I have many theories, you may complain my theories are the refuse of my maggot infested intestinal tract but everyone knows my opinions are more important than yours, so zippit! Lately, as I have been perusing various readings (sleeping), I've been thinking that homework is a very strange concept. Unfortunately for you I have toned it down a bit today with a quiet flow explaining my rather vague epiphany. Find me a rusty teaspoon, some dish gloves and a tub of Vaseline -I'm going in! Adults seldom bring work home from the office, whilst they may spend the occasional evening "on the job,", "doing overtime" or burning the 'midnight oil' - all of which can be code for activities involving photocopiers, genitalia, secretaries and profuse sweating, most workers leave for tomorrow what can't be done today. So why do we expect people to do homework? Well because everyone agrees It's important for people to bring work home from school. But this idea is as profoundly false as it is universally embraced. The media, educators, and parents all encourage a practice that is fraudulent and destructive to children's learning. Assigned homework promotes careless, sloppy work. It is too often an invitation to plagiarism and cheating. And provides an easy option for parents who think they are participating in Their child's education simply by asking, "Did you finish your homework?" It seems common sense to me, Universities should offer degrees in common sense by the way, that if it seems a chore, people will do a poor job of it. They will skimp, satisfice and procrastinate more than the vice chancellor of some sort of university somewhere. This is not to say that the concept of homework is a total loss, in some instances, homework makes a great deal of sense. If the assignment is a genuine learning experience and if the learner has the time and desire to study, the work done outside of class may be as, or even more, valuable as that covered in class. But when a pupil is confused by their lessons, as people often are, homework becomes Nathan Rarere and/or, Havoc and Newsboy and/or Christine Rankin - in short, worse than useless. And although homework can be a valuable supplement/reinforcement for learning, that opportunity is lost when assignments are graded using a 'check-off' system that rewards students merely for completing the work. In such systems, the students who honestly struggle with an assignment but cannot complete it get penalized. Shrewd, less-honest students, meanwhile, find cooperative classmates with completed work and engage in some creative emulation. The good grades awarded such bogus efforts foster a dangerous attitude about cheating: The grades, after all, reflect success, but not learning. Not that you would ever take someone else's work and change it slightly and then claim it as your own, of course not. And what about individuals who have no place, time, or means to do work at home? Their family, work or social responsibilities are sometimes too awesome. What good is achieved when such students are embarrassed or penalised for incomplete or undone homework? Of course we all have time for homework, but this sort of thing yields damn good excuses, although one cannot go past the classics like, sick relatives, suicides, operations, dead pets, alien abductions or seizures. Rather than relying on self directed learning, which is fine for me - but not for the rest of you losers, we should schedule practice and application of new ideas during class time, all disciplines should have laboratory periods or tutorials where students can practice, and teachers should monitor that practice to ensure quality work and understanding. 'But Wyrm' you say wiggling your middle finger like an overweight African American woman, 'that's not feasible' you say 'it would require more resources and further cramp peoples already tight schedules'. I agree its not feasible, but I'm still right. You could of course take what I have said aboard and get proactive, setting up study groups, visiting the library more often and perhaps even attempting to get some practical experience in the things that you have been reading/talking about. Nah, let's just go to the Hilly and consume fermented grain products. I have no idea how many jugs you owe me for all this good advice - you'd better take out another student loan. Wisdom: Millions of Peaches, Peaches for me. Web: www.geocities.com/thewyrmhole