The most ridiculously inappropriate homework questions that send parents reeling
Upon checking their child’s assessment books or worksheets, some parents find the most brow-raising homework question examples, some of which may be so extremely inappropriate that they just have to step in.
Here are some mind-bogglingly crass examples that are so blatantly inappropriate we think twice about the competencies of the people writing the questions.
Scatological homework examples
Just two weeks ago, a STOMP reader posted a photo of a question from his Primary 3 child’s assessment book on the online user-contributed journalism website. Criticising the inappropriateness of the examples used as well as grammatical errors spotted throughout the book, this parent expressed their alarm at the contents of the book.
Here are some of the shockingly inappropriate questions that this Singaporean parent came across:
“Cheng Kwang had a bad case of diarrhoea. He went to the toilet six times during the day, and passed out very wet faeces. Why was Cheng Kwan’s faeces so wet?”
“Christopher bit into a starfruit, but spat it out after awhile because it was sour. A policeman saw him spitting on the pavement and wanted to book him for spitting. Christopher lied that he had vomited. How can the policeman tell whether Christopher had spat or vomited, just by looking at the mess on the floor?”
Do the inappropriate homework question examples in your kid’s assignment raise eyebrows?
Age inappropriate homework examples
Homework written for young children should contain material relevant to the age group and content suitable for introduction to them. Imagine, thus, the horror of a mum when she saw a picture of a cigar on her kindergarten child’s homework assignment! The little girl was tasked to fill in a missing letter “g” in the word “ci_ar”, with the help from a picture of one.
While it is not practical nor possible to shield a child from such worldly habits or social influences, it is important that they are not introduced at an overly tender age. It is admittedly important that a child grows up knowing what a cigar is and what smoking one entails, but it is definitely not necessary nor appropriate as part of a young kindergarten schooler’s homework.
Watch the video below for a mum’s reaction to finding a question on a cigar in her kindergarten daughter’s homework:
Insensitive homework examples
As if there weren’t enough hair-pulling and face-palming worthy examples of inappropriate homework examples for kids, some parents have even encountered brash and insensitive examples that are downright ignorant.
Here’s what an American parent found in his child’s math homework assignment:
“Each tree had 56 oranges. If 8 slaves pick them equally, then how much would each slave pick?”
“If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in 1 week?”
“Frederick had 6 baskets filled with cotton. If each basket held 5 pounds, how many pounds did he have altogether?”
Socially insensitive question examples from an inappropriate homework assignment
In this hugely discussed homework controversy that took place early last year in the US, representatives from the elementary school claimed that this was done in an attempt to foster cross-curricular learning, merging aspects of social studies in math questions.
While a well-intentioned move by the school to educate its students, these questions were given without historical context, leading to negative reactions by upset parents and confused children. Hoping to mollify the sea of enraged responses both from parents and onlooking netizens, the school admitted that the questions, a feeble move to infuse social studies in math, were unquestionably inappropriate.
Training your child to be a critical thinker
With the surfacing of these offensive and often tasteless homework question examples, it is little wonder why parents lament the almost “dumbing down” of the younger generation. Would this oversimplification of many eminent social issues as well as use of crude imagery in such questions promote a dilution of learning in our age?
Although it is impossible to control the education structure or the learning condition of today, it is feasible to educate your child in seeing things through a thoughtful and critical worldview. This is so that come what may, your child would be exposed to a myriad of learning opportunities and real-world chances for him or her to continue learning and maturing.
Watch the video below for more on the controversy surrounding the inappropriate homework given to students in USA: