Too Much Homework is Not Enough
The kids are back in school, and for the most part, that seems to sit well with most parents. There are some however, that are up in arms, in the annual ritual flogging of homework. The media being the media, have latched on to the story and it has even made the cover of Macleans. What's all the brouhaha about? Well, it appears that there are some parents who think their kids are getting just way too much homework in school.
Amanda Cockshutt, an advocate of less homework, complains in the National Post: "The whole evening centres around this mad dash to get the homework done -- and then everyone's mad at each other. It cuts into family time and it really sours the night." I think there are a few things happening here, that have spurred comments like Cockshutt's and the rally against homework.
First and foremost, kids in general, with too few exceptions, are just bloody lazy and stupid. Further, they see no problem with this. They live in a world of entitlement. What they want, they should get and it shouldn't necessarily be earned. These kids show up to school and specialize in doing the bare minimum to get by. They complain about their teachers, the amount of work they have to do and their lives in general. They specialize in outfitting themselves with the latest fashion, music and spend way too much time playing video games or surfing the net. These kids are losers. There are many of them.
Second, there are the teachers who are likewise losers -- and there are many of those, compared with the few exceptions. Like the kids they teach, they specialize in giving the bare minimum, and just giving passing grades. They don't challenge, inspire or develop their students. They teach by rote, not questioning what is being fed to them via textbooks and unintentionally conspire to drain any aspirations that students may have -- unintentionally, because these teachers can hardly be counted on to do anything intentionally. While these teachers do the bare minimum, they are guided by provincial standards that require them to complete curriculums and prepare students for standardized tests. The result, the bare minimum being done in class, and the students being left to their own devices with homework.
Then there are the parents, who, with few exceptions, are no better than the teachers who teach their kids -- losers. The education system for a lot of these parents is just a means of babysitting their children. For some, the babysitting is a necessity. Single parents or immigrants with multiple jobs, trying to make ends meet, with the school representing the only community support they are going to get. For others, their lives are just too busy for them to play an active role in instilling the excitement of learning. Their children's education is a job if they have to participate. I read Cockshutt's comments, and I couldn't help but think that maybe homework could be part of family time. The process of learning should be part of what a family does together. Think of what she's teaching her children -- that their education is interfering with her selfish definition of family time. Regardless of the circumstances, the behaviour is the same -- parents who have no keen interest in their children's education, but are ready to throw a tantrum when the marks just don't meet expectations.
Lastly, the government, which specializes in issuing edicts, conducting surveys and tests, and publishing aggregated results that demonstrate their policies are working, while the rot continues unchecked in the details. The government's job isn't to occupy the governing seats, and figure ways of ensuring they continue to occupy those seats. Our elected officials are there to enact policies that will ensure the future viability of our society. One means is the education of future generations. Our children need to be educated in order to be able to compete in the future. There is no inheritance we can provide that would ensure their expectations of the future will be met. The best we can provide them is the means to compete, and education plays a big role.
As I read the articles on this topic, I was reminded of some students I read of recently in BusinessWeek magazine. One article looked at the students and their pace at the Meadowmount School of Music. These students know that to be the best, they have to practice. Their learning is their life. Another article profiles a student from rural India, who wants so much to transcend his caste and the poverty of generations, that he has dedicated himself to the pursuit of a science and math education. With no money, the only way he's going to succeed is by being a brilliant student. He knows this, and he studies like he wants it.
What do our children want? What do we want for them? And since when has our aspirations settled for mediocrity?
Amanda Cockshutt, an advocate of less homework, complains in the National Post: "The whole evening centres around this mad dash to get the homework done -- and then everyone's mad at each other. It cuts into family time and it really sours the night." I think there are a few things happening here, that have spurred comments like Cockshutt's and the rally against homework.
First and foremost, kids in general, with too few exceptions, are just bloody lazy and stupid. Further, they see no problem with this. They live in a world of entitlement. What they want, they should get and it shouldn't necessarily be earned. These kids show up to school and specialize in doing the bare minimum to get by. They complain about their teachers, the amount of work they have to do and their lives in general. They specialize in outfitting themselves with the latest fashion, music and spend way too much time playing video games or surfing the net. These kids are losers. There are many of them.
Second, there are the teachers who are likewise losers -- and there are many of those, compared with the few exceptions. Like the kids they teach, they specialize in giving the bare minimum, and just giving passing grades. They don't challenge, inspire or develop their students. They teach by rote, not questioning what is being fed to them via textbooks and unintentionally conspire to drain any aspirations that students may have -- unintentionally, because these teachers can hardly be counted on to do anything intentionally. While these teachers do the bare minimum, they are guided by provincial standards that require them to complete curriculums and prepare students for standardized tests. The result, the bare minimum being done in class, and the students being left to their own devices with homework.
Then there are the parents, who, with few exceptions, are no better than the teachers who teach their kids -- losers. The education system for a lot of these parents is just a means of babysitting their children. For some, the babysitting is a necessity. Single parents or immigrants with multiple jobs, trying to make ends meet, with the school representing the only community support they are going to get. For others, their lives are just too busy for them to play an active role in instilling the excitement of learning. Their children's education is a job if they have to participate. I read Cockshutt's comments, and I couldn't help but think that maybe homework could be part of family time. The process of learning should be part of what a family does together. Think of what she's teaching her children -- that their education is interfering with her selfish definition of family time. Regardless of the circumstances, the behaviour is the same -- parents who have no keen interest in their children's education, but are ready to throw a tantrum when the marks just don't meet expectations.
Lastly, the government, which specializes in issuing edicts, conducting surveys and tests, and publishing aggregated results that demonstrate their policies are working, while the rot continues unchecked in the details. The government's job isn't to occupy the governing seats, and figure ways of ensuring they continue to occupy those seats. Our elected officials are there to enact policies that will ensure the future viability of our society. One means is the education of future generations. Our children need to be educated in order to be able to compete in the future. There is no inheritance we can provide that would ensure their expectations of the future will be met. The best we can provide them is the means to compete, and education plays a big role.
As I read the articles on this topic, I was reminded of some students I read of recently in BusinessWeek magazine. One article looked at the students and their pace at the Meadowmount School of Music. These students know that to be the best, they have to practice. Their learning is their life. Another article profiles a student from rural India, who wants so much to transcend his caste and the poverty of generations, that he has dedicated himself to the pursuit of a science and math education. With no money, the only way he's going to succeed is by being a brilliant student. He knows this, and he studies like he wants it.
What do our children want? What do we want for them? And since when has our aspirations settled for mediocrity?
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