首页
登录
职称英语
Ask an American schoolchild what he or she is learning in school these days a
Ask an American schoolchild what he or she is learning in school these days a
游客
2025-01-04
45
管理
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 teaeher’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, 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. [br] The author’s intention is to get. us to ______.
选项
A、rethink educational strategies
B、approve of 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://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3897882.html
相关试题推荐
Well-traveledAmericanbusinesspeopleareincreasinglyrealizingthattheym
AskanAmericanschoolchildwhatheorsheislearninginschoolthesedaysa
AskanAmericanschoolchildwhatheorsheislearninginschoolthesedaysa
Inschoolsofvariouslevelsandkinds,groupingofgiftedstudentsisapre
Divorceandout-of-wedlockchildbirtharetransformingthelivesofAmerican
ThefollowingwerethefathersoftheAmericanRepublicEXCEPT______.A、GeorgeW
MasstransportationrevisedthesocialandeconomicfabricoftheAmericanci
MasstransportationrevisedthesocialandeconomicfabricoftheAmericanci
[originaltext]M:Americanresearchershavemadeadiscoverythatmighthelpthe
[originaltext]M:Americanresearchershavemadeadiscoverythatmighthelpthe
随机试题
你得承认,多媒体不只是一件东西.而是包括许多东西的复杂的组合:硬件、软件和这两者相遇时的界面。不,我们还忘了一件很重要的事情.多媒体还包括你。是的.就是!对
Majordepressiveepisodeshappentowomenearlierthanmen.[br]Peoplewhosuff
Normallyastudentmustattendacertainnumberofcoursesinordertogradu
【B1】[br]【B5】[originaltext]Acaninecoptookearlyretirementafterbossesat
防排烟系统联合试运转与调试的结果(风量及正压),必须符合设计的规定。
词作者甲、曲作者乙、歌手丙均是中国音乐著作权协会的会员。丁的卡拉0K厅里大量使用
由我国演员上演的第一部外国芭蕾舞剧是()A.《天鹅湖》 B.《无益的谨慎》
人民代表大会制度是我国的根本政治制度,是我国的政体。()
有5个正方形如右图叠放。已知每个正方形的边长都是5cm,它们所覆盖住的面积为11
下列关于隐患排查治理时,生产经营单位的主要职责的叙述中错误的是()。A.安
最新回复
(
0
)