Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Homework Hurts

"It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: What are we busy about?" ---Henry David Thoreau
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Work, work, work. Many children spend hours and hours doing their homework each night. Homework is supposed to help---right? Therefore, the more children do, the more positive effects it is having---right? Actually, excessive homework forces many negative effects on the shoulders of not only children, but also the families of those children.
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Excessive homework hinders the proper development of children. Today's school children spend numerous hours completing the ridiculous amounts of homework distributed by their teachers which eventually strips them of their needed sleep and exercise time. At a young age, children need this time for not only proper brain and physical development, but also proper emotional development. Supposedly, homework's goal is to help mature the brain, but when it is given in excess, it only hurts the brain.
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Not only is homework hurting children's brain, but also it is an unknown cause of obesity in children. Spending so much time on homework, children are deprived of the beneficial amounts of exercise time needed to stay healthy; therefore, becoming what Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish call "homework potatoes."
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Children's families are also hurt by excessive homework. Family time becomes inferior to the homework. Most children feel compelled to finish their homework; therefore, they miss out on time that could be spent at the dinner table, on a family trip, or bonding with family.
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One might argue that family involvement is a benefit that results from homework. Usually, though, excessive homework sparks family arguments and fights over the issue of the amount of homework and time spent laboring over the work.
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One might also try to argue that homework itself is beneficial for children giving them the self-discipline and work ethic needed to survive the world. According to Bennett and Kalish, the truth is, however, that there is "absolutely no proof that homework helps", especially when given in excess. Almost every child can tell you that, as they try to avoid the unnecessary load of work, procrastination becomes a favored habit.
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I understand that homework has been around for a long time. I understand that teachers are not going to stop giving out homework. There are things, though, where more is not necessarily better. Homework is one of those things. Excessive homework does nothing but hurt children and their families. Why give so much homework out when it goes against every goal that schools strive for students to achieve?

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Sentence 12

Their sentence:
They weren't watching TV--they weren't in the computer room or the library, and they weren't in the kitchen, either.
from Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast


The anaphora emphasizes the fact that Zoey is looking in many different places for her friends, and she still cannot locate them. The dash sets apart the failed continuity of her search after looking in the first location.


My sentence:
Dogs were lingering outside--dogs were in the car and the garage, and dogs were in the house, too.

Sentence 11

Their sentence:
Sure, they were nice-looking--interesting actually, with their crescent moon outlines, and their uniforms that looked more like runway designs than school clothes--but they didn't have the glossy, inhumanly attractive light that radiated from inside each of the adult vampyres.
from Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast


Set apart with dashes, the descriptive phrase describing how nice-looking the young vampyres are--which also signals a subconscious break in thought--further heightens the unique beauty of the adult vampyres compared to that of the already amazing-looking young.


My sentence:
Yeah, we were smart--advanced actually, with our Pre-AP classes, and our calculators that looked more like huge computers than simple machines--but we didn't have the annoying, terribly repulsive arrogance that glowed from within each of the older students.

Sentence 10

Their sentence:
But remember, darkness does not always equate to evil, just as light does not always bring good.
from Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast

The antithesis within the sentence contrasts the balanced phrases while, at the same time, use them as a comparison of similarities to help Zoey, the main character, relate darkness to her knowledge of light in her initial life.

My sentence:
And think, wealth does not always lead to happiness, just as poverty does not always create sadness.

Sentence 9

Their sentence:
He's calling in our family shrink, the Incredibly Expressionless Man.
from Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast

The appositive phrase sarcastically describes the family's shrink by labeling him.

My sentence:
She's summoning up their dead grandpa, the Unforgettably Fearless Guy.

Sentence 8

Their sentence:
Something smelled amazing--hot and sweet and delicious.
from Marked by P.C. & Kristin Cast

The sentence further explains the extraordinary smell while the use of the polysyndeton set off by dashes emphasizes each individual description of the smell making them each equally important to the next.

My sentence:
Everything felt unwelcoming--chilly and quiet and unfriendly.