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As the "smart kid" I was never able to grasp why all this busy work was important. I thought the point of homework was to prepare the student to pass tests. If

As the "smart kid" I was never able to grasp why all this busy work was important. I thought the point of homework was to prepare the student to pass tests. If I could already pass, why should I be forced to perform countless hours of pointless labor? Fortunately I still have a work ethic when it makes sense to do work, but fifteen years after high school my lack of study skills is hampering attempts to further my education.

pjc50 10y ago
Yeah, it's a real problem that if you spend your entire education far ahead of the material with no real effort it teaches some very bad habits. Students need to be adequately stretched to remain engaged.
Balgair 10y ago
Fantastic. But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? There was likely ~25 kids in the class, and the teacher had no way of knowing that you cheated on the tests or got really lucky. The HW acted as a bulwark against the luck and cheating hypotheses that a teacher should entertain for each of the ~25 students in one of their ~6 classes (~150 students total). So what if you are a just that smart as a teenager? We all knew we were smarter than everyone at that age too. You have to prove that to the teacher in terms of consistent work at a consistent level (Sorta, things happen, Granpas die, parents get in accidents, etc. and teachers know that). 1 person out of ~150 showing up and acing a test tells a teacher nothing. And for the pay levels they get these days, the teachers are there because they want to be.
- qb45 10y ago
  > But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? For starters, notice that some kids are doing whole lesson's worth of material in the first 15 minutes and figure out that they have no reason to be at this lesson. The hard question, to which I don't claim to know a silver bullet answer, is where should they be instead. Recognizing who is wasting their time at school isn't that difficult if you spend several hours per week with those kids.
  - forthefuture 10y ago
    Yeah maybe my experience was uncommon, but every teacher I've ever had knew I was smart in the first week. When everyone else is a child and you have an adult brain it's hard not to notice.
- WalterSear 10y ago
  > But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? It's part of their job.
  - alexc05 10y ago
    Unfortunately there's the drawback brought on by standardized testing and "evidence based" grading systems. As a teacher in the united kingdom, I do not actually do the marking myself. I gather and estimate the evidence of their grades, but then submit their work to a central exam board. If a student will not produce the work, they can't get the grade. My personal evidence that they are smart is actually 100% irrelevant in the context of non-progressive school systems. (virtually anything with standardized testing, league tables, school rankings, etc..) "it's part of my job" is a wonderful platitude and is really easy to spout while waving your hands in the air to denote "details happen" but the realities are that the second-smartest kids typically don't do the work and can't get the grades no matter how much coaxing, cajoling and whatnot I try. Fact is, in a single room with 30 kids, and an annual working student body of ~300 - it's part of the student's job to do the work. And if we all face facts here, the smart student who squanders their own abilities will actually be fine at the end of the day. One day they'll decide they want to work, will catch up with the world and land in a distinctly average position like they deserve. The hardest job and kid who deserves the most attention is the kid from a broken home, who might not get fed every day, whose role models are possibly drug abusing or alcoholic etc... If we invest our effort there we might be able to lift poverty into middle class. Middle class to distinctly average is nothing we really have to worry about.

pjc50 10y ago

Yeah, it's a real problem that if you spend your entire education far ahead of the material with no real effort it teaches some very bad habits. Students need to be adequately stretched to remain engaged.

Balgair 10y ago

Fantastic. But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? There was likely ~25 kids in the class, and the teacher had no way of knowing that you cheated on the tests or got really lucky. The HW acted as a bulwark against the luck and cheating hypotheses that a teacher should entertain for each of the ~25 students in one of their ~6 classes (~150 students total). So what if you are a just that smart as a teenager? We all knew we were smarter than everyone at that age too. You have to prove that to the teacher in terms of consistent work at a consistent level (Sorta, things happen, Granpas die, parents get in accidents, etc. and teachers know that). 1 person out of ~150 showing up and acing a test tells a teacher nothing. And for the pay levels they get these days, the teachers are there because they want to be.

qb45 10y ago
> But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? For starters, notice that some kids are doing whole lesson's worth of material in the first 15 minutes and figure out that they have no reason to be at this lesson. The hard question, to which I don't claim to know a silver bullet answer, is where should they be instead. Recognizing who is wasting their time at school isn't that difficult if you spend several hours per week with those kids.
- forthefuture 10y ago
  Yeah maybe my experience was uncommon, but every teacher I've ever had knew I was smart in the first week. When everyone else is a child and you have an adult brain it's hard not to notice.
WalterSear 10y ago
> But how is the teacher supposed to know that you are just that smart? It's part of their job.
- alexc05 10y ago
  Unfortunately there's the drawback brought on by standardized testing and "evidence based" grading systems. As a teacher in the united kingdom, I do not actually do the marking myself. I gather and estimate the evidence of their grades, but then submit their work to a central exam board. If a student will not produce the work, they can't get the grade. My personal evidence that they are smart is actually 100% irrelevant in the context of non-progressive school systems. (virtually anything with standardized testing, league tables, school rankings, etc..) "it's part of my job" is a wonderful platitude and is really easy to spout while waving your hands in the air to denote "details happen" but the realities are that the second-smartest kids typically don't do the work and can't get the grades no matter how much coaxing, cajoling and whatnot I try. Fact is, in a single room with 30 kids, and an annual working student body of ~300 - it's part of the student's job to do the work. And if we all face facts here, the smart student who squanders their own abilities will actually be fine at the end of the day. One day they'll decide they want to work, will catch up with the world and land in a distinctly average position like they deserve. The hardest job and kid who deserves the most attention is the kid from a broken home, who might not get fed every day, whose role models are possibly drug abusing or alcoholic etc... If we invest our effort there we might be able to lift poverty into middle class. Middle class to distinctly average is nothing we really have to worry about.