# Homework help needed **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 13, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224 "2013-05-13T12:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/1 "2013-05-13T12:09:21Z")
Not for me of course.🙂 For a 10th grader. Importance of Imagination in mathematics. Use origami. Thanks in advance. ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/2 "2013-05-13T13:32:33Z")
How long have you been here? Read the rules. The SDMB doesnt do your homework for you. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/3 "2013-05-13T14:57:11Z")
:rolleyes: Long enough to know that SDMB does not allow members to ask others to do their homework.I am asking only for some inputs, as this question sounded a bit advanced for a 10th grader. I need some suggestions. No need for anyone to do origami.🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/4 "2013-05-13T15:39:20Z")
How about hexaflexagons? ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/5 "2013-05-13T15:43:13Z")
Good suggestion. What to write for " importance of imagination in mathematics"?. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/6 "2013-05-13T15:52:39Z")
> [@Indian](#): > > Importance of Imagination in mathematics. Use origami. Is that _all_ the instruction the teacher provided? Just a sentence fragment and a second sentence consisting of a noun and a verb? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/7 "2013-05-13T15:53:54Z")
Worst homework prompt ever. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/8 "2013-05-13T16:00:30Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Is that _all_ the instruction the teacher provided? Just a sentence fragment and a second sentence consisting of a noun and a verb? Yes.☹ ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2013, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/9 "2013-05-13T16:16:55Z")
When you ask for homework help on this site, as I have, I think it behooves you to give some idea of what work the student has already done, and what the student’s thoughts are, not just post the question and expect us to answer it. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/10 "2013-05-14T02:56:15Z")
Sure.🙂 The student has already made multiple origami designs. And everyone I put this to was surprised at the " importance of imagination " part. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/11 "2013-05-14T15:31:05Z")
When I was in high school, my freshman English teacher gave us a rather complex assignment involving in-depth analysis of Romeo & Juliet. Her instructions were about as vague as those in the OP. For example, instead of “discuss 2-3 examples of compare/contrast in the story,” she just wrote “compare/contrast,” so apparently we were all expected to read her mind and figure out what she wanted. All of us blew off the assignment, despite being given several weeks to complete it. The paper (which would end up being a dozen pages or so if done correctly, not that anyone had any idea what “done correctly” should look like) was due on a Monday. On Friday night, I looked up the teacher’s phone number in the phone book (it was the 80s), and called her at home to tell her I had no idea what her expectations were with regard to this assignment. She spent about a half-hour on the phone with me, clarifying and explaining. I went through the entire assignment with her until I understood what she was after and had formed some ideas about how I would serve that up to her. I was the only student who did that. I was the only student who earned an A on the assignment. My classmates thought I was nuts, either because I called her at home or because I got the assignment “done correctly.” I suggest you send this student back to the assigning teacher to ask for clarification. Because this isn’t really an assignment as written. It’s a test of mind-reading skills. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/12 "2013-05-14T15:44:57Z")
Start by looking at this wiki article on the [Mathematics or Paper Folding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mathematics_of_paper_folding). The instructions say ‘use origami’ not ‘make origami’. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 2013, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/homework-help-needed/658224/13 "2013-05-14T16:21:46Z")
> [@Indian](#): > > Not for me of course.🙂 > > For a 10th grader. > > Importance of Imagination in mathematics. Use origami. I’m really having trouble imagining that the teacher gave students a piece of paper that said “Importance of Imagination in mathematics. Use origami.” If you’re right–if those are the exact words and there’s no more information at all–the teacher is rocking the malpractice. But if this is what your kid wrote down from the teacher’s instruction, or if you’re summarizing or excerpting what the teacher actually said, then we need clarification. Is the student supposed to make a video? Write an epic poem? Create a diorama? Performance art? Essay? What product is expected?