Letters

TOO MUCH HOMEWORK!

At first I thought the cover story on the amount of homework youngsters have was a joke [EDUCATION, Jan. 25], but I realized it was sad but true. Many private and parochial schools assign three hours of homework a night. Now I see that some public school students are whining about three hours of homework a week! How do they ever hope to compete for entrance to colleges and universities? Let's quit dumbing down America and face the reality that one has to work, and work hard, to achieve the things that are truly meaningful. GWEN GANGER Los Angeles

My husband and I have noted how different our children's afterschool time is from ours. In the good old days, when it was either watch another I Love Lucy rerun or do your homework, studying didn't look so bad. Today the competition for my children's attention is almost unending. With choices ranging from sports and music lessons to computers and, yes, the ever present I Love Lucy reruns, my children would disappoint me if they were eager to do their homework every day. But by keeping it all in perspective, I am optimistic that we shall make it, at least until middle school! LISA NEWMARK New Albany, Ohio

Is an average of 19 minutes a day spent on homework too much for grade-school children? Compared to what? The amount of time they spend in front of the TV or playing video games? DAVID HOUSEWRIGHT Roseville, Minn.

Children must be taught at a young age how to manage large amounts of homework. Hard work is what made Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Edison what they were. Edison coined the saying "Genius is 1% inspiration, 99% perspiration." I myself, a high school student, must strive for good grades and often spend evenings doing projects and writing reports. Yet when I'm done, I feel good about myself. People who work hard can do great things. ANNA COLMES San Jose, Calif.

Whatever good that might be accomplished by giving large amounts of homework is undermined by the devastating toll it takes on students' attitudes toward learning. It causes resentment, distaste, guilt, fatigue, disinterest and apathy toward all things academic. I'm afraid the long-term effect on students' morale and joy of learning may do more harm than good. ROBERT W. FISHER Cleveland, Tenn.

Boy, was I able to relate to your story about too much homework! Both of my children are in elementary school, and every school day from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. they are busy doing homework. Television viewing does not fit into our schedule at all. But I felt a little less overwhelmed after reading your report that this is going on all over the country. NANCY POOLE Wolcott, Conn.

I have three kids, ages 9, 8 and 5, and all of them--even the one in kindergarten--have homework. The excessive amounts that I have to oversee kill creative thinking and foster a real dislike of learning. The grownups who think homework is good for kids are the same ones who think lima beans and Brussels sprouts are great. It breaks my heart that dinner at my house is usually macaroni and cheese and a pall of gloom. LAUREN ARNOLD Mountain View, Calif.

The independent feline says, "love me, feed me, and leave me alone." Our children want the same privilege occasionally as adults cram their own agenda for success into innocent minds. Excessive homework leaves the child far more dependent, as parents must intervene way beyond healthy assistance. The students in one of my classes beg for a 10-minute sit-silent period that I instituted in response to chronic overstimulation. Can you believe it? Middle-school students have a desire to sit silent? DONALD H. RAMSEY, Teacher Norwalk, Conn.

I was amazed when my freshman high school English teacher asked us if we had seen TIME's report on homework. She had read it, and realized how much we students actually do. As a result, my classmates and I will be receiving less homework in English! Maybe this will help make our lives slightly less stressful and give us a free moment or two. REBECCA BROWN Tucson, Ariz.

TUCKER CARTER'S ALARM CLOCK

Your story mentioned our son Tucker and his project for his third-grade class's "Invention Convention," a special assignment in which a parent's participation is not discouraged [EDUCATION, Jan. 25]. Tucker had an idea that he was really excited about: an alarm clock that would squirt him with water to help him get up in the morning. A complex idea, but his dad saw an opportunity to help Tucker complete it. Yes, Dad was involved, but this project was not about our wanting Tuck to outdo all the kids in his class; nor did Dad build Tuck's clock for him, as you implied. Tucker is not a "prodigiously gifted engineer," just a creative and trusting nine-year-old. Shame on you for implying he was dishonest. Tucker had a valuable learning experience as well as some great time with his dad. And he also learned you can't believe everything you read. SANDY AND STEVE CARTER Sherborn, Mass.

THE OLYMPICS SCANDAL

What ever happened to the Olympic ideals [NATION, Jan. 25]? The scandal just goes to show that this so-called sport celebration every two years is nothing but a venture built on bribery and the lust for money and power. How about showing that the Olympic Games are really about mankind's coming together in a celebration of peace and harmony by giving the Games to cities that desperately need development and support? JACO-LOUIS GROENWALD Johannesburg

Some 2,000 years ago, the philosopher Cicero hinted at the problems with the Games: "This is an occasion for which some people have gone into physical training in hope of winning the splendid distinction of a crown, while others are attracted by the prospect of buying or selling for a profit." JOHN RACHAL Hattiesburg, Miss.

The ultimate responsibility for the actions of the officials rests with I.O.C. president Juan Antonio Samaranch. AUBREY DIEM Zinal, Switzerland

Leave Salt Lake City alone. We do not need any investigation to tell us what the Salt Lake Organizing Committee did and what has probably been done ever since the beginning of the Olympic Games. All these investigations will do is tarnish the good name of the Olympics and hinder the chances of other U.S. cities to be host to future Games. Has gift giving become so taboo that we are willing to damage the single most recognized event that brings the whole world together? Let Salt Lake have its Games, and worry about wrongdoing afterward. LOUIS J. GIOIA Franklin Square, N.Y.

So Olympic officials take bribes; they are only human. In spite of the corruption, the Games are successful, and the polls show they are popular with the American people. Isn't it time to stop this time-consuming witch hunt and let the officials get on with the job of running the country--er, Games? CLIFF D. SMITH Saskatoon, Sask.

FAST COMPANY

Letter writer Jim Abshire had some suggestions about ways we could save time and enjoy life more [LETTERS, Jan. 25]. Herewith are a few more ideas: Record an all-purpose message for your phone-answering machine ("My cold is much better. Sally made first string on the soccer team. Our divorce will be final in March"). Stop entertaining. Put an open/closed sign on your front door. Declare your home book- and magazine-free--you can listen to audiocassettes while you drive even faster. BYRON BABCOCK Virginia Beach

NO APOCALYPTIC NOTIONS

The article "The End Of The World As We Know It?" [Y2K, Jan. 18] referred to Reconstructionism, "a splinter of post-millennialism" founded by Rousas John Rushdoony, by saying it "holds that before Christ will return to earth, society must collapse and then be rebuilt along more godly lines." This is incorrect. Rushdoony is the founder and chairman of the board of the Chalcedon foundation, the parent organization of Reconstructionism. While we embrace post-millennialism, including confidence that society will be rebuilt along more godly lines, we by no means believe it must be preceded by social "collapse." The gradualism of post-millennialism forbids such an apocalyptic twist. ANDREW SANDLIN Executive Director Chalcedon Vallecito, Calif.

CORRECTIONS

Due to a typographical error, the names of two genes that dramatically increase the risk of breast cancer were misspelled in our story on radical breast surgery [PERSONAL TIME: YOUR HEALTH, Jan. 25]. The correct names of the genes are BRCA1 and BRCA2.

Our report on real-life Civil Action lawyer Jan Schlichtmann [ENVIRONMENT, Jan. 18] mentioned the environmental group STAR, saying the organization's full name was Standing for Truth About Litigation. The correct name is Standing for Truth About Radiation.