To "death and taxes," the only thing a weary student might add to the list of things that are sure in the world is "homework."
But unlike when you and I went to school, and any discussion of not doing it was a quick one, the entire practice of homework is being re-examined now, both nationally and in the Phoenixville Area School District.
And like the sleep study and decision to move to later start times which preceded it, the school board is approaching the question through an appointed committee which gave its recommendations last month.
The 60 pages of recommendations were reviewed by the full school board Tuesday night and generated an interesting and spirited discussion.
For example, the guidelines include suggestions like no more than 10 minutes of reading per day for kindergarten students, plus another 10 minutes of other assignments; up through 25 minutes of daily reading for fifth graders.
In middle school, it was recommended that 60 minutes of homework should be the limit for sixth graders and 90 minutes for seventh and eighth graders, with no assignments over fall, winter and spring breaks which should be "reserved for family."
No more than two hours of homework a night was recommended for high school students. In both high school and middle school levels, homework assigned over the weekend "shall be considered the equivalent of a one-night daily assignment," according to the guidelines.
The board members all agreed that the homework committee had done a good job, with many calling it "a step in the right direction," but they still had many questions.
For example, there was discussion about the amount of homework generated in Advance Placement (AP) classes, whether it was too much, whether students are aware of the workload if they sign up for too many AP classes.
There was discussion about using an on-line program to coordinate and complete homework, and board member Jeesely Soto questioned how students in Phoenixville who don't have online access could use it.
Board member David Golberg questioned about how teachers can coordinate their individual homework assignments so as not to exceed the guidelines laid out in the recommendations.
Board member Christopher Caltagirone observed that those recommendations are at odds with the purpose of the new start times and it would add up to losing sleep, the entire purpose of changing the start times.
"This is just unacceptable to me, to put this burden on third and fourth graders, given when they will be getting home," he said, adding the policy shows fifth graders having more homework than sixth graders. "This is kind of divorced from reality," Caltagirone said.
Board President Eric Daugherty said he worries about students having, in essence, an eight-hour work day. "Between school, activities and homework, we need to ask at what point are we crowding out important family time?" he said.
Board member Lisa Longo noted that with the eight-hour work day, adults are required to be given two 15-minute breaks, "and we're not even giving that to these students."
Noting that some of the homework he has seen his children doing, Daugherty said "it was not for mastery, they were just doing it because they had to. I feel like involved parents should be able to opt kids out and say you know what, this time would be better spent climbing trees."
Longo said she would like to see more input from the faculty.
The board also heard from student Leo Sereni, who suggested that "flexibile deadlines" for homework also be allowed.
Superintendent Alan Fegley explained that the vote the board will take next week is merely to "acknowledge" receiving the recommendations and that the administration will work on those guidelines over the summer and present a more refined product back to the school board in August.
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