Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong

We all enjoy going home after school and clubs and sports so we can buckle down and fill out meaningless worksheets and packets until we crash? No. That work is not essential, it is the opposite. Busywork is destructive to the mind of a young and maturing learner. Developmental work involves application of learning through real life contexts, readying students for adulthood. Busywork involves meaningless copying of information or repetition of already learned knowledge instead of instilling new ideas into a student’s mind to broaden their horizons and to nurture their love for knowledge.
Busywork decreases learning. Meaningless homework assignments are the most commonly graded pieces of work because of their accuracy-based questions. Students
History assignments are the biggest perpetrators of drilling and copying rather than learning. In his book, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong, James
A common phrase among young adults in secondary education is that there are three parts to high school life: social life, grades, and sleep. Pick two. Clifton Parker, on a study by education scholar Denise Pope, states “spending too much time on homework mean[s] students [are] ‘not meeting their developmental needs or cultivating other critical life skills,’” Students [are] more likely to drop activities, not see friends or family, and not pursue hobbies they enjoy.” To achieve grades that fulfill collegiate ambitions, students must spend all of the time they may spend with family or friends on the homework that earns them points. Teachers often assume that a student’s overall productivity is defined by the amount of work completed in a night. Many end up assigning at least an hour of homework to assure themselves that the kids are learning. Real life productivity is defined by advancement and development of character or leadership. Through that lens, completing busywork is not productive. Once students reach the real world, they are underprepared and underdeveloped to face day to day challenges. In an interview, Christine Gross-Loh quotes Krista Kuru, Finnish Education Chief, describing the reasoning against this approach. She states “Academics isn't all kids need. Kids need so much more. School should be where we teach the meaning of life; where kids learn they are needed; where they can learn community skills.