Help for Homework Headaches
The Atlanta Public School’s Homework Hotline: a free service for students around the country
678-553-3029
www.myhomeworkhotline.org
For many parents, the particulars about percentages or the past tense of “lie” are long-forgotten lessons. So what happens when their child needs help with a tricky math problem or an irregular verb? Assistance awaits at the end of the phone line.
The Atlanta Public School’s Homework Hotline is a free community resource staffed by retired and current teachers who are experts in math, science, Spanish, language arts and social studies. From 4 to 9 p.m. every Monday through Thursday, they man the phones from a corner of the Public Broadcasting Atlanta building in Midtown, a space that was at one time a school itself.
“The hotline is a great resource,” said Dan Gillette, the APS’s broadcasting director. “I have three boys myself, and I’ve tried to help them with homework, but heaven knows, there are some math functions I need help with.”
The hotline started in the late 1980s. It was first based at Grady High School then moved to another APS facility before finally settling into the PBA building on Bismark Road. Though its original objective was to help APS students, it has since expanded its reach across the country, thanks to a grant received in 2010.
“We have students calling in from California, Texas, all over,” said Glenn Randall, a retired APS math teacher who has been answering hotline calls for 13 years. “Some calls may take a minute; others are longer. But students can call 20 times a night if they need help.”
Science teacher Willie Mae McLeod retired in 2004, but she’s been working with the hotline since 2002.
“The hotline is very different from being in the classroom and trying to make someone learn when they don’t want to,” said McLeod. “The students who call us usually do so because they are looking for help, and I enjoy working with them one-on-one.”
The Hotline is also a resource for parents. Team member Julio Blanco, a teacher at Bolton Academy, works with many Spanish speaker who want to help their children. “I’ve had parents spell me assignments letter by letter so I could tell them what it said,” he said.
What the hotline teachers won’t do, they point out, is just give students the right answers.
“Oh, yes, I’ve had students call and say, ‘I don’t have time for you to tell me how to do it; just give me the answer!’ ” said McLeod. “But my job is to help them understand the concepts so they can answer them for themselves. And I’ve had several students who didn’t like that approach.”
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