MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1977
10
CALL FOR CAREFULLY REGULATED HOMEWORK
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HOMEWORK SHOULD BE CAREFULLY REGULATED IN ORDER TO AVOID ENCROACHMENT ON THE PUPIL'S SPARE TIME, THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR. HO NGA-MING, SAID THIS AFTERNOON AT THE SPEECH DAY OF THE HOT PING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SECONDARY SCHOOL.
MR. HO WAS ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE ON BEHALF OF THE DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION, MR. KENNETH TOPLEY, WHO WAS UNABLE TO ATTEND BECAUSE OF OTHER COMMITMENTS.
+SCHOOLS SHOULD ENSURE THAT WHAT IS ASKED IS NOT UNREASONABLE, AND THAT WHERE DIFFERENT TEACHERS SET WORK FOR THE SAME EVENING, THE SUM TOTAL OF THE DIFFERENT DEMANDS IS ALSO NOT UNREASONABLE,+ MR. HO SAID.
+BROADLY SPEAKING, I THINK THAT LESS HOMEWORK SHOULD BE REQUIRED OF PUPILS IN JUNIOR FORMS AND THAT THE QUOTA SET FOR WEEKENDS SHOULD NOT EXCEED THAT SET FOR ANY WEEKDAY SO
THAT CHILDREN MAY HAVE A FREE EVENING TO SHARE FULLY IN FAMILY LIFE.+
MR. HO STATED THAT HOMEWORK PLAYED A USEFUL PART IN EDUCATING PUPILS, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS - IN CONSOLIDATING KNOWLEDGE AND PERFECTING SKILLS.
HE POINTED OUT THAT WHILE THE FIRST STEPS IN UNDERSTANDING COULD BE MADE IN THE CLASSROOM UNDER GUIDANCE, IT WAS ONLY THROUGH CONTINUED PERSONAL PRACTICE THAT MASTERY COULD BE ACHIEVED.
REFERRING TO CERTAIN POINTS OF A SOCIAL NATURE, MR. HO SAID THAT THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THESE WAS THE QUESTION OF GENERAL HOME CONDITIONS.
+WHERE THESE ARE ADVERSE, THE POSSIBILITY OF SUBSTITUTING PREPARATION AT SCHOOL FOR HOMEWORK NIGHT WELL BE EXAMINED.
+OTHER CONSIDERATIONS INCLUDE THE LENGTH OF JOURNEYS TO AND FROM SCHOOL, INSUFFICIENT SLEEP AND INVOLVEMENT IN DOMESTIC CHORES. WHERE FATIGUE IS ASCERTAINED TO HAVE BEEN DUE TO SUCH CAUSES, SPECIAL STEPS SHOULD BE TAKEN TO EASE THE BURDEN OF HOMEWORK, + HE SAID.
THE TEACHER, MR. HO SAID, SHOULD BEAR IN MIND THAT APART FROM SETTING HOMEWORK, CERTAIN EXTENSIONS OF SCHOOL WORK WERE USEFUL.
+TKEY INCLUDE GENERAL READING, PLAY-ACTING, PRACTICAL SCIENCE, ART AND CRAFTS, AND MUSIC. THEY ALL ADD VARIETY TO CLASS WORK, AND IN PURSUIT OF THEM THE PUPILS LEARN SOMETHING OF THE WISE USE OF LEISURE, HE SAID.
MR. HO NOTED THAT THE HOI PING CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SECONDARY SCHOOL WAS BUILDING UP A GOOD REPUTATION BY LAYING EMPHASIS NOT ONLY ON ACADEMIC PROWESS BUT ALSO ON THE PHYSICAL, SOCIAL AND MORAL WELL BEING OF ITS PUPILS.
+QUITE APART FROM ACHIEVING GOOD RESULTS AT THE HONG KONG CERTIFICATE OF EDUCATION EXAMINATION, THE SCHOOL HAS WON TROPHIES IN TABLE-TENNIS, FOLK DANCING AND VERSE-SPEAKING COMPETITIONS AND HAS PROMOTED A RICH VARIETY OF EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES, + HE SAID.
JAM