Your view on homework

[Master Jimmy]

What's your guys view on homework and how it's affecting students today? I say that we're getting too much and that it's killing us. It's not making us any smarter, and I'm getting pretty pissed about it. "Your supposed to get hours and hours every night." my mom says. Hours and hours is just pushing it.

[Inyri]

Homework in moderation is a very helpful tool for students. Homework in excess simply overburdens them, makes them not want to do it (and they often don't, as a result) and students suffer. Good teachers assign just enough homework to make sure the students understand the lesson. 50 problems on the same idea is rediculous, and it discourages students from actually doing their work because they feel overwhelmed by tedium.

 

Solution: college.

[Master Jimmy]

I don't have a problem with getting a bit, I mean, it's the last minute stuff that pisses me off. And what you just said has happened to me before. It creates bad blood between me and my parents and it sucks.

[Ambrose]

I'm in 6 AP classes this year, so I get a huge load of homework. Do I enjoy it? Heck no.

 

but... I wouldn't want to go without it nonetheless. Learning aside, (who needs to learn calculus anyways? ) homework is a nice grade-raiser in most of those classes. And it doesn't bug me too much because, despite the amount I get, I can usually manage to finish it during other classes, lunch, or tutorial period.

 

Do I think homework is useful as a learning tool? Depends on the student, I think. For me, no, I don't think it helps me personally, probably just because I do it just to get it done and get credit, not to learn anything. Other people who approach homework differently might get something out of it.

[Emperor Devon]

Quite the contrary, I think homework can be extraordinarily helpful. I don't know what grade you're in, but you'll come to appreciate it eventually, whether now or in college (I'll assume you're not in it yet if your parents are giving you advice on homework.)

 

Test and exams are extremely important to grades, and you're bound to get a better score on them if you study. Unfortunately, most students don't like to study very much, so to put it bluntly, a lot of them have to be forced to. If student's grades can go up or down depending on whether they do their homework or not, they're bound to. For how this is actually a good thing, answering questions and writing papers on topics is bound to give you a better understanding of them than if you just read a book or don't even bother with it at all all. I can look back across all the tests, quizes, and exams I've taken, and I know that I would've done much worse on them if I hadn't gotten any studying done, in the form of homework.

 

Viewing it as something useful over a method to waste your time will make a difference in how well you do. Since you probably have a few more years of high school and all of college left, homework isn't going to go away, so you might as well be optimistic about it.

 

Not to say it's always good, though. There've been times (this year included) that I've had to stay up late working to the point I would start drooling and falling asleep during class. However, I think it's worth it. I'd much rather get a few nights with unhealthy hours of sleep and get good grades rather than get to bed at 9 every day and get mediocre ones. In high school and college, grades count a lot; if you have to give up a chunk of your spare time to maintain them, it's still worth it, and homework can help a lot at that.

 

Whoa, I'm starting to sound like Jae.

[Bimmerman]

I went through high school taking both Ap and IB classes and am now doing engineering in college, and I'm all for homework. I hate it, with a fiery passion from the depths of hell, but there's no other way to learn the material. Just sitting in lecture, even with a photographic memory(trust me), doesn't work. I spent a good four to six hours just on calculus homework every week, and although I would much rather have done something else(skiing comes to mind), I learned calc as a result, and I'm way better off for it.

 

Parents were right on homework, it kills me to say it.

[SithRevan]

I think that homework can be good and also can be bad. The good part is that it gives more of an extensible knowledge of what is going on and how to solve things like seemingly impossible math equations. Now on the other hand it is a bad thing because teachers and college professors like to hand out truck loads of it. So my view on it is neutral. I personally don't like doing it though.

[MdKnightR]

What's your guys view on homework and how it's affecting students today? I say that we're getting too much and that it's killing us. It's not making us any smarter, and I'm getting pretty pissed about it. "Your supposed to get hours and hours every night." my mom says. Hours and hours is just pushing it.

 

Let's get a teacher's point of view, shall we?

 

It may come as a shock that I, as an art teacher, issue homework. Yes...Art Homework. For most classes, it involves spending about 5 minutes a day sketching on a particular topic and I check sketchbooks at the end of the week to see that there are as many drawings in each as there are days in the school week. Sketchbooks account for 15% of the grade (no sketches, no "A" average). I know it doesn't sound like much, but you wouldn't believe the laziness.

 

As for the other subjects: Yes, I agree that some teachers issue too much homework. Homework is supposed to enhance learning, but when you have more problems than are necessary to learn an idea, it can get cumbersome. However, college is no walk in the park and it will require you to have good study skills. I would spend a LOT of time doing homework, studying, and spending late hours in the art studios working on projects. When I didn't have something urgent to do, I researched (and still do) topics of interest on the internet.

 

Bottom line: Get over it. It is a "necessary evil" in a manner of speaking. Just do it.

[Diego Varen]

I hate homework. It is the worse schoolwork ever invented. I'd rather do all work in school and nowhere else. Oh well, at least I haven't got homework over my Christmas holiday.

[ET Warrior]

Homework is an essential part of learning. Sitting in lecture and watching the professor to problems or explain concepts is not enough to adequately impart the knowledge necessary to pass a subject without actually having problems that you work on and complete by yourself. Too much homework, while cumbersome, isn't actually going to do any harm, aside from reducing your social life.

It's actually good to have that though, if you decide to go on to college there will be classes that have projects that WILL force you to pull all-nighters to complete.

[CountVerilucus]

just dont do it and ace the tests cuz you are a genius

[Sabretooth]

I wouldn't mind light or optional homework, it keeps your mind sharp even after school hours, so your mind doesn't miss anything. Homework, however must be something that can be classified alongside any other activity like sports, TV, hanging out and so on, and not above an activity.

 

I'm not for removal of homework, but lightening it up, definitely.

[igyman]

Solution: college.

You don't know how right you are. As a college student I don't get any homework, but I do have to study a lot.

[Pho3nix]

Personally, I hate the fact that you have to take school with you home. And you can't just forget about it when you come home.

 

But the way I've understood the issue is if schools wouldn't give you homework you would have to spend more hours at school. Not sure if that's right though.

[Jason Skywalker]

Lighten up the homework, i rarely get homework these days, thankfully, but when i get homework, the teachers abuse of it!

[HerbieZ]

Back when i used to give a damn. I used to work on my homework so much. One weekend i whittled the two days away on homework to a great quality and come monday realized i had missed one and got a detention for it. From that time onwards i did'nt give a damn about homework anymore. It completely shattered my confidence after i worked so hard on my homework and then got punished for it. I gave up after that. Crap education system.

[Grey Master]

Homework is an essential part of learning. Sitting in lecture and watching the professor to problems or explain concepts is not enough to adequately impart the knowledge necessary to pass a subject without actually having problems that you work on and complete by yourself. Too much homework, while cumbersome, isn't actually going to do any harm, aside from reducing your social life.

It's actually good to have that though, if you decide to go on to college there will be classes that have projects that WILL force you to pull all-nighters to complete.

 

 

I know that homework is important, but we also have a life. My teachers always give me tons of homework and expect it to be done by the next day.

 

 

I hate homework. It is the worse schoolwork ever invented. I'd rather do all work in school and nowhere else. Oh well, at least I haven't got homework over my Christmas holiday.

 

 

You are so LUCKY!!! I have to do 3 projects and compositions!!!

[The Source]

Think about it this way: If you don't do your homework, you will not be trained properly for a career. Think about school as training for your big job. Your employeer is the teacher.

 

After I graduated from Junior College, I worked full-time for a newspaper. Once the clock hit 5:30, I packed up some of my work and brought it home. I ended up working anywhere from 8 hours to 12 hours a day. Why? I love what I do for a living.

 

Without understanding what homework does for me, I wouldn't have learned the skills I neded to excel. I wouldn't have the oportunity to gain a high income, become an intellectual, or anything else.

[Jae Onasi]

Whoa, I'm starting to sound like Jae.

 

And this is bad how?

 

Homework--my job in high school was to learn and do well in school. The homework is not just to learn the subject, it's intended to get you used to doing a little work, too.

 

I hated the 2 hours of physics homework I had every night when I was a senior. It was an AP level class, and to be honest, it was harder than most of my undergrad courses. However, when I took physics in college, it was much, much easier than it would have been if I hadn't put the work into the subject in high school. Also, because I'd learned good study habits in high school, I didn't have to learn them in college, and it made the transition to college a lot easier. Jimbo skated through high school with virtually no homework, and when he hit college and suddenly had to do homework on a regular basis, it was a very rude awakening for him because he hadn't developed those study skills, but I'll let him tell his story.

 

Some things can only be learned through repetition. The only way to get better at writing, for instance, is to do a lot of it. The only way I could get better in taekwondo was to practice some of the forms over and over again to refine the moves. When I took piano in college, the only way to make the piece sound good was to spend a lot of time in the practice room. There's a difference between knowing how to do something and knowing how to do it _well_.

 

Build a good base in high school, and it will make college a lot easier. Your high school teachers care about you getting your homework in and will work with you. In college, while most profs are very understanding, if you don't put the effort in, they have no qualms about giving out a failing grade. Since you are now paying for those classes, a failing grade means you have to take it over and pay again for that course. I sure didn't want to pay a couple hundred dollars for an F.

 

The work I put into homework in high school (and I put a lot of work in, believe me) was well worth it, and it made college easier as a result.

[RC-1162]

i don't mind a moderate level of homework, but my maths sir gives the whole chapter's exercises to be done in 2 days! i mean, WTF is up with that? moron.

 

but what i hate most is the holiday assignment scheme. we get two months off, and we have to spend them slogging for revision tests and prepare projects on topics known only by two to three people all over the world. i hate the dumb topics we get. at least something reasonable for history like the 'Battle of Waterloo' or something? but nooo, only 'Opium Production in Bengal'. urgh.

[MetalMark]

Homework sucks!

The last minute homework in my class is mostly overwritten* from somebody else and the homework we knew about for a while allready also sometimes overwritten. Learning is something I must do if I want to stay at this school.

 

*I'm not englisch so I don't know if this is the right word but I mean that I didn't make it and somebody else did and I write is over.

[Jae Onasi]

Homework sucks!

The last minute homework in my class is mostly overwritten* from somebody else and the homework we knew about for a while allready also sometimes overwritten. Learning is something I must do if I want to stay at this school.

 

*I'm not englisch so I don't know if this is the right word but I mean that I didn't make it and somebody else did and I write is over.

 

There are 2 English words for that: a. cheating and b. plagiarism.

[mimartin]

I have two different views on this. In high school, I was a C student at best. It was way more important to me to go out with friends or to work, than to do homework. I only did the minimal amount of homework needed to pass the course.

 

In college I did everything assigned (optional or not). I stopped going out except on weekends and devoted myself to my education. I didn’t study any harder for exams, but having done the course work my GPA ended up being a 3.78 upon graduation. The major difference for me was paying for my own education, I wasn’t about to waste that much of my own money. I also discovered that the extra credit homework problems where usually on exams or if you were able to do them you’d be able to do anything on the exam.

 

I hate group homework. In a marketing class we were assigned to give an hour long report that would make up 60% of our final grade. There were 5 members to each group. We devised a plan and assigned each member a section. We all wrote a 10 page report on our assigned subject. The Thursday before the exam I was given all the reports to make a power point presentation and to edit and proof read the completed report. Upon reading the report I discover all four sections were plagiarized directly from a Commerce Department Report (if I could figure this out I had no doubt someone with a masters degree could). I tried to call and email the group, but no one replied. I was in a dilemma, did I go ahead with the report. My part was not plagiarized, but I knew the other parts were. I would be just a guilty as them. Should I tell the professor, thus getting four classmates kick out. I ended up rewriting the entire report and making sure the original Commerce Report got its proper credit and brought in other sources to back it up. Stayed awake 24 hours straight before the presentation, but I finished. The others were mad that I changed the report, but they got over it when we got an A.

[igyman]

There are 2 English words for that: a. cheating and b. plagiarism.

Meh. Everyone does it at least once in their life. I know I did. And all my friends. (back in high school, if we forgot to do our homework and the teacher already said (s)he'd check it.)

[JediMaster12]

mimartin: You did good. If you went along with plagerism, you could have gotten kicked out of school. I hate doing group work because I always ended up with the lazy ones that didn't put their best foot forward. My reasoning was that my teachers knew what I was capable of and thought that I could inspire those students to work.

 

Schoolwork comes easy but I am not afraid to admit when I have met my match. Having done college level work since day one in high school has kept me on a track that has smoothed my transition to college. The only bumpy part was my social life. It still sucks but getting better. It also stems from a natural desire and love of learning. I read textbooks for fun sometimes. Homework I see as a way of reinforcing the lesson that has been taught. I admit there are times when I felt overwhelmed but that is mostly my own fault because of my incurable habit of procrastination and the need to satisfy an adrenaline rush.

Personally I think the system is lousy here in my part of southern CA. The AP courses are the only thing that is up to par with college level work. With college prep, students just skate by. I used to hear how one teacher assigned homework but didn't collect and the student still got an A. To me a grade has to be earned. To earn a grade through hard work and perserverance brings more satidfaction than showing up every day, do nothing and pass. I am sorry but the education system has been dummied down way too much for students. It's like saying that you expect them to fail. I apologize if this is off topic but the complaints about homework are nothign but petty whinings of people allergic to a little hard work. Yes a good teacher knows how to stimulate the students in a positive way and keep the lesson reinforced with a homework assignment.

Homework in highschool is nothing compared to what you get in a 400-level college course coupled with your upper division writing requirement along with a portfolio due at the end of the quarter. Time budgeting becomes important and I am not saying that you can't have a life either. All I am saying is that high school should be pure picnic in comparison. Granted that there are teachers out there who are so arrogant that they think they can keep doing the same thing and not change with the times.

 

I will stop now because I go ramble and go on forever. Stop your complaints and talk to the teacher. Ask why nicely is there so much. If you have a problem they are there to help you.