As much as I thought I would never see my self thinking about school, I did anyway. When I went to school many of my teachers never aided us, and gave us this magical practice method referred to as homework. As I was thinking I was pondering on how or most importantly, why do we even have this practice system. And so I thought I call up a good teacher of mine and have a little debate if he agreed, in which he did.
So we had our little debate, I first clearly stated on why should students have homework? We take it home and spend more time working even more. As if eight hours is enough! And I personally would rather be doing something constructive or spending time with my loved ones than sitting down and trying to find the solution to 5x+3=-4. And to add to that, many people become punished due to not being able to figure out the lesson at hand, and the homework is practice for them! Which is surprising to me on why people must be punished cause they either have no help, cannot understand the lesson, or simply don't have the time.
The teacher answered by telling me that they expect the students to know the lesson as soon as they are finished lecturing/going over it. In which I think is a hunk of bull shit cause I clearly never get it on the first try, and due to that comment my following comment goes as follows. "If I do not get the lesson and get sent home with something to help practice, and I get punished cause I do not understand. Why must I get punished?" The teacher stated that it is your responsibility to finish the assignment right or wrong, he expects you to get the lesson and even if you to not get it. You are suppose to ask questions during or after it to help you out. But that did not shoot down my query, I continued to state my claim. And so I said that even though we all make mistakes, and when I did homework I usually get half of them right. And I get punished cause my thing was not mister perfect and missed a few problems, causing me to get a low grade. Affecting my chances on passing the grade.


The moral mainly is "Why do we have homework, which is suppose to be used for practice but we are graded on our mistakes in which we are trying to learn from to improve ourselves."

So what are your thoughts?

I had the luck of managing to convince my teachers to look for what I know, and not for what I don't know.

But some of them are just bastards.

Everyone knows that techers are really the Cultists of the Great God Homwark, who demands knowledge as a sacrifice. The Teachers feed him the knowledge you write down on Homework and tests, and then he gives his meal a letter grade based on how good it tasted.

Mmm tough one. As a teacher I don't really want to yank home a million and one papers and try to grade them all in one night, load all the grades in my book, come up with a project for the next day and make sure it's all set and ready to go in one night. My laziness aside, the main (and general) point of homework would be reinforcement. While it's nice to think you would go home and have intellectual and quality educational discussions with your family, most kids (and families) will take the trend of vegging out on the couch in front of the TV. This is not quality time and you really are learning jack and shit. Or how to do a good make-over. Or survive on a faux desert island.

To some teachers it's a tool to enhance what they went over during the day. The "learn by rote" stuff, like math and vocabulary, needs repetition to stick. Just going over it once in class is usually not enough. Going home and using the list of vocabulary words inside of interesting fantasy stories that each child wrote is something else entirely. That's enhancing what they learned in the classroom and expanding on it.

Don't ask me about math. I honestly flunked it from high school on and my poor parents spent far too much on tutors. The long and short for math, from my perspective, is that the more you do it in varying situations, the more you understand the mechanics of the problem.

Do ALL kids (and some adults) need this? No, not at all. And smart teachers will note who needs it and who doesn't. And the ones who don't will hopefully get challenging work in different areas.

The reason you get graded (beyond filling a fun book with pretty pretty letters and adding them all up in my free time JUST BECAUSE I LOVE IT) is for the school and administration to see the overall curve of where people are in terms of knowledge and how well the class is doing. It's also a gentle reminder (*in sotto voce* you idiot) that you did this at home WITH THE TEXTS AND INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO YOU and you still got it wrong. That maybe you really DO need to think about what you are doing before you put down an answer. Or to look up the answer later on.

It's all about reinforcing and checks and balances. The good educators will use it wisely and won't use it like a crutch and it's main form of "teaching". The others will abuse it and the people learning will suffer.

Meeeh.... I babble.

Basically, if you don't understand the lesson, you should ask for further explanation while still in the classroom. Additionally, with our rapid access to information via the internet, you have alternative methods to seek out more help once you are at home. Usually you also have a textbook to to consult which the teacher also uses as a classroom aid.

The homework is not only practice (which is good for any form of rote learning), but also lets the teacher see which students have an aptitude for the course material - or on the flip side, are simply not paying attention in class. Schools use a grading system (in many countries, a standardized system) to help in discovering potential for higher learning among students.

Not everyone is suitable for a university/college education. Some will excel in trades, some will simply never finish high school.

This is not to say that some can't profit from additional tutoring outside of the classroom. However, I think if you actually reflect on your question you already know the answers. Even if you didn't completely understand the teacher's lesson, there's something to be said for the voyage of self-discovery (& homework).

Learning is fun!

Well, if we weren't graded, no-one would do it. I know I have no motivation to do anything if it doesn't count for anything.


Or that the sponsor of today's episode is the letter M

Having lived out one of the plethora of other types of homelife, this is a bit quality time.

And besides, almost all homes where there is anything remotely resembling intelligent discussion, it's simply the adult pairing indoctrinating the child. I have three sisters. If I tell them something - anything - I can present arguments and certainty beyond anything they're capable of. What's worse, because those girls idolise me, they'll take my word over their teacher's every time. I know this because more than once I've contradicted their teacher and they assumed that I was correct.

It's not coincidence that libertarian parents have libertarian kids and so forth. It's attempts at "quality time" that shape the kids brain into the desired shape of the parents. Of course, my never having had time with either of my parents that wasn't marred by some sort of tension or unpleasantness does make me a little biased against the concept.


And let's not forget that some people are just lemons.

No use or skills or talents at all.


Yeah. I didn't do homework and it was graded. Think about how many lesser minds would have attempted what I did if their marks didn't depend on it?

And besides, don't we all like to punish the dumb kids just a little bit?

Well geez.

I'm citrusy.

i just never did homework in highschool
i had a few teachers who changed how they graded (making homework worth more) hoping that i'd do it but i never did. lowest i ever got was a B though, which really pissed off most of my Calc class since i would sleep in class.

Oh you asshole

In terms of quality time, sitting in front of the TV, for the AVERAGE person, will not impart anything really. Short of watching the History channel and discussing it with your progeny afterward, it's all mental down moments. Is it TOGETHER? Yes, and that is good. But it's not precisely educational. And it certainly isn't pushing the lesson into your head anymore.

I totally agree that not all people should go to college. Sometimes I wished I had taken off a year after college and figure what I really wanted to do before I started to shell out the $$$.

But that's all water under the bridge.

A thought to leave you with: even teachers have homework. And they are graded through their paycheck.

Huh. At my school, nearest I can figure was that most of the grades were due to homework right up until the end.

There's no other way for me to explain a D/C average jumping to an A/B average.

In my high school it was a fair playing field...HW was 25% of the grade projects were 15% tests were 30% and avg class work was 30%...I barely did HW because I mainly got it done in class...But I was never a good test taker....And projects...I did most of mine making website based projects...

That does seem like a pretty fair spread.

We were 33% homework, 33% classwork and 34% test until the last three years. I test very well but when you're getting less than 10% of the available marks in 66% of the total, you don't do well until they redistribute values.

33 33 34? Sounds like woman measurements haha...That's an interesting spread though...

It tried to allow for people who were talented at different things. I've always tested well but a lot of people test poorly. Some people can't do classwork for the distraction and some can't do homework for the lack of a teacher breathing down their neck.

I suspect they tried to be evenhanded until the years when it was time to assume the State's testing methods.

Fortunately, in our svhool we are only given completion grades, so you just make up crap and you still get A's.

I haven't had to do homework for about... 3 years, because whatever actually counted towards my grade I alwaysfinished in school. I'm a very good test taker (33 on my ACTS, WOOT!), and I have the extraordinary capability to ignore idiots during class.

Seriously though, when I go to school, I'm in school. Social life, friends, gf, family, etc. go into the secondary category (except if it's an emergency), and I can concentrate fully on whatever is at hand. The best part is that because of this I never need to cram (I learn, never memorize), my free time is actually free (what a concept), and my parents don't have the added weight of worrying about my grades on their shoulders, which in turn makes them much more amiable towards me.

I always did my Homework in School... But with one difference- I did it the day it was due. I would get to School and then do all of my Homework for 1st Hour in the 15 Minutes before School started, my Homework for 2nd Hour in 1st Hour, my Homework for 3rd or in 2nd, etc. Until I would get home and devote my time to these forums and other Internet endeavours.

A time-honoured tradition.

I actually never fully applied myself until my junior year..I was always in advanced english and history classes, and spanish was cake, but put me in math and science....I was done...Hence why I went military instead of going to college...I worried too late..

Yeah, I reckon I should need to start applying myself in two or three years.

I could probably manage without doing so but I'm starting to cut it finely.

As having just walked for my MBA and two graduate certificates, I have done a lot of homework. I also have taught. I personnally do not grade how well you have done your homework, just that you have done it sufficiently. What I mean by that is that if you have no clue or just filling it full of BS, then you don't get credit. However, I am not nitpicky on homework grading. (Some of my comments have been soul wracking (or just mean) according to my students on thier homework)

However, I find that generally people do as well on my tests as they do on the homework. Since my tests and homework tend to be in the short answer and essay format that fact makes sense. There is a direct correllation to people doing well on the homework and on the final. It does this by reinforcing what is taught in the class and usually lets you know how the teacher will word the final.

That said, most of the grad comes from the project for the class.

As a teacher I wouldn't give a flying fig when you did the work. As long as you did it, understood it, and turned it in. Then if you tested poorly (and not because you were a bad test taker) we'd have a talk. Try to figure out if there were alternate methods to shoving the information in your head.

I'm a big big big fan of projects. Busy work bothers me. But projects (with various check points for grading) tends to give people a better idea of the subject matter. Especially creative ones. I have this urge to let the 8th graders to a LOLCATS describing one of the stories we read. Possibly LOLCAT Shakespeare. I know I have problems but I want to see it!

Most of the homework I give are case study analysis. Since I teach business, it works out well. I like to get the case study writers, when I can, in the classroom to discuss the analysis by the students. It makes for a great learning experiance for everyone.

I try to make the projects as realistic as possible. I had a project management class where the students managed a small charity project. I find these educational and enlightening to my students. I had two students from that class switch programs because they found out they didn't like project management and had passed through several other teachers before having a clue about PM. Sigh, I love my job. Being adjunct makes it easier.

Are you dating a box? (No pun intended.)

Oh Masakatsu sounds like you're teaching the older ones. I tend to stick with the youngins'. So I can still baby them a bit and nudge them into those happy teen years. *snorts*

We do volunteer work in the 8th grade class as a requirement for graduation. Usually it's soup kitchens or something they can do on the weekend. But this year my partner teacher and I decided to try something new and went with a book program in India. The kids write stories based on suggested formats and design the books, the teachers compile then we get them printed and shipped to the schools in India. It was quite fun and the kids really liked it. Especially when we got thank you notes and compliments back from the kids in India who received our books.

IF i did homework, it was like that. i hated homework till the last week of school when half my teachers told me i'd fail if i didn't suddenly produce all my work....lot of late nights at th end of years......

Also, projects can blow me. I've never hated anything more then projects. I generally couldn't get together with the group, was terrible with a group, and didn't have the desire/effort to work on it, and they were always worth a test or more grade wise. it worked okay till 10-11-12 th grade when i discovered wow, became partially emo, and refused to do anything but sleep in class and take tests. needless to say, i failed a few things. woops.

Unfortunately, People are stupid and they will drag you down unless you can pull them off of you and crush them UNDER THE HEEL OF YOUR BOOT! THOSE FOOLS WHO TAUNTED ME ALL THOSE YEARS WILL KNOW THE TRUE MEANING OF PAIN!

Ummm... Yep. I have no issues.

I would have hated you back in the day.

I hated projects. I'd rather a surprise two hour exam than any project there is (although admittedly since I almost never do any study for any kind of test, most every exam is something of a surprise for me. I have shown up at school and found out I had a mid-year exam on the day before). I prefer the busy work.


Such a derogatory pun, too.


Seems reasonable and healthy to me.