So I have failed every class since 3rd grade, but I passed all the tests. Does that make sense to you? I was able to pass all the tests and prove that I learned the material, so why did I fail the class? It’s because I never did any of the homework. But why should I fail the class if I can pass the tests? This has been weighing me down my entire life, and I could never really figure out what the problem was. Well the problem is that homework effects your over all grade. But why should it? Homework is supposed to help you learn it, not determine whether you know it or not, that is what the tests are for. Am I wrong about this? I plan on brining this up to my teachers tomorrow and hopefully I will change the system.
I am bringing this up to you guys first, because I feel like I am missing some key point. My point is that homework should not effect anything, basically you shouldn’t have to do it.
If only the tests mattered, then students would only study for the tests which leads to learning things so quickly that you forget everything just as quick. Homework helps cementing the knowledge and also helps both you and the teacher keep track of how you’re doing. That’s why homework is used.
The problem with your reasoning is that the test is the best way to evaluate your aptitudes. It simply means the standards you’re being evaluated on are THAT low. That doesn’t make the standards RIGHT.
The REAL problem with the educational system is that you failed every class since 3rd grade and they still pushed you forward.
The point to school is not necessarily just to learn the material, but to develop a work ethic, to develop the ability to reason, the ability to evaluate something concretely, the ability to communicate a piece of information. For example, English classes aren’t just given to educate people about the contents of books. When you write an essay on a given book, you’re evaluated on your ability to extract information and formulate an argument based on this information. This is a skill which becomes useful in other contexts.
Just showing up at McDonalds and half-assing your work will keep you employed. That you could do a decent job in a “test” of your burger-flipping skills against your co-workers is irrelevant.
Also, just writing your name on a test usually gets you a D. Passing is nothing to brag about.
I don’t know where/when you went to school but that is completely wrong.
I have never needed to do homework to understand a class. And I have never been able to do homework. I just can’t read the same book twice, or trace over lines more than a few times. The problem is the “one solution fits all” mindset. I think I might have a disease.
I’m not coming here to lie to you people. I am coming here to see if I am actually wrong. I can’t do homework. I’ve tried but what ever I use to do it with goes numb about 5 problems in. If it were about endurance I could do it, but you can’t clench a numb fist.
School isn’t just an aptitude test like the SAT. School prepares you to work and predicts how well you’ll do. If you can’t do homework for a couple hours, you probably can’t bag groceries or work on the assembly line for eight hours. The failing grade is probably an accurate prediction.
The problem is the “one solution fits all” mindset. I think I might have a disease.
There is nothing unnatural about being easily distracted from heady work with no short-term payoff. For example, I am typing this response as a distraction from studying for a second state’s bar exam. I believe most attention deficit problems are a combination of (1) a lack of will to suppress competing desires, and (2) a distracting home environment. Psychiatrists who too readily diagnose learning disabilities are doing a disservice to kids by convincing them that work is supposed to feel easy. This gives kids an excuse to stop trying. I guarantee you, those kids in Shanghai who recently demolished us in international tests are not being told they have learning disabilities; they’re being told, “Work harder or you’ll starve on the streets.”
Nevertheless, if you really have trouble focusing, try black tea or a moderate amount of coffee.
By the way, I passed all the tests. It isn’t like I never learned any of it, and all I ever wanted to do was learn. Learning is the reason I go to school, and I think that is another of my problems.
Homework is about teaching your brain to reason and think. Since you never used your brain to go past five problems you can’t figure out your own problem because your brain goes numb after five thoughts.
I wish you guys knew me better. I wish I hadn’t been so immature when I first joined up here. At least now I have all of your different perspectives to consider. Thanks for that.
GSG, please seek professional help. None of us here, with perhaps the the exception of Sin, are not qualified to diagnose your condition. Even then, it’s impossible to do so with just text on message board. This is a social gathering place for people with similar interests, not a doctor’s office.
Now, quit whining about your problems and go to some homework.
Your past behavior has nothing to do with my dismissive response. I just don’t think you’re reading what I’m posting.
For example, I pointed out that if you can’t muster up the mental energy to do homework, you probably couldn’t work an eight-hour job full of mental drudgework. Your grades accurately predict you would fail.
Yeah, I get your argument: “If I’m smart enough and know enough to pass a test, I shouldn’t have to do the homework.” But who cares if you could pass a one-hour “test” of your job skills, if you don’t show up at work? Your grades predict you’ll fail at that, probably accurately.
If you’re going to respond, you should actually address this, rather than going in circles trying to evade responsibility for your own life problems.
@ GSG: Your entire argument in this thread is a mess. You’re talking about a lot of different things without realizing it.
You’re complaining about doing repetitive work. Here’s a head’s up: no one likes to do homework. The vast majority of us feel the same recalcitrance as you do, but the difference is that we have a greater tolerance for it. We have the discipline to grin and bear it. One day, when you’ll need to get a job or even if you ever apply to go to college, this is the criterion you’re going to be evaluated on, not whether or not you did well in class. Even if the stuff you learn isn’t going to be directly useful , it is an indirect measure of the kind of person you are. In your case, your poor grades and inability to do homework is reflective of a complete lack of self-motivation and discipline. By communicating this to employers or schools, you’re going to be in trouble.
This isn’t because of your parents. This isn’t because of video games. It isn’t because of McDonald’s or whatever other scape goat there is out there. Its your fault.
Something that is important for you to understand, which you probably won’t, is that this lack of discipline will be reflected in different aspects of your personality. The people that I’ve known that were like you were incapable of achieving long term goals because they couldn’t tolerate the feeling of delayed gratification. Having patience is really important to succeeding in life. Your lack of patience up to now has, by your own admission, amounted to endless failures since you were 10 years old.