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
2014-03-02
41
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 Soft-Esteem". Serf-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, modem 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, 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 dimes, 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 paragraph 2, "whole language" teaching is in inverted commas because ______.
选项
A、the writer is using direct speech
B、the writer is questioning the education concept
C、the words quoted have been extracted from a translation
D、the writer is quoting from another source
答案
B
解析
从全文可知,作者对于当前的这种教育方式是持否定态度的,所以选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/nkQO777K
0
考博英语
相关试题推荐
Theflickerofimpatienceinthehusband’seyesmeltsintobemused______ashiswifeasksfor"justalittlemoretime"atthema
WhenIdecidedtoquitmyfulltimeemploymentitneveroccurredtomethatImightbecomeapartofanewinternationaltrend.
Althoughtoomuch【C1】______tothesun’sultravioletrayscancauseskincancer,sunshinemayhavea【C2】______effectagainstsome
Eversincehumanshaveinhabitedtheearth,theyhavemadeuseofvariousformsofcommunication.Generally,theexpressionoft
Eversincehumanshaveinhabitedtheearth,theyhavemadeuseofvariousformsofcommunication.Generally,theexpressionoft
Sometimes______mattersmayresultinsurprisinglylargeeffects.
Intheeighteenthcentury,Japan’sfeudaloverlords,fromtheshoguntothehumblestsamurai,foundthemselvesunderfinancials
Despitethegeneralnegativefindings,itisimportanttorememberthatallchildrenwholivethroughadivorcedonotbehavein
Thetechnical-socialwayoflifeisadeepfeatureofthespeciesadaptation,butwewoulderrifweassumedapriorithatman’s
Rifleshootinghasbecomeafavoritediversionofcitydwellersnowadays,andgroupsofpeopleorganizeweekendtarget-shootinge
随机试题
把管理理论的各个流派称之为“管理理论丛林”的管理学家是()
与传统营销相比,绿色营销具有的特征是()。
《企业国有资产法》所称关联方,不包括()。
下列行业中,财政收入的主要来源是()。
“看景不如听景”体现了导游语言运用原则中的()。
以下不属于地陪导游服务业务准备的工作的是()。
人们曾采用将轻症天花病人的“痘浆”接种到健康人身上来预防天花,这里所说的痘浆和这种方法分别属于()。
5cm×1.0cm活动的淋巴结2个,质硬。病理证实为乳癌淋巴结转移。对预防复发最重要的出院指导是()。
(2012年山东.38)丁某与村委会签约承包本村一鱼塘,后丁某搬到镇上居住,遂拟将鱼塘转包给本村经营另一鱼塘的赵某。下列说法正确的是()。
【21】【22】
最新回复
(
0
)