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
40
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.
What’s the best summary for this passage?
选项
A、New educational theories will revolutionize the way our children learn.
B、The influence of new methodology will spread worldwide.
C、Personal values like self-esteem will become predominant for school children in the future
D、Current education trends may jeopardize the prospects of future generations.
答案
D
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/NI1O777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
Nobodyknowswhattriggeredtheevent,which______amillioncubicmetersofwaterpersecond,obliteratingthebarrierbetween
ModernlorehasitthatinEnglanddeathisimminent,inCanadainevitableandinCaliforniaoptional.Smallwonder.Americans’
Howtoevaluatetheperformanceofstudentsisstillaproblemthattroublesmanyprofessors.
MarkMoore,directoroftheNorthwestWeather,warnedskiersofthedeadlyavalanchesthathave_____themountainsofWashington
Horsebackriding______boththeskillofhandlingahorseandthemasteryofdiverseridingstyles.
Forthepastseveralyears,theSundaynewspapersupplementParadehasfeaturedacolumncalled"AskMarilyn."Peopleareinvite
TheTimberrattlesnakeisnowontheendangeredspecieslist,andisextinctintwoeasternstatesinwhichitonce_______.
Inancienttimes,somecatastrophicextinctionofspeciesoccurred______,butsuchcatastropheswerecomparativelyrare.
Thescientistshaveabsolutefreedomastowhatresearchtheythinkitbestto_____.
Governmentsthatwanttheirpeopletoprosperintheburgeoningworldeconomyshouldguaranteetwobasicrights:therighttopr
随机试题
患者,女性,39岁,既往健康。2h前在提取重物后突感剧烈头痛,伴喷射状呕吐,呼吸减慢,心率减慢,血压升高。此时最有效的护理措施不正确的是
有特异性抗原受体的细胞是
尾矿库坡度为13°,土壤层为35cm,应首先考虑复垦恢复为( )。
下列各项中,体现了“客观公正”要求的是()。
案例:2006年,胡先生年满60岁从某外资公司退休(以前还曾经在某国有企业工作过10多年)。假定条件:①当时当地的平均工资2000元;②个人账户积累54360元;③年功系数是4;④35年(工龄);⑤胡先生退休前的月当期支付薪酬额是6800元(不计算其他福利
记账式国债的发行利率是由财政部参照同期银行存款利率及市场供求关系等因素由国债承销团成员投标确定的。()
下列表示物质结构的化学用语或模型正确的是()。
如图5所示,两颗质量相同的人造地球卫星A、B均绕地球做匀速圆周运动,它们的轨道在同一平面内。下列说法正确的是()。
急行跳远起跳腾空后的身体姿势有_______、_______、_______。
复行数十步,___________。土地平旷,___________,有良田、美池、桑竹之属。(陶潜《桃花源记》)
最新回复
(
0
)