Inevitably, there are times when children do not want to do their homework. Instead, they want to be entertained, and play with their smartphone or iPad, or perhaps they are tired, and fall asleep in class.
How can we help our children when they encounter these types of problems? How can we guide them through the process, and serve as good examples?
On 28 March, the Year 2 Pao School Story Team (made up of parents) performed the 'Homework Troubles' play in the auditorium.
This is a story about responsibility and growing up.
At night, Papa Bear and Mama Bear are chatting and also talking to their friends on their smartphones.
Mama Bear receives a troubling letter from Brother Bear's school. It is a notice that Brother Bear has not completed many homework assignments. When Papa Bear goes to talk to Brother Bear about it, he finds Brother Bear is playing games on his iPad.
Sister Bear seizes the opportunity to tell her parents that Brother Bear is not a good student: In class, he often dozes off. Brother Bear begins to argue with Sister Bear.
As a result, Papa Bear confiscates Brother Bear's mobile phone and iPad, and forbids him from playing games and listening to music. Brother Bear is upset. Mama Bear comes to console him.
Grandma Bear arrives for a visit, and she fills in the blanks in this story. She talks about how when Papa Bear was young, he did not study hard. He couldn't even assemble a model airplane. But eventually he realized the importance of education, and not only made up his missing homework, but also became the math representative for his class and the most famous designer in Bear Kingdom.
Inspired, Brother Bear decides to make up his homework and be a diligent student.
Brother Bear also shared Grandma Bear's wise words with his sister: Bear brother also shared the saying from bear grandma with bear sister: If they don't study hard, they will have to bear the consequences, because there's no medicine for regret. They both realized they needed to take responsibility and decided to study hard.
This is an efficient and professional team.
The play was just 20 minutes long but it was two months in the making. Over that period, the Story Team prepared all elements of the performance, from costumes and makeup to music and lighting to the script and casting.
They channeled their own rich experience as parents as they worked on the play. Parents know that the best way to teach their children about right and wrong is to lead by example.
Group photo of The Characters
Recalling the work the Story Team did to prepare for the play, Jane, mother of Year 2B student Eric, said she was proud of the excellent work of the team. She noted that nobody on the team missed a rehearsal; they planned well to ensure that everyone could attend. There was a lot of careful work put into preparing the play in every aspect, from content writing to costumes to props. Jane added that the scenes in the play reflected things that happen in our everyday lives, such as chatting with our friends on mobile phones, or sibling rivalry.
It goes without saying that it was hard work to put together this play. The best evidence of this was the enthusiastic response of the children in the audience. The Story Team sought to inspire Pao students by showing them realistic scenes that occur in our everyday lives. By doing so, they hoped to not only entertain the students but also help them to reflect upon their own responsibilities.
Responsibility is one of Pao School's Eight Character Strengths. Pao parents established the Story Team to provide monthly character educations stories to students and share valuable life experience with them. Together with parents, Pao School endeavours to cultivate the character of its students.
Introduction to the Story Team:
A group of enthusiastic parents founded the Story Team in 2008. It began with just eight mothers, but and grew to team of 100 parents. Each semester, the Story Team performs five to six times, with each performance focusing on different character strength. Their stories cover four fields: other people and me', 'person-to-person', 'person to land', and 'person to heaven'.
Each member of the Story Team undergoes training to learn how to tell stories. Before telling the stories in class, team members do extensive preparation, including preparing question lists and activities. After telling the stories, they meet to review the results, receive feedback and share their experiences. They pass on those experiences one year after the next.
This story telling is distinctive. Its objective is to provide education about life, and in doing so, to cultivate the character of students. Parents are brought into the classroom as part of this programme, and the Chinese-language story books they use help reinforce Pao School's Eight Character Strengths. Parents lead vibrant discussions that help students to think deeply about the meaning of life, why their own lives are valuable, how to be benevolent, and how to overcome obstacles.
