Andrews said she organized the online petition after noticing her friend’s teenage daughter skipping out on a party on New Year’s Day to go study.
“I can’t tell you how upsetting it was to hear her. There was an intense dread and feeling of hopelessness around the whole issue,” she said.
Right now, the petition — which is posted on Change.org — has roughly 90 signatures. On Facebook, not every New Paltz parent has been so quick to buy the concept. In fact, it’s created some contention.
However, Andrews feels that it might hinge on a difference in perception.
“The skeptics of this proposal seem to be parents of young children. I have yet to hear criticism from a parent of an older child in the district,” she said.
She added: “So it doesn’t make sense to ‘debate’ any of this if people don’t have or know kids at the upper schools. Older kids have a lot more things they do outside of school and on vacations, and they are also given an excessive amount of work to do during the week, weekends and breaks.”
In supporting the online petition, many people have written eloquently about why they’d like to do away with the practice.
“For me, it’s pretty simple. A school break ought to be just that. Our children work hard during the school year,” wrote Elise Gold, of New Paltz. “Let’s give them a break during the school breaks. Optional assignments may be offered, but should not be counted towards grades.”
Other responses — such as “I hate school” or “I hate homework” — are a little daffier and seem to come from students.
Re-thinking testing
Educators, parents and community members have joined together to build a public information campaign about the negative impacts of high-stakes testing. Join the conversation on Thursday, March 7, 7 p.m., at Elting Memorial Library in New Paltz. Re-thinking testing seeks to:
• Educate parents and community members about how high-stakes testing hurts students, schools and public education.
• Inform community members about the fiscal impact of high-stakes testing on school budgets and on their school taxes.
• Examine how high-stakes testing takes away resources from other educational and after-school programs that the local community values.
For more information, call Cynthia Listort at 914-388-3456.
