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November 29, 2011
Alex Rich
In 2010, the district created a committee to gather feedback on the updated homework policy. The committee released a report of their findings at the Oct. 26 FUSD Board of Education Meeting.
The purpose of the committee was to give an update on how the homework policy was affecting students, teachers, and parents.
“We were told that the board was not interested in changing the policy,” world language teacher Jennifer Pardini said. “So that any suggestions we made would likely not result in any changes by the board.”
Pardini is one of the two WHS teachers on the committee, along with English teacher Sharon Jones.
Teachers have expressed concerns about the policy since it went into effect during the 2010-2011 school year.
“I had to cut out an entire book,” Jones said, referring to Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Pardini is not happy with the way the board is handling the policy. She argues they don’t know how their own policy works and are unwilling to act in the best interest of students by not realistically preparing them for their future in college.
“The committee was a waste of time for many teachers since our professional opinions [were] often disregarded by the board,” she said.
Ivy Wu, clerk on the board, maintains that the committee was only intended for the public’s general information.
“Since it was for information only, there was no action taken by the Board,” Wu said.
After analyzing data from parent, teacher, and student surveys, the committee published that an average of 22 percent of students not enrolled in AP or Honors classes felt they experienced a decline in the amount of work assigned, while 41 percent AP or Honors felt they experienced a decline or no change.
A total of 60 percent of parents are under the impression that their children go to school with all their homework completed, while only 40 percent of Honors and AP students say they do all their homework on a regular basis, and only 22 percent of college and non-college-prep students.
However, a majority of students and parents agree that completing homework is an essential part of academic success and that the level of the difficulty of current homework is appropriate.
“The homework policy didn’t change much,” senior Kevin Ou said. “They might as well go back to the way it was.”
The committee also found that 3 percent of college prep students feel they are not academically stressed, and 61 percent of teachers could not complete the required textbook or readings within the policy’s guidelines.
“[The policy] does not take into consideration that our students take very different workloads,” Jones said. “It’s one size fits all.”
This article originally appeared in the print edition on November 29, 2011.
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March 30, 2010
Anterpreet Kaur
For the second year in a row, AP English teacher Teri Hu submitted the novel Bastard out of Carolina (Dorothy Allison) to be reviewed by the Fremont School Board. Last year, the district officials voted 2 for and 3 against the book. The three that had voted against the book had not read it, while one of the two who voted for it had.
“Supervisors didn’t vote from a position of knowledge. Three out of the four officials straight up admitted that they hadn’t read the book,” Hu said.
“As a parent, I just feel this is not appropriate,” District Board member Ivy Wu said.
Wu is concerned about her daughter who would read this book in AP English next year if it is approved.
Board Vice President Bryan Gebhardt believes otherwise.
“Originally, I was not in favor of this book, but I did change my mind just from my perspective, and that is, when a book is brought forth to the twelfth grade AP, it really essentially is a college book,” Gebhardt said.
To approve a book, it must first be read and approved by two English teacher. It then passes through an English department, after which the textbook committee reviews it and the final decision lies upon the District School Board. Last year the book failed to make it past the District Board.
The textbook committee will review it May 5. If passed, the District Board will review it in June.
The same five officials who voted last year will be voting again. The District Board members have not changed because elections have not occurred.
The verdict for “Bastard Out of Carolina” will be announced at the June 2010 District School Board meeting.
This article originally appeared in print on March 30, 2010. It has been modified to correct style and grammatical errors.
