The Lincoln Log

More and more these days, teachers expect you to put in time out of class – yet not for extra credit, as a part of your grade. But how much is too much?

Many students these days, increasingly so, have after school responsibilities to family or extracurricular they have already committed to. Should they be expected to simply ditch these responsibilities and drop everything because their teachers tell them they must do this or that instead? Where does the all-consuming authority of the teacher end. After seven hours of classes when the final bell rings, is it truly fair to make us face an afternoon of more? No, it is not.

Some teachers require class clean-ups and weekend volunteering, while others take students out of other classes during the day in order to be involved in extra work and activities. A Lincoln teacher actually expects students to take time out of class in the evenings to participate in class discussions and meet for group projects, a requirement enforced by the fact that it is counted as a part of the students’ letter grade in the course.

After searching the internet for hours, tearing apart the student handbook, and teacher expectations binder, I have not found a single rule or regulation on the subject.There is nothing on the limits of out of class work.

The amount of after-school time put in by teachers is a roaring issue and has been for a while, but what of the time students put in? What of the obligation they have to put in hours after hours? I think it is appalling and horrific the way there is a huge loophole for teachers to do whatever they wish in regard to our lives. The freedom the teachers are given can be a wonderful thing, but is not in this case.

So, how much is too much? When can you say, “This far and no further”? Homework used to be the only hold our teachers had on us outside the classroom, but their ever-strengthening grasps reach further and further into our personal lives, chewing up valuable time and energy that was not theirs to command. School is said to be a student’s full time occupation, but does that mean working over-time is part of the deal?