No Homework at Texas School? Tell It to the Judge

[Guest MrRant]

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The parents of students at a Houston middle school who tell teachers the dog ate their homework or the cat ripped it up are getting an unusual response: tell it to the judge.

 

At Houston's North Shore Middle School, the parents of students who habitually fail to complete their homework and miss a mandatory afterschool program are being summoned to court, school officials said on Thursday.

 

The school this week issued 48 misdemeanor criminal citations, similar in severity to a traffic ticket, to those students' parents. The tickets, which could have yielded a fine of up to $185, required parents to appear on Wednesday before Harris County Justice of the Peace Mike Parrott.

 

Parrott did not fine anyone, but used the session to set an example and explain the importance of finishing schoolwork, he said.

 

What the hell is this? There is no law stating that you have to do homework. If you are going to be a fuckup anyhow going to court probably isn't going to help especially since by the looks of it the parent's didn't care anyways.

[Guest Sandman9000]

Damn.

 

What happens if they miss a class? 10-day sentence?

[Guest El Satanico]

Them crazy Texans...

 

Too bad we can't give Texas back to Mexico.

 

 

They should do away with homework in Middle School. Homework is basically useless by time students get to middle school.

[Guest DrTom]

What the hell is this?

A semi-desperate idea to reverse the trend of students not doing any work and parents not giving a shit about it. After reading those few paragraphs, I can say I actually like this idea.

 

There is no law stating that you have to do homework.

But all states have laws that say parents are responsible for taking an interest in their children's education. This is a wake-up call to parents, some of whom might be honestly unaware their kid is a slacker.

 

by the looks of it the parent's didn't care anyways.

I don't get that impression at all, unless there's more to the article than what's been presented here.

 

For those of you who have slagged the plan, do you have any better suggestions for getting parents involved in their children's education?

[Guest MrRant]

I think the parents should be showing the kids the benefits of getting an education for latter on in life. Not so much pushing the "Get an A" factor but pushing that fact that it is important to graduate high school (at the very least) and telling them how college will improve their chances of getting a better life.

 

I don't think parents can really do to much when the child reaches high school and has already decided that school is just a waste of time (which I don't believe in the least). I think the responsibility of the parent is to sit down and talk with their child and let them know that not graduating will have a SERIOUS effect (I know you can get a GED but that doesn't help as much as a diploma) on their future as far as jobs and stuff go.

 

Parents who are busy working and supporting a family unfortunately in todays society don't have time to check up on Junior constantly and see if he is doing homework or just whacking off. The parents have to hope when they ask the kid "Did you do your homework?" That when they say "Yes" that they are telling the truth.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

I LOVE this idea. Parents that don't give a shit and don't push their kids to succeed don't have any business raising kids. Sure, I can talk about it since I don't have any myself, but when I do, you can be damn sure those rascals are going to be hitting the books.

 

Sitting idly by on the couch as your miscreant little bastard pisses away everyone's time and everyone's tax dollars by not trying and not giving a shit is unacceptable. I hope this legislation catches on in a major way.

 

Around here, there's a similar thing where if a kid skips school too much, they make a parent come to school with them, and I don't mean just drop them off in front of the principal or whatever, I mean, THEY COME TO SCHOOL WITH THEM. They don't have to do any schoolwork or anything, and I believe they can just sit in the lounge or whatever for most of the day, but they're ordered by the court to actually take their kid to school, and stay there.

 

If it takes a court order to make parents give a shit about their kids' future, fine. A court order it is. I just think it's a shame that it has to come to that.

[Guest EricMM]

I still think it's a rediculous claim to say that someone has to work too much to correctly parent a kid. Why "provide" for them monetarily if you're not going to fucking parent them. I've seen way to many kids pissed at their parents because their parents do not see them much at all, and they get all huffy when their kid acts up saying "I PROVIDE for you!" What BS, parents are the first and most important teachers. If you can't MAKE the time to raise you kid, you should be taken to court.

[Guest DrTom]

I think the parents should be showing the kids the benefits of getting an education for latter on in life.

But how can they do that if they're not involved in the child's education? Education certainly benefits people later in life, and homework is sine qua non to education these days. In short, kids have to do homework, and parents need to make sure of it. If it takes getting hauled before a judge to get someone involved in their kid's schooling, I'd rather see the courts used for that than for fat fucks suing McDonald's because they're obese.

 

I don't think parents can really do to much when the child reaches high school and has already decided that school is just a waste of time...

That depends on the parent and the kid. Generally, though, I'd say this is untrue, as long as the parents show an earnest interest in making sure their kids stay in school and do as well as they can. Responsible, sincere parenting can overcome a lot.

 

Parents who are busy working and supporting a family unfortunately in todays society don't have time to check up on Junior constantly and see if he is doing homework or just whacking off.

Bullshit. They have the time; they just choose not to take it because it's easier. Any parent who doesn't have ten minutes per night to talk to their kid about school and make sure things like homework are getting done bloody well deserves to be hauled into court for being unfit to raise a child.

 

No, I don't have any kids, but if/when I do, you KNOW they're going to take their education seriously, and you KNOW I will, too.

 

AoO, Eric: Right on, brothers.

[Guest LooseCannon]

For those of you who have slagged the plan, do you have any better suggestions for getting parents involved in their children's education?

I may not have a "better" suggestion at the moment, but perhaps that's only because I don't believe it's any of the government's business. But even if I did, I wouldn't make having a kid who didn't do his homework a crime.

[Guest Samurai_Goat]

Well, I'm ok with it, as long as they don't go overboard and do this for straight A students who forget to do one project.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

If they're in high school, they can just drop out when they're 16 with their parent's permission. If they seriously don't care or can't hack it or whatever, fine, drop out and grab a GED or something. This is for kids that are failing to learn basic rudimentary shit that's necessary to get along, no matter what job you're doing. The days of fourth grade educations yielding results are over unless they're raisin' hogs and doing nothin' but raisin' hogs or something. If they seriously can't take any time out of their busy schedules to help their own kids with their homework, give an older cousin or some shit ten bucks to give the tykes a little help. It would certainly be a whole lot cheaper than court fees and a ticket.

[Guest Texas Small Arms 09]

Why doesn't this shit surprise me? But just for the record, that judge is an asshole and is just mad because his daughter turned lesbian

[Guest DrTom]

But just for the record, that judge is an asshole and is just mad because his daughter turned lesbian

Which, if he's a competent jurist, had absolutely NOTHING to do with his decision. It sounds like this is something the school board arranged, anyway, not some new measure that came about because of judicial fiat.

[Guest hardyz1]

I'm glad my mom didn't get involved in my education. She used to ask me "How was school?" until I just told her to assume it went well unless I decide to tell her otherwise.

 

I stopped caring in 9th grade, and that lasted through 11th. Before 12th grade started, my grandparents promised me a reward if I got straight A's my whole senior year. And guess what? I did it.

 

Homework blows.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

But you at least got your shit done and graduated.

[Guest Choken One]

How is it so hard for Parents to keep their kids in Check? Fuck...My father wasn't home most of the fall and Spring due to racing but even managed to call me everynight at Midnight and make sure I did my shit and talked to me for 45 minutes. I graduated with decent grades, but never went to college though.

 

If my father can be in Alabama, And I be in Ohio and yet he keeps me on task for School and Sports, How can parents whom KNOW their son or daughter is sitting in front of a CPU watching porn just let be?

[Guest El Satanico]

Kids will either do their homework or they won't. Parents telling them to do their homework isn't going to make a kid do it if he's determined not to do it.

 

If a kid is too stupid to realize that he needs to do at least just enough to get by, well then he's a lost cause and it should all fall on his shoulder.

 

If they would just do away with Homework by the 7th or 8th grade we wouldn't have these problems. Say what you want but it does us no good by then. Kids after a certian grade don't learn from homework as they are just doing it to get it over with as quick as possible.

[Guest Samurai_Goat]

The only time I don't do homework is when it's absolutely worthless. I had a 7th grade math teacher that "taught" me things I learned in the 3rd grade. And even then, I did my homework until she started to crack down on subtraction. You see, we can’t subtract. Oh no. We add the negative! Woo! And here is, verbatim, one conversation with the teacher.

 

Me: Excuse me, why can’t we subtract?

Teacher (Henceforth T): Because we add the negative.

Me: But why do we add the negative?

T: Because we can’t subtract.

Me: Why not?

T: Because we add the negative.

Me: Why can’t we subtract, and do not say because we add the negative!

T: Because it’s wrong.

Me: And why is it wrong?

T (Sing along, you know the words!): Because we add the negative!

 

I never did homework for her again. Fortunately, my 100 test average got me a D-minus.

[Guest KoR Fungus]

Ugh this is really stupid. I agree that parents should be responsible for taking care of their kids, but there's a lot more to worry about there than doing homework. I routinely didn't do my homework, and when my parents got mad at me and grounded me, I just sat in my room and busted out Turbo Breakout and Z-Nibbles on my TI-86 rather than doing homework. I have a very low tolerance for bullshit, and if something struck me as busywork, I just didn't ever do it, since it's not like there was any payoff for getting it done. That means that my parents should be dragged into court? Uh, I don't think so. High school in general is worthless, and from my brief stint in the public school system in Austin, I have to say that Texas schools are particularly horrendous. I'd like to see these creative people use their creativity to try to fix the Texas public schools. Or, if they want to address neglectful parents, do it more directly. Crack down on real neglect. There's much worse stuff going on than kids not doing their homework.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

So then parents should just have the option of letting their kids do nothing and not care? To hell with that. Say you're paying taxes that fund said school, it doesn't bother you just a wee bit that money's being wasted on some moron kid with do-nothing parents that don't give a shit if he ever succeeds or not?

 

As far as the comment that homework's useless past 7th grade, ha. Tell that to your profs if you decide to go to college. That's all it is. Class goes over it, but it's expected that you're up to date on everything that you should be. Otherwise, you're sunk.

[Guest KoR Fungus]

<<<So then parents should just have the option of letting their kids do nothing and not care?>>>

 

Absolutely. Kids are required to go to school up until a certain age, but they are *not* required to do well in school. If parents don't care whether or not their kid goes to college (or even graduates from high school), it's their business. I'm not sure how you can support the state trying to legislate values.

 

<<<To hell with that. Say you're paying taxes that fund said school, it doesn't bother you just a wee bit that money's being wasted on some moron kid with do-nothing parents that don't give a shit if he ever succeeds or not?>>>

 

That's an argument against compulsury (sp?) education, not for this stupid program. If people don't want to be in school, under the current law, they're still forced to be there. If it offends you that you're paying for them to do nothing, then start arguing that they shouldn't have to go. It's much more practical to let slackers stay home than it is trying to legislate them into caring. Besides, I'm not into the whole "waaah my tax dolllars are being wasted" argument, because my tax dollars are being wasted in such greater amounts on such worse things. I'm not going to get worked up about a couple slackers not doing their homework when Bush wants to spend billions on some idiotic missile shield.

 

Besides, this equating of "not doing homework" and "not caring whether they succeed" is totally off base in the first place. I fail to see the correlation between succeeding in life and doing idiotic busywork assigned by morons who know less about the subject that they're teaching than their students do. When you get to college, then yeah, you have to do work, but in high school, doing work is just a waste of time that could more productively be spent doing just about anything else. I got As and Bs on the tests, a 1450 on the SAT and got into a decent university, that's good enough for me. I don't want some judge trying to legislate me into "trying harder".

[Guest EricMM]

I think that this program would work for things like kids getting in fights or such. Causing problems that were a serious detriment to the other students.

 

But not doing homework, as KoRFungus said, is nothing. The amount of bullshit busy work that gets dealt in many highschool classes means that any one assignment is stupid, and in fact very few of them teach you anything. If a student is a good student in class, I don't see why they should ever be FORCED to do homework. I mean, colleges force you do to papers, tests, and generally that's it. Labs are an exception, and some require a lot of SMALL papers, but busy work for the hell of it is stupid.

[Guest big Dante Cruz]

Let me get this straight. If this had been in effect in my school, I could have been in my senior year political science class where I had a 99.4 average and whenever I didn't do the random garbage assignment I could be taken to court? Please.

[Guest Olympic Slam]

For those of you who have slagged the plan, do you have any better suggestions for getting parents involved in their children's education?

Idea: Make parents pay for schooling for their kids directly. That would mean privatized education of course but think about it this way: Wouldn't parents take more of an interest in their kid's educational progress if that education was coming straight from mom and pop's pockets?

[Guest DrTom]

Wouldn't parents take more of an interest in their kid's educational progress if that education was coming straight from mom and pop's pockets?

Sure, but what happens when the parents can't pay for it and there's no scholarship to be had? The government would have to pick up the check, which means we're basically back to public schooling in that respect. I think the government would be picking up a LOT of the checks in the inner city, where parents are more likely to be poor and kids more likely to be unmotivated.

[Guest hardyz1]

I got As and Bs on the tests, a 1450 on the SAT and got into a decent university, that's good enough for me.

Really? I thought you went to Penn State. My bad.

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

But not doing homework, as KoRFungus said, is nothing. The amount of bullshit busy work that gets dealt in many highschool classes means that any one assignment is stupid, and in fact very few of them teach you anything. If a student is a good student in class, I don't see why they should ever be FORCED to do homework. I mean, colleges force you do to papers, tests, and generally that's it. Labs are an exception, and some require a lot of SMALL papers, but busy work for the hell of it is stupid.

Agreed 100%. As a junior in high school, I understand the vast majority of you probably won't even bother reading what I have to say, or will just reply with the "you're a kid, you don't know what you're talking about" statement. Take this as a first-hand source.

 

About 75% of my homework assignments this year have not been done. I am among the most attentive students in any of my classes, have a B-average when homework is not factored in, and have been told since freshman year that I have a true knack for writing and history. Why have my assignments not been done? Most of them were simply IDIOTIC assignments, such as "color this map of the US in 1874," when we had already completed 3 maps of the US in 1874 that week alone.

 

What many of you fail to remember about high school is simply how pointless many of the assignments are. Teachers these days simply do not even try to make the student remember the lesson, but rather give them vague facts and 100 assignments that are unnecessary repitition of the original lesson and then hold a kid after school for talking during a moment of free-time in class, or stating an opposing opinion. High school is where teenagers are to mature into young adults, and begin preparing for the real world, correct? How does my knowledge of how to turn Hydrogen Peroxide into pure Oxygen, or my expert debating abilities when comparing the Populist movement to The Wizard Of Oz, ensure that I'll have food on my plate?

 

I'm not saying that high school is meaningless, but many of the assignments are. And that is why kids do not do aforementioned assignments: they know there is no real need to.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

The way I look at it is this: If they're so easy, and so pointless, why not just take five minutes and do it? Hell, that's what I did. I just always found it easier just to get shit done and over with rather than having to dick with it later. Now, it's not like I did every assignment and everything, but the little stupid simple shit...hell, that's free credit. Why not just do the crap and get a better grade with almost no effort?

[Guest CoreyLazarus416]

Because there's no point in assigning something that dumb. I'll do something if it's not a complete waste of time, such as essays, worksheets on chapters we needed to read, or other such assignments. But when something is as stupid as a map of something we've already done ten times? Nope, sorry.

[Guest HecateRose]

There is a purpose to repetative assignments though, they drill the information into your head. Plus, not every student gets it the first time around. Some of them need a few times to really get it well enough to be able to do well in the class. If you are not one of them, then lucky you.

As far as this statement (by CoreyLazarus416) "How does my knowledge of how to turn Hydrogen Peroxide into pure Oxygen, or my expert debating abilities when comparing the Populist movement to The Wizard Of Oz, ensure that I'll have food on my plate?" Knowing how to turn Hydrogen Peroxide into Oxygen is chemistry, and whether or not you plan on becoming a chemist learning about different sciences helps you understand the world around you better. Comparing the Populist movement to The Wizard Of Oz teaches you how to look at things in a way you never saw them before. They may seem unrelated at first, but there are ways to make connections, it teaches you to use your mind in ways you may never have before.

 

I was in high school not to long ago, and I remember all the BS busy work, but it does serve a function. Almost every student has missed a few assignments here and there, but intentionally not doing them in a twisted form of protest is just pathetic. You won't prove anything by it. When you do get into the real working world, you will have to do repetitive things that may seem pointless, but that's life, and if you don't do them, you won't get paid you'll get fired. In a way busy work teaches you a lot about the real world, you just have to open your eyes, use your mind, and see the connection.