Every now and then, I read something that convinces me our country is doomed. Such as this report from West Virginia, which requires no additional commentary:

MOUNDSVILLE – Days of lugging home heavy backpacks filled with textbooks could soon be over for students in Marshall County, where school officials may stop requiring them to complete their homework.
Bonnie Ritz, director of curriculum and instruction, said administrators have discussed a policy that would not penalize students for failing to do their homework. The idea is that students who do their homework would improve their grades, but students not doing the work would not see grades suffer as a result. She said the concept grew out of concerns that some students in the county don’t have sufficient help or resources at home…
…”We always have to be aware that we have students that don’t have support at home or may not have computers to help them,” she said.