More bad homework: my two younger kids come home with packet work that includes giant word searches and "puzzlers" along the lines of "Vocabulary words from the chapter are hidden in the phone numbers below! Use the key on the keypad to figure out what word this is:

467-3287 (Hint: creepy!)

The answer to that one was "insects." My kids do not think insects are creepy, nor do I. I don't remember how long it took to decode those terms, but nothing was learned about insects or reptiles and whatever that third term was in the process. But I suppose that had I told them, my kids might have learned that people used to cause repetitive strain injuries in their thumbs by using keypads to send text messages. But alas, we were so annoyed when it was done, they just went to bed.

Teachers give out this stuff because it's "fun." IMO, a word search is fun on a rainy Saturday when you feel like doing a word search. It is not fun when it's Tuesday night after dinner and you have 4 other things to get done (including those stupid phone numbers, a study guide, and some essay questions), and it's going to take a half-hour to find a long list of vocabulary words embedded in a 15x15 matrix.

I told my kids that I'll be doing word searches and phone number puzzles from now on.