Sun Ruifeng, a mother in Beijing, changed some of her plans for her 8-year-old son’s summer vacation. She looked for an English training course, but in the end, she changed it to a swimming training class.

“Due to the stricter regulations (on subject-training classes, many parents like me choose sports or other projects for developing interests instead, ” Sun said.

Sun’s choice is part of the result of the government’s growing efforts to lighten the academic pressure on young students.

On July 24, Chinese government introduced a guideline(意见) to ease the burden(负担) of excessive homework and off-campus training for primary and junior high school students. It lists requirements in areas such as reducing the amount and the difficulty of homework and improving the quality of education and after-class services provided by schools.

For example homework for children below the third grade is not allowed while homework for junior high school students should take no longer than 90 minutes to finish.

According to the guideline, training institutions(机构) cannot teach students content that is too advanced for the school curriculum. No training courses can be taught on weekends, national holidays or during winter and summer vacations.

According to Global Times, more than 75 percent of Chinese urban children, from Grade 1 to Grade 12, are enrolled in training programs. However, some training institutions take part in anxiety marketing, selling unnecessary programs that increase the burden on students.

Many parents showed their support for the new moves. “Subject learning is enough at school and we hope to improve the children’s overall quality of life during holidays, ” a parent surnamed(姓) Zhou in Guangzhou told Xinhua.

However, there are also some concerns. A parent surnamed Chen in Shanxi said that although she agreed on new moves, she worried about what her son would do after school if both parents have no time to be with him.

At present, nine cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang and Guangzhou, have been selected to carry out the guideline. It will later be rolled out nationwide.

[1]How does your teacher make you sit in rows or in groups? How would you like to sit? Does sitting in rows make you feel good or does it make you feel lonely? Do you feel that sitting in a group and discussing things makes you learn more in an easier way?

[2](5)In the last 30 years or so, experts on teaching methods have thought about these questions. They felt that sitting in rows was not very (4)①__________ to children, and that they learnt more easily and better when they sat around a table in a group. That way, they could also learn to get along with others and exchange ideas easily.

[3](4)②__________, it seems they were not quite right. At least Nigel Hastings, professor of Nottingham Trent University does not think so. He has been researching classroom behavior for the last 20 years in England. His conclusion is that children work much better when they sit in rows than sitting around in groups.

[4]His study found that students (4)③__________ a lot of time talking when they were placed in groups. When children were made to sit singly or in pairs and not in groups as they were used to, they were more attentive (专注的) to their work.

[5]Right now, most primary school students in England are seated in groups of four and six, according to Sunday Times. So the report of Nigel’s study could make a big difference to how they will sit and learn.

Military training(军训) is not just a Chinese tradition. Students in other countries also have it. Let's take a look!

China

Military training in China usually teaches students things like standing at attention(站军姿), goose-stepping(正步走) and folding a quilt(叠被子). Some students say that it is not useful. But others feel it encourages them to be more independent(独立的) and responsible(有责任感的) .

The US

The US schools don't force(强迫) students to take military training. If children are interested in the military, they can attend military camps. These activities help children work in a group and encourage them to work out problems by themselves. For example, a group might have the task of climbing over(翻越) a high wall. If even one person fails, the whole group needs to do it again. So everyone must help each other and finish the task together.

The UK

The UK pays attention to military training for students, especially college students. There are Officer Training Corps (军官训练团, OTC) in some universities. In the OTC, students can learn military skills like first aid(急救) , weapons(武器) training and radio communications(无线电通讯). Students can make money by taking part in military exercises, too. They can earn(赚取) up to 60 pounds per day.