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Health & Fitness

"Dude, What Gives?": A Letter to My Students on Homework

What is the purpose of homework anyway? Or, more specifically, why bother giving it? Why even do it?

Dear Arts High Students,

 

Over the past month, I’ve heard quite a few complaints, accompanied by persistent sighs, and even some grunts. We get along fabulously in class, no doubt about that. We talk about history and the world and how technology is changing everything. We even get to crack some jokes from time to time. But there’s been a hum in the room too, and I hear you loud and clear. You don’t have to ask the question, though many of you have. So let’s address it, right here, right now:

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Why does Mr. Kurz give so much homework? Or to paraphrase a student or two from last week, “Dude, what gives?”

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It’s a fair question for a high school student to ask. And I’m going to be honest with you here; it’s not exactly for the reason that you think. You may be thinking that I give homework in a vain effort to force you to be organized. To force you into filling blanks and meet requirements in order to teach you that life is about doing what you’re told, when you’re told. To be honest, that’s why we assign homework to kids in elementary and middle school. Children have to learn how to structure their lives, their work. Children must know that life is filled with time management and deadlines that must be met. In the lower grades, frankly, the material (math, science, history) is beside the point (most of the time). It’s about bringing the organization of school home and challenging the student to bring structure to their free time. As you’re now 15 or older, you already know this, or should. You know that there are deadlines to meet, requirements to fulfill. It’s not exactly a secret.  

 

Okay, so perhaps I give a lot of homework because I want to reinforce learning, right? Isn’t that what they taught me in “teacher school”? To sum up, bolster, review and stress what we went over in class that day? The answer is a resounding “not really.”

 

There have been numerous, dare I say, hundreds of studies done on the connection between assigned homework and retention of information in teens. The conclusions run all over the place. Some studies point to homework leading to better test scores and just plain smarter kids, while others conclude that it’s a monumental waste of time…that it’s nearly impossible to reproduce the atmosphere of the classroom or library at home or at some other scholastic site. Some studies show that it might actually keep teens from learning what they want to learn from other venues, such as the Internet, with peers or parents, or from some other off campus location. The French and Japanese give hours and hours of the stuff, yet their teens, on the whole, never grow up to be great scholars or philosophers. So again, I have to address the main point, “Dude, what gives?”

 

First, if you notice, about 99 percent of my homework comes in the form of customized sheets I create. Some of these sheets demand that you tell me what happened in a certain reading, documentary, etc., while others demand a degree of research on the web or at the library to answer certain questions. I do this purposefully, because with each assignment I want you to stretch your mind and go beyond just what you learned in class. But again, that’s not the primary reason.

 

Here’s the reason. Ready? It might not seem that much, but it really should blow you minds.

 

In the adult world there are really two kinds of people. Adults are actually both of them, but only one makes money, raises families and actually accomplishes something.

 

Let’s deal with the “first.” There are people who focus exclusively on themselves, their personal dramas, their wants, needs and desires. This description is one that fits some adults, but mostly all children and teens. These are people who spend their lives consuming. It’s not necessarily bad, and we all do it. These people are the ones who get caught up in events not of their own creation, and internalize everything. They alone make up the center of their own universe. Again, it’s a natural thing, and nothing to be ashamed of. We all do it. But believe me, this person generally makes little or no money or accomplishes anything, or at least, does anything meaningful or constructive for others.

 

What about the so-called “second” kind of person? Now we’re moving towards something! This person is a mature adult, or at least, the kind of adult I’m insisting that you be. This kind of person is forward enough, or at least has developed the habit, to actually find their own selfish traits to be annoying after a while, and automatically begin to challenge themselves to start thinking outside their own immediate world and situation. This is the kind of person who might see an 11 year old smoking a cigarette on the street, and along with thinking “that’s just gross” will additionally begin to wonder “why is that child smoking? What societal and economic forces are at work here? What were the motivations of the person who provided that cigarette? Should I even care? If so, what should I do about it?”

 

This second kind of person is like anyone else. They might have his or her share of personal drama and pain, because we all do. But there is an innate need, a pressing curiosity and a real appreciation in the value of interacting outside one’s self…of contemplating and participating in the wider world.

 

Now you may be thinking, “What? What does this have to do with homework on the Puritans and Quakers? What does any of this have to do with the homework you gave us requiring us to read parts of the Harvard website?” My answer is a resounding everything.

 

I give homework to break you out of the pattern of self-centeredness. I give you homework to teach you that it is the person who, even during their so-called “free” hours, needs to keep thinking about the wider world and their ever-changing place in it. I give you quizzes and tests and homework because as educated, progressive adults, we do that naturally in our heads (or should). We’re always taking stock of what we did, what we remember, and if we did anything useful with it (though I’ve got nothing against the study of knowledge for knowledge itself). In short, this weekend, I know you’ll be pondering how you will ask so-and-so out on a date, or whether or not you’ll ever talk to XYZ again after what they said to you. But I also want you, whether you like it or not, to really be thinking about Harvard, and where we can see Puritan values in our lives today, and why we see young kids smoking on the street, and whether or not we should start an antismoking campaign, and on and on….

 

I hope this letter make things a bit more clear. But please keep in mind, even though I seem old and ancient to you, I’m still learning. I’ll always be learning. Just like you, I’ll do my homework.

 

Sincerely,

Mr. Kurz

 

 

 

 

 

 


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