首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Ask an American schoolchild what he or she is learning in school these days and you might even get a reply, provided you ask it
Ask an American schoolchild what he or she is learning in school these days and you might even get a reply, provided you ask it
admin
2013-01-22
84
问题
Ask an American schoolchild what he or she is learning in school these days and you might even get a reply, provided you ask it in Spanish, but don’t bother, here’s the answer: Americans nowadays are not learning any of the things that we learned in our day, like reading and writing. Apparently these are considered fusty old subjects, invented by white males to oppress women and minorities.
What are they learning? In a Vermont college town I found the answer sitting in a toy store book rack, next to typical kids’ books like "Heather Has Two Mommies and Daddy is ’Disfunctional’". It’s a teacher’s guide called "Happy To Be Me", subtitled "Building Self-Esteem". Self-esteem, as it turns out, is a big subject in American classrooms. Many American schools see building it as important as teaching reading and writing. They call it "whole language" teaching, borrowing terminology from the granola people to compete in the education marketplace.
No one ever spent a moment building my self-esteem when I was in school. In fact, from the day I first stepped inside a classroom my self-esteem was one big demolition site. All that mattered was "the subject", be it geography, history, or mathematics. I was praised when I remembered that "near", "fit", "friendly", "pleasing", "like" and their opposites took the dative case in Latin. I was reviled when I forgot what a cosine was good for. Generally, I lived my school years beneath a torrent of castigation so consistent I eventually ceased to hear it as people who live near the sea eventually stop hearing the waves.
Schools have changed. Reviling is out, for one thing. More important, subjects have changed.
Whereas I learned English, modern kids learn something called "language skills". Whereas I learned writing, modern kids learn something called "communication". Communication, the book tells us, is seven per cent words, twenty three per cent facial expression, twenty per cent tone of voice, and fifty per cent body language. So this column, with its carefully chosen words, would earn at most a grade of seven per cent. That is, if the school even gave out something as oppressive and demanding as grades.
The result is that, in place of English classes, American children are getting a course in "How to Win Friends and Influence People". Consider the new attitude toward journal writing. I remember one high school English class when we were required to keep a journal. The idea was to emulate those great writers who confided in diaries, searching their soul and honing their critical thinking on paper.
"Happy To Be Me" states that journals are a great way for students to get in touch with their feelings. Tell students they can write one sentence or a whole page. Reassure them that no one, not even you, will read what they write. After the unit, hopefully all students will be feeling good about themselves and will want to share some of their entries with the class.
There was a time when no self-respecting book for English teachers would use "great" or "hopefully" that way. Moreover, back then the purpose of English courses (an antique term for "Unit") was not to help students "feel good about themselves", which is good because all that reviling didn’t make me feel particularly good about anything.
In this passage, the writer is clearly stating the intention which is to get the reader to
选项
A、confirm current education trends and teaching methods
B、rethink and reorganize educational strategies
C、think about the various elements which constitute what we call ’communication’ nowadays
D、reassure the parents about the methodology currently being used in American schools
答案
B
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/AI1O777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
ThechangesingloballyaveragedtemperaturethathaveoccurredattheEarth’ssurfaceoverthepastcenturyaresimilarinsize
Humanbeingshaveneverbeforehadsuchabadpress.Byallreports,weareunabletogetanythingrightthesedays,andtheres
Beforethedisastrousearthquaketherewas______chaos.
A、becauseofB、sinceC、becauseD、thankstoA本题考核的知识点是连词。分析上下旬逻辑关系,逻辑是一致的。四个选项都有“因为”的意思,但侧重点不同。A项侧重表直接原因;B项侧重表“作为…的结果”,后面接句子;C项必须
Ifsustainablecompetitiveadvantagedependsonworkforceskills,Americanfirmshaveaproblem.Humanmanagementisnottradit
democracyimaginationdifferentflexibilityovercomeonlineoffertraditionalmodernreg
democracyimaginationdifferentflexibilityovercomeonlineoffertraditionalmodernreg
Writeanessayofnolessthan200wordsonthetopicgivenbelow.UsetheproperspaceonyourANSWERSHEET.Goodmanagemen
Justoverayearago,Ifoolishlylockedupmybicycleoutsidemyoffice,butforgottoremovethepannier.WhenIreturned,the
Onceuponatimetherelivedabeautifulyoungwomanandahandsomeyoungman.Theywereverypoor,butastheyweredeeplyinl
随机试题
下列描述正确的有()。
千分尺可以调整好尺寸,当卡规使用。()
Directions:InthispartthereisanessayinChinese.Readitcarefullyandthenwriteasummaryof200wordsinEnglishontheA
患者,男性,40岁,2天前高热、右胸痛,咯痰,为黄脓性带血丝,量多,X线显示右下肺叶斑片状浸润,无空洞。应予以何种治疗
寒冷环境下,参与维持动物机体体温稳定的是
芍药汤中肉桂属于()
甲未经乙同意,将该船卖给丙,该买卖合同效力如何?为什么?丙未经丁、戊同意,丙与庚的买卖合同效力如何?为什么?
银行结算账户按存款人不同可分为()。
审慎原则并不是不尊重科学,而是对科学应用的务实态度。科研成果的取得及其社会认可,往往代表着巨大的经济利益甚或科学家的终身成就,这就很难保证科学家不会放松科学原则要求而违规:科研成果的社会化往往与企业利益相连,企业逐利时难免会刻意隐瞒危害;由于科研的未知性因
设函数y(x)在区间[1,+∞)上有一阶连续导数,且满足及求y(x).
最新回复
(
0
)