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
87
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
ThechangesingloballyaveragedtemperaturethathaveoccurredattheEarth’ssurfaceoverthepastcenturyaresimilarinsize
Theywanttostimulateeconomicgrowthintheregionbyoffering______toforeigninvestors.
ThismonthSingaporepassedabillthatwouldgivelegalteethtothemoralobligationtosupportone’sparents.CalledtheMain
CoxRadio,oneofthenation’slargestradiochains,plansto_____itstieswithindependentrecordpromoterstodistanceitselffr
democracyimaginationdifferentflexibilityovercomeonlineoffertraditionalmodernreg
Sincetheenergycrisis,thesebigcarshavebecomearealliability.Theycosttoomuchtorun.
Theschoolshootingtriggeredabarrageoftransparentlyirrelevantproposedsolutions,tossedoutwithoutregardtotheirrelev
Onewayofimprovingone’swritingistogetintothehabitofkeepingarecordofyourobservations,ofstoring【71】inanoteboo
随机试题
过梁上考虑的均布线荷载与下列______项数值最为接近?假设已知过梁上的均布荷载设计值为15kN,则钢筋砖过梁的配筋计算面积与下列______项数值最为接近?(钢筋采用HPB235钢筋)
临时水工建筑物级别划分的依据包括()。
“进口口岸”栏应填:“进口日期”栏应填:
某企业2007年资产总额平均为3000万元,所有者权益平均为1800万元,2007年净利润为300万元。则该企业2007年的净资产收益率为( )。
微桥运输和小陆桥运输相比,其交货地点在()。
howpupilsaretreatedinschoolswithyoungpeoplefarfromlookatA.wemust【T13】______theinsecuritythatparentshavef
访问交换机的方式有多种,配置一台新的交换机时可以______进行访问。A.通过微机的串口连接交换机的控制台端口B.通过Telnet程序远程访问交换机C.通过浏览器访问指定IP地址的交换机D.通过运行SNMP协议的网管软件访问交换机
ThefirstyearofschoolinAmerica,knownaskindergarten,usuallybeginsbetweentheagesoffiveandsix.Amongrichcountrie
A、Helppeoplechangetheirfeelingsaboutoldage.B、Revealthatoldpeoplearepoor,lonelyandunhappy.C、Leadpeopletofind
Toitsfans,itisaddictive.Tothemedia,itisapromisingmoney-maker.Sudoku,anoldpuzzlelongpopularinJapanisfastg
最新回复
(
0
)