Home schooling is hard even for the best of us

Many parents have toyed with home schooling. The idea is associated with images of children and parents sitting at the kitchen table, solving the mysteries of maths, science and languages     1     of traditional education.

This week, parents have encountered a harder reality — not home schooling in the usual     2    , but enforced schooling-for-home. Kitchen tables piled with books and bowls; frustrated parents trying to remember how to do improper fractions (可约分数) while taking part in a video conference with work colleagues; fights over laptops as children insist they need to log on to online lessons — such     3     will have been repeated in households across the world.

Home learning, as more usually     4    , is not a new idea. The modern home-school movement emerged in the 1970s,     5     by the bikes of John Holt, an American teacher and education writer. He advised parents to fit the curriculum to the child’s interests, not the other way around. The most recent     6     suggest that close to 60,000 children are home schooled in England, for reasons including mental health issues and special educational needs. Some parents have given up on what they see as a(n)     7     “one-size fits all” education system. Educationalists, including Britain’s Sir Ken Robinson, have complained that schools’ need to follow strict curriculums can harm children’s natural creativity.

For parents in today’s health crisis, technology is proving a lifeline. School by Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams or Zoom has been hugely popular to keep children focused as well as     8     as class. For younger children, various British celebrities (名流) are offering their services to help with lessons in maths, English as well as history.

How best to make it work? Experts say children need a clear structure. They should rise, breakfast and work according to a clear timetable in line with normal schooling,     9     studying in a place without distractions. Make the most of “live” online classes, and additional work and resources, that schools are offering. Allow time for physical exercise, and family time - and arguably less homework after studying finishes. Above all, parents should take a deep breath and keep calm. One     10     lesson many home workers-cum-home schoolers will draw from today’s crisis is this: teachers will never again have to prove that they are worth it.

A new way to reduce poaching

Researchers are working on a pilot program backed by Russia’s Rosatom Corp to inject rhino horns (犀牛角) with radioactive material, a strategy that could discourage consumption and make it easier to detect illegal trade.

Poachers (偷猎者) killed 394 rhinos in South Africa for their horns last year, government data shows, with public and private game     1     lacking the resources needed to monitor vast tracts of land and protect the animals that live there. While the toll was a third lower than in 2019 and the sixth     2     drop, illegal hunting remains the biggest threat to about 20,000 of the animals in the country — the world’s biggest population.

Thousands of     3     sensors along international borders could be used to detect a small quantity of radioactive material     4     into the horns, according to James Larkin, a professor at the University of Witswatersrand in Johannesburg, who has a background in radiation protection and nuclear security. “A whole new     5     of people could be able to detect the illegal movement of rhino horn,” he said. Some alternate methods of discouraging poaching, including poisoning, dyeing and removing the horns, have raised a variety of opinions as to their virtue and efficacy.

Known as The Rhisotope Project, the new anti-poaching     6     started earlier this month with the injection of an amino acid (氨基酸) into two rhinos’ horns in order to detect whether the compound will move into the animals’ bodies. Also,     7     studies using computer modeling and a replica rhino head will be done to determine a safe dose of radioactive material. Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine, as it is believed to cure disease such as cancer,     8     as a show of wealth and given as gifts.

“If we make it radioactive, these people will be hesitant to buy it,” Larkin said. “We’re pushing on the whole supply chain.”

Besides Russia’s state-owned nuclear company, the University of Witwatersrand, scientists and private rhino owners are involved in the project. If the method is     9     feasible, it could also be used to curb illegal trade in elephant ivory.

“Once we have developed the whole project and got to the point where we completed the proof of concept, then we will be making this whole idea     10     to whoever wants to use it,” Larkin said.

It is said that museums play an important part in education. Those youngsters who visit museums     1     are likely to get their mind broadened. The list of the reasons might be long. The main factor is that, by attending different exhibitions in the museum, children have     2     to the trace of history and the     3     human civilization. The exhibited items in museums carry rich information,     4     evolution, habitats, industry, art, religion and so on. Educators in     5     sincerely advise that children should be guided to take advantage of museums. They insist that a visit should     6       hours because it takes children some time to watch the items, collect the related information and imagine the site or picture they reflect. Meanwhile, the staff are required to prepare the exhibition carefully to     7     that most visitors are able to enjoy a satisfactory travel there, and the collections and the     8     are under full protection to avoid any possible     9    . Parents and school are to take museums as a/an     10     way to make children taste or study the development of history.

Do you find your fellow classmates are keen on losing weight? If so, you are not alone. Nowadays young people are always talking about weight loss, and it is     1     of them to keep a positive attitude to life. To help you slim down and stay healthy, here are four simple, healthy and dare I say, fun ways I     2     for you.

Have your cake ... for breakfast

The way to     3     weight loss isn't by feeling hungry.

Scientists say that people who started off the day with a treat felt fuller and more satisfied, and that led to their sticking with the program as the day went on. Eating nothing is no way to start your day, so fuel up with a(n)     4     like sugar-free bread. Give yourself protein and a mouthful of something sweet. And most of all, enjoy!

Dr. Andrew Calvin, one expert of Mayo Clinic study is quoted as saying. “If individuals are seeking to maintain a healthy weight or to lose weight, they should seek to get enough sleep as a daily     5    .”

If you find it tricky to wind down at night, turn off the electronics and engage in relaxing activities, like taking a bath or listening to     6     music.

Journal to drop pounds

The best weapons for a dieter? Pen and paper! Women who wrote down everything they ate lost more weight than those who didn't track their food intake. Journaling makes you accountable and more aware of what you're eating, so it makes sense that it'll     7     your eating habits and keep you from     8     chewing if you aren't actually hungry.

Even a tiny bit of exercise helps your health

Even 20 to 30 minutes of physical activity most days of the weeks (broken up into smaller chunks is fine) reduces your risk for all sorts of physical ills. And even 20 minutes a week can improve your mood. It's easy to criticize yourself or burn out if make goals that are     9     hard to achieve, but walking a few times a week is doable and meaningful, too. Thus, do not be mean with     10     for yourself if you can stick to workout.

Bad News For Astronaut Skeletons

Astronauts whose bones are weakened by spaceflight may not recover even after returning to Earth, according to a new study. This raises questions about how humans will cope on long space missions.

The     1     conditions in space mean that astronauts’ bodies are not     2     exercising in the same way as they are on Earth. Muscles get weaker but bones are also     3     because the body does not replace minerals that are     4    .

Since 2015, doctors at the University of Calgary in Canada have been studying the problem by comparing     5     of astronaut tibias (shinbones) made before flight,     6     after return to Earth, and after six and 12 months of recovery time. Their     7     show that a year after returning to Earth, bones still have up to 2.1% lower mineral density (a measure of their strength) than before the flight.

Dr Leigh Gabel, who led the team, explained that the effects of a few months in space were equal to several     8     of ageing on Earth. Damage to the bone itself that occurs in space can’t be     9    , says Gabel, so “the astronaut’s overall bone structure permanently changes”.

The study found that the longer the space mission, the greater and more     10     the bone loss. This supports a 2020 study that predicted that during a three-year mission to Mars, one in three astronauts would be at risk of osteoporosis (fragile bones). Gabel says space agencies will need to improve the exercise and nutrition they offer astronauts if they are to go on such long trips.