【推荐3】In the pre-COVID-19 era, children’s personalised books used to be a niche market (小众市 场). Far from their early version that merely had the child’s name stuck on the book cover today’s personalised books feature entire families — including pets. Instead of meeting unknowr characters and new story worlds, the readers meet themselves. With the persuasive power of personalisation, publishers find their way into children’s inner worlds quicker than with non- personalised books

Well-designed personalised books can enhance children’s vocabulary learning. However, it’s also been found that in their talk about the story of a personalised book, they talk about “me, me, me”. Part of this self-centredness is natural at a young age, but part of it is caused by the personalised character of the book. In a recent study, personalised books, as opposed to thei non-personalised versions, do not help children understand the moral of a story or apply it to thei own lives

In most popular personalised books, children are pictured as the heroes and stars of their own stories. What is certain is that in addition to personalised hero books, we need personalised books where the child is a minor character or a character who experiences depression. The problem is that such books are unlikely to be popular and are therefore unlikely to be written. We are thus heading towards a situation where children see themselves in a positive light in their own personalised books and where they see others as failures in non-personalised books. It introduces children to a culture of“me vs you” where shared humanity is replaced by a false narrative of “I am the best!”

The most powerful children’s books are those that hit the sweet spot of personalisation and diversity. Such books teach children out-group empathy (同感) that occurs with story characters whose,experiences are different from their own. Authors can convey such out-group empathy by constructing strong plots that immerse (使沉浸) children in the story, but also challenge them to think beyond their comfort zone. The current personalised books take us from this ideal. They represent an economic interest in individualisation, and might ill prepare young minds for an uncertain future.

【推荐1】When students get home, they usually sit down at the table and pull out their homework. Piles of papers rise all the way to the ceiling. American students should get less homework on a daily basis.     1    

Loads of homework can cause stress in a student and lead to health issues in the body and mind. Stress causes lack of sleep, slipping grades, tiredness, unhealthy eating habits, depression, and so on. Nervous breakdowns can make completing homework much more of a struggle and also effect the health and life of a student.

    2     The recommended amount is 10 minutes times the grade level. So first grade gets 10 minutes; second grade gets 20 minutes; third grade gets 30 minutes, and so on, but kids are doing much more than that. Twenty three percent of 13-year-olds do more than 2 hours a night.     3     There is no academic benefit for high school students after 2 hours and there are no academic benefits for middle school students after 1 and a half hours.

Doing homework all night can take away a student’s free time and sleep. Always doing homework can lead to less time for sports and after-school activities.     4     Worse still, hanging out with friends is decreased, so that means there is less socializing. Staying up late and doing homework takes away a student’s time to sleep. Not enough sleep can leave students tired, and at school they might focus less or fall asleep during class.

Shouldn’t students get less homework so that they can be happy and have more time with family and friends?     5     If teachers and parents tried to reduce the amount of homework, there would be a decrease in stress and anxiety and an increase in happiness!

【推荐3】What time does your school start? Do you wish you could get up later every morning? You are not alone if your answer is “Yes.” In the US, many middle school students have the same wish.

In America, many schools start before 7:30 a.m.. But that may change soon. A new law has been passed in California. According to the law, middle schools should not start before 8:00 a.m.. The government hopes school children will have longer time in bed.

Many scientific studies show that teenagers are more active in the afternoon and in the evening. Simply telling them to go to bed earlier doesn’t work well. Most of them don’t get enough sleep because of bad sleeping habits and early school starting time. They need more sleep in the morning. Scientists suggest middle schools should start at 8:00 a.m. or later. Students can get well ready to learn and they won’t fall asleep in class. ________________ The change can help improve students’ grades.

While scientists are happy with the new law, many parents disagree with it. They won’t be able to send their children to school before they go to work. They also fear that later school starting time will lead to later ending time. As a result, their children will have less time to take part in after-school activities.