I sit in class, with my back aching and my brain exhausted, listening to a 45-minute lecture that seems to be the longest one I’ve heard in my life. I take the notes projected on the board, that only Einstein himself could understand, and continue “listening” to the lesson. I go home and attempt to study for the test I have tomorrow and soon give up because my notes just don’t make any sense. I finally text one of my friends to ask her if she gets anything and she didn’t either. Frustrated, I start to blame my teacher.

By definition, a teacher is a person who teaches. Throwing pointless assignments, boring lectures, and 10 pages of homework at students, with little to no explanation, doesn’t cut it.

According to a recent study done by Edutopia, “A growing body of research demonstrates that students learn more deeply if they have engaged in activities that require applying classroom-gathered knowledge….” Hands-on projects and assignments are proven to help students learn and understand more. Teachers should be creative and offer these types of assignments.

Most times, taking notes on lectures and readings act as a memory game. Students just  memorize everything on the sheet, take the test, and then forget everything the next day. What are we actually learning? We need to be given the opportunity to do projects that require a well thought out understanding of the topic.