Curious. What is your opinion on this?




http://www.straitstimes.com/ST+Forum/Story/STIStory_546439.html

Jun 28, 2010
Why burden children with holiday work?

IT WAS heartening to read Saturday's letter by Mr Mak Yuen Teen ('School break should be just that: a clear respite from books' and know there are others who feel strongly that holidays should mean a complete break for children.

My daughter is in Secondary 1 this year and I am glad she made it to one of the top schools. However, with the start of the school holidays, I began having concerns about whether, on a holistic level, it was the right choice.

We had planned a vacation weeks ago, but before school closed for the holidays, she came home loaded with projects and assignments. These were to be included in her final grade for the term, due in the first week of the new term.

The assignments were to be done in groups, which meant she and her other group members had to meet during the holidays to pick a theme and do the various components, including model- building, presentations and reports.

There was no question of her being able to get away for a month. Many of her classmates faced the same situation. One enterprising mother outsourced the entire job to a tutor, while another carried a laptop with her to enable her daughter to continue working while overseas.

Why are schools burdening the children with extra work during the holidays? The academic term should be enough to cover the syllabus; if not, the authorities need to take a second look at the content.

While the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports is campaigning for 'family time', the Ministry of Education seems to be working at cross-purposes. Quality family time during the school term is an impossibility, given the load of homework and co-curricular activities. Why are proper vacations also being denied to families?

If we don't change this, we will see increasing numbers of stressed out children turning into stressed out adults with little emotional ties with their parents, siblings and extended family.

Kelly Kishor (Ms)