Do you think we ought to be helping these children posters with their homework?

Question

Are children just becoming too lazy to google it now?

Surely we are not helping them in the long run by giving them the answers.

Answer 1

I'm 14, and I feel that *some* homework questions can't be helped with Google. Like maths questions; sure you can look up the method but sometimes, like in my case right here, it doesn't work or I simply cannot find the answer (or the method to it) on any of the revision sites; maths questions are very varied!

Further, the students who, in the long run, *do* want to do well academically wouldn't ask questions here which they could've researched themselves; if the children here are 'too lazy', they choose to be.

Answer 2

I usually add a note to parents who post questions that homework and school projects are not a competition between kids but an opportunity to learn from the act of researching.
My colleague who is 60 and a university lecturer says if we cut the electricity and took away the batteries, kids today could do no arithmetic. He says we have taught the last two generations how to push buttons and that technology is making things worse by divorcing people from reality. He recently discovered that even Art classes are cutting and pasting collages instead of learning to draw and paint!

You mentioned Google. What about also researching the sites' owners to ensure we don't have propagnda instread of facts.

Answer 3

yea i agree, and coming after school to ask the teacher questions is being a wimping out, and those kids that get tutors because they need a bunch of extra help should all drop out and beg on the streets.

sorry for sarcasm.

This site is amazing. As it matures, it has the potential to revolutionize teaching. I just discovered this homework help stuff a couple weeks ago, and have been enjoying helping some kids out with there mathematics homework, I even had the opportunity to help someone out with a first year calculus question! I am guessing that if I personally had a math question for my fourth year calculus course (I am currently studying engineering at purdue), there might not be very many people to help me, but that may not be the case in the future. If we as a community of answerers can dedicate the site for tutoring, explaining techniques rather than simply providing answers, than the community as a whole can benefit from the wealth of knowledge available to the public. Students for the first time could have on demand, individualized help to enhance their skills in technical areas - the exact problem that the educational systems of the world have been dealing with for generations. For all of you that quickly decided that you did it all by yourself at that age, so did I. But i am not better off for it. I just took longer to learn basic skills, so now I am in fourth year calculus instead of sixth.

Answer 4

Here's how I see it.

On the off chance that they really actually need help (I've asked for help here many times because I keep getting an incorrect answer; seeing someone else do it makes you notice your mistakes), I explain every math problem in as much detail as possible, and if it's a research question, I give them links.

Yeah, they are probably just looking for quick answers, but they'll realize their mistakes of letting someone else do it eventually. Eventually, there won't be anyone there to do it for them. I answer questions for them when they seem genuinely unsure of themselves, especially on a math problem when they give the answer they got.

Anyways, I figure, if you can't just accept the fact that 85% of these kids will just take your answers and write them on their homework sheets, then don't answer their questions.

Answer 5

yes children are lazy and i do agree with you on that. but sometimes the web sites can get confusing and not clear on an answer. not every one has the ability to look at examples and get it. i think that this site is helpful especially if there are several answers and explanations to the problem because then it shows why it is that answer and then they have to figure out the right answer, especially if more than one answer is posted. it is not all kids asking for homework help either.

Answer 6

I always look to see how many question the posters ask. If they've asked a lot recently I don't bother. If they do it just once in a while, then they are stuck and need help. I wish I'd have had this resource instead of killing myself trying to see how some things were done, math especially.

Long story short, use your best judgement whether or not they are trying to cheat.

Answer 7

I don't agree with other kids coming on and asking "oh what's the answer to this" or "would you do this problem for me so I can copy your work down on my own paper" but I do think this site can help give students explanations. I've came on once to ask how to do a problem on my math homework becasue it wasn't explained in the book, and I had never seen a problem like that. I've also came on to ask for ideas and help revising my work, but I do disagree with kids coming on just for the answers. You need to at least know how to get the answer and then try it for yourself.

Answer 8

I would agree that if the answers were provided for every single question on their homework, that such would not be helpful and even harmful. On the other hand, by assiting with one or two answers, the examples people provide can be a great learning tool. For any new task, to learn it, we need to see it demonstrated. By providing a single answer or two answers here can provide that demonstration. Just don't do a whole page of answers for someone....

Answer 9

Actually there is a difference between helping and giving the answers. When I answere one of the homework questions, I try not to do the homework for them, so I carefully decide if answering the question would do that.

Answer 10

If posted in the correct section, ie. this 1, I consider it.

But, the posters should make some effort, not just post a question, without inserting their thoughts/potential answer. Otherwise, it just reeks of laziness and I wouldn't give someone something for nothing!

Eg. someone pasted several 'questions' saying something like 'sort these lists into animal types, mammals etc.' without even giving their potential answers = no effort made.

Alot of them don't even use the words 'please' or 'thanks' etc, it's beyond me! The example above didn't include them.

Good luck! Rob