Writing Task 1 - HKCEE

Writing Task 1
You are concerned about the pressure some students are under to be high-achievers. You think that pushy parents make them work too hard in order to do well in exams and to get good jobs. Write a letter to the editor of a newspaper explaining your concerns.

Dear Sir

I am writing to express my view with regard to the problem of pushy parents. Many students are suffering because their parents put too much pressure on them to do well at school and in exams. I have three main concerns.

Firstly, children are missing out on their childhood if they spend too much time on their study. They do not have time to play because their parents may not allow them to take part in various activities. Some parents prefer sending their children to tutorial centre to continue their studies after school to encouraging them to play after school. These students will miss the opportunity to develop themselves through play.

Secondly, children are not doing enough excercise. Few parents consider sports and exercises as important as academic study. They will not encourage their children to do sports and exercises if they need to spend time doing their homework.

Finally, some parents do not realise the effects of the pressure they are putting on their children. This can affect the mental health of the students. If students get a poor result, they will be frustrated. They may become afraid of telling the results to their parents. This will then result in a poor relationship between parents and children.

I hope this letter will encourage parents to think twice about what pressures they are putting on their children, and to make sure their children have enough time to do exercise and play.

Yours faithfully

B. Chan

Brain-based Approach of Teaching and Learning

On Monday I joined a workshop entitled, "Brain-based Approach of Teaching and Learning". It is quite an inspiring workshop. I am persuaded to try out the brain-based teaching techniques I learnt on my students.

What is a brain-based approach of teaching and learning?

A brain-based approach of teaching and learning is a means of teaching that adopts brain compatible acitivities to faciliate learning. Learners who engage in the brain-compatible acitivites will experience the mental states of: relaxed alertness, active processing, and integrated immersion.

For teachers, the ways to create relaxed alertness on their students inculde engaging them with movement, sense of mastery, and immediate feedback. To ensure the integrated immersion, teachers need to select meaningful content, to provide enriched environment, and non-threating atmosphere. As for the active processing, teachers must provide choices in the process of learning, staging the learning activities with adequate time, together with ample opportunity for collaboration work.