(CBS News) SAN JOSE, Calif.

Alarmed by indicators of student stress like cheating and substance abuse, a handful of San Francisco Bay Area schools are reducing an education staple: homework.

Oak Knoll Elementary in Menlo Park has mostly banned homework — except reading, special projects or catch-up work. Palo Alto’s Addison Elementary and the Berryessa School District in San Jose are discussing the issue.

So there is a rash of cheating and substance abuse at the elementary school level? I have serious doubts about the logic used in the decision to stop giving homework. Of course it is not all homework but it is a good portion. I just don’t see first graders hiding their “kit” in the bushes and shooting up during recess because they had to do homework. It is more plausible that high schoolers might do such a thing but at that point I would be looking somewhere outside of homework for the answer to the problem.

For two decades teachers have been under pressure to raise academic standards and test scores, but CBS News correspondent John Blackstone reports that many are now questioning the value of burying students in homework.

The changes have come as a University of Missouri study found high school students benefit tremendously from homework. In middle school, the results were not as strong, but homework was still found to be beneficial. But on the elementary school level, the same study found homework had no effect on students.

So we are going to use a single study to make a decision that will affect children for the rest of their lives? There must not be any studies that have found anything different. This must be the only study around.

At Duke University, Harris Cooper tells CBS News his research has shown that homework does help learning.

“All students can benefit from homework, but the amount and type that is done at each age level should be different,” Cooper says.

The administration at this school should be investigated for substance abuse! Opposing studies, parental opposition, and they are still going forward with this ill-conceived plan. I wonder what they have to say about it? (Note: The following is an exact copy but the numbering in parentheses is mine.)

Christian Aronson - Teacher at Oak Knoll Elementary

Homework is given out on Mondays and is to be returned to class on Friday morning. If your child has forgotten their homework on Friday, PLEASE do not bring it in for them. You have already been to second grade - it is their time to learn responsibility.

(1)Homework should come in to class with the child’s name on all of the pages. Please do not staple the pages together. (2)Pen should never be used for writing or math. All work should be written neatly!!! Please do not correct your child’s homework - if they ask for help, please help. If your child’s papers come in thoroughly corrected, I will not get a sense of where they are needing my help.

Each week’s homework packet usually includes:

1. (3)Reading Log - children should be reading a minimum of 15 every night. At the beginning of the year, this can include time that you are reading to them. By January, they should be reading a minimum of 15 minutes on their own.

2. Spelling words - spelling test are given each Friday. Children should be practicing these words daily in preparation for the test. The word list given to your child is appropriate for their spelling level.

3. Math sheets - 1 or 2 sheets to reinforce what is being discussed in the classroom. Math homework is given at your child’s math level.

4. (4)Handwriting practice - beginning of the year, practicing D’Nealian handwriting and correct pencil grip.

5. Writing - there is usually a writing assignment each week. These consist of sentence writing/grammar, poems, paragraphs/essays.

6. (5)Puzzles/riddles/stumpers - these are fun acitivites that parents can help. (6)Many of these are helping the children to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.

7. Book reports - these begin in March and the children will be given a month to complete the book report. (7)Each book report requires an art project to come in with the report. (8)Specific instructions are given in the HW packet at the beginning of the month, as well as weekly orgnizational suggestions will be given each week on the HW weekly sheet.

8. (9)Special Projects - occasionally there will be projects that the children will work on at home with instructions as to when they need to come back to class.

I am only going to discuss the glaring errors in this outline (If it is considered an outline). I also fisk this knowing that my grammar is not always perfect and with the caveat that I am not a public school teacher writing something intend to be read by the parents of my students. While reading keep in mind that this person is employed at a public school and is teaching elementary school children. This is a person responsible for educating the next generation.

(1)Homework should come in to class with the child’s name on all of the pages.
Homework cannot come into class. It is impossible, as far as I know, for homework to do anything of it’s own volition. Homework can be brought into class by a student, it can be carried into class be a parent, it can be left at home, but it cannot, unless you are taking a robotics class, come into class. This is the first of many glaring errors. Homework is not an entity nor is it sentient, mobile, capable of propulsion, or otherwise able to come into class.

(2)Pen should never be used for writing or math.
I don’t even know where to start with this sentence. It is nonsense plain and simple. Simply adding “A” to the beginning of this sentence would at least make it appear to be correct. It also needs the qualification of “homework” added to the end. While it is safe to assume that the sentence is in reference to homework, since that is the obvious topic of the outline, clear speech is still appropriate for an educator. The way this sentence is written it appears the teacher is instructing parents to never allow their child to use a pen for writing [or math]. Simply adding to words would make the sentence clear and accurate. This error shows pure laziness and lack of proofreading and I do think those are qualities that would be acceptable for teachers of any grade level.

(3)Reading Log - children should be reading a minimum of 15 every night.
Children should be reading a minimum of 15 what every night? 15 Pages? 15 minutes? 15 seconds? 15 hours?

(4)Handwriting practice - beginning of the year, practicing D’Nealian handwriting and correct pencil grip.
A nonsense sentence that could have been corrected by the addition of five letters in two words: “At the” however our illustrious teacher didn’t bother. I almost expected to start seeing txt speak in her outline at this point. This is not an excusable error it is blatant carelessness. Actually I am chalking this all up to carelessness when the actual reason may be more insidious. This teacher may actually be this ignorant but that is a possibility I do not want to consider.

(5)Puzzles/riddles/stumpers - these are fun acitivites that parents can help.
Parents can help acitivites? There are such things as acitivites? The dual errors in this sentence make it impossible to understand. Disregard the fact that our brains can make sense of the drivel the simple fact is that this teach has stated that parents can help activities. She does not state that parents can help their children with activities but rather that activities are much like the autonomous homework in her first point and can be helped. I do not think that this can simply be blamed on carelessness. As much as I want to think that this teacher is merely careless it is becoming more and more apparent that she is actually ignorant.

(6)Many of these are helping the children to develop problem solving and critical thinking skills.
Many of these what? This may seem to be nitpicking but it is part of the overall pattern. If this was the only error in the whole of the outline then I don’t think I would be taking issue with this teacher’s words. It is not the only error and regardless of the fact our brains can make sense of these words and we know to what the teacher refers the fact is that the sentence is grammatically incorrect. This is the sort of error that, in my opinion, can only be made from ignorance.

(7)Each book report requires an art project to come in with the report.
Apparently it is not only homework and activities that are autonomous but also book reports and art projects. In this sentence the teacher has relinquished her authority and is allowing book reports to require things. I wonder if the book reports will eventually require her to use a spell checking program? Let us be clear on this point. A book report is a thing that consists of words on paper and cannot require anything of anyone. I also have my doubts that either the book report or art project, required by the book report, can come into class. I am certain that both of the items require a human to carry them or bring them into class. This is mistake that is made over and over through this outline and as such the initial excuse that I used for this teacher is no longer believable. This is pure ignorance. This is pure ignorance being passed on to the children of this school. I am frankly shocked that the parents are not up in arms over this teacher being allowed to continue passing on this ignorance to their children.

(8)Specific instructions are given in the HW packet at the beginning of the month, as well as weekly orgnizational suggestions will be given each week on the HW weekly sheet.

The incorrect spelling and use of an undefined abbreviation in this sentence are just more evidence that bolsters the ignorance argument. If the teacher is too lazy to bother with a spell checking program then we can assume that the ignorance is not only the reason but that it is willful as well. If the undefined abbreviation was the only error then it would be forgivable to a large degree but it is not. It is very much proof that this person should be removed from all duties of imparting knowledge to children. It is a small error that is amplified by the myriad errors throughout the outline.

(9)Special Projects - occasionally there will be projects that the children will work on at home with instructions as to when they need to come back to class.
The final error in this document refutes the carelessness excuse completely and utterly. It is the fourth error of the same kind. It is pure and simple ignorance. As a teacher it is willful ignorance. Once again our teacher of children implies that something(s) assigned as homework is mobile and able to come into class only this time the thing(s), a project(s), is able to keep track of the date and return on their own on a specified date.

I think I will bookmark this entry and simply send a link to anyone who inquires about the reasons for which we homeschool our children. All I have to do is screw them up less than public school and I am a success. With teachers like this my job is one I could do in my sleep.

UPDATE: Mrs. Aronson has corrected the spelling of the title of this list/outline. (This is a mistake on my part, the webpage title that shows at the top of the browser is still incorrect. I thought the actual title on the page was incorrect no correction has been made. I left the update because I like to own up to my mistakes) She has also changed the reading portion to impart that “children should read a minimum of 10 every night! All of the rest of the mistakes remain including the one my lovely wife pointed out wherein the teacher imparts that “spelling test are given”.