Homework gobbling up childhood

Kerry Kemp Dalling was up all night a few weeks ago, finishing a homework assignment about a Nancy Drew mystery. It wasn't the first time, and that is the problem.

Kerry is 43 years old. The homework project was given to her sixth-grade daughter, Taylor, who was up until midnight trying to finish a book report and an elaborate art project about the mystery, due the next morning.

"Taylor started crying because she was so exhausted," Kerry says, "so I finally told her to go to bed and I'd finish her homework. This happens a lot. I've finished math assignments, reading assignments, spelling and art. After spending eight hours in school, why do our kids have to come home and do two to three hours of homework every night?"

"They're missing out on their childhood," she adds, "because there is so little time to do anything else. My girls have been doing homework since kindergarten."

Kerry's friend, Janalee Tobias, is equally frustrated. Although she is often in the news speaking out about gun rights and preservation of open space, Janalee now wants to take on a bigger, more personal issue: persuading educators and legislators that children — and parents — would be better off with less homework.

At the beginning of the school year, Janalee and Kerry — both from South Jordan — addressed the Jordan District Board of Education with their concerns. Now they hope that other parents will join them in a crusade for fewer homework assignments and more free time.

The pair met me for a Free Lunch of chicken salads at Archibald's restaurant in West Jordan and spoke passionately about the issue for more than two hours — about the amount of time it takes their kids to complete nightly math and history assignments.

"I never thought I'd be saying this, but I tell my kids, 'Hey, would you stop doing homework and go watch TV?' " says Janalee, 39, mother to two daughters, Lisa, 14, and Stephanie, 11. "They're so stressed out over homework that they never have any fun."

"When I was in school," she says, "we had maybe one hour of homework a week. We had time to do things with friends, read books for fun or just do nothing. Today, my girls don't dare stay home when they're sick because they know how much make-up work they'll get. My kids are 'A' students. What's happening to the kids who are struggling, whose parents don't help them? They're being left behind."

Janalee and Kerry say that teachers aren't to blame for the late nights they spend gluing science projects to poster board and reading algebra textbooks instead of best sellers.