We All Don't Like Homework...

He was relatively happy doing his homework that day...

My five-year-old son loves calculation. He once cruised through dozens and dozens of additions and subtraction with fun. He did it as a play.

But he does not like to do math homework. It takes dozens and dozens of minutes to finish five simple problems.

He loves to write Chinese and English words. He often adds shot explanations to his drawings. When he does know how to spell what he want to write, he would ask me or check his textbooks.

But he does not like to do Chinese and English homework. It takes dozens and dozens of minutes to finish copying ten words.

He loves to draw. Even though he does not draw very well, I think he is a good designer as I love his use of colours and layout of objects.

But he does not like art homework. One day, he grudgingly drew a few stick figures for art homework and started his own drawing.

Well, I naturally have had such an experience. When I was in the middle school, I did not like Chinese history. I just did not have to remember what happened in which year, I also had to memorise all the unfamiliar Chinese names (in Chinese characters). But now without any worry about exams, Chinese history is one of most favourite topics of reading.

From our experiences, I can see obligations tend to suppress our creativity and efficiency so much while choices enhance these. And it is easier for me to understand now why some psychologists say that expressions of possibility and choice such as can, to be able to and to want can encourage us more than those of necessity such as must, should or have to…

(This post is not the translation of my newest Chinese post although these two are extremely similar.)