Why do so many children make up silly excuses, on why they did not do their homework?
Damion Frye, a ninth-grade English teacher in Montclair, NJ, suddenly found himself famous a couple weeks ago for assigning mandatory homework — not to his students, but to their parents. His school board has since expressed disapproval of the mandatory aspect, but Mr. Frye may want to do a little homework of his own before finding new ways to keep parents involved in their children’s education. While all parents want their children to develop — socially, emotionally, and intellectually — school-imposed assignments on parents are not going to help. Instead, such assignments cut into, or even eliminate, the few cherished evening hours or minutes that parents have with their children — time better spent lingering at the dinner table, for example, engaged in a good conversation. In fact, unlike homework, there is a strong association between teens who regularly sit down to dinner with their families and academic success. Family dinner also leads to better psychological adjustment and lowe
