All the 411 on the after-school 911
Whatever the rules, whatever the consequences, in most cases if there is a student in the house, it follows as the night does day that there are daily battles over homework. Kids hate them, parents are exhausted — and it’s only October.
It does seem, as has been nationally noted, that children are doing much more homework at an earlier age. The reasons for this are varied, but many high school students are routinely doing up to four and five hours of work a night. Serious homework is beginning to appear in the earliest grades, and middle schoolers are already up to two and three hours a night in some local districts.
Add to this the fact that the subjects kids are learning are actually different — certainly in math, science, technology and, heaven help parents, “whole language,†this is the case. And they are definitely learning in very different ways and with graphing calculators. Of course, dedicated mothers and fathers still clear the kitchen table, all set to skip the 7 o’clock news and “focus on the family.†They come to the task of homework help with good intentions and years of wisdom but have forgotten a cardinal rule: Ye Cannot Teacheth Thine Own Progeny. The writer mom is told she knows nothing about “Macbeth,†and the engineer dad who thought who knew the value of Pi, hasn’t got a clue, or so sayeth the son. In some wonderful instances of domestic tranquility, the child is willing, but the parent long ago forgot which is the numerator and which is the denominator.
Never fear, homework help is here. The good news is there is an abundance of easily accessible support, from comprehensive study guides for math and English grammar to online tutoring, help sites and community support, wherever you live in Berkshire County.
Study guides for those going it alone
All the following books are commonly found online or at your local bookstores and libraries. Remember to request books from the inter-library system. Your local library can have them in a few days in most cases. If budgets are tight, try to at least invest in the paperback or used versions, as these books may be needed for more than the library’s loan time. Amazon.com is good, and you can search by grade or topic. (Also consider age-appropriate computer software. Programs like Oregon Trail, Carmen Sandiego and the Jump Start series can be played together, as can many of the creative math, geography science and language titles.)
Early Years:
“What Every Kindergartner Needs to Know†by E.D. JR Hirsch — An accessible introduction to the world of knowledge for parents and children.
“The Educated Child†by William Bennett.
“Ready for Kindergarten†by Sharon Wilkins, and Mona Daly.
“Math for Your First- and Second-Grader†by Steven Slavin.
“Making Sense of Story Problems†by SureMath Publishing, Inc.
“The Core Knowledge Series: What Your First Grader Needs to Know: Fundamentals of a Good First-Grade Education†by E.D. JR Hirsch (series goes through sixth grade).
“Books to Build On: A Grade-By-Grade Resource Guide for Parents and Teachers†by E.D. Hirsch and John Holdren.
“The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Vol. 1: Ancient Times†by Susan Wise Bauer et al.
“The Natural World†(The Usborne Illustrated Encyclopedia) by Lisa Watts.
Middle school and beyond:
“Understanding and Using English Grammar, Third Edition†by Betty Schrampfer Azar.
“Family Math: The Middle School Years, Algebraic Reasoning and Number Sense†by Karen Mayfield-Ingram and Virginia Thompson.
“Practical Algebra: A Self-Teaching Guide, 2nd Edition†by Peter H. Selby and Steve Slavin.
“All the Math You’ll Ever Need: A Self-Teaching Guide,†by Wiley Self-Teaching Guides.
Post millennium — amazing online research sites for students and parents:
Start with the search engines and bookmark the sites that will be used again. Make folders by subject and function for easy future access. We’ve chosen a sampling of sites and portals, but you will find those suitable for your family. Remember to click images when searching for downloadable photos for reports and presentations.
Search Engines for Children:
Eduhound (offers good educational links).
Kids123.com
Ask Jeeves for Kids.
Yahooligans.
KidsClick!
General Search:
Google
Excite
AltaVista
Lycos
Infoseek
Yahoo
Hotbot
Metacrawler
Ask Jeeves
Dogpile
Northern Light
Internet Sleuth
Some of the most valuable and esteemed publications and research giants are available free for students to use. They also provide great links to other useful sites. Many Berkshire County libraries provide access to online catalogues and e-books that can actually be read completely online. Williamstown card-holders enter their card number and can access more than 3,300 complete books. C/W MARS provides a shared searchable online catalogue for most of the public, academic, regional and state libraries in central and western Massachusetts. Visit your local library online to use the service. In the interest of saving space, we have omitted links — please search by link title.
Research Tools:
Color Landform Atlas of the U.S.
Countrywatch: maps and world news
Mapquest
Mother Goose : Listings of mother goose rhymes
Multonomah County Library Homework Center: Over 2,000 links to sites designed for students and homework help.
Fairfax County Public Schools: wonderful for links to great educational sites around the world. Very comprehensive.
NY Times:
• Student Navigator – lists an overwhelming 14 pages of categorized links to online research including language arts, social studies, economics, history, science, math, health, foreign language, fine arts and a host of education and reference sites.
• Learning Network, Grades 3 to 12: Learn by subject
Encyclopedia Britannica: Search here by alphabetical listing, index, year in review, subject, timeline, atlas, classics or Merriam-Webster dictionary. One-stop research shopping.
Encyclopedia Smithsonian: alphabetical links to everything Smithsonian, from reptiles to Stradivarius violins.
Refdesk.com: possibly the best on the Web for students. Really a homework help site divided by grades and subjects, with links to experts, quick reference and tools for term papers. Offers links to other homework sites.
netlibrary.com: a portal to the e-books in your local library. All you need is your card number and you’re reading the book online. Searching is available in six languages.
NationalGeographic.com Kids: research, homework help and pictures, articles, maps and more. Good for reports and presentations.
Libraryspot.com: Reference desk, links to libraries categorized by student’s age and subject, reading room, general, special and foreign language dictionaries.
Infoweb.newsbank.com: Read archived and current articles from major newspapers.
USGS/U.S. Geological Survey site: Ask-A-Geologist: Answers questions about volcanoes, earthquakes, mountains via e-mail.
Homework help sites for students
General:
Discoveryschool.com: the Discovery Channel’s site. Great for the younger set.
Pinkmonkey.com: Cliff notes online literary study guides. Always a good study tool. Double caution students on what cannot be taken verbatim and used for homework.
Math:
Mathforum.org: Includes student center, teachers’ place, research and parents’ pages. Separates math resources by subject and grade, K-12 and advanced math. Its award-winning “Ask Dr. Math†section allows students to ask specific math questions and receive e-mailed answers from one of 300 volunteer college students around the country.
math.com: homework help with subjects like Pre-Algebra broken down by subcategories like ratios and factoring. Includes expert link, calculators and tools, glossary and practice area.
Hotmath.com: Students can pull up their own math text by page and work the problem on the site, with automatic help for each step as they go.
Languages:
Perseus Digital Library: Affiliated with Tufts University’s classics department, the site covers research on the classics, the Renaissance, ancient civilizations and more.
Babel Fish Translation: one of several free sites that will translate immediately into another language. Best for contemporary popular languages.
Ilovelanguages.com: Links to language sites on the Web.
Notre Dame’s Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aide: translations and links to many other helpful, free Latin sites.
Tutors:
When outside help is the best answer, there are some good onsite and online choices. First try local high school students and colleges. Their community outreach offices know about tutoring programs and individual students who have signed up to help. The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams offers coaches through its “First Mentors†and “Reading Coaches†programs. Williams College has a Community Outreach Program, as do many of the local high schools. Community centers (such as Berkshire South in Great Barrington), churches, synagogues and libraries offer after-school programs that include homework help. The Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield has weekly teen and after-school reading clubs.
On-site centers:
Sylvan Learning Center: Albany
Kumon Math & Reading Centers: Albany and Schenectady locations.
A-1tutor.com: Provides tutors through a country-wide network of teachers matched to students via zip code.
Online Tutors:
Services online vary but may include e-mail or phone contact or one-on-one, with digital computer camera and microphones.
EnglishGrammar101.com
Tutor.com
The Ultimate Tutors
Tutornet.com
1800Tutors
Tutor 2000
Sylvan-online-tutoring.com
Interactivemathtutor.com
And by the way, you might ask another parent with similar challenges to trade — each parent tutors the other’s child. This can work beautifully, with none of the annoying rudeness and name-calling endemic to parent-child after-school sessions. Best of all, is your child’s teacher free to stay in after class one day a week? Bet the teacher could use some classroom help from a parent. You never know until you ask.
Jeanne Feder is associate editor of The Family Beat.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
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Dalton Announces New Supplier for Energy Program
DALTON, Mass. – The Town of Dalton has signed a thirty-four month contract with a new supplier, First Point Power.
Beginning with the January 2026 meter reads, the Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program will have a new rate of $0.13042 per kWh. The Program will also continue to offer an optional 100 percent green product, which is derived from National Wind Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), at a rate of $0.13142 per kWh.
For Dalton residents and businesses who are enrolled in the Town's Program, the current rate of $0.13849 per kWh will expire with the January 2026 meter reads and the new rate of $0.13042 per kWh will take effect. This represents a decrease of $5 per month on the supply side of the bill given average usage of 600 kWh. Additionally, this new rate is 3 percent lower than Eversource's Residential Basic Service rate of $0.13493 per kWh. Residents can expect to see an
average savings of $3 per month for the month of January 2026. Eversource's Basic Service rates
will change on Feb. 1, 2026.
Dalton launched its electricity program in January 2015 in an effort to develop an energy program that would be stable and affordable. From inception through June 2025, the Program has saved residents and small businesses over $1.7 million in electricity costs as compared to Eversource Basic Service.
It is important to note that no action is required by current participants. This change will be seen on the February 2026 bills. All accounts currently enrolled in the Program will remain with their current product offering and see the new rate and First Point Power printed under the "Supplier Services" section of their monthly bill.
The Dalton Community Choice Power Supply Program has no fees or charges. However, anyone switching from a contract with a third-party supplier may be subject to penalties or early termination fees charged by that supplier. Ratepayers should verify terms before switching.
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