8 ridiculous shits we remember about our homework

Last Updated on 2016-05-19 , 1:53 pm

Ah, we all definitely remember our familiar friend from our school days—homework. From primary school all the way to secondary school, JC, poly or university, homework followed us like a faithful friend. Here are some things we all definitely cannot forget about homework back in our school days.

Always. Too. Much.
I remember how teachers used to tell us how they are so kind by “only giving us one piece of homework”. But the thing is, we have 4-5 subjects (primary school), and even more subjects in secondary school! This just multiplies the work we have to do. Of course, teachers are always prepared to give the counter-argument that for every piece of homework we do, the teacher has to mark 30-40 copies of it (depending on the number of students in the class). Fine, you win lah, ‘cher.

Groaning through the more annoying types of homework.
Some homework were really useful in helping to reinforce the concepts and knowledge taught in class. However, some pieces of work really made the class groan through them. 习字, anybody? I remember the pain of writing the same words over and over again.

How you store your homework says a lot about you.
Some classmates would store their homework very neatly in folders (that had to be buttoned or tied securely) and later produce pieces of work on perfect, good-as-new paper. Others would hand in homework that looked like it went through World War 2.

Our childhood “textbooks”.
Do you remember the “Celebrate English” textbooks for primary school English class, and “My Pals Are Here” textbooks for Math? The latter had characters named Meimei, Kumar and Shah or something like that. Good times. Also, #racialharmony.

Comparing handwriting.
Goodness, it was a fundamental part of our identity formation in primary school. There would always be a girl in the class with godlike handwriting (that made her work look like it was typed on a computer). And also a few with handwriting that looked like “chicken scratches” (to quote my teacher).

Getting excited over being able to use a pen, instead of a pencil.
Though we spend Primary 1 and 2 doing homework with a pencil, there comes a time in Primary 3 (or 4), where suddenly, the teachers bestow us the (absolute) privilege of using a pen instead! #upgrade. My teachers also “upgraded” us by batches, allowing those with neater handwriting to move on to pens first, and leaving those with messy handwriting in their wake.

During that period, I would make sure all my assignments were *extra* neat, hoping to be upgraded. When I was finally granted the privilege of using the pen, I was so excited to do my homework! For a while, at least.

Frantically copying work from friends in the morning before assembly and during recess.
I really tried my best to be a good student and do all my homework on my own to maximise my learning. But on bad days, desperate times call from desperate measures, right?

Holiday homework starts at the end of the holidays.
I remember the gleeful faces of my teachers as they dished out lists of holiday homework. Banish fun from the lives of children! Let their parents know the school is making them work hard! Pile on the homework! No matter how much I tried to plan my schedule out, I always ended up rushing through my work on the last few days of the school holidays. (Well, the best minute is always the last minute, yeah?)

So these are my nostalgic memories about homework. What other things do you remember about homework?

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