"This is the arrogance of the state at work. Once again, the primary persons responsible for educating children are the parents. Teachers act in locus parenti, not the other way around.
But, since schools are publicly funded and bolstered by statute, teachers have adopted the stance that they are empowered to dictate to children and parents
what is best for them."
I couldn't agree more. (I've fought that "authority" battle with the schools over things such as scoliosis testing, which is a good thing to do, but they were attempting to have the kids disrobe and do the test WITHOUT notifying the parents first. I expect to be fully in charge of my child's medical testing...and their time in the summer!)
I'd be very bothered if our school attempted to give my honors/AP track H.S. student summer homework. It sounds as though the kid in this article had a "broadening" summer job lined up where he would be learning entirely different things than Honors Calculus. Anything else he was to learn that summer is the business of his parents, not the school district. During the summer I usually have a "reading program" set up for my daughter where I give out prizes (free books of her choice) for reading challenging books off a list I prepare. This reading usually "takes off" and helps her develop new interests, such as Shakespeare. I would be unhappy if the school were to butt in and prescribe the reading or math *they* want accomplished. I'd also note that my daughter is extremely stressed by June, what with AP tests, SATs, regular homework, etc. She works darn hard during the school year, and she *is* still a kid. I seriously worry about burnout at times. Becoming an adult should be a gradual process, and the love of learning shouldn't be killed. If the schools were doing a good job during the school year, they wouldn't feel the need to pile on ever-increasing amounts of homework and summer homework. (It's probably not a surprise that after her experiences, I'm homeschooling my younger 3 children!)
I have worked in areas related to the legal profession for many years and am most definitely not a fan of frivolous lawsuits, but I have dealt with so much bureaucratic "We know best" intransigence in the schools over the years, I think sometimes they do have to be hit over the head with a lawsuit.
A couple of years ago, one medical doctor was quoted in a newspaper article saying that he's amazed that he became a medical doctor since he didn't have the "benefit" of tons of homework heaped on him when he was a kid. This baloney that students today have to learn so much more today is just that, baloney.
Public school officials are running scared because of NCLB. If they're so concerned about kids losing ground in the summer, let the schools stay open all year around. That will be real popular.
I agree with you completely. In addition, I have noticed an increasing trend over the past few years of teachers assigning homework over material not covered in class on the assumption (and presumption) that mom and dad can pick up the slack and teach what the teacher just didn't get around to covering. I had three kids in AP/Honors programs that had summer assignments that did nothing but create more problems than they solved. The state has them 9 months of the year, the other 3 are up to me.