Comment by Deanna Latendresse on February 20, 2011 at 9:30pm

One school board member commented that it is about "time management" and suggested that this should be handled at home. The Times-Union article points out that "Coronado Unified holds the highest Academic Performance Index score among districts with secondary schools in the county at 888". Is it possible that the school board members are bound to the prestige of test scores and the instant gratification that test scores give them? Test scores, "distinguished school" awards etc.... are not a true measure of learning. They are only a measure by which a leaders in a school district can point to and say "we are a success". 'Board President Bruce Shepherd called the superintendent’s proposal “provocative.” ' I would rather he used the wording "thought provoking". I applaud Dr. Felix for his courage to challenge the parameters by which we measure success. We need to ask whether it is more important to raise a generation of critical thinkers and problem-solvers or to simply raise kids who can memorize facts and regurgitate them with expertise....

Comment by lisa on February 21, 2011 at 9:05am

Very disappointing...I hope that Dr. Felix and the Board will keep the discussion alive. I hope that"Tabling" the issue is not just a way of saying that they are sweeping it under the rug and hoping that parents will forget about it.  I agree with the comment above: homework does not equal intelligence! School Baord members: this is a chance to change our schools for the better. Please take it seriously!

Comment by Suzanne Ramirez on February 21, 2011 at 10:00am

I agree that Dr. Felix's proposal is worthy of serious consideration.  How about a compromise so that homework assigned which would normally be due on Monday would not be considered late if turned in on Tuesday?  And perhaps the teachers could be urged not to assign significant homework over holiday breaks and the same "not late on Tuesday" rule could apply. Worth a try.

 

Comment by Tokeli on February 22, 2011 at 9:39am

Read The Homework Myth by Alfie Kohn.

Comment by Jonathan Burns on February 22, 2011 at 11:03am

I think homework assigning should be kept in the hands of the faculty not the administration - there are some courses that require a decent amount of homework. At the same time, faculty should be encouraged to assign less busy work and focus more on projects and lecture. Parents should also do more to encourage and train their children (before and during highschool) to spend more of their free time reading and showing them how to be organized and successful. We cannot expect the public education system to raise our children. As a recent graduate of CHS (class of 2007) I wish CHS had more of a college atmosphere for junior and seniors.

Controlling when students are assigned homework is not a solution at all. That is not how the real world works. Especially college and university. When someone assigns you a task you are expected to get it done.

 

If you feel teachers are not performing to your expectations then lobby for making teaching competitive (as in, get rid of tenure, pay teachers a competitive wage compared to other industries with some decent benefits, and stop cutting public education funding.)

 

Currently, I am in Bangkok, Thailand traveling/living here for a short period and like every other developing nation I've been to I've noticed that the students are working harder while having less, and many who graduate from university at my age level are probably more competent then most of my peers. It's embarrassing.

 

If you want to fix Americas declining education system you have to get serious, crackdown on all aspects of the k12 education system, stop cutting corners, and making it less appealing to learn. (I feel there are too many comforts in the modern American education system with far too many distractions and that many of us are forgetting that public education is designed for learning not to party.) I feel too many members of my Generation are graduating ill prepared for a very competitive global market.

Comment by Mayor Casey Tanaka on February 22, 2011 at 12:15pm

I have observed high school students (9th-12th Grade) to be busy people who demand many things of their time. The graduation requirements of the State of California as well as this school district require our high schoolers to typically take six classes at a time. Many of our students also are involved in athletics, the arts, or other time consuming activities in addition to their their academic haul at school. My point here is that our students are dynamic and try to do many things at once. Having "too much homework" is more likely a symptom of their problem rather than being the sole source of it. Many students take multiple college level courses each year and then attempt to juggle sports, jobs, church, scouts, etc. on top of everything else they do. While it is fair to ask the question, "are we assigning too much homework" it is also just as legitimate to ask, "are we allowing students to take on too much and to willingly burn the candle at both ends?"

Comment by Jamie Edmonds on February 22, 2011 at 6:29pm

I just saw "Waiting For Superman" last weekend, a documentary on the status of the American School System.  Wow.  Talk about "provocative"!  Everyone should see it--not just those "in education"--since we all collectively have a dog in the education of the next generations fight.  If our children are not learning to compete in a global marketplace then our lives and retirements are not secure.  The movie raises far more questions than it answers (though a few are answered in a Time magazine article from last summer), however it appears that it's not just "quantity" (though the director does advocate for more time in school), but rather the "quality" of the overall end product.

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