There are many ways to look at this issue. On the one hand- there really isn’t enough time to teach kids everything they might need in the world while giving them a solid and broad foundation to build more specialized education to fit their goals on- or at the least instilling the basic skills and knowledge to be a decently functional member of society capable of critical thought and independent verification.
There is also a very strong argument that in an increasingly competitive world- a world where more and more people are competing for shares of diminishing resources- where the kindergarten one gets in to or the district of their primary school can profoundly effect their future- a world where (as another common meme bemoans) entry level jobs often require years of relatable experience- those tasked with children’s futures owe it to kids to maximize their efforts.
Then of course we can say that if school is in whole or part to prepare kids for what adult life.... kids should probably get used to taking work home- as that is increasingly the “norm.”
Where it gets complex- is that kids are... kids. If we are training and building them up to be able to handle adult life- we still have to remember they aren’t adults right? Most any successful training program is incremental- that is to say- a weight lifter who can lift 500lbs- at some point could only lift 5lbs. Over time, and steadily increasing the weight as they went- they became able to lift all 500lbs. If you had given them 500lbs- or even half of that 10 years ago before they had trained- they couldn’t lift it- and likely would have been injured- their progress would actually be slowed by adding too much too soon.
The balancing point is that when a kid turns 18- they aren’t a kid. Suddenly if they do t do their taxes, register for the draft, show up for jury duty, pay their debts, etc- it isn’t a game anymore. The consequences become real. As many young folks say- the period from “high school kid” to “young legal adult..” of the later teens and 20’s can be overwhelming, confusing, and very difficult.
Just like our weight lifter- you can’t give kids a 20lb weight for 17 years and then when they turn 18 drop 500lbs on them. You have to increase expectations on them, consequences, and of course their independence so that they can transition into adulthood as smoothly as possible. So there are some very compelling reasons why it makes perfect sense one cannot sleep in class but must work at home- remember- in the “real world” it isn’t like public school. You aren’t guaranteed a spot- and if you won’t do something, someone else will. In school you’re mostly competing against yourself- in the world you’re competing against everyone else who wants what you want or what you have. But kids need time to grow as individuals and to not just “be kids” but to relax and for their mental health too. Increase the load as they age.
I mean when people work from home its usually still work hours. Most jobs don't make you keep working multiple hours at home after already working a full day at the office.
Also theres this weird trend in schools of filling up class time and not allowing kids to work on the assignment in class that basically forces the assignments to be homework. Then there's also the problem of assignments being bloated and way bigger than they need to be like with the Saxon Math program that requires 30 problems a night of all of their math levels. So even if you're doing Algebra, Trig, or Pre-Calc, you're still required to do 30 problems a night which basically means your math class takes up around 2 hours of your free time every night, So you're forced to forgo extracurriculars, not do the homework, or cheat. Its a terrible system and according to my younger sibling even more overworked programs are popping up in school these days.
The worst problem with this method is more homework doesn't help those struggling learn any better. Homework doesn't help you learn it only lets the teacher know what you know so they can give guidance, but because of the filling of classroom time the teachers have no time for individual help, which is what those struggling actually need. As for the higher level students, it just adds to their workload thats probably already steep from higher level classes and extra classes, causing them to stress and burn out faster. It helps no one.
The teachers didnt even have time to check all the homework so they would pick 5 problems to check each assignment so a lot of students just did a portion of the assignment and hoped they got lucky. It was a shitshow. I got the lowest grade I ever got in a math class when I had to deal with Saxon and it was exclusively due to the homework. My tests were fine, as they had always been.
That's fucked up. At least with Pearson you have time; basically between a week and the whole semester... The problem there lies with correct answers constantly showing up as wrong. With time you can at least afford a conversation with the professor and correct such a mistake.
The entirety of university is the only place I wish would go back to pen/pencil and paper.
Yeah. That math curriculum sounds terrible. Like I said in the open- loading kids down until they can’t breath is not good. I guess whoever designed that program wasn’t a fan of “work smarter not harder.” It takes effort to figure out an efficient system that does t just try to use repetition as the primary means of teaching, but that said learning and remembering most things will usually require some degree of repetition.
As for the work from home part.... I don’t know about that. My partner works for a “fluffy friendly new age” style company- with their “one on ones” and “sit downs” and relaxed attitudes and efforts for “work life balance” and things like free in office massages and micro brews on tap you can drink while on the job. She leaves the house often around when I do between 5-6am for work, and often gets off work around 8,10pm. We are both working from home for Corona virus “lockdown” and there’s been maybe one day where she didn’t have at least a couple extra hours of work.
I’ve worked rough neck jobs in my youth- where you were done when the job was done. You literally couldn’t take work home with you- but you’d stay at work. I spent a whole week once sleeping in a company vehicle on a loading dock with the engine running so I could run the heater on those winter nights. I’ve driven my can into the work floor after working until 3,5am from 5am-with a sign on the window for the first shift to wake me up at 5am so I could move the car and go back to work. So even less “fancy” jobs aren’t immune- but as my role advanced and changed over my career life- there was more work that had to come home. There were more calls when something went wrong “after hours” and more major projects with tight deadlines that you worked on constantly.
In my earlier days of my career I had a manager I was very good friends with. We even lived together for awhile. We were an overworked but critical department and my manager had to spend most of the work day doing tasks that a manager usually has employees for. So things like reports and strategy, spreadsheets, budgets, planning- they’d have to do those at home.
So I’m not saying it is RIGHT kids would have to do 2 hours or more of homework, and I’m not saying that it HEALTHY or that we should lay that on kids- especially if those homework hours aren’t used efficiently and with good purpose- but I am saying that there are TONS of jobs where the work doesn’t stop just because the clock hits end of shift, or just because you are at home. The average salary worker in the US does not work an average of 8 hours a day. In my circle of friends the gamut tends to run from 50-120 hours a week any given week.
And if we look at it another way- I don’t know about every school on earth- but I know in my areas school is 6 hours with a 30 minute lunch and 2 15 minute breaks. So 5 hours of “work.” The average work day is 8 hours- for some that includes a paid hour lunch- but many jobs- they schedule you 9 hours of you get an hour lunch- so there are still 8 work hours. 6 hours of school plus 2 hours of homework is 8 hours- the supposed standard work day.
Again- not saying it is right- it all depends right? The truth is that so much about work is self discipline. Many jobs you don’t have someone baby sitting you- especially when and if you work from home- so you have to know how to manage time and priority and get your tasks done. By the time you get to college- YOU pick the classes, YOU are the one who has say on when your first class is, when your last is. You an take classes all morning, have 2,4 hours off in the day, and take classes at night. You can start at 7am or 9am or noon. You can do a couple classes a semester and spend a decade on your degree.
College is a source of many experiences and troubles that arise largely from young adults having their own say for the first time. The legendary “freshman” weight gain is largely a symptom of having to plan, prepare and procure ones own meals coupled with the stresses of increased work and new things. The legendary college drinking and partying and other things are also by products of being a “kid in a candy store.” You are for most intents an adult- who can decide to skip classes or work, to eat a whole birthday cake, to party every night or to have over “company” without parental intervention (if you’re living away from home especially- or the other person is).
So the current system is broken in many ways. We need to refine the balance- come up with a smarter, better system- but the IDEA that we should increase the load on kids as they age is sound- currently kids going from high school to college are often lost or overwhelmed- and the same when they go from college to “life.” Simply piling on arbitrary work isn’t the right way to do that- but creating an environment that at least simulates the idea of the real world- and taking that from a general concept and basic structure when very young, to more and more realistic mirroring as kids age is an idea with merit.
Yeah, I royally fucked up my first semester of college... I mean... I used receipt paper for joint paper because I couldn't find zig-zags... little did I know the damage I unleashed on my own lungs and it's probably gonna be the death of me. It got THAT bad. At least I didn't put on the 20 lbs. As for working from home, it's not even that; it's more salaried positions. You're basically on demand 24/7 with a never ending job... it gets so much worse when you start having to take conference calls from people halfway across the globe. 120 hours a week sounds about standard; which is whack.
Agreed- and a feeling I know. And when the business needs are what they are- if the only time you can get the call you need in is 3am your local time- you do it. But it it what it is. We don’t need to visit upon kids and young adults a 24/7 on call schedule- but it’s not a bad idea to give them some idea what they’re walking into.
The entirety of university is the only place I wish would go back to pen/pencil and paper.