I thought of something reading your column last week. My kids are now in high school. They do their homework, at least most nights. But they laugh about "faking" their work. Sometimes, they apparently turn in work which is a repeat or does not really match the assignment the teacher gave. They say the work is rarely checked, just marked that they turned it in. This seems like a shame.

It is indeed a shame. I hear the same thing from kids.

Homework should be assigned, graded and returned. It has always seemed to me as if individual work is an intimate communication between a teacher and a student. Putting work in "folders" with a simple check mark does not indicate review and reaction.

Kids rapidly determine the modus operandi of a teacher and respond accordingly. I actually asked some high school students what they thought about homework, and I got an earful. Here are some quotes.

"I can get a B in all my classes with about 15 minutes a night. It is a joke."

"If I work 7 hours a day, why would I do homework? What I do in a day should be enough."

"She never grades the stuff. She just checks that you have done it."

If homework is important, and I believe it is, then it seems some young people and their instructors are missing the point. With all the "No Child Left Behind" funding, focus, and testing, surely we ought to be doing better.

I am certain there are dedicated teachers who do careful evaluation. There are also youngsters who want the attention. Let's hear from them.

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Dr. Larry Larsen is an Andover psychologist. If you would like to ask a question or respond to one, e-mail him at llrryllrsn@CS.com