College English Homework Assignment circa 1917 -
In the ‘nothing new under the sun’ department or as Hamlet might say, “I am too much in the sun,” here is a suggestion on assigning homework for college English classes. It seems like pretty good advice to me:
Since the aim is so to present real information as to hold the attention of an audience and to win comprehension, such topics must be suggested and elicited as will make this worth while not merely as an exercise, but as an achievement. The aim being to achieve a certain result, not to conform to a certain type, the assignments, though always definite, should be promotive, not restrictive.
The author appears to suggest that a homework assignment should provide satisfaction to the student, not merely fulfillment of instructions by your teacher. Sound good? You could say that being a college student in 1917, when the textbook from which this passage is excerpted, was a lot different from being one today. Well, that may be true, but is the advice any different from what you’ve received thus far from your teacher? Next time, a link to the entire textbook. Sorry. No free bookmarks with the college mascot on them.
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