Peter’s Neighborhood

No, it doesn’t have to. No matter how constrained a teacher is, I’ve determined that school does not have to be a creativity killer. To apply some ancient, wise words (2 Corinthians 4:8-9): “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; … struck down, but not destroyed.” In other words, NCLB and the obsessive, accountability-driven administrative directives it begets cannot single-handedly kill creativity in the classroom. Sure, state tests “stigmatize failure,” as Ken Robinson states. Teachers, though, do not have to stigmatize failure.

Take a measure as simple as rewarding students for non-academic feats, for instance. Awarding Student of the Month to the most spirit-lifting comedian in the classroom validates him as much as a good grade. Teacher-initiated rewards address and negate Robinson’s contention that school only the intellectual successes at school are the winners. He contends that “the whole purpose of public education …is to produce university professors. … We shouldn’t hold them up as the highest form of achievement…they live in their heads.” Nay! The purpose of school is to make something productive out of young peoples minds and hours. Sure, there are ugly class wars circling around how those minds and hours are spent. But ideally, school is for producing more productive (emotionally, spiritually, vocationally --- not merely intellectually) members of society. School is where students have training wheels for how to function as adults. It’s a mini-society. I think Robinson would be a huge fan to Rousseau’s anti-social, child-centered vision of education. Unfortunately, as pastoral and sweet as this vision is, it falls short of what humans were created for: to serve and better each other.

No, schools do not “squander” the innate creativity in children wholesale, as Robinson overconfidently asserts. Schools are the environment in which time is set aside for creativity to be required. Without the structure of school, creativity wilts. Robinson is right to point out the paradoxical nature of creativity, such as that we do not mature into creativity, but rather we outgrow it, but he misses this important paradox about it: creativity needs structure just like fire needs oxygen. Without the push and the constraint to fuel creativity, or the probing questions of the teacher, or the small encouraging remarks along the way to the final creative product, a child’s creativity will be stifled. Also, in a school functioning properly, in which reading aloud and extolling reading should be a daily activity, the imagination will find no lack.

As to Robinson’s allusion to Picasso’s quote that we grow out of creativity, neither do I fully agree with this. Older children (teens) can use colors, tweak words, arrange sounds, plan projects and papers and speak more eloquently and purposefully than their younger counterparts. Who has the authority to say that creativity with more direction and eruditeness is somehow weaker than the innocent creativity that streams from a little mind? Classifying creativity in an hierarchy (eerily akin to what NCLB test standards do—classify schools and student achievement) and judging creativity as “the production of something both original and useful” (paraphrase) is rather utilitarian itself. Robinson defines creativity to uptightly, I’m afraid. 

the conversation with rita bender was pretty...sweet, to say the least.  i talk A LOT, most of the time unnecessarily, during our meetings and classes.  but with this, i really didn't want to.  i wanted to sit back and take it in.

Finding information about the city of Jackson that is accurate can be difficult.  Depending on the topic, the city might hide the information pretty deep in the Jackson website, or it is buried somewhere inside a 50-something page PDF document.  Other statistics seem to disagree with each other, depending on the source.  There are numerous individuals who would love to provide their own statistics or opinions on specific situations - politics, education, crime rate.  Sorting through information to be able to find the most accurate and up-to-date information can be difficult, but there are interesting and useful things gleaned in the process.  The following information is an attempt to examine and assess the community of Jackson, Mississippi in the fall of 2009.

1.  Defining the Community

The city of Jackson is in an extremely effective location for trade and economic growth.  As the capital of Jackson, there are many goods produced and services offered.  City-data.com notes that the "diversity of businesses and industry and its position as the state capital help insulate the metropolitan area from the economic downturns experienced by other cities."  There are sixteen banks in the city, four of which have their headquarters in Jackson (Consumer National Bank, Trustmark National Bank, First American Bank and First Commercial Bank).  In the tri-county area of Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties (Jackson has land in all three counties), agriculture is a $180 million business.  Cattle is the main good, although cotton, grains, poultry, and timber are also vital to the agricultural portion of the city's economy.  There are 500 manufacturers present throughout the city.  The automobile industry is a promising new sector for growth, as the Nissan Motor Company opened its major plant in neighboring Canton, Mississippi and created over 3,300 new jobs.  The community also produces fabricated metals, electrical and electronic equipment, food products, apparel, wood products, furniture, transportation products, portable electric tools, and aircraft parts.  

2.  Geography

The city of Jackson encompasses approximately 109 square miles, about 2 square miles of those being water and the rest being land.  The city of Jackson is located about 294 feet above sea level.  It is equidistant (for the most part) from New Orleans (to the south), Memphis (to the north), Atlanta (to the east), and Dallas (to the west).  This distance to nearby major cities for trade is aided immensely by the transportation systems available to Jackson.  There are two airports, Jackson-Evers International Airport and Hawkins Field.  Though closed to passenger traffic, Hawkins Field still handles an impressive amount of air traffic.  Two major train lines, Canadian National and Kansas City Southern, run through the city.  The railroad system runs through the city and is fully functional and highly used.  The closest port is the Port of Vicksburg, located on the Mississippi River on the border between Louisiana and Mississippi, 45 miles west of Jackson.  The city is located on the Pearl River and also has access to the Ross Barnett Reservoir.  The city itself sits on top of a volcano, the peak of which is located 2,900 feet below the feet of the Mississippi Coliseum.

3.  Basic Demographics

Though there are different numbers provided by different sources, a 2006 count puts Jackson at a population of 177,977.  Throughout the 1990's, the city experienced a 5% decline in population.  In the years of 2000-2005, the city has been believed to have declined in population by 3%.  The racial breakdown of the city remains about the same, regardless of any increase or decrease in population.  A little over two-thirds of the city is African-American, making up about 71% of the population, and the white population representing with 28%, and the last 1% being the percent of Asian individuals.  This is, I believe, always the makeup for the city limits of Jackson, Mississippi.  The surrounding "suburbs" - Brandon, Byram, Clinton, Flowood, Ridgeland, Madison, Richland - would not follow this same racial breakdown.  According to the 2000 census, there were 67,841 households in Jackson.  39% of those households had at least one child under the age of 18 years.  Only 35% of the households represented married couples, whereas over 25% of the households were single-parent households, held together by a female.  The city has a median income of a little over $30,000, which is less than half the national average.  The city also boasts a fairly high crime rate, with 979 violent crimes per people.

4.  Economic Elements

Simply driving through downtown Jackson can give you a picture of the economic situation of the city, but after some research, I'm not so sure if it is an accurate picture.  Though the unemployment rate of the city (10.4%) is higher than the national average (6.9%), there are a lot of other factors that lead me to believe the overall picture is not as bad as it might seem.  According to job tracking trends in the city, "the number of Jackson, Mississippi jobs has increased by 63% since January 2008 (simplyhired.com)."  There are pieces of data that can raise an eyebrow of concern - over 60% of the households in the city earn less than $50,000 a year, though the national average income for a household is $60,000.  One should remember, however, that real estate and cost of living in Jackson is among the lowest in the nation.  A lowered household income in Jackson compared with the rest of the nation would not necessarily mean a lowered quality of life.  

Also, 67% of the population has less than an associate's degree to claim as their highest level of education.  Again, though this statistic could seem troubling, it is important to remember the type of job opportunities that Jackson has to offer.  The top employers are the State of Mississippi (32,000), The United States Government (5,500), Jackson Public Schools District (4,500), Nissan Motor Company (4,000), and Baptist Health Systems (2,700).  Many of these jobs offer opportunities to people of all different educational levels.  Also, the average commute is 19 minutes, and, as the city of Jackson is not extremely large and is easily traveled, it stands to speculate that those individuals who occupy jobs that require higher levels of education could (and very likely do) live outside the city limits and reside in the suburbs.  There are several publicly-traded companies that are headquartered in Jackson, being: Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.; EastGroup Properties, Inc.; Parkway Properties, Inc., and Trustmark Corporation.  

There are also new incentives being offered to attract new companies, and to encourage existing companies to step up and reinvent their organization.  For new businesses, the city offers lowered taxes, high quality labor, training programs, and tax credits for companies who create new jobs and provide basic skills for training and/or childcare.  For existing companies, The City of Jackson Storefront Improvement Program offers grants for exterior structural improvements in designated areas of the city.  There is encouragement for new businesses to locate in designated areas of the city, and there is a push for revitalizing the entire "downtown" section of the city.

5.  Physical Infrastructure

The city of Jackson is serviced by two airports - The Jackson-Evers International Airport deals with both commercial and industrial air traffic, whereas Hawkins Field only deals with industrial air traffic.  Three major interstates run through the city - 55, 20, and 220.  The major U.S. Highways of 49, 51, and 80 also run through Jackson and help to make the city easily traveled.  The State Highways of 18 and 25 (Lakeland Drive) make travel to the suburbs quick and easy.  Other major veins through the city - State, Capitol, Northside, and Fortification Streets, Terry Road, and Woodrow Wilson/Clinton Boulevard - make travel easy.  JATRAN is the form of public transportation, but its usefulness could be questioned.  It only runs Monday-Saturday on 13 routes from 5:00am-7:00pm.  There is no evening travel for safety reasons, and no travel on Sunday for...well, religious reasons.  The fare is $2.00 each way.  Being from a major city, I just want to quickly state something.  13 routes in a city the size of Jackson is not enough to be useful.  Also, perhaps because it is not used much, the rate is incredibly high for a city the size of Jackson.  As much as I've noticed, the public transportation system is not used much.  There are taxis, but they are all companies or privately owned, as there is no city taxi system.  Jackson is a hub for both Greyhound and Amtrak services.  Jackson also has a railroad system for trade which is highly trafficked, mainly by Canadian National and Kansas City Southern Railways.

6.  Cultural and Recreational Resources

Though Jackson is a comparatively small city, there are many cultural and recreational opportunities and resources.  Ballet Mississippi performs throughout the world, and every Christmas performs The Nutcracker at Thalia Mara Hall.  They host the Ballet Competition every fourth year, rotating with Moscow, Helsinki, and various towns in Bulgaria.  There is the Celtic Heritage Society of Mississippi, which hosts the Celtic Festival late every summer (early September this year).  The campus of Jackson State University has a botanical garden, which is used for academic and recreational purposes.  The Jackson Zoo can be considered small when compared with other major zoos, but it is a major hotspot for fundraisers, school functions, and community programs.  The Mississippi Agriculture and Forestry Museum is the home for many local proms, business meetings, and tours.  There is a recreation of an old village in the Delta, and the amount of history contained in the museum and on the lands is a great source of information for the culture of Mississippi.  The Mississippi Museum of Art has a great standard collection of photographs telling the story of Mississippi, including award-winning photographs from Eudora Welty.  The MMA also is home to different traveling installations, including a recent collection of work from world-renowned artist Raoul Duffy.  The MMA is free of charge and is a center of culture of students, citizens, and visitors alike.  The Mynelle Gardens, located in south Jackson are a center for weddings, anniversary parties, and church functions.  New Stage Theatre is home to productions - both independent and "traditional" - and is well-visited throughout the year.  The Russell C. Davis Planetarium is a staple of school students and is becoming a popular location for the young adult population of the city.  There are numerous community organizations, functions, and fundraisers throughout the city which keep citizens involved.  

7.  The Power Structure

Jackson uses the Mayor-Council government style with the Mayor being elected at large and then seven Council members being elected from the seven Wards of Jackson.  The city is headed by the mayor, currently Harvey Johnson, Jr.  There is also a Central Administrative Officer, who serves as a link between the Mayor's office and all other offices and departments; a City Attorney, who is in charge of city litigations; a City Clerk; a seven-member Council; Civil Service Commission; Historic Preservation Commission; Jackson Housing Authority, and dozens of other organizations, commissions, and committees.  In regards to who holds real power and who makes things happen, I think it depends on where you are.  For the area of my school, it's all in the hands of Councilman Stokes and the Police Department.  Also, the School Board controls most of what concerns me, as my daily life pretty much is confined to the school building.  Each members seem to focus on a specific issue - whether it's the Library System Administration Board scraping funds together for 13 months to renovate the Eudora Welty Library after a damaging fire, the Jackson Zoological Park petitioning for money for another outdoor habitat for the orangoutangs, or the Jackson Redevelopment Authority Board of Commissioners listening to bids for the Hotel King Edward, each committee has power in its own right.  Behind this report, there is a nifty flowchart, provided by the Mayor's Office for the City of Jackson, to help better understand the roles of individuals in the city.

8.  Role of Governmental Agencies

As mentioned above, each governmental agency is given a lot of autonomy for their specific area.  The School Board handles most of the issues regarding JPS, the Police and Fire Departments handle their issues, the Housing Authority and Redevelopment Committee deal with specific issues.  All of these committees and agencies report, at the end of the day, and through a round-about pattern, back to the Mayor's Office.  Funds that are needed, events that will be held, permits that need approval all must go through the Mayor's Office.  This is also where the CAO comes in hand.  A lot of the work that needs to go to the Mayor is handled and organized by the CAO, making the job of the Mayor a task that one can handle.  In the city, I really do feel that citizens are encouraged to show up, speak out, and act on issues that concern them.  I think a lot of issues might not be solved overnight in this manner, but they're definitely dealt with and not just pushed under a rug.

9.  History

Jackson has a history that is similar to that of most Southern cities, moments of glory and moments of...well, shame.  To be as brief as possible, the city was originally part of the Choctaw Nation and in 1830, the Treaty of Dancing Rabbit Creek removed the Native Americans from most of the land, and the city became the permanent seat of government for the state of Mississippi.  The city was first referred to as LeFleur's Bluff because it had been founded by Louis LeFleur, and it was founded along Natchez Trace.  In a report to the Mississippi General Assembly in 1821, surveyors had reported that Jackson had "beautiful and healthy surroundings, good water, abundant timber, navigable waters, and proximity to the trading route Natchez Trace."  Rail systems developed the city after the Civil War.  During World War II, Hawkins Airfield was used as a training base for all the Dutch military crews (after 1941).  

When the Civil Rights Movement began to gather steam, Jackson saw a lot of action.  On June 12, 1963, Medgar Evers was murdered by Byron de la Beckwith, which increased the already intense activity in the city.  Massive, public movements for Civil Rights and voter registration followed the murder and became extremely effective in putting Jackson on the map of Civi Rights.  Civil Rights issues ensued until June of 1966 when James Meredith organized a march from Memphis to Jackson and (after being hit by a sniper's bullet during the march) delivered a speech to a crowd of 15,000 regarding the implementation of Civil Rights legislation.  May 15, 1970, police killed two and wounded twelve during a protest regarding the Vietnam War.  The incident made national news.  

In 1997, Harvey Johnson, Jr. became the city's first African-American mayor.  He was followed in 2005 by Frank Melton.  The somewhat comical years of Melton's reign witnessed martial law, wearing arms on school and church property, a marked increase in both unemployment and violent crime, questionable antics, and (my personal favorite), stopping a school bus to give children hugs.  In 2009, Melton passed away after election results, and Harvey Johnson, Jr. was re-elected to the position of mayor.

10.  Community Barriers

In summary of most of the information gathered so far, the serious problems that face the community are poverty, unemployment, crime, and level of education of the population.  Many of the individuals in the community do not finish high school, do not finish on time, and if they do finish, they do not go on to college.  In my specific school, the graduating class last year started out their freshman year with a little over 250 students.  They graduated only around 150, and those were pretty good odds, considering the area and the odds they are facing.  A 10.4% unemployment rate that seems to be increasing, a population that is continuously decreasing, and a median income that is half of  the national average are not good things to have on your side.  The crime rate will likely take a nosedive with the new administration, but even then, it is nowhere close to the national average, and would still be considered a dangerous city.

11.  Values

Values of Jackson would include Christianity, education, and progression.  Everywhere you go, there are churches, church groups, church festivals, church reunions, and preachers.  Christianity, regardless of the depth of belief or practice, seems to be a binding force and a bonding place for most citizens in Jackson.  Jackson Public Schools and Jackson State University create a foothold for education to take a prominent place in everyone's life.  Someone has a friend, neighbor, neice, nephew, grandchild, or child in JPS, and most individuals become involved in the JPS family.  A lot of JSU alumni tend to stay in the area and stay involved in the educational field, giving weight to the education in Jackson.  A new value that seems to have taken hold is that of progression.  Whether it's rejuvenating downtown or renovating an old museum, there seems to be an air of recognition that Jackson has fallen behind the times and must catch up.  There is a willingness to go forward, as long as there is still an appreciation for the way things were, since people tend to view the way "things were" as the way they "should be."

12.  Uniqueness

There are many unique things about the city of Jackson, but there is one thing that always catches my attention: the crime rate.  As of 2007, Jackson had more than double the national average for the United States.  After looking at car theft, arson, rape, robbery, and other violent crimes, Jackson's crime rate was calculated at 703.5, whereas the national average is 320.9.  In 2007, Jackson was ranked as the 23rd most dangerous city, but in the closing months of Frank Melton's tenure, the city saw a spike in crime, and (unofficially) rose to the 14th most dangerous city in the United States.  Malcolm McMillian was, at one time, holding the offices as both the Sheriff and the Police Chief of Jackson.  However, in summer 2009, Tyrone Lewis stepped in as Chief of Police for JPD and McMillian retained his position.  There has been a concerted effort on all parts to reduce crime in Jackson, so one could that effort to show in new statistics.

Also, two other interesting facts about Jackson: the city is ranked 10th in the nation in concentration of African-American same-sex couples, and it is located on top of a volcano, making it the only capital or major city in the United States to boast that physical feature.

13.  Schools, Colleges, and/or Universities

If not saturated with anything else, Jackson is definitely soaked to the brim with education.  Given the largest public education system in the state, an equally impressive selection of private school opportunities, and an awesome array of higher-education choices, Jackson can hold its own in the education realm.  Jackson Public Schools is comprised of 38 elementary schools, 10 middle, and 8 high schools.  There are also alternative schools, career placement and development programs and schools, adult education, and environmental education locations.

In regards to private school opportunities, Jackson 32 different schools, ranging from Pre-K to 12th grade, affiliated with religions ranging from Roman Catholic to Church of God in Christ, co-ed and single-sex school.  There are many different private schools in the city, and they offer a quality alternative to the public school system.  The Mississippi School for the Blind and The Mississippi School for the Deaf are also located in Jackson.

Comparing the two school systems is very interesting.  According to the Mississippi Department of Education for the 2006-2007 school year, the public school system is made up of the following racial groups: African-American (94.8%), White (4.4%), and Asian (0.2%).  Interestingly enough, private schools are made up of basically the same racial groups, just in a completely different ratio.  African-American students make up only 25.5% of the private school population, Whites bring in a whopping 73.2% of the population, American Indians 0.6% of the private school population, Asian 0.4% of the private school population, and Hispanic students make up 0.3% of the private school population.  

Also interesting is the number of children in Pre-K programs in public and private schools.  In Jackson Public Schools, there are about 520 children in Pre-K, but around 2,750 children in the kindergarten classrooms.  Private schools in Jackson, however, see around 950 children in the Pre-K programs, and then about 700 children in the kindergartens.  Finally, perhaps most interesting (or most upsetting), are the comparison of high school students.  Public schools had (according to the 2006-2007 Mississippi Department of Education information) 2,900 students in grade 9, but only about 1,500 (half) of the students travel through to the 12th grade.  In the private schools, however, there are about 360 that enter the 9th grade, and almost all of those (and some additional ones, as well, as the number was somewhere around 380) will graduate the 12th grade.

Once a student makes it through the gauntlet of a Jackson education, they have plenty of opportunities presented to them to stay in Jackson for their higher education.  Jackson State University was founded in 1877 and is a public, Historically Black College or University (HBCU).  Most graduates are focused in education or business studies.  Reformed Theological Seminary was founded in 1963 and has different campuses throughout the South, with the Jackson campus being smaller (about 450 students) and focused more on Master's programs.  Millsaps College was founded in 1892, is a private and religiously-affiliated institution (Methodist).  Belhaven College was founded in 1883, and is a Presbyterian-affiliated college, preparing students for different leadership roles in their adult lives.  The University of Mississippi Medical Center was founded in 1955, and is the stepping ground for medical students.

hazing has always been an issue in my life.  in high school, every athletic team that i can think of got in trouble at least once during my four years for hazing issues.  the marching band got in trouble for hazing.  the dance team got in trouble for hazing.  different school organizations were faced with disciplinary actions when it was discovered that they were engaging in "questionable" activities aimed at new members.

though i initially agreed with this blog (http://garyrubinstein.teachfor.us/2009/08/30/high-expectations-not-so-fast/), when i linked to the post he referenced, i rethought my stance.

The blog article, "High Expectations? Not so fast," from (http://garyrubinstein.teachfor.us/2009/08/30/high-expectations-not-so-fast/) argues that while its good for first year teachers to have high expectations, one must be realistic as well.  Specifically, the article argues that overly high standards can actually hurt students because they will constantly fail.  As a second year teacher, I agree with the post completely.  Yes, it is important to have high standards (and the article does not disagree with this), but if I have a classroom of students who are supposedly ready to be in Algebra II and they cannot graph a straight line, it will do no good to teach them the quadratic formula.  

Have real expectations, but don't expect to be a miracle worker.  A student who cannot read should not attempt to dive into Proust, it will just humiliate and discourage them.  Start with Green Eggs and Ham and work your way up.  However, when you do teach Green Eggs and Ham, ensure you have high expectations of the students work based of the book.

Is Mississippi a third world nation?

The Blog post, "Is Part of the United States in the Third World," (http://mapscroll.blogspot.com/2009/05/human-development-index-by-state.html) attempts to rank US states in line with the world nations in regards to their human development index (HDI) reading.  In the blog, a list is presented with rankings of nations by their HDI mixed in with nations.  Mississippi is listed at 76th, below Russia and Ecuador.  At first glance, this seems terrible, an American state, down below the home of Siberia and a South American non-powerhouse.  However, the blog is somewhat meaningless, and this is noted in the first paragraph of the post: "The US HDI is not at all comparable to the world HDI.."  What this says is that you cannot directly compare the US state HDI to other nations HDI.  This make the list irrelevant.  

A quick google search paints a more rosy picture for Mississippi.  Ecuador, with a normalized (ppp) GDP per capita of under $8k, is much poorer than Mississippi with a GDP (non normalized) of just under $27k, over three times greater than Ecuador's, and that non adjusted.  It seems silly to state that Mississippi is a third world nation.  Anyone who has been to a poor area of a third world country can easily attest to the abject poverty which makes Mississippi look good.  Kids go hungry in Mississippi and attend shoddy schools.  In third world nations, kids worry about starvation and school is a pipe dream.  By claiming that Mississippi is at the same level as a third world nation unfairly cheapens the term and shows the authors naivety of what a third world country truly is.  

I was very excited to find this post. I’ve been meaning to read Khon’s “Homework Myth” ever since my 6^th grade teacher, with whom I am still in touch and who now teaches high school math, mentioned it to me. She agrees with his thesis.

I, on the other hand, can’t help but believe that homework is helpful for the college-bound. Without the gradual build-up of homework, how will a student know how to handle the outside-of-class investment that is expected at that level? I guess the question that remains is, is homework worth it for the non-college-bound?

Using the rationale that kids hate homework and put it off as long as possible is not reason to believe that homework is unbeneficial. Many things that are popularly hated, such as exercise and financial prudence, are good for us. As for the argument that homework does not develop a work ethic, I disagree. With time to do whatever they please, my students will not be kindling their innate curiosity by reading a book of choice. They will be watching TV. For the argument that rigorous amounts of homework in middle school is not correlated with higher high school achievement, I suppose the counter argument would be, has any research shown that not doing or not assigning homework raises achievement? I think there is some spurious intervening variable that is making the research appear to suggest that homework is impotent as yielding great educational gains, when really home/neighborhood environment or family dysfunction/stress may be accountable for educational outcomes, not the assigning of homework.

Regarding Christine Hendricks’ letter to parents explaining her school’s experiment with no homework for a semester, I think this innovation would work well so long as there is reason to believe that families will support their children with the five responsibilities she bulleted in the letter. It would be more accurate for Hendricks to say, “we are implementing a ‘new’ homework this year: intense parental involvement.” This is not a truly no-homework policy! There are still things for the kids to do at home; parents are the new facilitators. In areas without this assurance of reinforcement from home, schools ought to lengthen the school day, so that all of that gets done in caretakers’ hands before reporting home at 6 p.m.

One thing I’ve thought about is whether homework is worth assigning when half of students do not do it, and it becomes a nuisance to teachers who cannot let more than half their kids fail due to excessive zeros produced by MIA homework. I’ve decided that it is worth assigning, as it will pull the borderline students who will do their homework up to proficient level on the state test. In other words, assigning homework is likely to help improve those kids who will do it; and if the teacher makes homework worth only a marginal amount, then for those who don’t do it, no excessive harm is done. So long as the teacher completes the independent practice during class time, and homework serves only as a reinforcement of skills learned, then homework is appropriate and will only strengthen the stronger students. They are not psychologically bothered by homework; in essence, homework is a “NR” for them (science shorthand for No Reaction). 

For honors kids, however, those who are definitely college-bound, the teacher’s assigning of and close monitoring of/feedback on homework is very important. These students especially cannot afford anything that will set them behind other students at their level who attend competitive private schools or suburban schools where the majority of the student body is vigilant about homework. I do not foresee these types of schools of privilege backing down off homework any time soon, and so for cricital needs schools to do so would be a mistake, giving the others yet another upper-hand in being prepared to succeed in college.

I think the real concern here is what is assigned for homework. If it is busy work, or over students' heads, or not sufficiently explained, or students do not have resources (parental, material, technological, or time) to do it, then yes, homework is terribly ineffective and even harmful. If a teacher gives homework as a good doctor proscribes the right antidote, however, homework remains a worthwhile component of schooling.

I really enjoyed the product of this assignment -- even if the process wasn't enjoyable. Isn't that the way research is? View a pdf of the document here.