This is just wrong.

[DeadFOAM]

And we must fight for the opposite of badong.... Gnodab.

Such a great movie

Nice badong reference, but I agree, on top of have to do homework having to read about motion gaming. I'd kill my self.

Hahaha, at least one of my references finally worked.

OT. It is within the teacher's discretion to decide on homework. But I personally think she shouldn't have. Where is the educational value? Sounds like it is just busy work to me.

That's my whole gripe with homework. Either way you look at it it's pointless. A good teacher won't have any need to assign it. I guess it's because modern parents are more concerned with marks than they are with their kids actually learning anything so teachers artificially inflate grades with stupidly easy curriculums and tons of busywork they don't even check for correctness. I had several teachers in high school who outright admitted that Homework was just grade padding and as long as it was turned in on time and some effort(Which for me meant googling) was put in they'd give a 100. Even had one that gave a 100 whether or not you even did anything as long as it was turned in.

As a whole, I think homework does have a place in school. When it's done right, it is extra practice. I don't know what classes you are taking, but some of my classes need extra time to fully understand the material. The problem with homework is when it becomes busy work. As I type this, I am supposed to be typing some blog posts totaling 2,500 words. This is nothing more than busy work. It has no merit on the course in any manner. If you think about it, homework is the way to ensure students are learning. Yes, the point of school is to learn. But how do you quantify that? I guarantee that if a teacher asks a student, "Did you learn the material" the student will say he has. Especially if he knows saying he doesn't would mean extra work to do. I know that's what I would have done in high school.

 

[Traun]

Should Microsoft be forcing Kinect on kids so much?

Pokemon does the same thing really.

Personally, I think its a great plan financially and from a business standpoint. Draw them in while they're young, so you have them hooked well through their adult years.

... its what I would do if I ran a business. People seem to forget that thats what Microsoft is. A BUSINESS. As in, they are existent solely TO MAKE MONEY. FROM ANYONE. They're not making games out of the goodness of their hearts for our enjoyment.

So if this is acceptable, what isn't? If a corporation is allowed to buy teachers to advertise their products in school and then form grades based on those advertisements, then where do we draw the line? Is it fair to buy senators, is it O.K. to spill oil in the gulf of Mexico? We can't really accept "They make it for money, so it's O.K." as an argument.

Edit: More content.

 

[lazy_eight]

Just another random note about the thing: "Train your furry friend" from the fold over in the corner of the cover takes on a whole new meaning when you know about the fetish.

Oh God, I can't unread it!

 

[emeraldrafael]

Snip

I dont know. Really nothing if you're marketing, cuase you're only doing what you're supposed to, make money. I'm a business major (Accounting to be specific) so making money to me isnt evil and there isnt alot that a company can do to make "bad" money.

if i had to say anything, I guess it would be segregation/discrimination in marketing (marketing only to Christians instead of Jews, or only to whites instead of Blacks), but thats more rules against basic principles of any "free" democratic country.

EDIT for your EDIT: You're not very familiar with how politics work, are you? There's that thing called "greasing the wheel." Its how stuff gets down in Politics. Look at Rob Gavoyobich (I know, I screwed that up) the guy that tried to sell Obama's senate seat. Look at Cigarette companies. you think back room deals dont go on there? You think local governors dont take back door deals? You should google the scandalous things about the Kennedys and how Joe Kennedy "bought" John's presidency. Its how thigns work. Is it right? prehaps not. But those arent business.

Also, ever heard of something called tracking? In a school, its where you place students in classes relative to their potential (those who will get As and be successful get the most attention and help, those who arent getting As and will get Ds and Fs get little to no effort/help).

Are those right? Probably not, but those arent businesses. Microsoft is. The more money it makes the better it does. You cant blame them or condemn them for waht they are made to do.

 

[DanielBrown]

I wonder what the hell the teacher was thinking.
"Bring the fun home!"

 

[Hashime]

That is wrong, but that is your capitalist society in action.

 

[Luhrsen]

I think the teacher was just taking the easy way out. Picked something "Kids these days are into" and assigned it simply to make sure they would actually read it on their own. Not evil just lazy. Often hard to tell the difference.

 

[SturmDolch]

My cosmology teacher showed What the Bleep to my class. Anyone who's seen the video knows what I mean. It was worrying - I brought it up with the teacher. I gave up when it became apparant that she couldn't differentiate the scientific legitimacy of a Washington housewife who claims to channel the 25,000 atlantean warrior spirit Ramtha and the vast scientific majority.

Oh god we had to watch that for "Theory of Knowledge", an IB course similar to philosophy. We had a neo-hippy [footnote]seriously, he drove a VW, had a Greenpeace flag, and even dressed as one for Halloween. Alright guy, not so alright teacher.[/footnote] teacher and he showed it to us. I don't even remember what it was about. I remember some kid trying to throw a basketball. That's it.

 

[Weaver]

Do you live in Bellevue, Seattle or Redmond? I was there last week and it scared the shit out of me how much Microsoft nearly literally owns the entire area.

 

[ultrachicken]

And we must fight for the opposite of badong.... Gnodab.

Such a great movie

Nice badong reference, but I agree, on top of have to do homework having to read about motion gaming. I'd kill my self.

Hahaha, at least one of my references finally worked.

OT. It is within the teacher's discretion to decide on homework. But I personally think she shouldn't have. Where is the educational value? Sounds like it is just busy work to me.

That's my whole gripe with homework. Either way you look at it it's pointless. A good teacher won't have any need to assign it. I guess it's because modern parents are more concerned with marks than they are with their kids actually learning anything so teachers artificially inflate grades with stupidly easy curriculums and tons of busywork they don't even check for correctness. I had several teachers in high school who outright admitted that Homework was just grade padding and as long as it was turned in on time and some effort(Which for me meant googling) was put in they'd give a 100. Even had one that gave a 100 whether or not you even did anything as long as it was turned in.

Do you know how many times something has to be repeated for a kid to actually learn it? 19 times. Homework can help reinforce that. That's not to say that all homework is good. The OP is a perfect example of bad, pointless homework. But repetition is how things get into your head.

Furthermore, in the real world, you're expected to turn in your work on time. Kids need to practice their organization skills if they want to succeed, and homework provides just that.

 

[KefkaCultist]

Yeah that is pretty bad... I know the 1st year spanish classes at my school get little magazine things like that to read that are usually full of corporate marketing but not entirely about one damn object

 

[=Paranoid=]

That's a shitty teacher, to put it mildly. They were pushing Mario Paint at my school when it came out, to help creativity and make games "useful".

How about buying paintbrushes, *****?

I had the incredible machine at our school when i was a kid... Good times working out how you could get the ball into the box or light the candles with whatever you had. Stuff like this can be good in moderation.


As for this though I'm not really shocked about this. This is just really disappointing to see from a teacher who is meant to guide children in there education. It's rare to find a teacher who really inspires you to learn. I think I've had 3-4 teachers in my entire education from preschool to uni that have actually made me want to go above and beyond the call. That's my opinion and hopefully the rest of your teachers have been a bit more inspired in trying to teach then the one above.

How do your parents feel about what your brother is being given as 'homework'?

 

[Kurokami]

Homework is wrong. Advertisements are wrong.


Mixing the two...it's...it's badong! /apparently not so lame movie reference

Why's homework wrong?

 

[DanielDeFig]

when it comes to topics like these i would like to simply bring ppls attention to the fact that in Sweden (where i'm originally from, don't live there a lot tho) it is illegal to release ads aimed towards kids. If you want to make an ad about a product for kids, then aim the ad at the parents. Kids are too easily influenced, and at a certain age can't fathom why their parents can't simply "get" them stuff.

I believe this approach is the best, its not fair to either the kids or the parents when an ad tells the kids: "Get this superfun toy! It's the best thing ever! Go tell your parents to buy it for you NOW!"

 

[Gigano]

That certainly is a strange mix of education, entertainment, and advertisement. Advertising should always be identifiable to the target audience as such, and here it seems to blend in with the editorial content of the magazine (even termed a "supplement" to the magazine), presented in an educational setting no less.

Not cool.

 

[manaman]

OP: That right there is an advertising supplement for "TIME For Kids" Magazine. Specifically that magazine is designed for children to read, and published by TIME, inc. The supplement is one big ad, in a for profit magazine. I really doubt the teacher assigned it as official homework, if at all. I also really doubt the school pays for enough subscriptions of a class room to have a supplement book for each kid.

I think it far more likely your brother picked it up from one of the couple of copies of the magazine they get, and you figured it would be neat to tack on that story.

Do you live in Bellevue, Seattle or Redmond? I was there last week and it scared the shit out of me how much Microsoft nearly literally owns the entire area.

The Nintendo campus right across the street is close to the same size as the Microsoft campus in Redmond.

The NOA warehouse in North Bend could cover both of those campuses.

Microsoft hardly has a presence in Seattle.

I do contract work for NOA that takes me up in that area at least once a month. Unless they are rolling up signs as I roll into town you are exaggerating quite a bit.

 

[gbemery]

That is weird and rather dumbfounding. I mean homework is suppose to be an extension of the classroom work and keep the mind ticking. How the heck is a small q&a on that going to help I mean he's in fourth grade not first. No wonder why the U.S. has been and still is slipping in the education ratings.

Just another random note about the thing: "Train your furry friend" from the fold over in the corner of the cover takes on a whole new meaning when you know about the fetish.

.../cold shiver

 

[legion431]

Just another sign of how bad the education systems have gotten.

 

[Adam Galli]

I have mixed thoughts on this. half of me thinks its good because kinect encourages kids to get more active but the other half of me says bill gates needs more money by getting the books to kids and having them start begging for a kinect.

 

[Sun Flash]

I don't know if the Time For Kids type homework is usual in America, but I'd be more worried you're brother' homework is reading a magazine and doing puzzles you'd find on the back of cereal boxes.

So yeah, it's wrong.