To make attractive, stylish, or up-to-date.

As many of you may know, I'm going to be a senior in high school, starting September 7. I'm going to be remarkably vague about this -- I'm not going to tell you who I am, or where I live (beyond "New York") because there are a lot of perverts on the internet.

But, nonetheless, I'm going to complain about school.

See, where I go to school you're here for six years: grades seven through twelve. The past five summers have ended with a small packet of papers, folded over once, in half, and stapled.

In it? The "District-Wide Homework Policy". The "welcome back" letter, at the bottom of which is a sticky tag, with your homeroom. The letter asking you to join the PTA. The flier for "College and Career Night". The letter that explains that all students entering seventh and tenth grades are required by state law to yadda yadda yadda.

What I really need to complain about is the one I mentioned first: the "Homework Policy". See, for five years -- that I know of -- it hasn't changed. They sent home the same letter every year. They only difference was the color paper it was printed on.

Let me explain how it works. It's in sections. "Policy" (explaining that there actually is one) "Purposes" (why there actually is one) "Responsibility of Parents"... and so on.

They changed it. They... they... It's not new -- it's the same old policy -- they just changed it.

They made it spiffy. That's the only way I can describe it.

One of the new "purposes" is to "Foster the worthwhile use of leisure time". Excuse me? It's not leisure time if I'm doing homework, now is it?!

Wait.

It gets better.

"The teacher should plan and instruct the students on what to do and how to do it." Isn't that why they're paid?

It's spiffy, but it's the same old packet.