It’s slightly off-topic… but I think it’s worth mentioning that I think the reason ‘extra credit’ is more exciting to tackle is that it is all potential upside with no potential downside. Regular assignments and tests offer you a reward if you do them well, but a punishment if you make mistakes on them. Extra credit is an exception to this, where there is explicitly no punishment threatened, so you can just relax and make a comfortable effort without worrying that you are trying insufficiently hard. This makes it more like play and peaceful exploration, and less like a stressful trial.
Indeed, my opinion is that education should have much less in the way of graded homework and tests. Tests should be for special occasions, like the very end of a course, and intended to truly measure the student’s understanding. Classwork (e.g. problem sets or working through a series on Khan academy or Brilliant) should award points for effort, just like lectures award participation credit for attending. Homework should be banned (below university level). If the school can’t educate you within the allotted time, it is failing its job.
It’s slightly off-topic… but I think it’s worth mentioning that I think the reason ‘extra credit’ is more exciting to tackle is that it is all potential upside with no potential downside. Regular assignments and tests offer you a reward if you do them well, but a punishment if you make mistakes on them. Extra credit is an exception to this, where there is explicitly no punishment threatened, so you can just relax and make a comfortable effort without worrying that you are trying insufficiently hard. This makes it more like play and peaceful exploration, and less like a stressful trial.
Indeed, my opinion is that education should have much less in the way of graded homework and tests. Tests should be for special occasions, like the very end of a course, and intended to truly measure the student’s understanding. Classwork (e.g. problem sets or working through a series on Khan academy or Brilliant) should award points for effort, just like lectures award participation credit for attending. Homework should be banned (below university level). If the school can’t educate you within the allotted time, it is failing its job.