I know virtually nothing about modern homework: how much there is, what it consists of, etc. All I know is that the backpacks the kids use today seem bigger and heavier than the bookbags we lugged around quite a few years ago.

But above and beyond the particulars of homework, the coach in me wonders about the “why.” What is the purpose of homework?

Is it a way to keep kids occupied after school?
Is it a way to deepen learning?
Is it a way to assert a teacher’s authority?

I just don’t know, but would love to hear more, because homework is a big part of the world for the student/athletes I’m coaching. If you’re an educator, or know one, please help me with this question: What is the purpose of homework?

Not at Immaculate Heart Academy in Northern New Jersey. There, and perhaps at other schools around the country, the rule is hard and fast: You cannot miss a school event to attend a club function.

And this rule has brought an end to Tara Schwitter’s high school career. In a column in The Record newspaper of Bergen County, Art Stapleton lays out a situation that brought tears all around.

Tara missed a holiday basketball tournament to attend a three-day soccer tournament that she believed was crucial to her nailing down a scholarship to Miami. IHA told her she could no longer play basketball.

“We had to make sure no one believes one kid is more important than another kid,” IHA principal Patricia Malloy said. “We just had to make the best decision for our school.”

Schwitter said, “I expected some sort of penalty, and I understand that, but to take away my whole season, I still can’t believe it.”