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
2010-06-18
38
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 Dysfunctional’. 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 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, modem kids learn something called "communication" Communication, the book tells us, is seven per cent words, 23 per cent facial expression, 20 per cent tone of voice, and 50 per cent body language. So this column, with its carefully chosen words, would earn me 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 souls 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.
The writer’s intention is to get us to ______.
选项
A、rethink educational Strategies
B、confirm current trends
C、think about what constitutes communication
D、reassure parents
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/jRlO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
DigitalCapital,HarnessingthePowerofBusinessWebsbyDonTapscott,DavidTicoll,andAlexLowy.HarvardBusinessSchoolP
TheFrenchPresident’svisittoJapanaimsat
ThePresidentduringtheAmericanCivilWarwas______.
Allofthefollowingarewell-knownfemalewritersin20th-centuryBritainEXCEPT______.
WhichofthefollowingwritersdoesnotbelongtothelakersoftheRomanticPeriod?
Onecharacteristicoftherichclassesofadecliningsocietyistheirtendencyto______.Accordingtothewriterwhichofthe
What’sMissPattyChing’sproblem?
徐霞客一生周游考察了16个省,足迹几乎遍及全国。他在考察的过程中,从来不盲目迷信书本上的结论。他发现前人研究地理的记载有许多很不可靠的地方。为了进行真实细致的考察。他很少乘车坐船,几乎全靠双脚翻山越岭,长途跋涉;为了弄清大自然的真相,他总是挑选道路艰险的山
1 Betweenabout1910and1930,newartisticmovementsinEuropeanartweremakingthemselvesfeltintheUnitedStates.America
Note-takingSkillsNote-takingrequiresahighlevelofabilityinmanyskills,particularlyinthefollowingfourmostimpo
随机试题
A.绒毛水泡状水肿和滋养细胞增生,问质内血管几乎消失B.滋养细胞增生,水肿绒毛侵入子宫肌层1/3以上C.可见滋养细胞,绒毛问质有血管结构D.可见高度增生的滋养细胞,未见绒毛结构E.绒毛水肿滋养细胞退行性变化侵蚀性葡萄胎的病理变化
腹部CT扫描的适应证不包括
测定碘与苯相连的含卤素有机药物(如碘苯酯)的含量时,通常选用方法是
心动周期中,心室血液充盈的主要机制是
患者戴用全口义齿后4周复诊,自感咀嚼无力,面部酸痛,说话含糊不清,常需取下休息,其原因可能是
下列特定减免税货物在进口时免予交验进口许可证件的是()。
根据企业破产法律制度的规定,下列各项中,不属于破产费用的是()。
人在心理活动和行为中表现出的稳定的动力特点是()。
资本的价值构成是指:
下列设备组中,完全属于外部设备的一组是()。
最新回复
(
0
)