jason
08-10-2005, 07:06 AM
i personally think this is B.S. It's summer time, summer school is for kids who screw around during the school year or for those who are trying to get ahead....
link (http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/education/stories/081005dnmetsuspended.124a7b76.html)
Summer homework causes a fuss
Lancaster ISD: 750 who forgot projects are suspended, get reprieve
12:33 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 10, 2005
By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News
LANCASTER – Parents are crying foul after a third of all junior high and high school students in Lancaster were suspended for not having done their summer homework.
However, most of the students who were to serve the suspension Tuesday – about 450 at Lancaster Junior High School and about 300 at Lancaster Elsie Robertson High School – were back in school because Lancaster Superintendent Larry Lewis extended their deadline. The first day of school was Monday.
Dr. Lewis, who gave the students until the end of school Thursday to finish their summer assignments, said 80 to 90 percent of students in grades seven through 12 attended class Tuesday.
Stephaney Norman, Lancaster Junior High School principal, said a lot of the students showed up Tuesday with their assignments completed.
She said some of the parents complained that their students had until the end of the week. Ms. Norman said students need more than four days to read a novel and complete the assignment.
"We don't want junk," Ms. Norman said. "We want quality."
In May, students decided on a book from a reading list. The students were asked to complete five activities upon finishing the book.
"Look, we have over a thousand students reading below grade level," Dr. Lewis said. "This is a viable program and helps with comprehension. We will do it again next summer."
Brian Pulver, whose daughter, Julia Chase, is in seventh grade, said he could not understand how an assignment that could merit a suspension if not completed wouldn't have been communicated to parents.
"The problem is the district sends letters and notes through students," Mr. Pulver said. "There's not enough communication between the teachers and the parents."
Dr. Lewis said the students need to take some responsibility.
"We talked all spring about this," Dr. Lewis said. "We talked about it at town hall meetings, at concerts, everywhere. Seventh- through 12th-graders should take some responsibility. The students need to tell their parents."
"The suspensions were news to everyone," Mr. Pulver said. He also said initially students were required to complete two activities on the book. "They changed it to five."
Parents also complained that one of the books on the reading list, Fallen Angels, a Vietnam War novel, contained racial epithets and foul language.
Dr. Lewis said the district should have reviewed the book more completely. He said the book wouldn't be on any future reading lists.
Adriana Cazares, whose son Roland is in seventh grade, said that when Dr. Lewis talked to parents Monday night and Tuesday morning, the superintendent was acting like the incomplete assignments were the parents' fault.
"I take offense to that," Ms. Cazares said. "What's sad is a lot of undocumented workers live in this community and they'll just let the suspensions go on their kids' records. They'll end up dropping out, and there goes another lost child."
Ms. Cazares said a dozen or so parents met with Dr. Lewis Monday night to address the issue.
Ms. Cazares said Dr. Lewis dismissed what the parents had to say.
"We were completely shocked," she said.
Dr. Lewis said a letter about the Summer Reading Initiative was on the district's Web site all summer.
The letter, written by Pat Sadberry, the district's director of teaching and learning, references a parent meeting that was held May 24 in the high school auditorium to discuss the district's Summer Reading Initiative.
The letter also states all assignments must be submitted the week of Aug. 8 to the student's English teacher. It also states that new students to the district will have until the fifth week of school to complete the assignment.
"Statistics show that children who read during the school breaks (particularly the longer summer break) retain their reading skills," the letter states. "The decision has been made to purchase high-interest books at various reading levels to provide students in grades 6 through 11 the valuable opportunity to engage in productive, academic activities over the summer."
E-mail hbooth@dallasnews.com
SUMMER HOMEWORK
Students were asked to perform five of the following tasks as part of their assignment in the Lancaster Summer Reading Initiative:
Decide on five or more criteria by which to judge characters. Design a report card using these criteria and make a separate report card for at least three characters. Include a comment section for each.
Introduce a new character and write a different ending to the novel having this character play a major role.
Create the front page of a newspaper using the significant events from your novel. The newspaper should contain at least five events with headlines, articles and pictures.
Research the historical time period reflected in the novel. List at least 10 new facts or ideas you learned that are not included in the story. Write a letter to the author persuading him or her to include two or three of these facts.
Make a mobile of five characters from the novel. Hang a card beside each that explains the role of the character in the novel.
Produce a three-minute video news report about an incident in the story involving one or more characters.
Design a brochure that advertises your book.
Create song lyrics and music to tell about your book. Record your song.
Make a timeline, sequencing 10 important events that happened in the book. Draw three comic strips that highlight three important events.
Reading list
Seventh grade: Slam! by Walter Dean Myers; Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli; Flight #118 is Down by R.L. Stine; Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements; or When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Eighth grade: Danger Zone by David Klass; Marisol & Magdeline by Roald Dahl; Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli; Green Angel by Alice Hoffman; or The Glory Field by Walter D. Myers
Ninth grade: Fallen Angels by Walter D. Myers; Crash by Jerry Spinelli; Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff; Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers; When She Hollers by Cynthia Voigt; or The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
10th grade: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick; Loser by Jerry Spinelli; If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson; The Runner by Cynthia Voigt; Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson; Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake; or The Summer of Swans by Betsy Byars
11th grade: Tracker by Gary Paulsen; Jesse by Gary Soto; Wringer by Jerry Spinelli; The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson; Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
link (http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/education/stories/081005dnmetsuspended.124a7b76.html)
Summer homework causes a fuss
Lancaster ISD: 750 who forgot projects are suspended, get reprieve
12:33 AM CDT on Wednesday, August 10, 2005
By HERB BOOTH / The Dallas Morning News
LANCASTER – Parents are crying foul after a third of all junior high and high school students in Lancaster were suspended for not having done their summer homework.
However, most of the students who were to serve the suspension Tuesday – about 450 at Lancaster Junior High School and about 300 at Lancaster Elsie Robertson High School – were back in school because Lancaster Superintendent Larry Lewis extended their deadline. The first day of school was Monday.
Dr. Lewis, who gave the students until the end of school Thursday to finish their summer assignments, said 80 to 90 percent of students in grades seven through 12 attended class Tuesday.
Stephaney Norman, Lancaster Junior High School principal, said a lot of the students showed up Tuesday with their assignments completed.
She said some of the parents complained that their students had until the end of the week. Ms. Norman said students need more than four days to read a novel and complete the assignment.
"We don't want junk," Ms. Norman said. "We want quality."
In May, students decided on a book from a reading list. The students were asked to complete five activities upon finishing the book.
"Look, we have over a thousand students reading below grade level," Dr. Lewis said. "This is a viable program and helps with comprehension. We will do it again next summer."
Brian Pulver, whose daughter, Julia Chase, is in seventh grade, said he could not understand how an assignment that could merit a suspension if not completed wouldn't have been communicated to parents.
"The problem is the district sends letters and notes through students," Mr. Pulver said. "There's not enough communication between the teachers and the parents."
Dr. Lewis said the students need to take some responsibility.
"We talked all spring about this," Dr. Lewis said. "We talked about it at town hall meetings, at concerts, everywhere. Seventh- through 12th-graders should take some responsibility. The students need to tell their parents."
"The suspensions were news to everyone," Mr. Pulver said. He also said initially students were required to complete two activities on the book. "They changed it to five."
Parents also complained that one of the books on the reading list, Fallen Angels, a Vietnam War novel, contained racial epithets and foul language.
Dr. Lewis said the district should have reviewed the book more completely. He said the book wouldn't be on any future reading lists.
Adriana Cazares, whose son Roland is in seventh grade, said that when Dr. Lewis talked to parents Monday night and Tuesday morning, the superintendent was acting like the incomplete assignments were the parents' fault.
"I take offense to that," Ms. Cazares said. "What's sad is a lot of undocumented workers live in this community and they'll just let the suspensions go on their kids' records. They'll end up dropping out, and there goes another lost child."
Ms. Cazares said a dozen or so parents met with Dr. Lewis Monday night to address the issue.
Ms. Cazares said Dr. Lewis dismissed what the parents had to say.
"We were completely shocked," she said.
Dr. Lewis said a letter about the Summer Reading Initiative was on the district's Web site all summer.
The letter, written by Pat Sadberry, the district's director of teaching and learning, references a parent meeting that was held May 24 in the high school auditorium to discuss the district's Summer Reading Initiative.
The letter also states all assignments must be submitted the week of Aug. 8 to the student's English teacher. It also states that new students to the district will have until the fifth week of school to complete the assignment.
"Statistics show that children who read during the school breaks (particularly the longer summer break) retain their reading skills," the letter states. "The decision has been made to purchase high-interest books at various reading levels to provide students in grades 6 through 11 the valuable opportunity to engage in productive, academic activities over the summer."
E-mail hbooth@dallasnews.com
SUMMER HOMEWORK
Students were asked to perform five of the following tasks as part of their assignment in the Lancaster Summer Reading Initiative:
Decide on five or more criteria by which to judge characters. Design a report card using these criteria and make a separate report card for at least three characters. Include a comment section for each.
Introduce a new character and write a different ending to the novel having this character play a major role.
Create the front page of a newspaper using the significant events from your novel. The newspaper should contain at least five events with headlines, articles and pictures.
Research the historical time period reflected in the novel. List at least 10 new facts or ideas you learned that are not included in the story. Write a letter to the author persuading him or her to include two or three of these facts.
Make a mobile of five characters from the novel. Hang a card beside each that explains the role of the character in the novel.
Produce a three-minute video news report about an incident in the story involving one or more characters.
Design a brochure that advertises your book.
Create song lyrics and music to tell about your book. Record your song.
Make a timeline, sequencing 10 important events that happened in the book. Draw three comic strips that highlight three important events.
Reading list
Seventh grade: Slam! by Walter Dean Myers; Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli; Flight #118 is Down by R.L. Stine; Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements; or When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
Eighth grade: Danger Zone by David Klass; Marisol & Magdeline by Roald Dahl; Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli; Green Angel by Alice Hoffman; or The Glory Field by Walter D. Myers
Ninth grade: Fallen Angels by Walter D. Myers; Crash by Jerry Spinelli; Make Lemonade by Virginia Euwer Wolff; Scorpions by Walter Dean Myers; When She Hollers by Cynthia Voigt; or The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
10th grade: Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick; Loser by Jerry Spinelli; If You Come Softly by Jacqueline Woodson; The Runner by Cynthia Voigt; Toning the Sweep by Angela Johnson; Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake; or The Summer of Swans by Betsy Byars
11th grade: Tracker by Gary Paulsen; Jesse by Gary Soto; Wringer by Jerry Spinelli; The Great Gilly Hopkins by Katherine Paterson; Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor