I’ve always disliked the term homework. Surely home is where we rest, refresh, recreate — in the truest sense, it’s where we don’t work. What sort of message have we sent our young people all these years by requiring them to work not only at school but at home? No wonder they don’t prefer homework.
At my school, we have kept the older name for homework: prep (or to use the full name and highlight its true purpose: preparation). Prep is designed to help children prepare for the next lesson. A number of short tasks can be part of prep these days: a YouTube clip, a short film made by a teacher, a map or picture to look at. Something visual often suits the child who, by the end of a busy school day, is mentally tired.
Prep can still consist of consolidation exercises but based on past experience, a practical method should be that these are not as many as to be demanding and should be adjusted to suit the child’s needs. Some written work maybe requested but I would hope that it would be a short piece or even a sample paragraph. “Write an essay...” comes with strings attached and usually takes rather longer than the prep time needed.
Ensure that a child’s workspace at home is tidy, quiet and uninterrupted by devices that are not being used for study. On tablets or PCs in use for homework, turn off the notifications or remove any apps you feel are a distraction. Keep an eye on, but not a physical presence in, the workspace until you know your child is truly self-sufficient in terms of focus and pace of work.
Finally, I advise parents to coach children in the Nike approach: “Just do it.” In truth this is generally more favoured by boys than girls, who love wasting time arranging the many coloured pens and crisp stationery. Help your daughter release her inner boy, grab a pen, get the work done, cross out errors with one straight line so that the teacher can see the thought process, finish, pack the bag for tomorrow, and go out to play!
【小题1】What’s the main idea of the first paragraph?| A．To explain what home is. |
| B．To explain what homework is. |
| C．To explain why children don’t like homework. |
| D．To explain why the author doesn’t like the term homework. |
| A．Making a map. | B．Clipping a picture. |
| C．Watching a short video. | D．Shooting a short film. |
| A．Writing a long essay can be part of preparation. |
| B．Keep an eye on and stay with children until their work is done. |
| C．Preparation can be homework but consolidation exercises cannot. |
| D．Turn off the notifications when children do homework on tablets or PCs. |
| A．A principal. | B．A photographer. |
| C．A parent. | D．An official. |
