I&#x27;m not sure what you expect the school to do in these situations.<p>On a school trip, the school is legally responsible for the kids. Trying to keep up with everyone - who came on the bus but is leaving early with their parents, who came with their parents but is riding back on the bus - especially with a large group. And it&#x27;s even worse today, since most of the kids have cell phones and will be begging their parents for an early pick up, so whatever the kid originally said they were going to do will change mid trip.<p>As far as the homework, what would you have them do?  They already have do much material to cover for standardized tests that they can&#x27;t thoroughly cover any topics they way they need to. They know it and they don&#x27;t have a choice. They can&#x27;t really slow down and take things slower for your kid because you think they&#x27;re overworked.<p>Teachers in the US are in a terrible place right now. On one side you have parents, both bad parents who aren&#x27;t involved and overly demanding ultra involved parents, and on the other side state and federal officials breathing down their necks about testing. Teachers are literally the meat in the middle of the vice. My mom is a retired teacher, and keeps in touch with a group of friends, almost all of whom she mentored.  These are all very good teachers, and all of them are veterans with 10+ years experience.  They&#x27;re all demoralized and every single one of them is counting the days until hit 20 years, so they qualify for retirement and can get out.