Sexy Jihad

This is one for all you kids to print out and show your teachers. A recent study has shown that too much homework can be counterproductive to student development:

Instead of improving educational achievement in countries around the world, increases in homework may actually undercut teaching effectiveness and worsen disparities in student learning, according to two Penn State researchers.
Most teachers worldwide are not making efficient use of homework, said David P. Baker, professor of education and sociology. They assign homework mostly as drill, to improve memorization of material either in math, science or the humanities. While drills and repetitive exercises have their place in schooling, homework may not be that place.

“Assigning textbook or worksheet questions as a drill assumes that the child has the kind of home environment conductive to supporting drill and memorization practice,” noted Gerald K. LeTendre, associate professor of education.

Upper-income parents, who tend to have closer communication with the school and with teachers, are better able to assist their children with homework. But in poorer households — often headed by single parents, parents with comparatively little education or, in some nations, parents held back by language barriers — homework may not be cordially received, especially by parents of small children.

“An unintended consequence may be that those children who need extra work and drill the most are the ones least likely to get it. Increasing homework loads is likely to aggravate tensions within the family, thereby generating more inequality and eroding the quality of overall education,” Baker said.

I always had a suspicion that this was the case. It’s better to allow people to have time to develop themselves, than giving them useless assignments to do that have no bearing on real life or any future career choices. When I see all the crap that younger people have to do these days I’m glad to have gone through school when the amount of homework you got was still reasonable .

And while we’re on the subject, what’s the deal with sending kids their homework when they’re home sick? What kind of twisted shit is that?

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