Stephen George who doesn't care about high marks

Stephen George strode across the porch of Brooklyn High School (near Boston) and looked like an athlete. The girls smiled at him, and he responded with Denzel Hayes Washington Jr.? Famous black movie star? Type of bright smile. The boys gave him a high five. Stephen, 17, has irresistible charm. To the admiration of the students, he got the best part-time job in the world: caddy for the Boston Celtics basketball team. The teacher likes his diligence and self-discipline. Academic competition may become very terrible. Bob Cunningham, a chemistry teacher, said, "Some students are selfish and selfish, and they just want to climb up by themselves. Stephen is not like this. He is also very helpful in the laboratory, which will make the competition between students less intense. " Dennis Barkott, an English teacher, felt the same way: "Some students asked the teacher to give an A when grading, while Stephen asked the teacher what to do to get an A." Barkott recalled that Stephen insisted on revising one of his compositions in a news writing class, even though the scores had been marked at that time. "He wrote another one, just to see how to write better. I think this is the key for students to get good grades-learning is not just for grades, but for learning skills. "

Top students are generally competitive, but getting high marks is not their motivation. Stephen said: "Many times I am competing with myself. I set goals for myself and then work hard to achieve them. "

Research shows that when schools or parents place too much emphasis on grades, the learning effect will be affected. Claudia Miller and Carol Dwek of Columbia University recently surveyed 465,438+02 fifth-grade students, and found that those who were praised for their good grades and intelligence were unwilling to take risks and could not afford any failure. Those students who are praised for their diligence and perseverance often blame themselves for not working hard enough when they fail. Dwek said: "This mentality encourages them to maintain their enthusiasm for learning, excellent grades and self-esteem."

Alfie Cohen, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, is an educator who writes books and talks about behavior problems. He is probably the most outspoken person in the United States who criticizes the reality that education blindly emphasizes grades, test scores and class rankings. In his view, all this stifled students' interest in learning and replaced it with a shallow and desperate pursuit of grades.

Cohen's advice to parents is: Don't ask your child how he did at school today, but ask him what he did. "If you have five minutes, all of them are used to talk to your child about his sudden inspiration or his feelings when solving problems. Help children forget their grades and let them study in a down-to-earth manner. "

Let nature take its course and let Mike succeed.

Like many tricycle-age boys, Mike Terry of Evanston, Illinois likes to ride a bike very fast. However, with the growth of age, his fascination with speed has not weakened, but has intensified. At the age of 9, he had an unusual experience: when he visited the Chicago Auto Show, he spent 10 hours in "paradise on earth". 13 years old, Mike in the seventh grade recalled in his composition that from that day on, "the auto show became a' religious festival' for the Terry family".

Mike's bedroom is very tidy, with posters of "Wilcott" and "Ferrari" cars on the wall. However, as long as you take a closer look at his closet, you can know more exactly how obsessed he is with cars.

Mike's father Tom is an actuary. At first, he often worried about whether his son's obsession with cars was morbid or possessed, but later he began to see the intellectual value of this hobby. He said: "His brain is constantly processing information, and he has learned to interact with people skillfully. He also recommended different cars according to the needs of different families. I realized that just like adults, this hobby of children can be transformed into other hobbies. "

Indeed, Mike likes cars, which may help him form a habit of using his imagination and delving into things he is interested in. Mike's school is a progressive teaching method. There is no traditional grading system and report card, but he is also outstanding. Eliza Denia, his Latin teacher, said: "His interest in a certain course is not limited to the classroom or the textbooks."

If you ask the person in charge of college admissions what kind of freshmen they want to recruit, many people will mention the word "hobby". Robert Kinnali, director of the Admissions Office of Stanford University, said: "There are many students who can learn their lessons well and get A grades, but what we want are those who study hard and like to borrow extracurricular books from teachers after class." It is a pity that many college students are "packaged" and persecuted by their parents. Parker said: "In order to please us, parents try their best to change their children, but they will not admit their personal hobbies and persistence first, and then encourage them to change."

Famous universities will find out whether students have strong will through extracurricular activities when enrolling students. For many students and parents, extracurricular activities are like seasonings. You can leave a few notes on your resume: you have a good understanding of music, attend poetry parties, practice sports, and so on. However, recruiters like kinnali know that taking an active part in such extracurricular activities can form valuable personality characteristics, such as perseverance, leadership and teamwork.

New rules for homework

Judging from the composition of the family, Donnie Williams' home is a mess. His mother Dalena gave birth to her first child when she was in high school. Seven years later, she married Downey's father, but the marriage only lasted 1 1 year. Donnie, 1 1 years old, lives with his mother, his half-sister Tang, 25, and Tang's 7-year-old child Crystal in the government relief room in Darce, Maryland. Five years ago, Doni's family adopted Doni's cousin Garland, and his family was in a difficult situation.

Isn't it messy enough? Yes, but everyone in this family lives well. Downey graduated from Wenned Primary School in June this year. He won the Principal Award, which is one of the highest honors of the school. His other achievements include that he is the vice president of the Student Union, the most valuable player in the school basketball league, the star of the local primary school basketball league and a famous saxophonist. Teachers praised him as a natural leader, full of charm, and he could dazzle people in the room. Judy Lana Devlin, the vice principal, said that Doni's success was mainly due to his talent and diligence, as well as his mother's clear expectations of him.

Dalena is the captain of the Maryland National Guard. She is strict with her children. She insisted: "They must finish their homework as soon as they get home. They are not allowed to watch TV and play games unless they have finished their homework. Playing saxophone is also a must-do homework. " Donnie seems to like this arrangement. He always scrupulously abides by his complicated schedule, including sports training, music courses, church services and other activities, and never gives in.

Do most students throw away their books when they get home? Is Williams' approach the only rule of success? That's not necessarily true. Bissmark Pariz likes to study in the dead of night. His "multimedia" learning style really surprised his mother Walter Parritz. She shrugged and said, "He turned on the TV while doing his homework on the computer, and listened to music with headphones on his ears." But her opposition to her son didn't work. Stephen George is always famous for doing his homework with the TV on. His father, Stephen Sr, said, "At first, I was against it, too. But then he convinced me that he could concentrate. "

If there is any rule for doing homework, it is to let children do whatever they like! Not every child needs to do his homework quietly in front of the desk against the wall, and not every child can calm down and do his homework after school.

Another rule about homework is that parents should actively participate, but not too loose.

Compared with domestic quality education, western quality education is characterized by flexibility, naturalness and diversity, which is closer to children's nature. This is also the strength of western quality education. All of the above examples are reflected.