After a year of examining many studies concerning whether homework is effective, NYC P. S. Elementary School decided that math worksheets and essay assignments were actually a waste of time. In February, Principal Jane Hsu sent a letter to parents stating that the Pre-K(学前班) through fifth grade students wouldn't be given any traditional homework to encourage kids to free time for reading, playing outside, or doing activities they enjoy.

    “The negative effects of homework have been well established.” Hsu wrote in a note to parents. “They include, children's frustration and exhaustion, lack of time for other activities and family time and, sadly for many, loss of interest in learning.”

    Some parents, however, disagree with the policy change, believing that a lack of focus will cause children to fall behind. Homework has been part of education from the beginning, and has increased in amount in recent years.

    Hsu's advice that children should read and spend time with their families has upset some parents to the point of considering pulling their children out of the school. This group feels that homework gives children a goal to work toward. Others feel so strongly about the importance of homework that they have begun giving their own homework to their children.

    An Australian Childhood Foundation survey finds that 71% of Australian parents feel they don't spend enough quality time with their children mainly because of the time spent running the household or the time spent helping with homework. Education experts in Australia are saying that parents should stop helping. Doing so will give kids more independence, give parents more free time, and help reduce the number of arguments caused by homework in the family.

    While some research suggests that homework has little academic benefit for elementary students, other researches show homework can help kids develop independence, and confidence. It can also contribute to a sense of belonging or control over their lives. When parents try to help their children with homework, the assistance can take away that feeling and can also make working parents more tired.

    When asked to point out one or two things that are most important to themselves, many put friends ahead of homes, jobs, clothes and cars.

    A true friendship carries a long history of experience that determines who we are and keeps us connected. It is a treasure we should protect. Unfortunately, the better friends you are, the more probably you'll have disagreements. And the result can be what you don't want—an end to the relationship.

    The good news is that most troubled friendships can be mended. First, don't let your pride get in your way. Most of us can forgive each other when differences are brought out in the open. Second, apologize when you're wrong — even if you've been wronged. Over the course of a friendship, even the best people make mistakes. Sometimes, it may be best if the wronged person takes the lead and apologizes. When you apologize, give your friend a chance to admit(承认) that he has been wrong. Third, see things from your friend's point of view. And finally, accept that friendships change as our needs and lifestyle change. Making friends can sometimes seem easy. The hard part is keeping the connections strong during the natural ups and downs that have an effect on all relationships. My suggestion: consider friendship as an honor and a gift, and worth the effort to treasure and nurture(培养).

Adopt-a-Highway

    Hello. I'm Jan from Mrs. Lake's class. My class wants to work together to help the public. We think we have found a great way to do this. Last month we did a class project on the highways near our town. We learned about the Adopt-a-Highway Program. This program brings people together to pick up litter along the roads. We think it would be a great idea for all students in our school to join the program and adopt a highway.

    Adopting a highway is not like adopting a pet. When a highway is adopted, only part of the highway is cared for by a group of people. The group agrees to work every week to keep its part of the highway clean. Each group gets its own sign that has the name of the group printed on it. The sign is put up at the side of the road. This sign lets drivers know who is keeping that area of the road clean.

    The Adopt-a-Highway Program is a great way for people to help their environment look nicer. Also, the government does not have to send out as many road workers. This saves money. Finally, people may try harder to keep roads clean if they see people, especially teenagers like us, cleaning them up.

    We will need helpers to care for our adopted highway. If you want to feel great and keep our roads clean, please come with your parents to the meeting next week. We will meet in Mrs. Lake's room on Wednesday at 6:00 P.M. At the meeting, we will talk about which roads are the dirtiest as a result of people's unkind acts. Then we'll try to pick an area to adopt and clean up.

    I look forward to seeing you at the meeting. Remember to keep our roads clean!

    On a recent afternoon, some 60 years after they graduated from grammar school, Kathleen Rys, 72, and her sister Lorraine O'Kelly, 70, sat down and had a meal with a classmate, Bruce Smit, 71 for the first time.

    In the 1950s, Lorraine and Kathleen Rys' family moved from Chicago to Monee. As new kids at Monee Elementary School, they soon found themselves on the outs with other students.

    "I would be with the other guys and see Kathleen walking down the hallway, her head down, holding her books, walking slowly. And all of us guys would be flat against the wall until she passed. Then we'd burst into laughter. How rude is that? It's just crazy." said Smit, a doctor whose wife, Tammy, organized the meeting.

    The women said none of the teachers cared about it. "We just kept it to ourselves. " Lorraine said.

    Over the years, Tammy Smit said, "Bruce would just start to cry at times. He'd wonder what happened to the sisters, if they landed OK." One day a few weeks ago, Tammy took to the internet and found Mary O'Kelly, Lorraine's daughter, and offered to set up a meeting. The idea of revisiting the pain was not well- received by Kathleen, who had never married, let alone gone on a date. It took some convincing, but Lorraine finally got Kathleen to agree to meet with Bruce.

    Bruce broke into tears. "I'm so ashamed, so embarrassed," he said. "But I'm so happy you're still here and that I can finally apologize. " He said he hopes his apology will encourage others to seek forgiveness for the pain they make on others. Lorraine said, "This is a beautiful thing. It's just wonderful that a person from 60 years ago can ask for forgiveness. It's like a miracle to us. It's a healing to us."

    Throughout my educational years, despite the kind teachers I had met, I never felt interest in writing until I met her, Mrs Kelley. At first, I believed that writing would still be my worst class. Gradually, my fondness increased. She taught the lesson in such a lively way and her word choice impressed me. But that was not what made her my favorite. Unlike other teachers, after instructions, she gave an enormous amount of freedom in what we wrote, allowing us to create our own stories using our imagination. And that mattered most.

    There was one really revolutionary event: the historical fiction unit. We were to invent out own stories using the period we were given. World War II was mine. At that point, I was just looking for a good grade. Rather than creating a mundane (平淡的) story, I wanted to make a story that I felt was meaningful. As I progressed, I was pulled further and further into the reality that I had made. Grammar no longer existed, as my hands gained acceleration. When I typed the final word, my hands trembled with excitement. Briefly, I read it over and then submitted the draft.

    In the midst of anxiousness, Mrs Kelley responded. She pointed out some mistakes and gave some suggestions. Sadly, there were no comments of recognition. I fixed the errors and moved on. But when waiting for the final grade, I erased all the unrealistic thoughts that wandered in my mind.

    In the next class, surprisingly, after handing back my paper, Mrs Kelley mentioned that my story was very good. I looked at her in confusion. Soon excitement stirred inside me. I found a “+5” attached to the score. She had given an extra point in "Plot", adding an "Excellent!" No other teacher had done this. On that day, I felt what it means to be a writer. Mrs Kelley introduced me to the beauty of literature and made writing so enjoyable.

    When "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" was first shown to the public last month, a group of excited animal activists gathered on Hollywood Boulevard. But they weren't there to throw red paint on fur-coat-wearing film stars. Instead, one activist, dressed in a full-body monkey suit, had arrived with a sign praising the filmmakers: "Thanks for not using real apes (猿)!"

    The creative team behind "Apes" used motion-capture (动作捕捉) technology to create digitalized animals, spending tens of millions of dollars on technology that I records an actor's performance and later processes it with computer graphics to create a final image (图像). In this case, one of a realistic-looking ape.

    Yet "Apes" is more exception than the rule. In fact, Hollywood has been hot on live animals lately. One nonprofit organization, which monitors the treatment or animals in filmed entertainment, is keeping tabs on more than 2,000 productions this year. Already, a number of films, including "Water for Elephants," "The Hangover Part Ⅱ" and "Zookeeper," have drawn the anger of activists who say the creatures acting in them haven't been treated properly.

    In some cases, it's not so much the treatment of the animals on set in the studio that has activists worried; it's the off-set training and living conditions that are raising concerns. And there are questions about the films made outside the States, which sometimes are not monitored as closely as productions filmed in the Sates.