Busy Work: A Lose-Lose Scenario by Michaela

Busy Work: A Lose-Lose Scenario by Michaela - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

If I could give my teacher a single piece of advice to assist my learning, it would be that “busy work” is a complete waste of time for both of us, and should be eliminated. I have no desire to spend my valuable class time working on an assignment that isn’t teaching me anything, and I’m sure they have no desire to spend their free time grading assignments that served no purpose other than to keep us, the students, occupied. There are few things more annoying to me as a student than being given work that is very time consuming but not important to my learning.

Instead of assigning miscellaneous worksheets over topics which are barely related to what we are learning, I would much prefer to move at a faster pace and be told to read the next chapter of the textbook, or watch an educational video over something we just read about. More could be accomplished in a semester if less time was spent on assignments that don’t further our learning. Eliminating “busy work” would create a more efficient, more productive learning environment with happier students, and less grading for the teacher. It seems like a win-win situation from my perspective.