1 . Imagine a school where students are taught by the best teachers in every subject, regardless of locations. Imagine a school where children can go on safe field trips to the Amazon rainforest or Everest base camp. Well, such schools are already being built: in virtual reality(VR).

Last month, Optima Academy Online (OAO) was launched in Florida and started to deliver courses for elementary, middle and high schools and 170 full-time students from all over the state signed up. They used VR headsets for about three hours a day for formal lessons and then do course work independently with digital check-ins.

It is worth watching how such educational experiments develop. Used properly, the VR technology can help students to access learning resources and be connected with fellow students and teachers all over the world. But if employed poorly, it will have the opposite effect and turn a digital inequality into an educational one.

There is growing evidence to suggest that it is happening. In Mexico, according to a survey, only 24% of 15-year-old students in poor schools have access to home computers for schoolwork compared with 87% in rich ones. As reported in another study, some students in northern England have been forced to travel around on the Greater Manchester train network or camp out around McDonald’s to access free WiFi because they cannot do their schoolwork at home.

“VR technologies will be widely used in education. The only questions are: for what purpose and at what speed?” says Beeban Kidron, a member of the UK’s Digital Futures Commission. “The trouble is that they are too often seen as a shiny new toy that will solve all problems and save money rather than being viewed as a means to enrich learning.”

The inescapable truth is that there is nothing that can replace teachers educating students in safe schools—ideally, with access to well-designed technological platforms. Leaving children in their bedrooms with just VR headsets and no physical social interaction with other kids will fill-many of them—and their parents—with horror.

3 . Whether in work or study, great people always do things as effectively as possible. Productive (高效的) people have one thing in common: A solid routine made up of small habits that helps them to keep a healthy mindset and lifestyle. Research shows a habit takes about 2l days to become normal behavior.     1    

●Make daily to-do lists.     2     Some people prefer to make their to-do lists first thing in the morning, while others like to do them each night to prepare for the day ahead. As a matter of fact, either way helps you to manage your time and workload efficiently.

●    3     Writing down your thoughts in your diary can help you achieve goals. You should even write down your progress, no matter how small it is, to help motivate you to keep going. This process will help you reflect and improve your memory and brain function.

●Have a rest. Whatever you are working on, you do not have to use up every ounce of energy you have.     4     When coming back, you’ll become clear-headed and happy, leading to greater productivity than just rushing through it.

●Clean up and organize for tomorrow.     5     It may be a little tiring. However, tidying up your home and preparing for tomorrow can prevent stress. This daily maintaining can ensure that you do not have to spend an entire afternoon cleaning during the weekend.

5 . Many people in the UK have poor mathematical skills. Dr.Richard Pike, a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry, said that mathematics questions in entrance tests to British universities were much too simple.

About two thirds of British universities now offer special courses in mathematics to new students. The courses are necessary because new students do not know enough mathematics when they leave high school. A university teacher said that there was a serious risk that there would not be enough scientists and engineers coming out of British universities in the future.

New university students are bad at mathematics. So are a lot of other people in Britain. A survey found that 7 million people in England were bad at mathematics. It is necessary to help people improve their math skills, which are important in lots of ways.

One problem is that many students do not want to study math because they think it is a difficult subject. They want to have high grades in their A levels. High A level grades are necessary in order to go to university. This is one reason why students do not choose to study mathematics at A level. Sometimes schools also prefer students to study easier subjects instead of mathematics. A school will have a better reputation if more students pass A level exams.

Another problem is that some educated people think mathematics is not important. They think it is not a creative subject. This way of thinking is very dangerous. When people do not understand mathematics, they are not able to make proper judgments about important questions. Nowadays, a lot of people use the Internet to find the answers to scientific questions. But they don’t understand science. They cannot judge the value of the information which they find. People will become very ignorant if they don’t study mathematics and science.

6 . Whether your kid can count on a sizable inheritance (遗产) or your family is living pay period to pay period, a college degree is a must. Along with the invisible life skills you get from those formative years on campus, college comes with a bankable payout: A Georgetown University study found that, on average, college graduates make a million dollars more over a lifetime than people who stop at high school.

Recently, a Bronx nonprofit asked me to speak to a group of high schoolers whose families were struggling financially. The participants were (rightly) worried about taking on too much college debt. Here’s what I told them: Even when you subtract (扣除) tuition, lost earnings during the college years, and other factors, an average college grad will still take in $300,000 more than those without a college degree.

And while rising tuition fees are a serious worry, free college programs of one kind or another have sprung up in more than 20 states. My own home state, New York, boasts one of the most comprehensive efforts. The Excelsior Scholarship program guarantees that students at public institutions attend tuition-free if their family earns under $110,000 a year.

Even in Silicon Valley, where there are many successful people who don’t own a college degree, I asked a group of parents there if it’s true that kids are giving up a college degree because they’re sure they’ll be rich people. The answer was a resounding, unapologetic no.

The truth is that in this STEM (science, technology, engineering and math)-centric age, any form of home-schooling or social education can’t replace the formal school education. Especially in an age when many low-end careers are being replaced by artificial intelligence (AI), a college degree can give your kid an edge.

8 . My daughter was a shy child, not a joiner. My memories of her early years involve me gently urging her to try _________ activities, like bouncing teddies with other kids at playgroup. When she was four, she attended her first class in the local gymnastic club’s recreational program. She loved her lessons, and I loved taking her there. When she showed friends what she could do, she showed _________.

Two years later, a new teacher _________. She was a perfectionist, and I felt _________ when she complained about my daughter’s careless form. The harder she pushed, the less _________ my kid was. I decided to chat with the teacher after one class and thought I saw something in her face: she didn’t like my daughter. _________ I didn’t register for the next term.

The decision troubled me for _________. I suggested rejoining a later session, but my daughter quietly _________. Then, one day when she was about 13, she cried unexpectedly: “I wanted to stay in that gymnastics class! I _________ wanted to quit!”

I was shocked. Had I misread the situation? Did I keep my daughter from working it out on her own terms? I shared my __________ with a child and family expert. “You have to respect that she doesn’t want to do all the things you want to do,” Kolari told me.

__________ we talked, I realized I’d ignored all the activities my daughter followed on her own. She taught __________ to knit (编织) at eight and quickly surpassed me in skill. She can program a computer. Her __________ always impressed me, so why did I always keep thinking about group activities?

__________ there’s one truth to a tight-scheduled child, it’s that parents involve themselves too much in their kids’ activities. I did make one __________ when my daughter reached high school: she had to take a music class. Right around that time, she __________ a friend’s guitar. She __________ a band and learned drums, then guitar. But __________ of this required my encouragement.

“If your child is __________ home because they’re afraid of failure, it’s worth __________ them,” Kolari says.

9 . Teachers often can fall into the trap of teaching content, paying no attention to children. Many of us have the attitude that “we will put the information out there, and if they don’t get it, they are to blame.”

Several years ago, I had a student named Jeremy in 12th - grade English, in which British literature was taught. I struggled to find ways to make the content interesting. Jeremy didn’t care. Though Jeremy was classified as. gifted, he slept in class every day. I began to get really frustrated. I even began to dislike him.

High school teachers sometimes develop a hands-off attitude. I thought, “OK, Jeremy, if you want to fail my class, fine. I’ve tried everything.” As time went on, I ignored Jeremy. I didn’t ask him questions, or even make eye contact with him.

By accident, I found that Jeremy was capable of much more. One day, I went to the broadcasting classroom to edit a video. On this day, several students were working on an assignment. Then I heard a voice I recognized. I looked up and saw Jeremy was teaching his classmates energetically how to film. My first thought was that Jeremy must have a twin! Suddenly he realized I was sitting in the corner.

Our eyes met. “Mrs. Duff?” he asked with surprise. “You know how to edit video?”

“Yes. I had no idea you were a videographer!” At this, he smiled with pride and explained the project his group was working on. It was clear he had earned his classmates’ respect. And it was suddenly clear to me that I had not really made an effort to know Jeremy at all.

What happened next was amazing. In class, Jeremy stayed awake and completed his work. He passed my class with a B.

What happened? When Jeremy encountered me outside English class, it changed his perspective of me. He realized I wasn’t just some odd lady trying to force him to learn British poetry. Equally important, my perspective about him changed. He wasn’t just the kid who slept in my class.

I’m not proud that I didn’t make a better effort to know Jeremy before the encounter in the broadcast room. I told myself I had tried everything, but I had not stepped outside of my little English world at all.

10 . Steps to Take to Become a Morning Person

The secret to becoming a morning person is exposure to bright light, says Jennifer Martin, president of the board of directors for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. That’s because light suppresses melatonin, a hormone that plays an important role in circadian rhythm.     1    

    2     You could force yourself to get up at your desired time every day, knowing that you’ll feel tired during the transition but will naturally start falling asleep earlier within a few weeks. But for some people — like those who need to drive long distances — those first few days of exhaustion from switching to a new schedule aren’t safe. In that case, Martin recommends gradually easing into the early-bird life. “What I’ll suggest to people is to shift half an hour, wait a few days, shift another half an hour, wait a few days, and then shift another half an hour,” she says.

A consistent bedtime isn’t as crucial as sticking to the same wake up time every day, but it’s still important to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Most people should aim for at least seven hours a night — so you’ll probably need to inch your bedtime forward as you transition to a new schedule. Starting at least an hour before you hit the sack, cut back on how much exposure to bright light you’re getting, experts advise.     4    

    5       “Now is the time to go buy your favorite coffee or pick up some pastries to have when your alarm goes off at 5 a. m.,” she says. “You’re not dreading it if you think of that.”