“It hurts me more than you”, and “This is for your own good”—these are the statements my mother used to make years ago when I had to learn Latin, clean my room, stay home and do homework.

That was before we entered the permissive period in education in which we decided¹ it was all right not to push our children to achieve their best in school. The schools and the educators made it easy for us. They taught that it was all right to be parents who take a let-alone policy. We stopped making our children do homework. We gave them calculators, turned on the television, left the teaching to the teachers and went on vacation.

Now teachers, faced with children who have been developing at their own pace for the past 15 years, are realizing we’ve made a terrible mistake. One such teacher is Sharon Klompus who says of her students—“so passive”—and wonders what has happened. Nothing is demanded of them, she believes. Television, says Klompus, contributes to children’ s passivity. “We’ re talking about a generation of kids who’ ve never been hurt or hungry. They have learned somebody will always do it for them, instead of saying ‘go and look it up’, you tell them the answer. It takes greater energy to say no to a kid.”

Yes, it does. It takes energy and it takes work. It’ s time for parents to end their vacation and come back to work. It’ s time to take the car away, to turn the TV off, to tell them it hurts you more than them but it’ s for their own good. It’s s time to start telling them no again.

1.Children are becoming more inactive in study because .

A. they watch TV too often B. they have done too much homework

C. they have to fulfil too many duties D. teachers are too strict with them

2.We learn from the passage that the author’s mother used to lay emphasis on .

A. learning Latin B. discipline

C. natural development D. education at school

3.By“permissive period in education”(L.1,Para.2)the author means a time .

A. when children are allowed to do what they wish to

B. when everything can be taught at school

C. when every child can be educated

D. when children are permitted to receive education

4. The main idea of the passage is that .

A. parents should leave their children alone

B. kids should have more activities at school

C. it’s time to be more strict with our kids

D. parents should always set a good example to their kids

KEY: 1- 4ABAC