We tried every trick in the book to get out of homework back in the day, but one Kiwi kid has taken it to the next level - writing an email straight to Parliament.
Minister for Regulation and Associate Minister of Health, Finance, and Education, David Seymour, recently received a bold request from a young student to “ban or highly discourage” homework in the NZ school system.
“Ever since I started high school, I have been bombarded with homework assignments that I either can’t keep up with or have more preferable things to do,” the anonymous student wrote.
They explained that they’d consider themselves to be doing well in school with minimal “bad grades”, but those are due to homework tasks.
Taking the matter seriously, the student laid out their reasons, arguing that homework cuts into time with friends, causes unnecessary stress and sleepless nights, and - more than anything - it's not enjoyable.
“So it is, in most cases, a waste of time,” they added.
Another solid point raised was that if Kiwi kids spend six hours a day at school before being “released” at the end of the day, why should they have to spend extra hours completing schoolwork at home?
A fair argument, and one, I’m sure, past generations have questioned heavily.
Unfortunately, their case wasn’t strong enough to sway Seymour into initiating a ban.
Sharing the exchange on Facebook, Seymour captioned his post: “Sorry, friend, you must do the mahi to get the treats.”
“I’m sorry to tell you that there will be times in your life when six hours at school with a couple of hours of homework, five days a week, feels like a distant dream,” he replied.
“Good luck with all your studies this year, I hope you reach all your goals. The truth is, though, that how hard you work will make the biggest difference.”
Well, there goes another attempt. Like it or not, homework is here to stay - but big ups to this kid for having the confidence to take it straight to the higher ups!
