China tells teachers to quit assigning homework through WeChat
中国要求教师不得通过微信布置作业
China’s education authorities are about to take some burden off parents with school-aged children. A proposal posted last week by the Department of Education in China’s eastern province of Zhejiang said teachers should be banned from using WeChat, QQ or other mobile apps to assign homework or ask parents to grade students’ assignments.
中国教育部门即将为家长减轻一些负担。浙江省教育局上周发布的一项提案称，应该禁止教师使用微信、QQ或其他移动应用来布置作业或要求家长为学生的作业打分。
As mobile internet booms in China, phones have become an extension of daily activities, including school practices. Instead of announcing homework in class or handing out notices to students in person, teachers are now dumping assignments into WeChat groups designed to interact with parents. Many teachers are keen to exercise their power through these digital channels, asking parents to help students with problem sets and even grade their homework.
随着移动互联网在中国的蓬勃发展，手机已经成为日常活动的延伸，包括学校的实践活动。现在，老师们不再在课堂上宣布作业，也不再亲自给学生发通知，而是将作业发布到与家长互动的微信群里。许多教师热衷于通过这些渠道来行使权力，要求家长帮助学生解决问题，甚至批改作业。
The regional call to action follows a set of national guidelines released by the Ministry of Education in October directing teachers and schools to take more responsibilities rather than shift the load onto parents. “Teachers should be accountable for their job, treat teaching seriously, correct homework with prudence and help students with care.”
中国教育部去年10月发布了一系列指导方针，要求教师和学校承担更多责任，而不是把责任推给家长。“教师对工作要高度负责，认真备课上课，认真批改作业，认真辅导学生。”
Not all schools abuse digital platforms to such an extent. A Shenzhen-based parent told TechCrunch that her second-grader who attends a local public school still does much of her homework in written form and parents’ involvement is moderate.
并非所有学校都如此滥用数字平台。深圳一位家长告诉TechCrunch，她的孩子在当地一所公立学校读二年级，很多作业仍然以书面形式做，家长的参与程度也不高。
“Different schools treat technology differently and I’m not opposed to the use of it. It’s helpful, for example, to use a digital device to learn English because much of the process involves audios and videos,” the parent said. “I think sometimes media are painting teachers and schools in such a negative light just to get attention.”
“不同的学校对待科技的态度不同，我不反对使用科技。例如，使用数字设备学英语是很有帮助的，毕竟学习英语的大部分过程都涉及音频和视频，”这位家长说到，“我认为有时媒体把老师和学校描绘成负面形象，只是为了引起关注。”
Other recommendations in the national notice include limiting the amount of online homework to reduce nearsightedness, which has become a source of concerns for parents and society at large.
国家通知中的其他建议包括限制网上作业的数量，以减少近视，目前近视已成为家长和整个社会关注的一个问题。
The new directives also come as Beijing tries to rein in what and how private technology services are infiltrating students’ lives. In one far-reaching move, the go nment ordered video-game publishers to cap children’s playing time, sending shares of industry leaders Tencent and NetEase tumbling. More recently, the Ministry of Education asked schools and universities to audit apps used by teachers and students on campus in accordance with guidelines set by the regulator.
这些新指令出台之际，北京正试图控制民营科技服务渗透到学生生活中。政府采取了一项影响深远的举措，要求视频游戏发行商限制儿童的游戏时间，导致行业领军企业腾讯和网易股价暴跌。最近，教育部要求中小学和大学根据监管机构制定的指导方针，对校园师生使用的应用程序进行审查。
Despite the go nment’s intent to ease stress and unplug devices for students, education apps have flourished in China. Those that help students outperform their peers have done particularly well.
尽管政府的目的是减轻学生的压力和减少电子设备的使用，但教育应用程序已在中国蓬勃发展。那些帮助学生超越同龄人的应用程序做得特别好。
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译文来源：三泰虎 译者：Jessica.Wu
外文：https://www.yahoo.com
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