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Tag: homework

  • Fairfax County elementary schoolers now have mandatory homework. Parents have mixed opinions – WTOP News

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    Fairfax County Public Schools has updated its homework guidelines for elementary schoolers, a shift away from the optional homework policy that some parents said had become the norm.

    Fairfax County Public Schools has updated its homework guidelines for elementary schoolers, a shift away from the optional homework policy that some parents said had become the norm.

    During back-to-school nights and on social media threads, parents expressed confusion about whether there had been a change in approach.

    In a statement, Virginia’s largest school system said it provided updated homework guidelines to elementary school principals for the 2025-26 school year. The amount of homework students are receiving depends on their grade level, and includes time for daily reading.

    Under the updated policy, the district said teachers are encouraged to be flexible with due dates and avoid assigning homework over long breaks, holidays and religious and cultural observances. Kindergarten through second-graders are required to spend 10-20 minutes on homework each day, third and fourth graders spend 20-30 minutes each day and fifth and sixth graders should get 40-60 minutes worth of work each day.

    Homework, the division said, should be “meaningful, manageable and clearly connected to classroom instruction,” and the assignments should be accessible to all students, taking into account “diverse learning styles, language backgrounds and home support systems.”

    But some parents are split on whether the change will have an impact.

    Laura Chapman, a parent of two elementary schoolers, said homework is “really not helpful. It’s really tough, especially for working parents of neurodivergent children, because we are in a bit of a tough spot.”

    Chapman’s son has ADHD, she said, and he participates in evening sports to help get energy out. Many ADHD medications stop working late in the afternoon, she said.

    “Layering homework on top means that I am sitting with him at night, trying to help him do homework that he’s not able to do, because he’s not able to focus,” Chapman said.

    Last year, Chapman said, homework was optional.

    “I don’t know how beneficial homework is for elementary school kids,” Chapman said.

    Andrea Coulter, though, said the change could be helpful. Her first grader has been advised to read and has been getting a sheet of paper with work to complete.

    “It gives them a lot of responsibility and understanding on being able to have something that’s theirs and that they have to prioritize that’s not screen time or an outside activity,” Coulter said.

    Coulter said many parents “are really upset about it. They don’t want their kids to have the homework. They think that it’s busy work.”

    The school system’s guidelines were created to reinforce previously taught material and help students create academic habits, the division said. Students are expected to finish assignments to the best of their ability and seek clarification when needed, and teachers are tasked with “designing purposeful and appropriate homework” and telling families about expectations.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • Parents Are Freaking Out Over These New Teaching Styles — And Experts Have Thoughts

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    Across the country, parents are discovering that what their children bring home from school looks very little like what they once learned. It isn’t just math — reading lessons, writing expectations, even how science and history are taught have shifted. What once relied heavily on memorization has given way to conceptual thinking, inquiry and skills tied to the future workplace.

    Educators say these changes are not random or trendy. They’re the product of research, shifts in workforce demands and national policy decisions that have reshaped the classroom over the last few decades. But for parents, the changes often arrive without much explanation, leaving them feeling lost.

    To understand why classrooms look so different today, it helps to trace how teaching methods have evolved. From the rise of “new math” to the renewed focus on phonics, the story of modern education is one of pendulum swings, policy mandates and, above all, an ongoing debate about how kids learn best.

    From Memorization To Meaning

    “Some of the major changes in teaching practices are a direct result of the standards and now Common Core, with a shift from rote memorization to conceptual thinking and problem-solving,” Yolanda Carlos, an early childhood education professor at Pacific Oaks College, said.

    Where students once filled in worksheets with multiplication tables or copied definitions from a chalkboard, today’s lessons aim for depth. Teachers want students to make connections between ideas, explain their reasoning and apply skills to real-world scenarios.

    Michaela LeRoy, education and development specialist at the Haven Collection, a comprehensive family care center, described it as: “Twenty to 30 years ago, subjects like reading, writing and science were often taught through textbooks and rote memorization. Today, subjects are more integrated and inquiry-based, encouraging students to ask questions, investigate and apply concepts to real-world situations.”

    This doesn’t mean facts have disappeared. Kids still memorize math facts and spelling patterns. But the goal is less about storing knowledge and more about understanding why it works, a skill researchers say better prepares students for a rapidly changing economy.

    Young female teacher working with her students on a writing lesson in school

    Why ‘New Math’ Sparks Old Frustrations

    If one subject embodies the clash between old and new, it’s math. The phrase “new math” has become shorthand for parental exasperation.

    “Parents can become uncomfortable with changes they do not understand and therefore feel they cannot support their child’s required learning activities,” Carlos said. “Most parents’ understanding of mathematics is based on recalling facts, procedures and formulas. Today’s math requires thinking, reasoning, collaboration and problem-solving, the very skills employers want in the workforce.”

    To many parents, breaking apart numbers, drawing arrays, or showing multiple solution methods feels unnecessary. But teachers argue it helps kids develop number sense and flexibility, making them better problem-solvers long term.

    Dr. Geillan Aly, a math educator and researcher at CUNY, calls this recurring debate “the cycle of benign neglect”: “Every few decades, we swing from procedural to conceptual math learning. But parents and teachers are often left without enough support, creating frustration and what I call ‘math trauma.’”

    And that trauma is real. A parent who struggled with math in school may feel defeated when they can’t help their child. A child sensing that frustration may internalize it. And soon, math becomes a source of tension rather than growth, Aly adds.

    Phonics vs. Sight Words — The ‘New Math’ Debate For The Humanities

    Math isn’t the only battleground. Reading instruction has seen its own pendulum swings.

    For much of the late 20th century, schools leaned on whole language and sight word memorization, encouraging children to recognize words by sight and read through context. Critics argued that this left struggling readers behind, unable to decode new words.

    The pendulum has swung back toward phonics, or explicit instruction in letter-sound relationships. But most researchers agree the answer isn’t either/or, it’s both.

    “Reading is not innate,” Carlos said. “The science of reading shows a strong correlation between word recognition and language comprehension. Good readers have both decoding skills and strong word recognition.”

    “Research undeniably shows that systematic phonics instruction is the most effective for the majority of kids,” Beth Gaskill, an educator, learning specialist and the founder of Big City Readers, told HuffPost. “Sight word lists gave them a handful of memorized answers. Phonics gives them the key to unlock every word.”

    And Zack Barnes, a literacy professor at Austin Peay State University, explained that this “science of reading” movement has influenced policy in dozens of states. Many now require screenings for dyslexia, additional teacher training and curricula that emphasize phonics while also supporting comprehension.

    The Policy Legacies Of ‘No Child Left Behind’ And Common Core

    If there’s one federal policy that parents and teachers alike remember most vividly, it’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Signed into law in 2001 under President George W. Bush, the sweeping legislation reshaped the fabric of American education almost overnight.

    Its premise was straightforward: hold schools accountable for student achievement, with the promise that every child — regardless of ZIP code, race or socioeconomic status — would receive a “high-quality education.”

    The way it measured that promise, however, was through standardized testing. Annual assessments in reading and math for students in grades three through eight, plus once in high school, became the yardstick by which schools were judged. Funding and even school survival were tied to performance. Schools that failed to make “adequate yearly progress” (AYP) faced escalating consequences, from mandated tutoring to state takeovers.

    For policymakers, the law was about equity, closing the achievement gap and ensuring transparency. Classrooms increasingly revolved around test prep. Curriculum narrowed as subjects like art, social studies and even science were sidelined in favor of boosting reading and math scores.

    “Teachers were teaching kids how to pass a test, not how to think.”

    – Sarah Seitz, founder of The Enrichery tutoring center

    “Teachers moved toward graphic organizers, project-based learning and a heavy reliance on technology, not always because it was best practice but because it was the most efficient way to hit testing goals,” Carlos said.

    Sarah Seitz, founder of The Enrichery tutoring center, described how the legislation made classrooms test-driven. “Creative subjects were squeezed out aside,” she said. “Teachers were teaching kids how to pass a test, not how to think.”

    And yet, some positive legacies remained. LeRoy said one of the law’s most enduring shifts was how data was reported. For the first time, schools had to break down performance by subgroup — by race, by disability, by English learner status. That meant you couldn’t just hide behind an average anymore. Every child counted.

    Still, the tradeoffs were hard to ignore. Barnes said the over-testing was real, but so was the insight: “I think NCLB ushered in a reliance on over-testing our students, but also allowed us to dive into the data to figure out where schools and states were doing poorly.”

    By the late 2000s, bipartisan consensus had emerged: the law’s intentions were noble, but its implementation was deeply flawed. That realization eventually paved the way for its replacement in 2015 with the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which gave states more flexibility and attempted to balance accountability with a broader view of what student success could look like.

    How Parents Can Help Without Losing Their Minds

    So where does this leave parents trying to support their kids?

    Carlos suggests parents focus less on mastering the new methods and more on modeling curiosity: “Read to your children, model reading yourself and set aside a quiet study space. Take them to the library, have regular conversations and limit device time. Small daily habits make a big difference.”

    Seitz cautioned against undermining teachers: “One of the biggest mistakes is saying, ‘This is how I learned it. Let me show you a better way.’ Kids hate that. The best thing you can do is ask your child to walk you through their method. When parents mirror the teacher’s approach, kids gain confidence and homework fights drop dramatically.”

    Jamie Hendrickson, principal at the Meyer Levin Middle School for the Performing Arts in Brooklyn, New York, echoed the importance of partnership: “Review the curriculum, attend Curriculum Night and use resources like Khan Academy. Partnering with schools turns confusion into collaboration.”

    Education Will Keep Evolving

    If today’s classrooms already feel foreign, tomorrow’s may feel even more so. Experts predict that artificial intelligence will act as a personalized tutor, adjusting lessons in real time. Competency-based education could replace letter grades, with students advancing as they master skills. Social-emotional learning may be woven into daily lessons, teaching resilience, teamwork and empathy, while global collaboration may become routine, with students working virtually with peers across the world.

    “Parents may be surprised to see less rote work and more whole-child, brain-based learning,” said Gaskill. “Social-emotional skills will sit side by side with reading and math.”

    For parents, that may mean the kitchen-table homework battles of the future won’t be about long division at all, but about how to ask the kinds of questions that no textbook yet has the answers to.

    “With AI everywhere, kids won’t be judged on how many answers they know,” Seitz said. “They’ll be judged on how well they can frame the right questions.”

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  • Unbelievable facts

    Unbelievable facts

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    In the late 1800s and early 1900s, homework was a controversial issue. In 1901, California banned…

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  • Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI

    Students Are Likely Writing Millions of Papers With AI

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    Students have submitted more than 22 million papers that may have used generative AI in the past year, new data released by plagiarism detection company Turnitin shows.

    A year ago, Turnitin rolled out an AI writing detection tool that was trained on its trove of papers written by students as well as other AI-generated texts. Since then, more than 200 million papers have been reviewed by the detector, predominantly written by high school and college students. Turnitin found that 11 percent may contain AI-written language in 20 percent of its content, with 3 percent of the total papers reviewed getting flagged for having 80 percent or more AI writing. (Turnitin is owned by Advance, which also owns Condé Nast, publisher of WIRED.) Turnitin says its detector has a false positive rate of less than 1 percent when analyzing full documents.

    ChatGPT’s launch was met with knee-jerk fears that the English class essay would die. The chatbot can synthesize information and distill it near-instantly—but that doesn’t mean it always gets it right. Generative AI has been known to hallucinate, creating its own facts and citing academic references that don’t actually exist. Generative AI chatbots have also been caught spitting out biased text on gender and race. Despite those flaws, students have used chatbots for research, organizing ideas, and as a ghostwriter. Traces of chatbots have even been found in peer-reviewed, published academic writing.

    Teachers understandably want to hold students accountable for using generative AI without permission or disclosure. But that requires a reliable way to prove AI was used in a given assignment. Instructors have tried at times to find their own solutions to detecting AI in writing, using messy, untested methods to enforce rules, and distressing students. Further complicating the issue, some teachers are even using generative AI in their grading processes.

    Detecting the use of gen AI is tricky. It’s not as easy as flagging plagiarism, because generated text is still original text. Plus, there’s nuance to how students use gen AI; some may ask chatbots to write their papers for them in large chunks or in full, while others may use the tools as an aid or a brainstorm partner.

    Students also aren’t tempted by only ChatGPT and similar large language models. So-called word spinners are another type of AI software that rewrites text, and may make it less obvious to a teacher that work was plagiarized or generated by AI. Turnitin’s AI detector has also been updated to detect word spinners, says Annie Chechitelli, the company’s chief product officer. It can also flag work that was rewritten by services like spell checker Grammarly, which now has its own generative AI tool. As familiar software increasingly adds generative AI components, what students can and can’t use becomes more muddled.

    Detection tools themselves have a risk of bias. English language learners may be more likely to set them off; a 2023 study found a 61.3 percent false positive rate when evaluating Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exams with seven different AI detectors. The study did not examine Turnitin’s version. The company says it has trained its detector on writing from English language learners as well as native English speakers. A study published in October found that Turnitin was among the most accurate of 16 AI language detectors in a test that had the tool examine undergraduate papers and AI-generated papers.

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    Amanda Hoover

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  • PROOF POINTS: Overscheduling kids’ lives causes depression and anxiety, study finds

    PROOF POINTS: Overscheduling kids’ lives causes depression and anxiety, study finds

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    Psychologists have long warned that children’s lives are overscheduled, which undermines their ability to develop non-academic skills that they’ll need in adulthood, from coping with setbacks to building strong relationships. Now a trio of economists say they’ve been able to calculate some of these psychological costs.

    In a new data analysis published in the February 2024 issue of the Economics of Education Review, three economists from the University of Georgia and the Federal Reserve Board found that students are assigned so much homework and signed up for so many extracurricular activities that the “last hour” was no longer helping to build their academic skills. Instead, the activities were actually harming their mental well-being, making students more anxious, depressed or angry. 

    “We’re not saying that all these activities are bad, but that the total is bad,” said Carolina Caetano, one of the study’s authors and an assistant professor of economics at the University of Georgia. Homework and scheduled activities, she said, were eating away at time for sleep and socializing, which are also important. 

    The downsides of homework and scheduled activities were most pronounced during the high school years, when students are feeling pressure to earn high grades and load up on extracurriculars for their college applications, the researchers found.

    Unfortunately, the researchers weren’t able to put a precise number on how many hours is too much, and Caetano explained to me that the number might not be the same for everyone.

    Parents who worry that their children might be overscheduled should ask themselves whether they feel their days are so busy that their children don’t even have time for spontaneous play dates, Caetano said. “If you feel stretched, you’re probably on the too-much side of this,” she said.

    Caetano and her research team analyzed the time diaries of 4,300 children and teens, from kindergarten through 12th grade. The diaries had been collected over the years, dating back to 1997, as part of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), a large nationally representative household survey overseen by the University of Michigan. Children, parents and survey workers kept track of a random weekday and a random weekend day for each child, allowing the researchers to see how children spent every minute.

    The researchers described a wide assortment of activities intended to improve children’s skills as “enrichment.” Homework was the largest component, adding up to two thirds of the total enrichment hours. The remainder of the enrichment time was occupied by reading (14 percent of the enrichment time), followed by before- and after-school programs (7 percent). In the diaries, relatively little time was spent being read to by parents, tutoring and other academic lessons, and on non-academic lessons, such as piano, soccer or driver’s ed. On average, children spent 45 minutes a day on all of them, ranging from zero to four hours a day.

    The researchers then compared time spent on these enrichment activities with academic test scores along with non-cognitive psychological measures, which were based on parent surveys of their children’s behaviors, such as being withdrawn, anxious or angry. 

    At first, there seemed to be a strong association between time spent on enrichment and academic skills and positive behaviors. That is, students who were more scheduled also had higher test scores and better behaviors. 

    But scheduled students also tend to be wealthier. Their families have the resources for tutors, after-school activities, or nannies who enforce homework time. It’s hard to tell how much the activities were responsible for boosting students’ skills or whether these highly resourced children would have done just as well on the tests and non-cognitive measures without the activities. After adjusting for family income and other demographic characteristics, some of these benefits melted away. Still, some association between scheduled activities and academic skills remained. In other words, even between two children with the same demographics and family income, the one that was more scheduled and spent more time on homework scored higher.

    However, these scheduled children of the same income and demographics still differ from each other in important ways. Some are more motivated or conscientious. Some have photographic memories or are hard working. Some have a gift for math or music. The children who choose to do more homework and participate in after-school activities are exactly the ones who are more likely to score higher anyway. It’s a thorny knot to disentangle how much the homework and scheduled activities are driving the improvement in skills.

    In this study, the researchers used a new statistical technique for large datasets to disentangle it. And once they adjusted for the effects of the students’ unobservable or inner differences, all the academic benefits melted away, and well-being turned negative. That is, the final or marginal hour of homework and activities didn’t raise a student’s test scores at all and lowered a child’s non-cognitive behaviors.

    The researchers also noticed a dilemma in the data. The psychological downsides of overscheduling hit before students’ cognitive skills were maximized. There’s a point where a child could still boost his academic skills by doing another hour of homework or tutoring, for example, but it would come at the expense of mental well-being. With more time spent on these activities, the academic returns eventually fall to zero, but by that time, there’s been a considerable hit to well-being.

    A lot more research is needed to understand if some activities are harming students more than others. One question Caetano has concerns timing. She wonders what would happen if little kids were less scheduled in elementary school. Would they then have more resilience to deal with the time pressures in high school? 

    The statistical techniques in this study are new and researchers debate about how and when to use them. Josh Goodman, an education economist at Boston University who was not involved in the study, commented that the causal claims between overscheduling and academic skills and mental well-being aren’t “perfect,” but called them “good enough.”  He said on X (formerly Twitter) that “the paper raises some very uncomfortable questions (including about my own parenting decisions!)” 

    Of course, parents aren’t entirely to blame. Schools assign the homework and their children’s grades will suffer if it isn’t done. College admissions departments value applicants with high grades and activities. Caetano sympathizes with parents who find it hard to individually push back against the current system.

    It’s similarly difficult for one school to unilaterally change homework policies when colleges could penalize their students. Indeed, schools that have tried reducing the pressure have sometimes felt the wrath of parents who are worried that less homework will cause their children to fall behind the competition. Ultimately, Caetano says that education policymakers on the state or federal level need to set policies to ratchet down the pressure for all.

    This story about extracurricular activities was written by Jill Barshay and produced by The Hechinger Report, a nonprofit, independent news organization focused on inequality and innovation in education. Sign up for the Proof Points newsletter.

    The Hechinger Report provides in-depth, fact-based, unbiased reporting on education that is free to all readers. But that doesn’t mean it’s free to produce. Our work keeps educators and the public informed about pressing issues at schools and on campuses throughout the country. We tell the whole story, even when the details are inconvenient. Help us keep doing that.

    Join us today.

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    Jill Barshay

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  • Survey Reveals 1 in 5 US Teens Use ChatGPT for Schoolwork

    Survey Reveals 1 in 5 US Teens Use ChatGPT for Schoolwork

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    ChatGPT is a powerful AI tool capable of writing essays, solving problems, and generating code, and while it has significant potential as an educational tool, concerns about academic dishonesty have been raised. This is due to its ability to produce high-quality work with a few clicks of a mouse, which raises questions about how teachers are supposed to measure student learning.

    The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools like ChatGPT by students is rapidly increasing in schools. A Pew Research Center survey highlights this shift, revealing that around one in five U.S. teenagers familiar with ChatGPT have used it for schoolwork. This development is reshaping the dynamics of learning and teaching in the classrooms, prompting teachers to reevaluate traditional educational approaches.

    Which students are using it

    The survey revealed a disparity in ChatGPT awareness among different racial and socioeconomic student groups. While higher-income white students are more likely to be familiar with ChatGPT, students who are Hispanic, Black, or from lower-income families are less likely to have used this technology. But one professor in Buffalo pointed out that banning ChatGPT from schools would be bad for low-income and minority students because they might not have access to resources outside of school.

    In a world where AI is increasingly influential, it’s really important that students have equal access to these kinds of tools. Rather than just banning ChatGPT in schools, it might be more effective to use it as a learning resource. This way, we’re acknowledging that students are probably going to use these tools one way or another, so it’s better to guide them on how to use them responsibly and effectively.

    How schools are responding

    Schools are evolving in response to the AI revolution. In New York City, after initially banning ChatGPT for schoolwork, the Department of Education shifted its stance, now endorsing its use and providing educator training to integrate AI into curricula. This reflects a broader trend where schools, recognizing the futility of outright bans, are opting to regulate and guide AI use. The decision aligns with perspectives shared in the New York Times, which emphasize ChatGPT’s potential as a creative and educational tool rather than a threat.

    Also, lots of school districts are putting in place their own rules for using AI, like letting students use it but only when a teacher’s watching, and making sure they cite it in their work. This is similar to the idea of treating ChatGPT a bit like using calculators for math: They’re OK for some things, but you can’t use them for everything. It’s about finding a balance where this tool is helpful but doesn’t do the work for students.

    The U.S. Department of Education is also involved, issuing guidance that underscores AI’s role in personalized learning while raising concerns about surveillance risks. However, technological solutions like ChatGPT for schoolwork are here to stay, demanding adaptation rather than avoidance. Instead of a futile effort to ban AI tools, educators should focus on redesigning lesson plans and embracing AI’s potential to enrich learning experiences.

    This view encourages a forward-thinking strategy, where teachers use AI tools like ChatGPT to enhance learning and get students ready for a future that’s heavily influenced by technology. The goal is to keep up academic honesty while also encouraging critical thinking and creativity. It’s about equipping students for a world where AI plays a big role.

    Teachers need support

    Teachers should receive training on effectively incorporating AI into their teaching strategies. The International Society for Technology in Education, along with other organizations, offers courses that can help educators navigate this new terrain. Such training is essential for preparing students for a job market where AI is becoming increasingly integral.

    As we move forward, it’s really important for teachers to keep up with the ongoing discussion about AI in education. By joining forces to encourage responsible and ethical AI use, we can make sure it’s a beneficial tool for enhancing education and getting students ready for what’s ahead. It’s all about welcoming this exciting new tech but also remembering the value of promoting critical thinking, creativity, and academic honesty in our students.

    The real task for educators is to smartly tap into ChatGPT’s capabilities. It’s not just about making lessons more engaging—it’s also about equipping students with essential skills for a future where AI is increasingly common.

    For more articles like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

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    Sarah Morris

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  • A single mom’s 4 kids had to fend for themselves when tragedy struck. How a chance encounter years ago saved their future | CNN

    A single mom’s 4 kids had to fend for themselves when tragedy struck. How a chance encounter years ago saved their future | CNN

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    CNN
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    On a dark autumn evening almost four years ago, Janie Yoshida was driving her daughter home from high school play rehearsal when she noticed a teenager walking by himself next to a busy road.

    Tre Burrows, it turned out, was also in the play at Somerset Academy Canyons High School in Boynton Beach, Florida.

    “I pulled over to the side of the sidewalk and rolled the window down and said, ‘Hey, where do you live? I’ll take you home,’” Janie recalled.

    The 17-year-old kept insisting he was fine, until Janie put on “my mom’s voice” and demanded: ‘“Get in the car.”

    The polite young man with the gregarious smile complied. But, Janie soon learned, he led a life more challenging than she imagined – one in which she’d soon play a far bigger role.

    “He wanted me to drop him off at a main intersection. And I said, ‘Of course not. Just show me where you live.’ And he goes, ‘No, I can walk the rest of the way,’” Janie recalled.

    Reluctantly, Tre directed Janie to where he and his family were living.

    A motel.

    “I tried to play it off, like no big deal,” Janie recalled. But in reality, “I’m thinking to myself, ‘Oh my God … just terrible.’”

    From that point on, Janie gave Tre a ride every day after play rehearsal. Sometimes, she would make up an excuse to get fast food along the way, just to make sure Tre had a hot meal.

    “‘I don’t want to cook tonight,’” she’d tell him. “’Let’s just go through the drive thru.’”

    Then one day, Tre let slip another detail about his family life.

    “‘I’m gonna save this (meal),’” he told Janie, “’and split it with my sisters’” – one older and two younger, all together at the motel.

    Tre’s mother, it turned out, had been working two jobs and hanging by a thread to support her four children against immeasurable odds.

    Despite the financial challenges, Cindy Dawkins worked tirelessly to give her kids everything they needed. She had every meal ready, even without a kitchen. She helped with homework. Instead of asking her older ones to work part-time to support the family, she encouraged extracurricular activities such as track or school theater.

    Eventually, Tre told Janie why he’d been so nervous about telling anyone where he lived.

    “He didn’t want anybody to know because he was worried that the Department of Children and Families would come and take them away from his mom,” Janie said. “That’s just heartbreaking.”

    Janie asked to meet this matriarch – and was floored by her work ethic and strength.

    And as much as he loved his mom, Tre had no idea how much she sacrificed for her children.

    Soon, immense tragedy would force him to learn.

    A native of the Bahamas, Cindy moved to the US for what seemed like a promising career in the hospitality industry. But an avalanche of “bad luck on top of bad luck” fell on her, Janie said, including a layoff and a divorce.

    She ended up waitressing at two restaurants – one during the day, the other at night.

    “For the longest (time), she was working two jobs just to keep us afloat, paycheck to paycheck,” said Tre, now 21.

    “And she did all of that with a smile on her face because she didn’t want us to know exactly how hard it was to do all that.”

    But despite working two jobs, Cindy couldn’t get an apartment on her own because of a prior eviction. So she and her children moved into the motel, which cost far more per month than an apartment.

    The late Cindy Dawkins, with her daughter Zoe Clarke, moved to the US from the Bahamas.

    For three years, Cindy raised her four children in a motel room while working multiple jobs.

    Behind the omnipresent smile she put on for her kids, though, Cindy was struggling.

    She lamented that “‘in three years, I haven’t been able to make a home-cooked meal,’” Janie recalled.

    “She was like, ‘I don’t have a moment to myself or any privacy except when I’m in the shower. So if I’m going to break down, I’m going to cry, it’s going to be in the shower,’” Janie recalled.

    “‘And I’ve got to put my face back on, walk out of the bathroom in front of the kids and make sure that they don’t see it from me because I have to make them think everything’s OK.’”

    The family’s bad luck culminated the day Tre missed play rehearsal.

    The next day, Janie asked if he had been sick.

    “‘They kicked us out of the hotel because my mom couldn’t pay,’” Janie recalled him telling her.

    Janie went home and told her husband: “We need to get this family an apartment. I’m going tomorrow.”

    And as readily as she’d opened her car door to Tre that first time, “we just rented an apartment for them,” she said.

    With Janie’s name on the lease, the family of five moved into a two-bedroom apartment – mom in one bedroom, her four children sharing the other.

    Cindy meticulously paid the rent and utilities “earlier or on time – always,” Janie said.

    She got a raise at one of her restaurant jobs, Tre said, allowing her to quit her second job and spend more time with her kids.

    But that cherished time with her children would be short-lived.

    With a new home and better pay, Cindy and her kids eagerly anticipated celebrating her 50th birthday last summer.

    “We were planning on going up to Orlando a few days before and then spend her birthday up there,” Tre said.

    “We noticed that she started getting sick literally the day that we got there. As soon as we arrived, she went to bed and went to sleep and was just sleeping the entire time.”

    Cindy spent her birthday, August 1, in bed with severe Covid-19. The disease ravaged her body so quickly, “I didn’t even get to see her after she went into the hospital,” Tre said.

    On August 7, 2021 – six days after her birthday – Cindy died.

    Disbelief exacerbated her children’s agony.

    “She didn’t have any prior illnesses. … We just didn’t think anything like that would happen because we were healthy,” Tre said.

    “We were seeing the news (about) all the people passing away from Covid, but you never really understand exactly how bad it is until you experience it firsthand. We weren’t thinking this would completely uproot our lives.”

    Tre said his mother did not get vaccinated, in part due to rumors about side effects.

    “We didn’t want to do this and then (have it) potentially cause us to get sick,” Tre said. “We know better than that now. But I guess that was the reasoning behind her not getting” vaccinated.

    Tre and his siblings joined a growing group of children no one wants to be part of: the orphans of Covid. More than 212,000 US children have lost one or both parents to Covid-19, according to estimates from Imperial College London. And the number of children robbed of their parents keeps rising.

    “It never crossed my mind,” Tre said, “that me and my older sister would be the ones taking care of our little sisters.”

    Tre was the first to hear from the doctor his mother had passed. He rushed to the hospital and told his older sister, Jenny Burrows, now 25, to get there immediately.

    When Jenny arrived, “We cried for hours,” Tre recalled. “Our little sisters were at home (sleeping). Then we gathered ourselves and we tried to figure out, ‘OK, how are we going to tell our sisters?’”

    They woke up heir siblings Zoe Clarke, then 15, and Sierra Clarke, then 12. The most horrific nightmare had just turned into reality.

    The late Cindy Dawkins, with daughter Sierra Clarke, worked multiple jobs to support her children.

    But Tre and Jenny didn’t have time to mourn. Their minds were racing:

    “‘OK, are we about to get kicked out of the apartment we’re staying in because we can’t afford the bills?

    “‘How are we going to move on from this home?

    “‘How are we going to get the girls … everything they need for school?’”

    And the biggest question of all: Will the younger children get taken away?

    Despondent, overwhelmed and tasked with planning a funeral, Tre told Janie his mother passed.

    “I just lost it. I couldn’t believe it,” Janie said. “It was devastating.”

    She realized the siblings quickly needed help – and not just financially.

    They needed to learn how to parent on the fly.

    So once again, like she did all those years back from the driver’s seat, Janie went into mom mode.

    Without a living legal guardian, the children’s greatest fear was getting separated. Maybe the younger siblings would get taken away into state custody and foster care. Or maybe they would be sent to the Bahamas to live with relatives.

    Janie helped Jenny get to work on Priority No. 1: Becoming the younger girls’ legal guardian. It was one of the myriad legal complications that followed their mother’s death.

    “Another thing that’s helping us tremendously is we were able to get the girls set up with Social Security benefits from my mom,” Tre said, which will help support Sierra and Zoe until they turn 18.

    Janie and her husband also paid the remaining six months on the apartment’s lease. And she started a GoFundMe account, with an initial goal of paying for Cindy’s funeral expenses.

    Then just as Janie had stepped in as a stranger to help Tre’s hard-working but struggling family, hundreds more strangers did the same.

    The crowdsourcing fund grew so popular, it yielded enough for a down payment on a house so the children wouldn’t have to worry about getting evicted. Any extra funds likely will go toward Sierra’s and Zoe’s college education in the coming years.

    Janie also taught the older siblings about car insurance, credit and other life skills they would need to know immediately, now that they had dependents.

    Tre Burrows, left, and Jenny Burrows, right, became unexpected parents after their mom Cindy Dawkins died from Covid-19.

    The hardest part of being both a brother and a parent to younger siblings is “definitely the mental aspect of all of that,” Tre said.

    “The attitude stuff is a big thing for teenagers. They’re teenagers. Like getting chores done, getting your homework done, the attitude that comes with all that … basically, everything that goes with raising a 16- and 12-year-old,” he said.

    He and Jenny try to balance it all “while also making sure they don’t look at it like, ‘Oh, since Mom isn’t here, now you think you’re the boss and you can do all this stuff?’”

    And Tre tries to balance tough love with “not being too harsh with them, obviously, because we all just went through a horrible situation.”

    Tre and Jenny also now juggle a daily marathon of jobs, their own schooling and taking care of their sisters’ basic needs, their education and their mental health.

    Tre works at a computer repair company and has started training to become an emergency medical technician and firefighter. And Jenny, a dental assistant, wants to finish training to become a dental hygienist.

    The older siblings devised a plan for how to finish their education while paying the bills and taking care of the girls.

    “When I was going through EMT school … my sister would drop them off at school. I would pick them up, and (then) I would head to school. That was our plan,” Tre said.

    “And my sister would be the one at home with them, making sure they’re getting their homework done, making sure they’re OK mentally. And obviously I would help with that whenever I’m not in school. And basically I would get through that, get through the fire academy, doing the same thing,” he said.

    “And then once I’m done with schooling, the roles will kind of be reversed. So I’ll be the one that’s dropping them off, and I’ll be home with them (while) my sister’s at school, getting her career situated.”

    It’s a daunting task. But it’s nothing compared to what his own mother did, Tre said.

    “My biggest (concern) was just making sure I can fill her shoes,” he said. “I never really understood exactly how much she was doing until now, when my sister and I are the ones who have to do it.”

    Tre is also immensely grateful to the countless strangers who helped him and his siblings find a home and stay together.

    And it all traces to Janie giving him a ride home from school that dark autumn evening.

    “Without her,” he said, “we wouldn’t know what we would have done.”

    And Janie has learned from Cindy’s children, she said. Perhaps they inherited their mother’s fortitude.

    “I know they have the same instinct inside of them, just like their mom did – that hey, even if it sucks, let’s get up and make the best of it,” she said.

    “They’re my inspiration now.”

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  • Parenting 101: Back to school organizing tools

    Parenting 101: Back to school organizing tools

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    Whether “back to school” is in your family’s vocabulary or not, September often rhymes with back to regularly scheduled programming for most families. It also tends to be a time when customers and friends like to pick my brain about my best tips on how to get organized for as smooth a return to routine as possible. So, I thought I would share three of my favourite things that keep our family of five organized!

    1 – Homework station: Whether it be ensuring homework gets done or keeping your toddler busy while you (try to) prepare dinner, it’s a great idea to have a dedicated area to house the supplies you need to keep your little people occupied!  

    After using the corner of a kitchen counter for a couple of years it became obvious that clutter always resulted, no matter what system I tried. No magazine rack, mason jar or binder could keep clutter at bay!  Then (insert angels singing) the IKEA RASKOG cart came into my life! Three levels. Nice design. This cart is awesome. We put our family binder, school workbooks used at home, one mason jar filled with homework supplies per child (sharpened pencils, erasers, red markers, rulers, etc), music books for the family’s resident violinist, etc. When homework comes around, each child takes his mason jar and sits down to do their homeowork. We always know where to find our stuff now, and it even looks stylish!

    We also keep busy bags and other activities for the youngest member of our family. Our 4-year-old has special needs, so kinetic sands and other activities are a great way to keep him busy and help him develop better motor skills.  The cart is the perfect spot to hold all of this and any other activities to give me a few minutes of uninterrupted time to cut those vegetables. It also makes him feel like he’s doing his homework just like the big kids!

    2 – Label maker: I used to think label makers were limited to office use only, but now I couldn’t live without them at home!  

    At the beginning of the school year I always order personnalized labels for each of my children, but there are always particular items that need their own special label. For example, for lunch containers, at our kids’ school, each container needs to be labeled with the child’s grade level, on top of which child it belongs to. Enter the label-maker. Surprisingly, they withstand quite a few washes before having to print a new one! It’s also great to label bins of outgrown clothes for the next child who uses them, or to label the files of memorabilia you’ll want to keep from each school year. I’m a big fan of the P-Touch, and always recommend that my friends buy their tape refills from Amazon. They are amazingly cheaper than in stores!

    3 – Lunch containers with compartments: Did anyone prepare you for the daunting task of school lunches?  I mean seriously. If preparing lunches wasn’t enough, you also have to factor in washing all those containers into your agenda… So, the magic of lunch containers with compartments is significant. You can transform six parts to be washed into just two. Think about it! Say you save two minutes washing, drying and putting away these containers. That’s six hours per year… or roughly six episodes of Game of Thrones. Priorities…

    So, game on! It’s a busy time of year, but integrating organizing solutions is so worth it! You’ll gain so much time in the long run!

    While we’re on this topic, what are your favourite organizing tools related to back-to-school?  

    Mylène Houle Morency is a Professional Organizer, speaker, and owner of FLO Organisation, which specializes in organizing families with children ranging from newborn to the teenage years. She has the firm conviction that organized homes help parents become the parents they want to be, by freeing up time and diminishing stress. She has the privilege to lovingly test all her theories and organization inspirations on her husband and three children!

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  • Owatonna, MN Family Reviews Improvements After Brain Training With LearningRx

    Owatonna, MN Family Reviews Improvements After Brain Training With LearningRx

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    Boy goes from struggling with reading and homework to enjoying reading and breezing through homework


    OWATONNA, Minn., June 21, 2019 (Newswire.com)
    –
    ​​​LearningRx (www.LearningRx.com), the world’s largest personal brain training company, is celebrating the success of Adam, who saw significant changes with his homework struggles and reading after completing a LearningRx program.

    Adam came to LearningRx Owataonna in Minnesota when his parents noticed that he didn’t enjoy reading and homework resulted in tears for both him and his parents.

    After completing his LearningRx personal brain training program, Adam achieved drastic improvements­. Now he enjoys reading and homework is a breeze.

    “LearningRx isn’t a homework helper, it’s a homework buster,” says Adam’s dad. “The staff here was engaging and helpful and always had Adam’s best interests in mind. LearningRx really gives you the tools you need to be successful.”

    Watch his video: http://studentshoutouts.com/2018/09/26/family-reviews-experience-owatonna-mn-learningrx

    About LearningRx

    LearningRx, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the largest one-on-one brain training organization in the world. With 80 Centers in the U.S., and locations in 39 countries around the globe, LearningRx has helped more than 100,000 individuals and families sharpen their cognitive skills to help them think faster, learn easier, and perform better. Their on-site programs partner every client with a personal brain trainer to keep clients engaged, accountable, and on-task — a key advantage over online-only brain exercises. Their pioneering methods have been used in clinical settings for over 35 years and have been verified as beneficial in peer-reviewed research papers and journals. To learn more about LearningRx research results, programs, and their 9.6 out of 10 client satisfaction rating visit http://www.learningrx.com.

    Source: LearningRx

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