Comic Strip: On February 8, the primary and secondary school students in Chengdu will end their short winter vacation and return to class. These days, many playful students are taking advantage of the last few days to catch up on their homework. However, there is another group of academically excellent students who have no burden of winter vacation homework at all. Because they were granted a "privilege": not having to do winter vacation homework. Yesterday, Tianfu Morning Post learned from some primary and secondary schools in Chengdu that teachers assign different winter vacation homework based on the academic performance of the students. For high-achieving students, they are directly "exempted". Parents have mixed opinions about this approach.
Father's Doubt: Why isn't my daughter doing exercises but only reading books?
After getting up early and running downstairs, taking a nap after lunch, browsing the news online, and taking a walk with parents after dinner, more leisure time was spent reading various kinds of books. This was the winter vacation life of Liao Yun, a second-year student at Shishi United Middle School.
Liao Yun's father felt strange, "Why haven't I seen you doing 'Winter Vacation Life'?" Liao Yun was surprised: "Dad, did I forget to tell you? Your daughter has no winter vacation homework. The teacher said I can freely支配支配my winter vacation."
After detailed inquiry by Liao's father, he understood that winter vacation homework was now treated differently based on the students' academic performance. His daughter's grades have always been among the top few in the class, and she studies relatively independently, thus receiving the teacher's "special pardon" - no winter vacation homework.
"Is this reasonable?" Liao's father hurriedly called his colleague, only to be told: "My son's class does it this way, my neighbor's child's class does it this way, even the grandson of the security guard in my neighborhood does it this way..."
Teacher's Method: Different winter vacation homework for different academic performances
For most students, their winter vacation homework, besides the "traditional" 'Winter Vacation Life', also includes various exercises and tests assigned by subject teachers. However, those academically excellent children, under the teachers' different classification methods, share one common result: no homework.
"Ranking by Scores" Style
The most direct method. Based on individual final exam scores ranking, girls bear millions of debt to run schools that only charge meal fees. Liao Yun told Tianfu Morning Post that scores and rankings are not announced after exams now. Teachers classify students into four levels: A, B, C, and D based on their scores. Students in level A can be exempted from winter vacation homework, while the amount of homework increases sequentially for the rest of the levels.
In a sixth-grade class at Jinguanyi Primary School, teachers not only examine final exam scores but also consider regular test results, classroom participation, and homework completion to derive a comprehensive evaluation. Then, the amount of homework is determined according to these evaluation levels.
"Score Line" Style
Similarly, at Shishi United Middle School, Liu Xin's class assigns winter vacation homework like a "college entrance exam." Teachers set score lines for each subject based on exam results. Students whose scores exceed the line can be exempted from the winter vacation homework for that subject.
There are even more detailed classifications where teachers review each student's test paper performance. If a student scores full marks on section B, even if the score line is not reached, part of the winter vacation homework will be exempted.
"Class Bundle" Style
Besides individual exemptions, there are also class-wide "exemptions."
Zhang Xiaoyu, a first-year junior high school student at Shishi Junior High School, had a fairly pleasant winter vacation. Not only her, but the entire class had very little homework. This is because their class ranked first in Chinese and mathematics throughout the grade, and most of the classmates were exempted from the main subjects' homework.
Tianfu Morning Post reporter Feng Yakai
Debate >>>>
An incentive regulation is a good regulation
Assigning homework based on academic performance, is it differential treatment by teachers or an incentive-based education? How should winter vacation homework be assigned? Parents and educational experts have expressed their views.
Parent's Perspective
Viewpoint 1: Favoritism, treating children differently
Mr. Cheng, a parent, does not understand the graded assignment of winter vacation homework. In his view, all children are equal and should not be treated differently based on their academic performance. Homework is meant for students to learn and exercise better during the holiday. If high-achieving students don't or do less homework, it creates comparisons among students. Those who don't do homework may look down upon those who perform poorly, and the teacher's favoritism can hurt the students' hearts.
Viewpoint 2: Support, giving children room to expand
"There's no need to repeatedly do basic practice, it's a waste of time." Ms. You, a parent, believes that academically excellent students should read more extracurricular books and preview the content of the next semester instead of repeatedly reviewing the most fundamental knowledge. Moreover, this incentive mechanism makes children pay more attention to their daily accumulation, maintaining their enthusiasm and initiative in learning, which is twice the result with half the effort. In summary, regulations that maximally incentivize students are good regulations.
Expert's Perspective
Viewpoint 1: Avoid passive differentiated teaching
Chengdu Municipal Committee member of the CPPCC, Professor Liu Changzhu of Sichuan Education Institute, believes that winter vacation is for children to enjoy life, and homework should be as minimal as possible, or even replaced by social practice. Liu Changzhu pointed out that the practice of exempting high-achieving students from homework while increasing the workload for low-achieving students is inappropriate. "This is a passive form of differentiated teaching." As a teacher, one should balance the educational methods for high-achieving and low-achieving students, and homework should be treated equally.
Viewpoint 2: Educational equity needs to be well controlled
Ji Dahai, Secretary-General of the Sichuan Provincial Education Society, also believes that winter vacation homework should not be excessive. An excessive amount of homework causes students to deal with it in improper ways, such as copying homework or letting others write for them, which is not conducive to improving students. "Educational equity starts with class-level equity. It is suggested that teachers provide one-on-one tutoring for underperforming students in the class, and the government allocates special funds to reward teachers. This is truly putting people first."