Hey, y’all. I’m at the 42nd Street Stephen A. Schwarzman Library on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, discovering the treasures within.
- Today, I’ve found some intriguing tablets written in cuneiform. As many of you know, I’ve been a teacher for 13 years, and every year, I get a question that’s especially popular among middle, but also high school students: “Who invented homework?”
- A fascinating answer might be the Mesopotamians or Babylonians. The tablets we’re talking about were used by students for writing practice, likely within the home of a scribe or a master. The pieces you’re seeing now are mainly literary texts that the students were required to copy and submit as demonstrations of their skill. There’s also a tablet featuring mathematical equations among them. Yes, the New York Public Library has a significant collection of these cuneiform tablets.
- Pro tip: The Morgan Library on Madison Avenue also has an impressive collection of these ancient educational artifacts. So, indeed, do your homework, kids.
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