CRI听力：China Youth Daily: Reducing Pressure for Young Students is not Only a Number Magic

In the semester after Spring Festival, the Shanghai municipal government has reportedly ordered primary school teachers to do the homework themselves before assigning it to their students. The move is designed to let the teachers have an idea how much time it would consume on the part of students. The government has also declared that students in grades 1 and 2 shouldn't have homework at all. These measures are expected to reduce the heavy pressure on young students.

China Youth Daily carries an article applauding these measures. The author points out that the educational departments should focus on reducing the amount of homework given to young children while emphasizing the importance of an improved quality of education overall.(www.hxEn.com)

The writer says reducing pressure on young children is only a method, not the ultimate aim. The goal should be providing a quality education for the youngest generation, which can't be judged by the amount of homework the students are given.

The writer concludes that since the current educational system overly stresses exam scores, students would still have heavy pressure on them even if no homework were assigned. The core point is to convert exam-oriented education into quality-oriented, not simply play these "number games" with students' homework.