Home » Opinion » Opinion Columns
All work and no play is the first lesson in elementary school
By Wan Lixin |
December 15, 2010, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LESS than four months into first grade, my eight-year-old son is already waxing philosophical.
He asked us several times why the time from Monday to Friday passes so slowly, while the time on Saturday and Sunday is flying.
He asked me earnestly if there is a way to speed up the weekday time and slow down the weekend.
Starting Monday he keeps a very accurate countdown to Saturday, even though the weekend is not totally his own.
Last Sunday, after doing his homework for a couple hours, he said he wanted to throw up. I first thought it was an excuse, but when he repeated the complaint at supper, I knew he felt sick after sitting at the desk for too long.
He was only able to complete a fraction of his homework that day.
We bought him an expensive bicycle at the beginning of the term, but so far he has only used it four or five times.
I am not blaming my child's school.
'Burden easing'
As a matter of fact, one veteran teacher decided to enroll his two granddaughters in the school, because after extensive investigation he concluded this school stands out for its strict adherence to the syllabus drawn up by the Ministry of Education - which means the school is exemplary in not overburdening the children.
Are the educational authorities cognizant of the situation? They periodically issue circulars aimed at easing student workload burdens, the latest being the initiative on Monday to select a number of pilot cities, among them Shanghai, to experiment with "burden easing" at elementary and middle schools.
The circular discourages the practice of ranking schools and regions on the basis of student test scores.
Officials in that ministry need only to weigh any pupil's schoolbag to know if circulars are effective.
When escorting my son to school, I always carry the schoolbag for him, but when my wife escorts him, the boy has to carry the bag himself, because it is too heavy for his mother.
One recent ministry circular winning universal applause is the decision to stop giving winners of "Math Olympiad" competitions extra credits on college entrance exams.
Which means winners are still favored in admission to secondary schools.
Past lessons
Recently there has been a surge of interest in a set of Chinese textbooks for young pupils compiled by renowned Chinese scholar Ye Shengtao nearly 80 years ago.
Parents and students alike are mesmerized by the poetic qualities evoked by the simple language set to the pictures drawn by renowned artist Feng Zikai.
Pages are filled with Chinese characters elegantly handwritten with ink brushes. In my son's Chinese textbooks, even the few characters singled out for copying are computer-generated.
Could our children derive any aesthetic satisfaction from these geometrically perfect strokes?
In Ye's textbooks there are no exercises. Today pupils are initiated into the world of multiple-choice at an early age, so early that my son is now in the habit of addressing questions to me followed by three choices marked A, B, and C.
The real tragedy occurs when children, pliable as they generally are, are totally inured to the regimen.
In Monday's Xinmin Evening News, Wang Annuo wrote of a boy he met at a restaurant on Sunday. The boy had just been tested on computer in the morning, and in the afternoon would take a tutoring session in Chinese. He is tutored on Saturday afternoon in English and political science.
"When do you play?" Wang asked. The boy replied, "I do not play."
"Why not negotiate with your mom for some time to play? Don't you like to play?" Wang asked.
"Mom said that if I do not study well, I would end up collecting trash!" the boy said.
He asked us several times why the time from Monday to Friday passes so slowly, while the time on Saturday and Sunday is flying.
He asked me earnestly if there is a way to speed up the weekday time and slow down the weekend.
Starting Monday he keeps a very accurate countdown to Saturday, even though the weekend is not totally his own.
Last Sunday, after doing his homework for a couple hours, he said he wanted to throw up. I first thought it was an excuse, but when he repeated the complaint at supper, I knew he felt sick after sitting at the desk for too long.
He was only able to complete a fraction of his homework that day.
We bought him an expensive bicycle at the beginning of the term, but so far he has only used it four or five times.
I am not blaming my child's school.
'Burden easing'
As a matter of fact, one veteran teacher decided to enroll his two granddaughters in the school, because after extensive investigation he concluded this school stands out for its strict adherence to the syllabus drawn up by the Ministry of Education - which means the school is exemplary in not overburdening the children.
Are the educational authorities cognizant of the situation? They periodically issue circulars aimed at easing student workload burdens, the latest being the initiative on Monday to select a number of pilot cities, among them Shanghai, to experiment with "burden easing" at elementary and middle schools.
The circular discourages the practice of ranking schools and regions on the basis of student test scores.
Officials in that ministry need only to weigh any pupil's schoolbag to know if circulars are effective.
When escorting my son to school, I always carry the schoolbag for him, but when my wife escorts him, the boy has to carry the bag himself, because it is too heavy for his mother.
One recent ministry circular winning universal applause is the decision to stop giving winners of "Math Olympiad" competitions extra credits on college entrance exams.
Which means winners are still favored in admission to secondary schools.
Past lessons
Recently there has been a surge of interest in a set of Chinese textbooks for young pupils compiled by renowned Chinese scholar Ye Shengtao nearly 80 years ago.
Parents and students alike are mesmerized by the poetic qualities evoked by the simple language set to the pictures drawn by renowned artist Feng Zikai.
Pages are filled with Chinese characters elegantly handwritten with ink brushes. In my son's Chinese textbooks, even the few characters singled out for copying are computer-generated.
Could our children derive any aesthetic satisfaction from these geometrically perfect strokes?
In Ye's textbooks there are no exercises. Today pupils are initiated into the world of multiple-choice at an early age, so early that my son is now in the habit of addressing questions to me followed by three choices marked A, B, and C.
The real tragedy occurs when children, pliable as they generally are, are totally inured to the regimen.
In Monday's Xinmin Evening News, Wang Annuo wrote of a boy he met at a restaurant on Sunday. The boy had just been tested on computer in the morning, and in the afternoon would take a tutoring session in Chinese. He is tutored on Saturday afternoon in English and political science.
"When do you play?" Wang asked. The boy replied, "I do not play."
"Why not negotiate with your mom for some time to play? Don't you like to play?" Wang asked.
"Mom said that if I do not study well, I would end up collecting trash!" the boy said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
