Comments

Posted by Anonymous

I would have to disagree with that article. As an educator, I have found that if I don't have some small assignment for the students to be responsible for, they come to class completely unprepared. I do assign nightly homework, but it is usually in the form of a short reading assignment, with the understanding that there will be a quick reading check for a few points. If the students know there will not be a reading check, they do not do the readings. I understand that family should be their first priority, however I don't think that too much homework is the biggest problem. Parents often push their children into participating in extracurricular activities and send the message that sports (the biggest extracurricular activity) comes first, then down time at home, and then homework trailing at a distant third. I am not implying that all families are like this. When I was growing up, my parents encouraged me to participate in other activities in order to become well-rounded, however schooling always came first. If grades slipped, the other activites ceased. Unfortunately, not all parents are like that and often speak of school in a negative light. They see it as something to be tolerated, and not as a means of getting an education in order to better themselves. This attitude is passed on to their children, and as a result, homework or other school assignments are not seen as a priority.



I can appreciate the view that Mrs. Samway has regarding her child's emotional health, but it did make me curious if she has stopped assigning homework to her students. If she is still assigning homework to the students in her classroom then it seems to me that she is sending a mixed message to her family, and to her students. I would hope that, as an educator herself, she would take her own advice and minimize the amount of work assigned to and expected of her own students.

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Posted by Anonymous

Barb,

A friend of mine linked me to your site after purchasing a copy of your book. I usually find the things you write about thought-provoking. The other day, however, I checked out your new blog home and was startled to find the post entitled, "Irritation in the Sunday Paper." I must say that I was highly offended at several comments you made in this post. I have made several attempts to post on your new blog wall, however, after some difficulty I decided to post my comments about that article here. I apologize for the misplacing of the post.



Your article offended me for several reasons. First of all, I know of several families in which the father stays at home to raise the children. It was a choice the spouses made together and seems to be working well for them. None of these fathers is an "out of work daddy" as you so rudely refer to them. It is a choice that was made, much like your decision to homeschool your children. And given the struggles you have shared about your husband's job situation, I would think you of all people should be sympathetic to fathers who could temporarily be out of work.



The other comment that made me quite upset was the comment you made about moms giving up their careers to be "real moms." What nerve you have! Both of my parents worked outside the home and my mother is no less of a "real mom" than you are to your children. As someone who works outside the home as well, I would hope my children do not see me as any less of a mother than someone who has chosen to work from home, or not be employed at all. What sort of message does this type of post send to your daughters? That if they choose to work outside of the home when they have children they cannot be a "real mom"? What a horrible outlook on life.



I, for one, was completely offended by this post, and I hope things change quickly. I have enjoyed reading your blog, however if this is the tone the new blog home will be taking, I will not be recommending you to other families.

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Posted by BarbaraFrank

Anon. Educator: I imagine you've seen it all, and your comments about some parents overemphasizing extra-curriculars ring true. I do wonder, though, why so much homework is assigned today when we did fine without it back in the 1960s and 70s. I had no homework until junior high, and after that, there was so little assigned that I could do it on my lunch hour. I do see where there could be so much chaos in schools now that it's hard to get much done during class time, but to me that's just one more good reason to homeschool: it's more efficient.
As for Ms. Samway, I agree with you. She should not be assigning homework to her classes if she objects to her children having homework assigned to them.

Anon. #2, sorry you were so offended. If you read the next paragraph of that post or much of my work at all, you'd know I make a distinction between moms who must work for financial reasons and moms who work for personal gratification. One has a totally different dynamic than the other.
What I see around me here are moms who say, right in front of their kids, "I couldn't stand being at home with the kids all day." They often claim financial need, and yes, the payments on that new SUV and the vacation to Aruba are pretty hefty. But the bottom line is, they're trading time with their kids for their personal desires.
Moms who work to help support the family have a different attitude. I've seen it: my grandmother was a single working mom, my sister is a single working mom, and I have friends who are moms working out of financial necessity. Their kids know Mom does this to feed and/or educate them, not because she has a hard time tolerating them all day or because her goal is a McMansion. When I refer to "real moms," I'm including the moms who have to work.
As for "out-of-work daddies," I feel sorry for them because I've seen what my dh has gone through. This economy is creeping me out: men out of work or making $10/hour at Home Depot, out shopping for groceries mid-day with small children in tow while Mom has to support the family. Globalization has turned life upside down for many American families. If you think I was taking a swipe at these dads, you misinterpreted my remark; perhaps I should have elaborated on that phrase in my post, too.

Edited by BarbaraFrank on Feb. 20, 2007 at 11:33 AM

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Posted by Anonymous The Third

Hello Barb!

I realize this is another annoymous post but I'm not registered at this website - but I can assure you that I'm not one of the first two Anon. posters here. I'm not commenting to debate a social issue - but rather comment on one poster's paragraph, which read:

"I, for one, was completely offended by this post, and I hope things change quickly. I have enjoyed reading your blog, however if this is the tone the new blog home will be taking, I will not be recommending you to other families."

To that I say: Since when should are blogs to be censored in such a way so that they will please everyone? The good (and with it, the bad) of the internet is that everyone has a chance to express their views. If you like it - GREAT, but if you don't, then move along to the next blog, darling. It is the opinion of this reader though, that you must think very highly of yourself to recommend that someone change their blog's "tone" just to keep you as a reader.

So Barb - stay true to yourself and what you believe it. Word it how you want. I'll read when I agree, and read when I disagree because I enjoy hearing what you have to say.

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