The first anniversary of the "double reduction", the children will no longer bury their heads in the "sea of questions" during the summer vacation
Our reporter Zhou Ziyuan
"Workers Daily" (August 16, 2022 Edition 03)
In July last year, the "Opinions on Further Reducing the Burden of Students' Homework and Off-campus Training in Compulsory Education" was issued, and the "double reduction" policy was promoted.
On the first anniversary of the issuance of the "Opinions", how did the primary and secondary school students spend the first summer vacation after the "double reduction"?
The reporter found in an interview in Beijing that many primary and middle school students no longer bury their heads in "the sea of questions" this holiday, but start from their interests and spend a free and fulfilling holiday life.
Interest and quality
"There is not much homework this year, so I have more free time to develop some skills based on my child's interests." Yilei is currently in the second grade of primary school, her mother said, "My child has signed up for two training classes, swimming and calligraphy, and she is in school. I cultivated my interest in calligraphy, and I continued to practice calligraphy during the holidays.”
According to data from the Ministry of Education, as of February this year, the number of off-campus training institutions in the compulsory education phase has dropped by more than 90%.
Primary and secondary school students no longer rush between subject tutoring, and devote more time and energy to personal interest and quality training.
Non-disciplinary training has attracted attention, and many parents choose to enroll their children in interest classes such as swimming, basketball, and painting to enrich their vacation life.
In 2020, after the publication of the "Opinions on Comprehensively Strengthening and Improving School Sports Work in the New Era" and "Opinions on Comprehensively Strengthening and Improving School Aesthetic Education in the New Era", local governments promoted the implementation of policies, and sports and aesthetic education have become educational hotspots, further promoting Art sports training market.
An art training institution located in Shunyi, Beijing, registered a record number of summer vacations this year. Zhang Jiayan, the head of the institution, said: "The first art summer camp was launched on July 18. Most of the students who signed up were at the primary school level, they liked painting, and they were interested in art for the future. Development planning. Students and parents are very involved, and some students even want to come here for the entire vacation.”
Swimming training in physical exercise is particularly popular with primary and secondary school students.
The reporter came to a fitness swimming institution in Beitaipingzhuang Street, Haidian District, Beijing, and saw many children taking classes by age group.
A coach revealed: "Summer vacation has always been the peak period for learning to swim. There are a lot of children signing up this year, and the holiday schedule is full."
Various practical activities
This summer, primary and secondary school students have more time to practice their skills in practical activities.
"Since the holiday, the laughter of the children in the community has increased significantly, adding a lot of life." In the Suojiafen community in Beijing, Ms. Li Wei, who played with her children, said, "My children are in first grade, and there are almost no holidays. Written homework, the school arranges 30 minutes of housework every day and requires it to be recorded." Sweeping, folding clothes, sorting desks, making simple meals, children exercise life skills in housework and learn to take care of themselves.
Going out of the house, many primary and middle school students choose to visit museums and science and technology museums.
In the China Geological Museum, second-year student Wei Jinjin and his parents came to visit during the weekend.
"My favorite is the Prehistoric Creature Hall, which displays a lot of dinosaur fossils," Jinjin said. "Today I saw how the earth evolved, as well as volcanic eruptions and various rocks on the earth."
During the summer vacation, more than 70 exhibitions and cultural activities were launched in the Beijing area, including blockbuster exhibitions in museums, immersive experiences in science and technology museums, and various interesting summer camp activities, allowing children to gain fun while increasing their knowledge.
The bookstore has also become a good place for students and parents to share reading time.
"There are many paper books to choose from in the bookstore, and there is a sense of reading atmosphere." Ms. Chang, the parent, told the reporter, "This holiday is just to encourage children to read more extracurricular books and expand their knowledge."
During the summer vacation, local communities also held social practice activities with different themes, attracting primary and secondary school students to participate.
Xicheng District, Beijing held the theme exhibition "What the Party Flag Points to the League Flag - 100 Years of Xicheng Youth and the Party". Fangshan District held the "Basketball Parent-Child Carnival" and "Basic Football Training" with the theme of fun and fitness. Daxing District Design A series of activities such as the "Chongchao Seedling Protection Plan" were carried out, which not only solved the problem of unattended children in the summer vacation, but also helped them spend a fulfilling vacation.
Relieve anxiety and grow happily
In March this year, the "National "Double Reduction" Effectiveness Survey Report released by the China Institute of Education and Social Development of Beijing Normal University showed that 83.4% of students were basically able to complete or complete most of their written homework in school, and the average sleep time in primary schools 9.3 hours for junior high schools, 8.5 hours for junior high schools, 83.5% of students did not participate in off-campus subject training, and more than 91% of schools provided homework guidance and various interest courses.
Although the "double reduction" has reduced the burden of primary and secondary school students outside the school, the pressure is always there for students and parents facing higher education, and many parents also expressed their inner anxiety to reporters.
There is little homework in the summer vacation, and I am worried that my children will be too relaxed; I spend too much time watching electronic products at home and are left unattended; I take online classes for a long time, and I am not sure about the students' learning effectiveness... These are the issues that parents worry the most.
In response to these problems, Mr. Liu from the No. 109 Middle School in Dongcheng District, Beijing told reporters: "After the 'double reduction', part of the extracurricular pressure has been transferred to the classroom. How to improve the learning effect within the limited classroom time is a new topic for teachers. We also We are constantly exploring to improve the quality of teaching, so that students can learn well on campus.”
Mr. Liu suggested that, first of all, you should ensure sufficient sleep during the summer vacation, and you should arrange your time reasonably when signing up for various trainings, and pay attention to the combination of work and rest; secondly, make a study plan according to your own situation. Wrong questions and weak knowledge points, make up for short-board subjects; finally, participate in more social practice activities to encourage children to go out of the house and contact the society.
The first anniversary of the "double reduction", the burden of off-campus training and homework for primary and secondary school students has been effectively reduced, and the popularization of more scientific educational concepts and methods will also allow parents to gradually change their mentality.
Yilei's mother said: "I realized that I used to be too anxious. The child has worked very hard in school, and the holiday is still free and happy for the child."