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"I was punished year after year because I spent my time learning instead of doing my homework." You were punished for not doing your homework, not because you

"I was punished year after year because I spent my time learning instead of doing my homework." You were punished for not doing your homework, not because you spent your time learning. Just because you made these two things coincide for you does not mean that they have to. For your second point yes this is a problem, but its more a problem with the teachers then what was mentioned in the article. And as i pointed out in my previous comment this depends on what the teacher is testing over. If they just want you to get the right answer(which is usually not the case) then yes it is wrong to count of for using a method other then what they taught. But if they are testing you over the method that they taught then yes you should get points taken off. IMO this directly depends on the level of schooling. If you are in college and you are paying for your education you should have every right to come when you want. But at the same time if its part of the teachers grading is attendance then you as a student have the choice to ether follow it or not. You should be required to attend classes. If you don't need to go to class to learn then go take all the ACT's and SAT's you want and get yourself into college without them and stop whining. Otherwise go to school. You always have a choice.

caw 14y ago
Funnily enough, I was punished once in middle school for doing my assignments. After one particular social studies class, in which I had finished all the work, I opened my reading book. In our English class, you read any (approved) book you wanted to and took comprehension tests afterwards. You accumulated points and you had a goal to meet as one particular assignment (e.g. reading skill level of X meant you had to score 300 points, whether you got that in 10 books or 50 that was your choice). I reading that book and got a silent lunch for it. Apparently the correct response to finishing all your work early was to do nothing for that particular teacher. For the other teachers in that same group (math, science, English) reading your book was the approved thing to do after you finish your work.
- jug6ernaut 14y ago
  I remember doing the same in middle school. Cant remember the name of the program for the life of me though. Thats ridiculous that you got punished for reading in a school, especially in that situation.
  - caw 14y ago
    Our program was called "Accelerated Reader" or AR. Other schools may have different program names. I know the accelerated classes went through 3 or 4 renames.
betterunix 14y ago
"You were punished for not doing your homework, not because you spent your time learning. Just because you made these two things coincide for you does not mean that they have to." Assuming, of course, that the volume of homework is sufficiently low to actually leave time or mental energy for anything else. I am not sure that is something that we can just assume, although I will admit that I did not really bother to find out how long my homework would have taken in middle school. Really though, the punishment for not turning in homework is handed down regardless of whether or not students spent their time on something with more educational value, and that is what I think is wrong here. Doing your homework is more important than learning; if doing homework coincides with learning, that's good, but there is no requirement of that or even any consideration of the possibility that the homework might have no educational value. "If you don't need to go to class to learn then go take all the ACT's and SAT's you want and get yourself into college without them and stop whining. Otherwise go to school." Of course, colleges also demand to see your high school transcript, and top schools will reject students whose high school GPA does not meet a certain threshold, so what you seem to be portraying as a student's choice is not much of a choice at all. High school grades can have consequences years later; when I was an undergrad, I went to MIT to ask about their graduate program, and they stopped answering my questions as soon as I mentioned what college I was attending. I had top marks on the SAT and SAT II exams, but without a report card to back that up I was not accepted to a top tier university. I am by no means alone in this; I met plenty of other people like myself in college, and this sort of story can be heard elsewhere. It is not a matter of whining, it is a problem with the approach we take to education. Students who "play the game" get ahead; learning the material is secondary and on its own it gets students nowhere (on the other handing, forgetting the material at the end of the academic year or gaining the minimal understanding needed to receive a high grade is not punished or discouraged). Disobedience means closed doors, regardless of whether or not a student has mastered the curriculum they were supposed to be taught. If this sounds like the rest of life, well, that is exactly the point of school right? To prepare students for life -- both by teaching the skills needed to survive, and by teaching students to abide by the rules of the system they will be expected to live in.
- abraininavat 14y ago
  You have lots of complaints, but you present no solutions. Not even a hint of one.

caw 14y ago

Funnily enough, I was punished once in middle school for doing my assignments. After one particular social studies class, in which I had finished all the work, I opened my reading book. In our English class, you read any (approved) book you wanted to and took comprehension tests afterwards. You accumulated points and you had a goal to meet as one particular assignment (e.g. reading skill level of X meant you had to score 300 points, whether you got that in 10 books or 50 that was your choice). I reading that book and got a silent lunch for it. Apparently the correct response to finishing all your work early was to do nothing for that particular teacher. For the other teachers in that same group (math, science, English) reading your book was the approved thing to do after you finish your work.

jug6ernaut 14y ago
I remember doing the same in middle school. Cant remember the name of the program for the life of me though. Thats ridiculous that you got punished for reading in a school, especially in that situation.
- caw 14y ago
  Our program was called "Accelerated Reader" or AR. Other schools may have different program names. I know the accelerated classes went through 3 or 4 renames.

betterunix 14y ago

"You were punished for not doing your homework, not because you spent your time learning. Just because you made these two things coincide for you does not mean that they have to." Assuming, of course, that the volume of homework is sufficiently low to actually leave time or mental energy for anything else. I am not sure that is something that we can just assume, although I will admit that I did not really bother to find out how long my homework would have taken in middle school. Really though, the punishment for not turning in homework is handed down regardless of whether or not students spent their time on something with more educational value, and that is what I think is wrong here. Doing your homework is more important than learning; if doing homework coincides with learning, that's good, but there is no requirement of that or even any consideration of the possibility that the homework might have no educational value. "If you don't need to go to class to learn then go take all the ACT's and SAT's you want and get yourself into college without them and stop whining. Otherwise go to school." Of course, colleges also demand to see your high school transcript, and top schools will reject students whose high school GPA does not meet a certain threshold, so what you seem to be portraying as a student's choice is not much of a choice at all. High school grades can have consequences years later; when I was an undergrad, I went to MIT to ask about their graduate program, and they stopped answering my questions as soon as I mentioned what college I was attending. I had top marks on the SAT and SAT II exams, but without a report card to back that up I was not accepted to a top tier university. I am by no means alone in this; I met plenty of other people like myself in college, and this sort of story can be heard elsewhere. It is not a matter of whining, it is a problem with the approach we take to education. Students who "play the game" get ahead; learning the material is secondary and on its own it gets students nowhere (on the other handing, forgetting the material at the end of the academic year or gaining the minimal understanding needed to receive a high grade is not punished or discouraged). Disobedience means closed doors, regardless of whether or not a student has mastered the curriculum they were supposed to be taught. If this sounds like the rest of life, well, that is exactly the point of school right? To prepare students for life -- both by teaching the skills needed to survive, and by teaching students to abide by the rules of the system they will be expected to live in.

abraininavat 14y ago
You have lots of complaints, but you present no solutions. Not even a hint of one.