Homework

In many ways, the definition for homework differs from person to person and from situation to situation. Students have varying degrees of emphasis on both the quality of work and its completion in general just as teachers have varying purposes for the homework which they assign. Speaking on my behalf, completion of homework is essential to maintaining a good grade and I try to put effort into this work although procrastination has become nearly a standard. However, I aknowledge that many homework assignments seem to carry more weight than others and some seem to be busy work. Oftentimes I struggle to focus on homework and find myself easily distracted. Needless to say, I stray little from the consensus of the vast majority that homework is tiresome and at times boring work. However much I may dislike this work, I realize, in most situations, the purpose of it: to review material that the teacher does not have time enough to cover in class. In summation, homework is, for me, necessary and yet at times overwhelming. Each type of assignment has vaying levels of helpfulness depending upon learning style, but each is necessary in different situations. From a student's point of view, it is a critical portion of one's grade and in many ways its completion may bolster them greatly. However arduous a task, it is an essential component of school and those who overlook it often find success difficult.

Homework...

Homework is practice, or that's what it's supposed to be for students- further helping them understand material presented in class. It can also require research on a topic learned in class to provide a more concrete understanding of the curriculum. However, since I've been in high school homework assignments have become more inconsistent and sometimes useless to me, more like busywork. That stems off another view I have which is that the main flaw to our public school system is that it isn't geared toward the individual, but structured for the "average student," but explaining that would require getting off topic, so...homework. I think only helps us in certain forms for certain classes. For example, math/physics/Spanish this year, I need the homework. It's not fun to do, at all, but I wouldn't understand half this stuff if I didn't practice it. English/history need the reading as prep for class, which makes sense, but it makes me nervous because I always think I'll say something wrong in class during discussion, or I'll misinterperate something. The homework that really gets to me though is the silly things, like crosswords, entire papers overnight (which we all know are going to be terrible), and color by number (yes, i still get those). All and all I guess homework is help and practice, when its legitimate.
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Homework

I don't think all homework is useless, I really don't. The difficult part is that there are two types of students--those who try and those who don't--but teachers are limited to giving just one type of assignment to both types of students. For a student who tries, most homework assignments will probably help them learn. For a student who doesn't try, no amount of homework is going to help them succeed. Do you see the problem?

The other issue, I believe, is that some teachers don't understand the point of homework, they just know that it needs to be assigned, which brings me to my personal definition of homework: work that either a) has little value, because the teacher can't see the distinction what is helpful and what honestly isn't, or b) has quite a bit of value, but could have easily been assigned and finished during class, thus allowing students to--I don't know--have actual lives.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary cites homework as

1 : piecework done at home for pay
2 : an assignment given to a student to be completed outside the regular class period
3 : preparatory reading or research (as for a discussion or a debate)

But us student would rather classify it as busy work given to students to complete outside of school; hence the name homework, work to be done at home. The unnecessary and often redundant work many times stirs students dislike towards teachers. Homework is usually given to students to help them retain the material they learned that day in class, but because of mismanaged time, the work usually doesn't benefit the pupils as the teachers expected it to; thus students associate an unpleasant task with homework.

How does one even begin to define homework when the meaning can change so drastically depending on students, teachers, and the assignment given? To some students, homework is something to be done while the hapless teacher of the preceding class period is trying to somehow get the information needed to pass the course into their head. This starts a chain reaction of students who have not listened in class, therefore cannot do their homework and leave it for the class before the class for which it was originally assigned. The next day is a repeat of the last since the students, in their frantic attempts to avoid a zero, have once again failed to pay attention.
To other students, homework is something to be feared and thought of, always. Homework is almost sacred, and it must always be perfectly completed well before the due date. Often in these students’ quest for the perfectly finished homework, they must drop some bowling pins in their daily juggling to make sure that they catch the one pin that matters- homework. These dropped pins are then promptly forgotten as the juggler tries to deal with the new pins thrown at him, their effects not felt until much later.
Another factor that greatly impacts the definition of homework is the teacher assigning it. To some teachers, homework is something that will never see a grading pen. To others, homework is something that automatically gets full credit as long as a student took the time to take a pencil to paper. To still others, homework is something to be laughed at, made fun of, and given a failing grade no matter how good it is.
All in all, that definition of homework you asked for? Still working on it.

How does one even begin to define homework when the meaning can change so drastically depending on students, teachers, and the assignment given? To some students, homework is something to be done while the hapless teacher of the preceding class period is trying to somehow get the information needed to pass the course into their head. This starts a chain reaction of students who have not listened in class, therefore cannot do their homework and leave it for the class before the class for which it was originally assigned. The next day is a repeat of the last since the students, in their frantic attempts to avoid a zero, have once again failed to pay attention.
To other students, homework is something to be feared and thought of, always. Homework is almost sacred, and it must always be perfectly completed well before the due date. Often in these students’ quest for the perfectly finished homework, they must drop some bowling pins in their daily juggling to make sure that they catch the one pin that matters- homework. These dropped pins are then promptly forgotten as the juggler tries to deal with the new pins thrown at him, their effects not felt until much later.
Another factor that greatly impacts the definition of homework is the teacher assigning it. To some teachers, homework is something that will never see a grading pen. To others, homework is something that automatically gets full credit as long as a student took the time to take a pencil to paper. To still others, homework is something to be laughed at, made fun of, and given a failing grade no matter how good it is.
All in all, that definition of homework you asked for? Still working on it.

Homework as an Anagram

Helpful*
Optional**
Mentally stimulating*
Easy***
Worthless**
Outrageous**
Rigorous**
Knowledge enhancing*

*These adjectives would either be used by the teacher giving the homework or the obnoxious student who finds homework useful in one way or another.

**These would be used by the various types of students on the receiving end of the homework who have some complaints pertaining to the topic. (These types of students include: lazy, stupid, or pissed off ones)

***A very low percentage of students find homework so easy that it fits into the ** category. However, some find the fact that it is easy makes it useful. (the * category)

note: it was infinitely easier to find adjectives dissing homework than ones that support the usefulness of it.

Homework

Everyone in high school seems to have a different definition of homework, but the students all feel the same emotion towards it--hate. However, most can begrudgingly admit that it can have a point. For example, no one would learn anything in math without the homework, although doing the same thing 87 times every night is a little overkill. Assignments in other classes also often have purpose, as long as the teacher is sane. But every once in a while, a teacher comes along that takes pleasure in assigning the most pointless assignments that teach nothing, and then neglects to grade half of them. So, the student has no idea what will be graded and what won't. Also, said teacher often decides to do completion grades on all of this foolish work. What does the student do? Writes down crap and learns less than they would have with less homework. The amount of homework we get is kind of ridiculous. I mean, we're at school for seven hours, and to get into college we're expected to do all kinds of extracurriculars. That leaves us with like maybe an hour of free time each night. In Italy, students go to school for four or five hours depending on their grade level. Their schools are harder than ours. And they have tons of free time. Isn't that sad?

Rude Politeness

Most people think of being polite as saying please and thank you, but how is that really being polite? Is it because you have to hear people say it until you believe it, or to make you feel good about yourself? Whatever it is, it is selfish to pout when you don't hear it. Are we that self-centered? Or is it because we want to feel that moment of pride that we did something nice or properly asked for something? And what with table manners? Sure I can understand if it is something that would detract somebody from eating, but all this "may i be excused?" is nonsense. Why should you have to set the table a certain way, or set the napkin a certain place? Does that mean that you like the person more, or respect them? The answer in most cases is no. We do it because that is what we were trained to do, even if it may feel awkward or meaningless. Whether we like it or not, society demands it from us. The true reason behind most all manners is that we as people believe that we have deserved a certain amount of respect, even if unwarranted. This, along with being civilized, are the main reasons that cultures have not usually peacefully intermingled. What someone does may come off as a sign of disrespect, even if it was not meant to do so. All these hassles do is create confusion and awkward moments. When you look at yourselves as people, do you really think you've earned what you demand?

Gardiam-Webster

Homework [gahr-bij]
-noun

1. any assignment, not due on the day of said assigning, of various natures, meant to enhance the learning happening in the classroom. (teacher and ideal student definition)

2. any assignment, not due on the day of said assigning, of various natures, meant to stress students out and serve few other purposes. (worried student definition)

3. any assignment, not due on the day of said assigning, of various natures, meant to waste time and typically completed minutes before being turned in. (slacker definition)

-verb
1. finishing the task assigned by a teacher, typically at home. Sally, are you homeworking hard, or hardly homeworking?

Homework

n. A composition of tasks assigned by teachers to students to assess the general understanding and/or boiling point of the students. Provides a legitimate base of study for classes where academic methods need to be practiced (eg. math, foreign languages, etc.) yet can easily can be considered pointless or redundant when one has to define "metaphor" for the umpteenth time (source: Faina's Fantastic Dictionary, thank you very much). Typically completed in the class before the homework is due. If it is actually done at home, as the name suggests, it is normally done so with little consideration (ex. writing a blog for an AP English class while wondering why one's Pandora radio station is so terrible and praying to the ghost of Thanksgiving Past that one's computer does not decided to crash for the fifth time this week). On rare occassion, it is possible to find a student who genuinely cares about homework. Such students need to be handled with care: it is advised to give them a bottle of Advil and a pat on the back. Sometimes used as a behavioral consequence when only .15% of the class was actually doing something wrong.

to homework

v.

To fall asleep on top of one's AP World History textbook or any other action of similar quality.

What makes perfect?

At this stage of our lives, juniors are probably among the most familiar with the concept of homework. Similarly, we know what study methods and habbits work for us individually. And we're also pretty aware that everyone's study-style is relatively, if not completely, diverse.
Probably the only people more in-tune with all of the above--whether we want to accept it or not-- are our teachers. Because they acknowledge that the best way to ensure that everyone learns the material is by designing a curriculum that appeals to all types of learners. Which means maybe a little "busy work" here and there. But what is busy work to one student may be the most effective means of learning to another.
I'm not at all pretending that I don't get annoyed with homework. I'm not even trying to be nice to teachers to better my grade on this blog assignment (even though I am submitting it a day late). Because, also at this stage of our lives, I think it's so incredibly important to explore. There is definitely not enough time to eat, sleep, and do homework adequately in addition to any extra curricular activities. Or even spend as much time with your family over Thanksgiving vacation as you'd like to (I'd much much rather be with all my baby cousins in the hot tub right now instead of reading chapter seven of the Psychology book). But that's life. My Aunt Thuy is upstairs doing pretty much the same thing, which I'm sure isn't her first-choice, either.
So, to conclude, I'm most definitely not a fan of spending a majority of my time outside of school on homework. But I appreciate the assignments that are especially helpful to me, and can accept that what I may call grunt work could also be helping other students succeed.
And finally, to answer your question, Mr. Logson: Homework is time spent rehearsing our academics, whether it be effective or not. And something we probably just need to quit whining about.

Arrgh. I'm a pirate. And i hate homework.

My definition of homework is...work that builds character.

I remember reading through Calvin and Hobbes pretty much everyday of my youth (but really, it is the best strip ever made...), and one thing that sticks out in my mind I the father's excuse for the plethora of chores he forced upon Calvin. "It builds character." This can be directly related to the homework that is forced upon us as students. Sure, it can be of some relevence to my growth in intelect, but overall I believe it pertains more to my foundation of character.

As for me, personally, I dislike homework. It prevents me from "nick time," which consists of sleeping and getting nicknames (State Champion Nick Wrightson....am I right?). I just consider that normal. I do, however, realize that i will have to eventually raise a family and therefore need to be successful. Homework is a part of life today, and if you do not like that, then you need to get over it. It builds character.

ps- I have no idea why my topic talks about pirates. But hey, just go with it. I think I'm still in a food coma from yesterday (Thanksgiving...).

Assignment: A Modest Proposal + Soylent Green = end to world hunger

In the Swiftian Vein of extreme measures to make a point, you’ll need to pick a problem and write a satire that proposes a solution—so basically, you need to make your own modest proposal.

Homework...

The bane of all life.

Well, not really, but it sure does suck. Even when useful, I generally hate it. However, there have been instances when some homework has been fun, but that's only a small minority.

Homework can come in a couple of types....one more useless then the other. That type is what is generally defined as busy work, or work given for the purpose of doing it. I (and most everyone else) reeeeeeeally hate it when teachers give this work out unless it happens to be class work, but we are talking about homework here, so that's a moot point. Busy work is boring. It's pointless. And it wastes time that could be spent doing something more useful/interesting. Who knows, perhaps that time could be spent doing something that's BOTH (rare as it is). However, of course, not all homework is busy work. Some homework is actually USEFUL (hopefully the majority of it, I'd hate to spend most of my homework time on something pointless), as in it helps reinforce what you learned in class that day. This homework reduces the amount of time needed to be spent studying before a test (or at least it can, but some people choose to study for hours anyway), and just simply helps you remember, even after the test is long gone.

As can probably be told from my previous statements, I am not a fan of homework. I am of the opinion that school should stay in school, and the remainder of the day be ours for what we wish to do with it. Alas, I do not run the program. Oh well.

HOMEWORK

Homework-Any work that needs to be completed at home

Sooo...hw, sucks doesn't it? Im pretty sure most high school students agree with that statement. Alright, i totally understand if a teacher assigns homework which will help the student understand the material, but giving out homework just for the sake of making it look like they are doing their job...Its a Bad Idea

For example, i feel like copying notes off a powerpoint is one of the most pointless activities a teacher can have their students do. Like seriously? I know we can multi-task, but that doesn't mean that we can copy like 2 pages of notes a day while listening to the teacher explain it all and then be able to comprehend all that information. If the point of a class is so students can learn certain information, then the teachers need to do at least that. These teachers have gone through years of schooling to be trained for this, and if they can't even teach their students, then maybe they shouldn't be teaching. (Don't worry Mr. Logsdon, we actually learn a bunch of stuff in your class, so you don't count as one of these teachers) Classes need to be interactive. I don't know if teachers realize, but i would say within the first15 minutes of the class students begin to zone out, and thats why teachers need to find new strategies teach.

Last but not least, the one thing that angers me the most is the excessive, unnessecary homework academy students are assigned. There is no reason for this work, its just busy work and just because we are in the academy.

Homework is.....

Homework-material from school to be done at school.
According to the dictionary.

According to me though homework is a mixture of many things. Some of it is helpful such as math work. I have to finish my math work in order to learn the material. Some of it is irritaing such as APES binders. I do not need to do all those worksheets in order to know the material or be successful. Some of it is an accomplishment such as latin translations. I love the feeling of getting those 30 lines done every week. Some of it can be fun. Like this blog, I think its fun to read other peoples and its not to time consuming. And some of it can be long and tedious such as reading US History. I can never concentrate so I end up reading the same page like 300 times in order to understand what it is saying.
Even though homework is so annoying the BEST feeling in the world is turning in textbooks at the end of the year and knowing you know all the information that is inside. I was reading a magazine one day and they were listing the reasons why school can be awesome. My favorite one was "day by day, your slowly getting smarter." Its so true.

Homework: There is two ways to look at it.

Teacher Definition: Homework- System of assigning school work to be completed outside of class and turned in at a later date. It is a way for students to expand their knowledge on infomation being taught in class. Also is a way to prove comprehension on subject matter. It can range from worksheets to projects or essays.

Student Definition: Homework- All the work teachers couldn't fit into their class periods that I have to complete after attending school for seven hours. It is a way for teachers to give me more work in the neverending quest to kill my social life. They (parents, teachers, bosses) are all working together on this quest...conspiring against us. It can range from those worksheets you do at lunch or in seminar the next morning to the full on projects and essays you put off until 11:00pm the night before they are due...

My definition of homework? A healthy compromise of the two...

Ugh...

Homework sucks. Although often useful, homework is a free time murderer. I mean, I understand the need for homework in a lot of clases, math, science and, foreign language are probably the most common. And I can understand and occasional assignment in other clases, for example vocavulary for english, or, reading for a history class. But that doesn't mean it doesn't suck.Homework teaches, but it's just a "oh we don't have time to do this in class, so you can take it home and finish it" type thing. And if clases were long enough to incorporate that "extra practice" that would be considered class work, and then there would be more homework. So what really is the point of homework? Is it more practice? Because sometimes it seems like the class work is sufficient practice, and if the homework is THE CLASSWORK, then it's fine for it to be homework. That's basically giving an extension on the classwork. But homework by itself is redundant sometime. And I know that repitition is a proven way to learn but sometimes it's overdone. So homework CAN be okay, if it's not OVERLY repititive.

Homework

"Homework, O Homework, I hate you, you stink.

I wish I could throw you away in the sink.

I'd rather take baths with a man-eating shark,

or wrestle a lion alone in the dark.

Eat spinach and liver, pet ten porcupines,

than tackle the homework my teacher assigns."

-Shel Silverstein

Homework:

work assigned by teachers to their students; expected to be completed at home and meant to review the information learned in the class or to preview the information to be taught the following day

Three Types of Homework

1. Purposeful written work, meant to either elaborate on or confirm the information learned in class and assigned the same night; often given in "chronic" classes, where the information must be repeated and soaked into the mind to be perfectly understood, e.g. Spanish class, science class; assigned approx. 20.4% of the time

2. Busy work, causing irritability in its victims, is often assigned as 'review' for information that students have already learned and could recite perfectly at a moment's notice, e.g. definitions of literary terms (all one thousand and two of them) four times a year or listing all the prime numbers from one to three hundred; often deemed as completely useless; assigned approx. 51.6% of the time

3. B.S. work, done twenty or thirty minutes before the class for which the work is assigned; often assigned in classes in which the students have a) no idea what's going on or b) could care less about the information the homework is meant to confirm; often assigned by an unpopular teacher who glances cursorily at the work and grades for completion; assigned approx. 28% of the time

Assignment: May I have a Definition Please?

Dictionary Definitions are helpful but rarely fun, that is unless your 13 years old and you just have to look up all the dirty words you know just so you can legitimately “say” them or see them in print. I want your definition of “HOMEWORK.” It should be fun it should be creative, it should be sarcastic—but it’d better not be cruel and I’d better not find that you plagiarized it from urbandictionary.com. Let er rip.