Homework hassles (and a teacher’s reply), AG Reyes’s mean-spiritedness and legalizing drugs in this week’s letters to the editor across the well managed state of Utah.
Enough with the homework already
I go to public high school, and I have had enough with all of the homework the teachers are giving out. They forget that every student has eight classes and jobs because they also have to help support themselves and their families. I do homework for an average of six hours each day, after the eight hours of school that I have.
If I skip a day of school, I go from being a straight-A student — to B’s and C’s. There should be a limit of how much homework we are allowed to get or have teachers hand out less homework. Things aren’t like they used to be; school is harder and teachers are giving out two to three assignments each night. That’s roughly twenty-four assignments every two nights, and I think students should have something of a break.
Annie Johnson, South Jordan
In response to “Enough with the homework already”(April 14), I commend the desire to get straight As. However, I do not agree that teachers are giving out too much work. Teachers don’t forget that students have other classes and a life outside of school.
The real issue is priority. If education was the top priority for students and their parents, high school would not be difficult. I give one math assignment per class period, which equates to 2-3 assignments per week. Most assignments can be completed in class. Honors and AP classes are supposed to be challenging. If a student can’t do the work, they shouldn’t take the class. Annie Johnson is right in saying “things aren’t like they used to be.”
Students didn’t used to waste class time texting, listening to music on iPods, etc while the teacher was teaching. They listened and took notes. They prioritized their education over their social status. Successful students never skipped class. They also scheduled vacations around school vacation time and they made doctor/dental appointments outside of class time when possible.
Every student is different, but most active learners who make education a top priority and have no problem with all that homework.
Dallin Lewis, Murray
Utah AG’s absurdity on display
I must be missing the “reason” in the request before the Utah Supreme Court from Attorney General Sean Reyes. I mean, what is the end goal? Does he think that if we’re not able to legally protect our children, we’ll stop having children? Does he think that if Utah keeps making it harder for gay kids to have a safe school experience, to attend a church they love, to marry the person they choose or foster & adopt their children, they’ll just eventually stop being born here?
Maybe he needs to start having conversations with all his straight friends to tell them to stop having gay kids. Because that’s just as absurd.
Keri Jones, Salt Lake City
Ogden schools don’t need ‘scary-teacher busters’
I feel sorry for the teachers, kids and parents in Ogden District. If I were one of those parents, I would seriously consider moving, home schooling, or private school for my kids. Too bad for most families, those are not options.
If I were looking for employment as a teacher, it sure wouldn’t be in Ogden! Anyway, public schools should be there for everyone, and they should be the best they can be. Teachers know when they are doing things that work well for their students without having to constantly test them.
What is needed is a complete sweep of the ignorant, power-mad, so-called leaders and the installation of some actual educators in their positions. And it should happen soon, before hundreds more childhoods and careers are spoiled.
Larene Barclay, Uintah
Make drugs legal after failed war
Drugs need to be legalized and decriminalized. Bold as it may sound, it’s the only way to end the war on drugs.
The war on drugs is one of the biggest plagues to our nation, and it has done nothing but waste money and put millions of people in jail since it was declared in 1970. The government has spent more than $2 trillion since 1970 on regulating and controlling drugs, yet the amount of drug users in the nation has stayed at a steady rate. All the criminal organizations internal and external that rely on drugs as a source of capital and power would be all but eradicated if drugs were legalized.
Other countries such as Portugal and Holland are already starting to adopt this concept by decriminalizing drugs to some degree, and they have seen massive drops in spread of diseases, drug-related crimes and even drug abuse as a whole.
Put aside your ignorance and allow yourself to see how the war on drugs is causing far more harm than it helps
Tanner Wyckoff, St. George
