Question

The New York Times’ Room for Debate blog has a panel (专门小组) considering the pluses and minuses of summer homework. This has been the subject of debate in our house. Our 11th-grade daughter’s summer assignments were very challenging, to the point where I sometimes wondered if more of her time would have been better spent just riding a bicycle or swimming around a pool.

Here are some opinions from the panel:

Harris Cooper, psychologist, Duke University: “The long summer vacation disrupts the rhythm of instruction, leads to forgetting and requires time be spent reviewing old material when students return to school in the fall. My advice? Teachers, you need to be careful about what and how much summer homework you assign. Summer homework shouldn’t be expected to overcome a student’s learning deficits; that’s what summer school is for. Parents, if the assignments are clear and reasonable, support the teachers.”

Nancy Kalish, co-author of the Case Against Homework: “Schools should rethink summer homework, and not just because it stresses out kids (and parents). The truth is, homework doesn’t accomplish what we assume it does. According to a Duke University review of more than 175 studies, there is little or no connection between homework and standardized test score or long-term achievement in primary school.”

Mark Bauerlein, professor of English at Emory University: “To the general question of whether or not schools should assign summer homework, the answer is ‘Yes.’ The reason comes not only from the brain drain of summer. It relates also to an attitude young people take toward education. They tie knowledge to the syllabus, not to themselves. They read and study to write the paper and score highly in the test, not to furnish their minds. In a word, they regard learning as a classroom thing. That’s all.”

It seems to me that summer homework is a good idea to keep the brain cells moving, but like everything else it should be given in moderation.

1.Harris Cooper seems to believe that ________.

A. more summer homework causes students’ learning difficulties

B. students should go to summer school if they have no homework

C. teachers should give careful consideration to summer homework

D. parents should tell teachers how much homework their kids need

2.In the 4th paragraph, Nancy Kalish explains her idea by________.

A. making comparisons B. giving research findings

C. raising questions D. telling stories

3.Mark Bauerlein might agree that summer homework ________.

A. should be based on the school’s teaching program

B. has no direct connection to students’ higher grades

C. brings more pressure to both students and their parents

D. helps students develop the right attitude toward learning

Answer 1