The main point of a recent New York Daily News op-ed piece was how we arrived at the idea that learning has to be fun. Anyone who demonstrates exceptional skill at any endeavor knows that it took long hours of tedium to get to their point of excellence. It is known, not so simply, as hard work.
Studies have shown that electronic media take up close to a quarter of the average American student’s daily waking hours.
The parents of many school children have been heard to complain that “too much homework is interfering with their children’s after school fun activities.” (A depressing statistic: American teenagers are 31st in math, 17th in reading skills, and 23rd in science knowledge.)
Let’s stop scapegoating teachers. Notwithstanding that there are some teachers that would probably make better cashiers; the student’s learning part of the educational equation has to be seriously dealt with.
Dave Shlakman
Howard Beach
