Dear Ms. Cain. Congratulations. You have unleashed my wrath.
Right. So lili comes home yesterday and tells me that she is not going to have science homework anymore because her teacher said it was too hard and there were too many parent complaints about the curriculum and because of that there would be no more take home science work. Uh huh. My first thought is that this is obviously a misunderstanding. Lili heard something, got it wrong, and is repeating it even more off base. So to make sure I walked Lili into class today and talked with her teacher. Huh. Nope. Sadly she was right on the money. Science homework is now "optional". This has come down from the school administrator. It is a school wide policy. WTF?
Ehem.
Dear Ms. Cain,
I learned from my daughter yesterday that due to parental complaints you have issued a policy that effectively makes science homework optional. I am given to understand from my daughter's teacher that this is because some parents find this curriculum too difficult or due to cultural/language barriers. Please allow the observation that this is one of the most boneheaded ideas that I have ever heard of. Science is not only the study of the natural world but is a key element in developing logical, analytical, and critical thinking skills for general day to day life. Is it difficulty and does it maybe require reading the same page more than once? Of course it does. If it were easy the students would not learn anything. The fact that these students are not being engaged in their school work by their parents or not receiving sufficient help from tutors at ASP is not an acceptable reason to lower the bar on what is required. It is the responsibility of every educational institution to ensure that its students receive a full and comprehensive education that will prepare them for life in the real world and not a bare bones minimalist excuse for what will get the most students past a state test.
I sincerely hope that in some fashion I have misunderstood the policy your office has set down regarding the optional nature of take home science work and in either case I would like to set an appointment to meet you in your office and discuss the details of this policy in person.
Hugs and Kisses. boomshanka.