When, in the course of school events, it becomes necessary for students to dissolve the educational bands which have connected them to homework, and to assume among the Powers of the school, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Learning and of the Principle entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of students requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all students are to be taught in a manner that guarantees their happiness; that they are endowed by their Principle with certain inalienable Right; that among these are Knowledge, Happiness, and Education. That, to secure these rights, Homework is instituted in schools, deriving their just amount from the consent of the students - That, whenever Homework becomes ineffective to these ends, it is the Right of the Students to replace or abolish it, and to institute a new Method of Learning, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its Powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to affect their Education and Happiness.
Prudence, indeed will dictate that Homework long ago should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that Students are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But, when a long train of ineffectiveness and needless restrictions, continuing invariably, it is the Students' right, it is their duty, to throw off such Method of Learning, and to provide new Methods for their future education. Such has been the patient sufferance of these Students; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Method of Leaning. The history of the present Method of Learning is a history of repeated ineffectiveness and needlessness, all having in direct object the destruction of the Happiness of the Students. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world:
- It has failed to live up to its expectations, being completely unnecessary.
- It has forbidden pedagogues from teaching creatively and effectively.
- It has prevented us from obtaining the rightful happiness by effectively sealing away their free time.
- It has tired the minds of the students repeatedly, to the extent in which Students can no longer think effectively.
- It has rendered the our social lives defunct.
- It has prevented us from getting adequate amounts of sleep, and thus damaging their health.
- It has prevented us from pursuing their interest by limiting their amount of time.
- It has been shown to be ineffective in the process of Learning:
- For being wordy and hard to understand;
- For being unnecessarily long, too long to fit within the parameters of our attention span;
- For promoting memorization rote learning instead of mastery of concepts;
- For not teaching new concepts;
- For making confusing concepts even more so;
- For stifling creativity, something which is crucial in learning;
- For having been shown as pointless by numerous educators.
- It has created nightmares for certain Students and has thus incited fear.
- It has caused stress amongst us.
- It has deteriorated our relationship with our parents.
- It has taken too large of a value in our grades and has thus resulted in lower grades for Students who even though show mastery of the concept, but has a history of missing homework.
- It has worsened our vacations and prevented us from obtaining the freedom and happiness that vacations give.
- It has promoted cheating, as certain students can easily cheat by copying others' work.
For every Negative Aspect of Homework We have Petitioned for Change in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by injury. A useless Method of Learning that has been marked as ineffective and damaging in many aspects, is unfit to serve as the Method of Learning of eager students.
