Summer Homework Turns into a Parental Talent Show: The Rise of Hand-Drawn Newspaper Outsourcing
As the new school year approaches, the summer homework assignmentof hand-drawn newspapers, also known as hand-copied newspapers in China, has once again sparked heated debate. Originally intended to foster children’screativity, this assignment has evolved into a competition of parental talent under the supposed encouragement of various awards. When children’s independent completion becomes a task forparents, even spawning an entire industry, one has to question whether such homework formats are truly promoting children’s growth or simply distorting education.
The pressure to excel in hand-drawn newspaper competitions has led many parents to take over thetask, turning what should be a child’s creative outlet into a showcase of parental skills. Parents are often seen meticulously designing and crafting elaborate hand-drawn newspapers, leaving their children with a sense of inadequacy and discouragement when their own effortsfall short.
My child is in first grade, and the school requires them to make a hand-drawn newspaper, shared Li, a parent in Guangdong province. It ended up being my homework. I had to help my child design it and even keep track of their progress with written reports.
Yuan, a parent in Anhui province, echoed Li’s sentiment. My child is about to enter sixth grade, and there’s almost always a hand-drawn newspaper assignment every semester. My child enjoys doing them, but I’m exhausted.
While my child loves to draw, these hand-drawn newspapers are time-consuming and demanding. It often takes them two to three hours to complete one. Sometimes, I help them with the coloring because it gets too late, Yuan explained. I know it’s not a big deal, but it’s a task that needs to be completed, so I haveto assist.
While parents struggle with the pressure of creating impressive hand-drawn newspapers, children simply want to express themselves and enjoy the process. One student shared, Making hand-drawn newspapers is a way to preserve memories and it’s very therapeutic. Another student expressed, It feels great to have my workdisplayed in the classroom when it wins an award.
Xu, a primary school teacher, acknowledged the educational value of hand-drawn newspapers in deepening students’ understanding of specific topics. However, she criticized the excessive focus on competitions, which has distorted the purpose of the assignment. In the first half of this year,our school held four to five hand-drawn newspaper competitions. Even the most talented students couldn’t possibly complete so many assignments with different themes in a month. Their time and abilities are limited, Xu explained. Many children invest a lot of time and effort, but their work often pales in comparison to those made bytheir parents, leading to a lack of awards and ultimately discouraging them.
The demand for hand-drawn newspaper outsourcing has created a thriving online industry. Websites offer pre-made templates that children can simply color in. One online seller explained, Teacher’s Day and Mid-Autumn Festival are coming up,and these holidays usually involve hand-drawn newspaper assignments. These are the first tasks parents need to help their children with after school starts. For parents who are skilled, these assignments are easy, but for those who aren’t, they can be time-consuming and difficult to make look good.
The rise of hand-drawn newspaper outsourcing highlights a larger issue in education: the overemphasis on superficial achievements and the neglect of genuine learning experiences. While competitions can motivate students, they should not come at the expense of fostering genuine creativity and independent learning.
The focus on parental talent instead of children’s own efforts not onlyundermines the educational value of hand-drawn newspapers but also creates a culture of pressure and anxiety for both children and parents. It is time to re-evaluate the purpose of such assignments and ensure that they truly serve the purpose of nurturing children’s growth and development.
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