When I first got this story, I posted a poll on the Portrait Instagram asking students if they were assigned busy work, and a shocking 87 percent of the 137 individuals who answered said yes. I was excited, and more ready than ever to go on a rant about how much I hate busy work and criticize teachers who give it.
But while I was scrolling through Reddit, I came across a post that altered my view.
“Busy work is just what students call work they don’t want to do.”
Though I don’t fully agree with this statement, it made me wonder what busy work really is. Some of my assignments are worksheets that allow me to practice skills, specifically in classes like math, or readings that cover important subject matter, and I wouldn’t consider these busy work.
Busy work is defined as work that will not impact your learning in a class. For me, this is the fill-in-the-blank worksheets teachers give out when watching a movie, the short readings in an English class that have nothing to do with what you are learning, and numerous worksheets on the same concept.
As I read the definition again I realized things like doing a semi-history related crossword puzzle, or making a gratitude card in English would be considered busy work. Some people would agree with this arguing they could be doing class work for other classes, but others like me would say this is a way to decompress and get easy points.
There are other factors that can impact how students see work. For example, when you miss school and have to catch up on the assignments your classes completed while you were gone. When you consider the 6 periods in a school day, missing two days means having to do around 12 assignments on top of your regular work, and stress builds up.
Imagine you’re a student recovering from an illness, and you come across a crossword puzzle after struggling through countless assignments. You’d be exhausted, and irritated.
The simple solution is to stop giving busy work if it messes with students’ mental health. However, I know what it’s like to be in a class where the only grades in the grade book are tests, projects, and a couple of assignments. It can really tank your grade. This makes some students like myself stressed to get a perfect grade on the test or on a project. Turning in busy work could be a cushion for our grades.
In the end, we need a solution that won’t tank your grades or overwhelm you. That’s why I think busy work should be assigned as extra credit. Teachers can assign work that is important, but not a part of the curriculum. Students who miss school often or have too many extra things on their plate can choose not to do these assignments without their grade being affected, while people who need a boost to their grade can do these assignments. I truly believe this could be a good solution to the busy work problem.
