toto wrote in message
news
Any anecdotes?
[snip]

Not from teachers but one I witnessed at a district meeting with PTA
leaders.

The topic of quantity over quality has become a major issue within our
district. Some parents want their kids studying morning to late into the
night; others are a little more sensible about amounts. Teachers try and
accommodate both but have begun being flooded by page-after-ream from a
minority of parents. The two extreme POVs were in this meeting, almost
across the tables from each other.

Parent I'm-shooting-for-Harvard-and-he-NEEDS-make-work volleyed, "There
are just too many minutes where my child doesn't have any schoolwork. He
is going to go to Harvard Business so he needs more homework."

"Yeah? My child's not going to Harvard and is doing an hour in each
subject per day. He has six classes and three electives; you do the
math."

"Don't you help him?"

"You bet. Anytime he has to color a map, write an essay, or research a
topic, I make sure his homework is done."

I sat there but common sense got the better of me, "So you're doing his
geography, English, and science reports for him?"

"Why not? They're nothing more than an attempt to appease [waves at
other parent] them..."

"Because he's not learning anything! Are you going to go to college with
him, too?!"

The more she opened her mouth, the more I became convinced her son had
never done one page of homework, let alone earned any of _his_ grades.

The Ranger