Homework for who? For me? Or for you?

Interestingly, students seem to feel that doing homework is for their teachers.

Common Complaints.

1. Too much homework.

2. Dunno how to do. Dont understand teacher. Lesson too boring.

So often they procrastinate till the last moments and resort to copying furiously away.

Seriously, if ancient civilisation knew of my students today, they wouldnt even have invented the typewriter. Which in turn, probably we wouldn't have computers today.

I was sick on thurs and fri. And I asked my students to do some revision exercise as homework.

It was a total of 10 practise pages. I instructed them to do just half a page.

So half a page for 10 pages. Simple maths give us 5 pages worth.

We have Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon. 5 days.

Again by simple proportions, it is just 1 page a day.

Still I have students copying the solutions from behind the book.

Well, there are those who are slower at maths, but neither are they asking the right people for help! They do not approach me, neither do they approach the good students, instead they are asking their play-mates, where they will be laughing and chatting and gossiping when "doing their work". After 2 years, they still do not realise that that does not amount to anything?

Out of all, I do see some that can see the whole picture. They understand that time is running out, they understand that I chose the Math Tutor for them for the solutions to help them when they really cannot understand. And most importantly, they understand that the work is for themselves, not for me. It is for what they want in life. Not my life.

I look at our graduate students coming back, often remorseful and often saying "i wished I had study harder earlier. Now I cant get into the course i want. I don't know where to go."

I wonder if given a 2nd chance, would history repeat itself? I wonder if my students hear from these graduates, would they hear a clearer msg than what i am telling them?