大学英语04－05（1）第二册.doc

大学英语
教案
上外全新版
第二册
COLLEGE ENGLISH (BOOK2)
Unit 1 Ways of learning
Notes:
Education in the West: There is mon agreement in the West concerning the best method of education. A variety of views can be found among parents, teachers and students. Indeed, it might be argued that it is this very existence of contending points of view that is characteristic of Western education. This can be seen as far back as in the work of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, who encouraged his students to question everything, even their most fundamental beliefs. Yet even then there was no general agreement that this was the best way to teach. Socrates, after all, was condemned to death by his fellow citizens for corrupting the morals of the young by his way of teaching. Many later periods of Western history were no more tolerant of encouraging students to challenge traditional beliefs: Darwin's theory of evolution, for example, was for a time banned from schools in some American states on the grounds of religious belief.
Much of the current debate over education surrounds the extent to which learning should be teacher-based or student-based. Which of the two should decide what should be learned, how it should be learned, and when it should be learned? Comparing Western and Asian methods of learning it is generally true that Western methods are more student-centred, expecting students to discover things for themselves,rather than relying on their teachers to tell thcm. An extreme version of the student-centred approach can be seen at Summerhill, a school in England established by the educationalist . Neill. There children plete freedom to decide what they are going to learn and which lessons they will attend. If they wish they need not attend any at all.
Mainstream education in England is far more strict, demanding that children attend lessons and follow a national curriculum. This curriculum and the importance of achieving good exam results tend to reinforce a