that teachers as a whole spend a lot of time giving busy work.
I don't have time to mess with busy work.
I DID have a son who ended up on independent study to catch up his freshman year in HS, back in the 90s.
He had a burned-out teacher who'd given up. Assigned chapters to read, answer the questions at the end for HW, take the test on Friday. Half-way through the first term he was failing, even though his average on weekly tests was 92%.
Why? Because he didn't bother with the homework.
The homework was assigned to hold students accountable for actually doing the reading, because there are so many who won't. It didn't apply to my son's learning.
He got stubborn. I understood. Still, he ended up on independent study making up all that work so he could pass the class, and he did learn an important lesson. Not about health, which was the topic of that class, but about complying with orders.
We're not a compliant family. We go our own way. I was in full agreement with the principle he was trying to assert. I also know that, to keep a job and generally get along in the world, some compliance is necessary. Compliance with laws, compliance with those who hire you and pay you...it doesn't hurt to learn where to draw the line early on.
All of that said, I don't have time for busy work. I've yet to find that even my most gifted students already know what I'm teaching and don't need to process new information and practice new skills before taking a test. I don't assign busy work.
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