My Kid Is So Slow at Homework
This happened when I was much younger.
I still remember — a parent once came to me, frustrated, and said, "My kid takes forever to finish homework. Why is he so slow?"
So I started observing the boy.He was just a first grader back then — quiet, barely spoke. During our first lesson, I did almost all the talking. Sometimes his parents chimed in, but he stayed silent. It took about a week before he finally opened up and said a few words to me. My first impression? A shy little guy.
As I helped him with his homework, I noticed he kept playing with his pencil case.
I thought, "Maybe that's why he's writing so slowly."
So I gently asked him to put it away. Once he did, he focused a little more and started tracing letters — A, B, C, D.
After five minutes, he had only written a few letters. Just like his mom said — he was really slow.
Then I looked at how he was holding his pencil. He was gripping it with so much force.
"Why are you holding your pencil so tightly?" I asked softly.
"It keeps running away," he answered.
I took a look. He was using a regular HB pencil — thin, round,
and light-colored.
I handed him one of mine instead — a thicker 2B pencil with six sides.
"This one has edges. Try it and see if it's easier to hold."
He wrote a little, then said, "Wow! This is magic. This pencil doesn't try to run away. It's much easier to write with!"
After a few more minutes, he picked up the pace a little,
but he was still quite slow.
So I showed him how to hold the pencil in a way that didn't use so much effort.
"No need to press so hard it goes through the paper," I told him.
He gave me a confused look.
"What does ‘goes through the paper’ mean?"
Ah — right. He was only in first grade. That idiom was still way above his level.
"I mean, you don't have to press so hard. If you do, your hand will get tired before you even finish."
"But if I don't press hard, the words are too light," he said, slowly opening up more.
"No need to worry," I said.
"This is a 2B pencil. Even if you write lightly, the letters will still come out nice and dark."
From that point on, things started to go more smoothly.
He began writing with more confidence.
Looking back, I realize that first graders are still developing — their muscles, grip strength, coordination.
So I played a few fun little games with him to help build up those muscles. And before long, he got much better.
Time has gently flowed on, and that child has now grown up. Yet those quiet days of patient guidance and tender waiting remain, like a softly painted watercolor, forever hanging in the most delicate corner of my heart.
往事
這件事情發生在我年輕的時候
記得某個午后，陽光穿過葉影
一位母親帶著掩不住的憂心走進教室，語氣中透著無奈與焦慮：
「老師，我的小孩怎麼作業寫得這麼慢呢？」
我開始觀察那位孩子
那時候他小學一年級
小小的身軀如同嫩芽，剛從土裡冒出頭看世界
躲在他母親身後，偷偷的瞄我
上課時常常低著頭，
安安靜靜，不太說話
第一堂課，彷彿是一個靜默的影子，
課堂中只有我與他父母的聲音來回流轉，
他始終低著頭，如藏身雲霧之後。
大概過了一個星期，他才願意開口跟我說話
我對他的第一印象是──羞澀如晨霧的小男孩
上課中
我帶著他寫作業，
他的指尖在盒蓋上跳躍，彷彿在演奏
他在玩桌上的鉛筆盒
我想說，是不是因為玩鉛筆盒，作業才寫得比較慢？
溫聲請他把鉛筆盒收起來，他照做了。
收起來以後，他有專心一點，開始在描字本上一筆一畫地繼續寫ABCD
然而五分鐘過去，紙上依舊只有零星的幾個字母。
正如他母親所言——就像蝸牛在晨霧中慢慢爬行，步履遲緩。
我在思考，問題在哪？
我看了看，
他握筆的方式十分用力，手指緊緊箍住筆桿，彷彿在與一條不聽話的大魚搏鬥。
「你怎麼那麼用力握筆呢？」我語氣柔柔地問，模仿微風輕撫綠葉。
他抬起頭，眼神無辜地說：「筆筆一直跑，很難抓住。」
我低頭看了看他的鉛筆，是那種市面常見的HB圓頭鉛筆，筆桿細細的，顏色較淡，對一雙尚未成熟的小手而言，的確難以駕馭。
於是我從筆筒中拿出一支2B鉛筆——筆身稍粗，六角形的設計更易於握持。
「這支有角角，你試試看，看會不會比較好握。」
他握著筆寫了幾個字，眼中閃過一絲驚奇：「有耶，老師！這支筆不會想逃跑，好神奇喔！」
他的筆尖開始在紙上流動
寫字的速度稍微加快了些，但仍然如春雨綿綿，節奏緩慢。
我開始示範如何正確拿筆，減輕手部負擔。
「不用那麼用力啦，不用力透紙背喔！」
他看起來有點懵懂，問我
「老師，什麼是力透紙背啊？」
啊！對轟。小學一年級還沒有學到這個成語
我輕笑解釋：「我是說你寫字可以輕一點，不然還沒寫完作業，
你的手手可能就先累壞啦。」
「可是……太小力的話，字很淡怎麼辦？」小小人兒開始說話，
那語氣像貓咪在雨夜輕喵。
「別擔心，這是2B鉛筆，就算輕輕寫，字也會挺深的。」我回答道
小小人兒開始寫作業，一切變得順利起來
雖然仍寫得不快，但已經進入狀況，彷彿一葉小舟在湖面緩緩前行。
是說，小一生的肌肉好像還沒發育完全，他的抓握能力並不佳
於是，我帶著他玩一些訓練肌肉的小遊戲，後來就好很多了
時光悠悠流轉，那孩子如今已長大，
但那段日子，如一幅潤色過的水彩畫，掛在我心中的角落。
