Comment Re:While this particular instance is more than... (Score 1) 534
I wholeheartedly agree.
I am a 13-year old student, and, while (thankfully) I don't have much homework (I have WAY too much free time...) I can understand your complaints about busywork.
This describes my experience in Math in 7th grade:
1. Learn unit. Do homework.
2. Spend entirety of subsequent class going over that homework. Do new homework.
3. Repeat step 2 until test.
4. If really lazy kid who refused to do work did not get a good grade, review unit for one to five classes.
This is a pity because I really like math. Now, thankfully, I have a better teacher. He goes through unit after unit really fast, and people understand it. The same person who was lazy in 7th grade is in the same class, and the teacher always talks about how good his grades are. However, all these people are right about the class being too easy; I got a quarter grade of 100. And this is a high-school level math class!
I have the same situation with French. Last year, I had a strict French teacher who actually taught French. I learned hundreds and hundreds of new words with her, and I really like her class. My current teacher is different. Most of our class time is taken up with doing things like crossword puzzles, word searches and reviewing material we already know. A conservative estimate I have about this class is that a full 20% of our time is spent watching DVDs of American movies dubbed into French, with English subtitles. I have learned a single word from this process: "Hereux." Educational!
I also agree that is important that the quality of homework increases, not the quantity, because I like to actually DO stuff on my own. Not all of my childhood should be spent with my pencil on looseleaf doing math problems. Thankfully, it isn't, and I can take walks in the woods next to my school or hang out with my friends in town.
My brother is in elementary school, and he has it so bad. We had a nice old principal named Ms. Wishnie, who was kind, smart, and knew just how to make us kids happy. Now we have a new principal.
For some reason, she is compelled to think that 70% of kids at my brother's school are fat. A more likely statistic (provided by my brother) is 0.8%. She hired these people to put on a play entitled "Jack Sprat Low Fat- World Tour!" My brother hated it. Soon pictures of the play were hung outside along with snippets of text such as (word for word): "Brown food is good for you!" and "Make sure the food you eat is many different colors!" Another poster was put outside that displayed an OUT-Of-DATE food pyramid, and text that said "Coming soon - March 22- HEALTHYVILLE! Food! Games! Prizes!" Since she moved into the school, my parents have had to take him to a tutoring center.
She has also:
* Decided that sand is evil, and replaced the playground sand with woodchips. Digging is impossible, and we used to dig little trenches that water would run through. not anymore.
* Decided that regular division is "old-fashioned," and replaced it with her own system.
* Given the kids textbooks that treat them like complete idiots, and
* Hired a vice-principle bent on destroying the notion of "fun" in favor of a tiny added safety.
Ben Franklin once said that "those who are willing to give up essential freedom for a little added safety deserve neither freedom nor safety."
I had a good friend who moved to a private school. It's a good thing HE can; those are expensive.
Plus, these schools have no problem with funding; a desperate assemblyman running for reelection managed to give us a $10,000,000 grant. We used it to buy electronic whiteboards called SmartBoards.
You've heard it said from all of these posts; now you have a firsthand account to prove it.
P.S. My school district was ranked 104th in the country and a "National School of Excellence."
I am a 13-year old student, and, while (thankfully) I don't have much homework (I have WAY too much free time...) I can understand your complaints about busywork.
This describes my experience in Math in 7th grade:
1. Learn unit. Do homework.
2. Spend entirety of subsequent class going over that homework. Do new homework.
3. Repeat step 2 until test.
4. If really lazy kid who refused to do work did not get a good grade, review unit for one to five classes.
This is a pity because I really like math. Now, thankfully, I have a better teacher. He goes through unit after unit really fast, and people understand it. The same person who was lazy in 7th grade is in the same class, and the teacher always talks about how good his grades are. However, all these people are right about the class being too easy; I got a quarter grade of 100. And this is a high-school level math class!
I have the same situation with French. Last year, I had a strict French teacher who actually taught French. I learned hundreds and hundreds of new words with her, and I really like her class. My current teacher is different. Most of our class time is taken up with doing things like crossword puzzles, word searches and reviewing material we already know. A conservative estimate I have about this class is that a full 20% of our time is spent watching DVDs of American movies dubbed into French, with English subtitles. I have learned a single word from this process: "Hereux." Educational!
I also agree that is important that the quality of homework increases, not the quantity, because I like to actually DO stuff on my own. Not all of my childhood should be spent with my pencil on looseleaf doing math problems. Thankfully, it isn't, and I can take walks in the woods next to my school or hang out with my friends in town.
My brother is in elementary school, and he has it so bad. We had a nice old principal named Ms. Wishnie, who was kind, smart, and knew just how to make us kids happy. Now we have a new principal.
For some reason, she is compelled to think that 70% of kids at my brother's school are fat. A more likely statistic (provided by my brother) is 0.8%. She hired these people to put on a play entitled "Jack Sprat Low Fat- World Tour!" My brother hated it. Soon pictures of the play were hung outside along with snippets of text such as (word for word): "Brown food is good for you!" and "Make sure the food you eat is many different colors!" Another poster was put outside that displayed an OUT-Of-DATE food pyramid, and text that said "Coming soon - March 22- HEALTHYVILLE! Food! Games! Prizes!" Since she moved into the school, my parents have had to take him to a tutoring center.
She has also:
* Decided that sand is evil, and replaced the playground sand with woodchips. Digging is impossible, and we used to dig little trenches that water would run through. not anymore.
* Decided that regular division is "old-fashioned," and replaced it with her own system.
* Given the kids textbooks that treat them like complete idiots, and
* Hired a vice-principle bent on destroying the notion of "fun" in favor of a tiny added safety.
Ben Franklin once said that "those who are willing to give up essential freedom for a little added safety deserve neither freedom nor safety."
I had a good friend who moved to a private school. It's a good thing HE can; those are expensive.
Plus, these schools have no problem with funding; a desperate assemblyman running for reelection managed to give us a $10,000,000 grant. We used it to buy electronic whiteboards called SmartBoards.
You've heard it said from all of these posts; now you have a firsthand account to prove it.
P.S. My school district was ranked 104th in the country and a "National School of Excellence."
