I think it's potentially an illegal idea, and at the very least monstrously unfair to the students and parents.
I had a very strong reaction to this article -- there is no connection between it and the reality in which I teach.
For instance, take the quote "Carol Jago, the incoming vice president of the National Council of Teachers of English, said, 'This is one of those really good ideas that has the potential to do what we really want in society.'" What about the members of our society who work 80 hours a week and barely have time to see their children, let alone do academic work in a language they don't speak, read, or write?
But the kicker for me is "[the teacher] said that all the students’ parents had computer access and that only two had told him that they were not fluent in English." Um, yeah.
I might have thought this was a good idea before I had kids. Maybe.
It's yet another thing that motivated parents already do (in some form or another, that is, you know that they encourage learning in one way or another) and that will end up penalizing the kids who don't have supportive/educationally motivated parents.
I want teachers to use their time very well without my telling them what to do; I want to use my family's time very well, without teachers telling me what to do.
It's an unfortunately necessary gimmick if we're ever going to remind society that children don't learn in some sort of academic/scholastic isolation.
I agree with CrypticLife that once someone takes it to court, it will be found illegal, but until then I admire the cajones of Mr Frye.
And Jen, of course, has a valid point about time as a resource as well - not all support of a child's learning need be structured so rigidly.
But it's X who hits the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned: these parents are outside the norm. Which means that Mr. Frye's assignments for them are meaningless fluff. Will they hurt? Probably not. Will they add any value? Probably not.
Homework?
"Illegal"? Maybe. A bit much? definitely. As someone who has piles of papers taunting me to correct them, I would feel a tremendous amount of stress if I had to also read and comment on a Kafka short story. Personally, by high school, I think parents and children should gradually be weaning themselves from each other. What about when they get to college? Are their parents going to be "involved in the education of their children"?
WE can't even get the parents to fill out their child's lunch form. Even though it directly impacts our funding, and this teacher gets the parents to do homework! I am impressed!
Exercise in futility.
And I would add this to Graycie's comment: Homework itself is an exercise in futility. I don't assign it. Ever.
What Mrs. T said from a parent's POV. This isn't a bad idea a few times a year for special projects, but all the time--no way. I could never pull this off in my classroom--a large chunk of our parents don't work 9-5 jobs.
Bad idea on several levels. What about kids whose parents cannot read, do not know English well, have trouble writing, work all day in high stress jobs, are for whatever reason not in the home?
If this guy isn't careful, he's going to discover the hard way that one of his students' parents is a soldier or a cop. That parent is going to come in, lay a gun on the desk and say "There's my homework. Got a problem with it?"
well for the kids that don't have involved parents, it will be another reminder of how little their parents care.
On the plus side, he'll probably make up a catch phrase to go along with his idea, get a book deal, be a key note speaker at conventions in florida, and everyone will be getting copies on his hand outs and having to discuss it with their peers on a staff development day somewhere in 2009.
I don't hate the idea. I do disagree with it being implented constantly, throughout the entire year. However, I can see this working as a special project in certain schools. Clearly, enough time would need to be given to complete the assignment. Perhaps short stories that parents could write a one-paragraph reader's response to?
To be honest, it's obvious that an assignment of this nature would only work certain schools. Schools such as Montclair High School or other affluent/upper-middle class areas are more likely to get involved in an assignment like this. In my suburban school, I would not get a single complaint about this assignment. Obviously, it would not go over well in other areas.
I was fortunate enough to work in a school that had a few, not many, very hard working students with absolute loser parents. One of my straight A eleventh graders worked part time to help raise her younger siblings because mom was off partying. Mr Frye's approach would punish her.
What a crock of an idea, but, hey, it got him some publicity, eh?. I don't need a teacher telling me what to do with my personal time. I finished school (and then some) and wish to spend my time my own way. Perhaps the teacher will come and clean my house in addition to his regular duties in exchange for the parents' tax dollars that make up his salary.
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