Among the reponses to Wheaton’s Community Unit School District 200’s survey of 13,500 district households were a parent who commented on the quality of assignments:
“The assignment was to write a song about Boo Radley (a character in “To Kill a Mockingbird”) and sing it in front of the class. Yes, I, too, am wondering what on earth this was supposed to teach her.”
A parent on the difficulty of homework:
“WHEN I HAVE TO RETEACH MYSELF CHEMISTRY OVER THE WEEKEND IN ORDER TO HELP MY CHILD STUDY, SOMETHING IS WRONG.”
Others were critical of projects that require special materials:
“We do not have a video camera….so what do we do? Finance a camera so my kid gets a high school credit?”
Even teachers disagreed about homework. One said:
“We are worried about competing in the REAL world. Do you realize how much work students do on their own in other nations? We can’t coddle and excuse, or we will NEVER compete….”
But another said:
“I believe that teachers assign WAY TOO much homework. We should all be looking at ways to eliminate homework and only assign it when it is absolutely necessary.”
