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
75
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://www.kaotiyun.com/show/jRlO777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
HowmanymissingAmericanservicemenhavebeenpositivelyconfirmeddeadinVietnamsofar?
WhichofthefollowingstatementsisINCORRECTaboutDavid’spersonalbackground?
1Punditswhowanttosoundjudiciousarefondofwarningagainstgeneralizing.Eachcountryisdifferent,theysay,andno
Itissimpleenoughtosaythatsincebookshaveclasses-fiction,biography,poetry-weshouldseparatethemandtakefromeachw
PresidentMohammadAbbashasbeengiventheauthoritytobypassparliamentbecause
ItcanbeinferredfromthefirstparagraphthatWhatproblemdidtheIntergovernmentPanelonClimateChangemeetwhentheyst
TheGreatWallofChinaWallsandwallbuildinghaveplayedaveryimportantroleinChineseculture.Thesepeople,fromthe
PresidentBushhasproposedaddingoptionalpersonalaccountsasoneofthecentralelementsofamajorSocialSecurityreformp
Itwashardtofindanyoneleftstandingafterthegovernment’sstrangecaseagainstnuclearscientistWenHoLeecamecrashing
A、TheBritish.B、Germans.C、Americans.D、Notmentioned.C
随机试题
ThefollowingarethevolcanicmountaininNorthIslandexcept______.()
下列哪个部位骨折容易并发骨坏死
下列感冒证型中,采用风门作为配穴治疗的是()。
职业健康安全管理体系的内部审核又称为()。
对进口旧机电产品,海关凭检验检疫机构签发的《旧机电产品进口备案书》验放。()
广义的信贷期限不包括()。
田杰出生在陕北一个偏远的小山村中,当地的经济发展很慢,生活条件也非常差。因为家里生活困难,田杰读到三年级就辍学了,小小年纪的他离开家乡到外面流浪,被某流浪儿童求助站收留。虽然读到了三年级,但田杰认识的字并不多,连最基本的拼音都不会,平时也不喜欢说话,很少与
Thefunctionofthesentence"Australialiesinthesouthernhemisphere."is______.
贯穿党的十八大报告的一条主线是()。
舒曼计划(吉林大学2013年历史学基础真题)
最新回复
(
0
)