Why do teachers assign so much homework?
479190
because they are paid to do so and you should pay attention because they are doing it for you if you don't get a good job it is not their fault so it is your fault so they give you so much because they don't want you to get a bad job in the future
1089539
You are asking people to do an entire homework assignment for you? Do it yourself you lazy bitch.\n\nI would actually answer the question for you, but I know someone like you would be too lazy to bother to come back online and select me as best answer.
592343
Yes.  Unless you are a teacher or live with one, you would never know the hours of preparation that goes into just one day of teaching.  Then there are the hours of grading all those papers, recording them, getting them ready to hand back to the students, etc.  Then you have to average all those grades (I used a computer program) to get the grades that will go on their report cards.  That causes another area that teachers have to deal with -- the parents.  Most of whom don't believe that their precious son or daughter is capable of doing anything wrong let alone get a failing grade on their test or report card.  Must be the teacher's fault.  \n\nSeriously, all that aside, the rewards from the students when the "light goes on" when they get the concept you are trying to get through is worth all the other stuff.  \n\nTeachers who love their job do it for the students and not for the "pat on the back" (even though it is nice to get every once in a while).
385448
I think students get too much homework.  In fact, with rare exception, I don't think students should get homework at all.  If they are required to study on there own, they should be given the time to do it during school hours (without extending the school day).\n\nAfter spending all day in school, students should not have to go home and do homework.  When do they have time to be kids?  [Weekends aren't enough.]
832363
I knew people like that in school and they would show up to school an hour early, eat breakfast in a nearly empty cafeteria and do their homework while they ate. They do their homework at lunch break in the library. They do their homework for another class in the middle of a boring, useless lecture during a different class. Because they can't get their homework done at home. After school jobs. No time for it really. Where there's a will there's a way, I always say.
587297
Homework?Not to be rude but why on earth would anybody like homework?
95866
No one can force you to do assigned homework. However, your teacher is there to help you understand certain concepts, and the homework is designed with that in mind. If you trust that your teacher wants you to learn, you should do your homework.
913105
Often, repetition will aid in retention of the material. Homework is given to cement the concepts learned during class. It's like practice....we become proficient with practice, ask and pro sports team!
830709
There are two schools of thought on this--\n\nCollege students are adults who are paying (by whatever means) big bucks for their education so some feel entitled to miss class occasionally. In addition, there is an overall decline in work ethic in our society and we could argue all evening why that is.  It starts at home and in elementary school. I direct you to Homework Help in this very forum.  There are some bold students who want someone to do their work for them and quite a few who cannot construct a suitable sentence. I'm sure teachers are painfully aware of students who do not do their own work and I wonder how they handle it?\n\nThe other side is that professors are too soft on students, just as many grade school and high school teachers are. Many times it is just easier to go along rather than try to teach responsibility. Much depends on the course, I think.  Many courses are about critical thinking or research skills so it is not necessarily important to memorize names and dates in history, for example.  For example, it is more important to know why World War II started than the exact dates of famous battles.  On the other hand, if you are teaching heart surgery, I want the best of the best.  I don't want a doctor who did "D" work in college.\n\nTeachers and professors are too soft on students, but the parents who coddled these same kids would be the first ones to complain if you flunk their kid even though he or she might deserve it.
221153
Get busy and read.  Why do you think another person wants to do your homework for you?
1118667
This is unfortunate from your perspective, but there isn't anything you can do about it.  In public schools, teachers are backed by a powerful union, and tenured teachers are impossible to get rid of (even child molestation often is hard to remove a teacher for unless there is really hard and convincing proof).  In the private schools, it's considerably easier, but again is unlikely.  \n\nThe bad news is this is a chance for your child to learn to work with hard-to-work-with people.  There are many scatterbrained people among us in real life, and this is probably no exception.  \n\nFurther, this is NOT that uncommon.  Many variables go into the dates for assignments and tests, and teachers often are forced ot make changes at the last minute to accommodate something else.  Graded work often goes into the pile and is graded as he or she gets time to do it.  At the middle school or high school level, this teacher probably has to support 150+ students each day, and in English, especially (if this is an English teacher) the paperload is enormous.   This is why many math teachers have gone to grading work on a "check" basis (going around the classroom, seeing it's done, then checking it off as being done), then grading it in class.  This is because for math you HAVE to have immediate feedback, whereas in other classes it doesn't really matter if you get immediate feedback or not (it's NICE, but it won't hurt you in later assignments).  With regard to missing assignments...often I have found that it is the student who forgets (but not always).  I learned after I developed a "check-in" system where I checked off the work as it was put into the basket that often the students who'd swear I lost their work...never really turned it in, and assumed that since they couldn't find it, they turned it in!\n\nTeachers often do not return phonecalls and e-mails because they either don't get the messages or do not have time to call or write.  They, like you, often do not want to work any more than they have to at home, and usually this means their full day plus several hours at night...so there really isn't time to return calls.  Personal issues that crop up are hard to deal with when you're teaching because you can't even get to a phone for most of the day (unlike the average job of anyone else with a college degree, where you can go to the bathroom when you need to...usually...and pick up the phone and make a quick five-minute call when you need to).\n\nThis is also why I stopped teaching.  It IS that difficult to have a life and do your best to support the kids.  It was EITHER be a person myself OR be everything for the kids.  After several years of being a 24/7 teacher, I burned out and had to recareer.  Tenured teachers, I've seen, have come up with interesting strategies to deal with the stress.  Some of those strategies, sadly, include ignoring the parents.  This isn't PERSONAL, but it's one of the ways they can cope with the emotional demands of being a teacher (much less the paperload).\n\nSo, let's come back to what you can do, now that you see more about her perspective and the fact that you won't REALLY be able to do anything.  The best way you can help is to ask her what she needs from YOU to help your child.  There's always something you can do, too, and asking this way means you are not the enemy.\n\nIn the meantime, the only one that can help HER with new strategies is another teacher she respects.  If you have a good rapport with one of the other teachers in her area, talk to that teacher.  Tell that person you're concerned because this teacher seems really stressed and may be losing papers.  She's having trouble with paperload.  Maybe she needs some help?  Would she maybe be open to having volunteers in her classroom or finding other ways to deal with paperload?  By showing that you do care about the teacher, too, you will probably
82161
I think they are short-sighted, rescuing their kids from the difficulty of homework now at the expense of the children being able to learn on their own later on.  The same goes for kids who come on this website looking for answers that they can just copy down verbatim, instead of just getting a push in the right direction.  \n\nThat said, I think a lot of the homework teachers assign these days is busywork, something for the kids who catch on quickly to do while the teacher works with the struggling kids.  I also think that teachers assign unrealistic projects to the kids.  I can't believe they really expect a 5th grade kid to "construct an authentic log cabin without using lincoln logs, demonstrating 6 features from the novel" (one of the assignments my son got this year), without some parental help.  \n\nIn things like this, I try very hard to let my kids do what they can do themselves, and only step in when adult assistance as needed.  As a result, our projects are often a bit cruder than some of the kids who had parents do it all, but I comfort myself with the knowledge that my kids learned a lot more from the project.
138632
Congratulations to you, and a hearty cheer for taking on such a challenging task.\n\nI arrived mid year once to teach 8th grade English and History.  The situation was not as...degenerated as you describe, but it was tough for both sides.\n\nI think others have given valuable advice.  These kids need structure and enforcement of rules, whether they know it or not.  Make your rules fair and apply them equitably and you should have some success.\n\nI do disagree with the idea of using a Homework pass as a reward.  Don't we assign homework because of it's value to learning?  Letting a student earn the privilege not to do an assignment completely dilutes its educational value to the students left doing it.  Other rewards are certainly useful, though.  Stickers actually work to motivate a lot of kids.  Even though they're in 10th grade, they'd still like to bring home a "refrigerator paper" to show mom and dad (or whoever's at home).\n\nI think you also need to acknowledge out loud the things many of these kids have gone through outside of school, as well as the turmoil they have faced in school with this course.  Lay out your rules early and often.  Follow through with disciplinary action, but be a nice, reasonable person.  Find out what the school administration would consider success for this course this year, tell the kids, then go for it.\n\nBest wishes.
170289
School Assignments are like miniskirts. They have to be long enough to cover everything but short enough to keep things interesting.
1077809
Homework should be given as practice, but not in excess, and only after guided practice in the classroom with teacher feedback. Studies show homework before high school really has no effect on increased student achievement. But I believe it is good practice in lower grades in moderation.\n\nI team taught with a special ed. teacher in 3rd grade math. Both the regular ed. and special ed. kids achieved. It was a great experience. It does require planning on both teachers' parts. Share the load and don't let it be a time when one person "gets a break."\n\nGrading should be based on a variety of methods both formative and summative. Things like quizzes, teacher observation, unit tests and performance-based tasks should be used.\n\nTeachers usually don't have much choice on how report cards are done. They are a system-generated tool based on grades that are input by the teacher and averaged. Always write a positive comment if you have to write a negative comment. All kids are good at something.\n\nClassroom management is best when based on your individual style and class. Some teachers and students are able to handle "productive noise" (best for learning) and others require quiet. Read Harry Wong's book The First Days of School for great ideas for setting up routines and procedures that will help kids feel safe and responsible in their classroom environment.
236480
A balance of both. Teachers are there for a reason, as well as peers.
888007
Hello Friend!\nSince I am a teacher I will have to say that most of the teachers punish the kids for their misbehaviour only. If the teacher gives them some homeworks, they don't take any care to do them. Kids are not the enemies to a teacher. The teachers want to make them perfect in all kinds of activities. Only the parents have to guide their kids about the noble profession of the teachers who are responsible for the future development of the kids.