Fighting Words - NYTimes.com Some school districts are lowering the homework load, to try to lower the pressure on students. But the competition for college admission, not to mention the stress of testing, remains. If we coddle them when they're younger, what happens when they get into the real world? No one's going to say to them, "You don't have to work extra hard to get that project done; just turn in what you got." " - KAROL BALL, 51, MOTHER OF TWO TEENAGE SONS