Boy Sues Math Teacher Who Assigned Summer Homework

[Kadie]

Boy Sues Math Teacher Who Assigned Summer Homework
Teen, Dad Say School Has No Authority Over Students During Summer

POSTED: 11:47 am EST January 20, 2005

MILWAUKEE -- A suburban Milwaukee teen and his dad are suing the boy's math teacher for assigning homework to be done over summer vacation.

They are seeking to bar homework assignments over the summer.

Peer Larson, a 17-year-old student at Whitnall High School, and his father, Bruce Larson of Hales Corners, contend in the suit which stemmed from an assignment in a math class that school officials have no legal authority to make students do homework over the summer because the state-required 180-day school year is over.

more...
http://www.thekcrachannel.com/education/4111643/detail.html

[saltpoint]

1. I side with Mr. Larson and his son.

There must be summer. There must be time between a father and his child.

Legal issues aside, I'd rather have this young man and his father spend time together, and to hell with the math assignment.

[tx_dem41]

3. How about the son and father make it a project they do together.

Legally, they might have a leg to stand on. But, what a sad commentary on the state of parents' respect (disrespect) of their kids' education.

[MissMillie]

2. What about summer reading?

My kid has had to read 2 books per summer every year since middle school.

He takes a test on each one on the 4th day of the school year.

[bbernardini]

4. Two problems with this...

1) Yet another asshat with another time-wasting lawsuit.

2) How many 17-year-olds have you ever known that wanted to spend time with his or her father during the summer?

[BlueJazz]

5. Anybody want to bet that the reason the teacher assigned the....

...summer homework was because the Kid sucked at Math and didn't want him to be behind in the coming school year??

[tjdee]

7. If he sucked in math his grades should reflect that.

Problems like this shouldn't be a surprise at the end of the year.

In your scenario, he should be put in the "can't do math for shit" class in the coming term, not given extra work over the summer--unless his parents and teacher conference on that. Apparently there was no such discussion.

[tx_dem41]

8. Many school systems have had to drop summer school programs...

..due to lack of funding. I'm not saying this is one of them.

[tjdee]

6. Screw summer homework.

This is a frivolous lawsuit and should be thrown out--BUT, summer homework is terrible. It's hanging over your head just waiting there...

My kid will be reading over the summer, she doesn't need a teacher riding her back to make sure she does it. :eyes:

[msgadget]

9. What's the big deal?

Did this homework take all day or something? How can we complain about not being able to compete if we don't make sure our kids are prepared? This parent obviously wouldn't consider having jr. bone up on his math over the summer so a vigilant teacher assigned it. I don't think it should count toward his grade though.

[DS1]

10. They could have been so much more creative with this

frex: Numbers don't make mistakes, thus numbers are infalliable, ergo numbers are an affront to God, God being the entity that shalt not share classroom time in state funded schools, leading to

Get your God outta my summer homework!

( or something equally inane )

[DrWeird]

11. What a horrible father.

What a horrible kid too. Fail his ass on principle.

[SheilaT]

12. The real problem is the 180 day school year

which is the shortest in the industrialized world. The long summer break means kids forget an awful lot, and the first half of the first semester can be taken up re-learning what was (supposedly) learned the year before.

But I'm curious about exactly how much math was assigned, and at what level. Was this kid getting ready for AP Calculus BC (the second year of AP Calc)? Or maybe just barely getting ready for second year algebra.

The independent school my kids went to routinely assigned math over the summer in the elementary years. Completing the assignments was considered optional, although most kids did them. Not surprisingly, the kids who didn't do them wound up in the less advanced math classes. They were at least a year behind by 7th grade.

And they have to read two books each summer and used to have to write a serious book report due the first week of school. Getting my kids to do that was a huge chore, I will admit. They finally went to a system where the books are discussed in the first weeks, which works out much better.