers, I wonder how Redondo would compare with other low performing districts? We have low performing schools within each of our schools that need to be fixed. Right now, the fashion is to blame the parents.

Parents with adequate resources will not allow a failed system to fail their children. A community with Redondo's resources should not allow the present system to fail so many children of families with fewer resources. If there is not time in the school day to do all the teaching then we need to cut out non teaching activities like 30 birthday parties per year, fundraising/sales rallies, character education coloring assignments, etc.

What if our children's grades were a measure of how much they learned in school?