Update - spoke to "Debra" today and had a really good conversation. First of all, she was open to the idea that there might be too much homework, and said that the new teacher was still trying to calibrate it, and that feedback was good.
But then she also said that DD is at a "wall" that all kids have to push their way through, which is becoming comfortable with writing. She said that DD is exactly at that point, and she would like to see her go ahead and push through it.
Then she gave me some tips for making it easier. She said it was okay to give DD permission to make the sentences as short as possible, and that I shouldn't fight with her about spelling out words that I *know* she knows, I should offer as much help as she wants. The point that they care about is getting the kids to experience success with writing actual sentences.
Then she called DD in and asked her to try an experiment this evening of setting the timer for 15 minutes and seeing how much she could get done. Well, we did that, and she finished almost all of the week's spelling homework in that 15 minutes.
Hooray for sane school personnel!
