68. Is daily homework necessary for students?

Many teachers assign homework to students every day. Do you think that daily homework is necessary

for students? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

『分析』

基本上同意。

给学生留作业的好处

学生缺乏自学能力，所以，通过留作业，可以使学生不知不觉地完成知识的吸收。

学习是一个系统的过程。系统的重复(systematical repetition)是学习过程中的一个重要机制

(mechanism)。而留作业，也正是通过这个机制使学习更加有效。

但是，有些老师

留作业不科学，还不如不留。

留作业太多，造成副作用(counter-effect; negative effect)，使学生厌学(be weary of studying)

另外，要看是哪个阶段的学生：

小学(elementary school)一二年级，就不要留作业了吧？

初中以上，留作业的同时是不是应该更注重培养学生的自学能力呢？

上了大学之后，还要每天留作业，就很古怪了吧？

『范文』

For students the only good homework is no homework. This has been a truism for as long as schools have

existed. However, the practice of newly acquired knowledge and the preparation for new lessons are essential

parts of the learning process. Teachers understand this and give assignments accordingly. Nevertheless, there is

such thing as too much homework. Whether daily homework is useful or not depends on the age of the students

and the subjects in which the work is assigned, and teachers also have to take into account the possible negative

effects of overwork.

The age of a student or, better yet, the stage of the personal development of a student has to be considered

when deciding on the amount of homework assigned. Elementary school students respond differently to daily

homework than senior school students. They are more limited in their ability to concentrate on a subject and take

in knowledge. These are skills that are developed over time. In addition, they will need time to learn other

important lessons, for example how to interact socially and behave in a group of their peers. Thus, instead of daily

homework, these students need time to play with their friends.

The need for daily homework also differs from subject to subject. For example, in the areas of mathematics

and languages continuous engagement with the subject matter is necessary, because it allows a student to

internalize important concepts and mechanisms. In the field of history, on the other hand, it is more important

that students grasp greater concepts. Memorizing dates and places is important, surely, but, if forgotten, these can

always be looked up in the textbook. In these subjects daily homework is not only unnecessary but it might

discourage students from taking an interest in the topic.

After all, learning is largely a voluntary activity, and teachers have to consider the possibility that too much

homework will frustrate the students. As a result, students might become less interested in the subject or less

willing to learn. Consequently, the good intentions of the teacher could very well have the opposite effect and a

student will learn less.