老師態度 決定後段班升機

學生能力分不分班？分不分組？爭論許久，各持己見，難分軒輊。問題的關鍵，還是在老師對待學生的態度上。

My comments: I totally agree.

以現階段國中而言，雖然硬性採取常態編班上課，但老師會多花一點心思在優秀學生身上？或去拉拔跟不上的孩子呢？

很顯然地，資優學生集寵愛在一身，相對地，課業跟不上的孩子多半被放棄，常態分班就真的符合社會公平正義嗎？真的能達到每個家長的期望嗎？

My comments: So what matters is not whether students should be placed in different classes according to their ability, but whether the education the students receive meets their needs.

若採取能力分班，學校會將好老師安排教前段班還是後段班？不必去調查，大家都心知肚明；學校最好的資源，理應去協助學習不足的學生才對，卻全都分配在資優學生身上，如此能力分班，更不符合社會公平正義。

My comments: My friend’s school didn’t give her the best classes to teach though she is a very excellent teacher. We both know why and I told her the principal of her school does know what education is really about. My friend’s instruction and encouragement make a difference in these students’ life. That, I think, is the true essence of education. I’m really proud of her.

其實過去也有後段班老師，把全副精神放在這些低成就的孩子身上，激發了孩子的自覺，力爭上游，來報答老師的恩惠。因此，老師如何善待孩子的態度才是最重要的。

希望政府不要總是用分配款的多寡，來要脅各縣市配合常態分班的政策；各縣市政府也不要動不動就拿「影響校長考核」或記過處分來威脅校長；應該用正面積極的方式，獎勵拉拔後段班學生最有力、最認真的縣市、學校和老師，改變教學者的態度，才能創造學生無限的可能。

My comments: Bravo!!

洪蘭：你的海豚，比我的學生聽話多了…

This is an interesting activity. Students have to pick the curcial parts of the story for the eight panels. This requires a complete understanding of the story.

I can try this activity next time when we come across another story in the textbook. However, I’ll do it in a different way. I’ll have the students draw the comic strips before we discuss the lesson. This will make the activity more challenging. To complete the mission, students have to “decode” the story on their own.

Take me for example. I was watching the film so as to decide on which part(s) to show students before we start Lesson Nine “A Memorable Event” by Chaplin, which is about Chaplin’s first appearance onstage. Watching Chaplin’s acting skills, the students will be more motivated to read this story. For this lesson, Anna (張倚鳳老師), who is always so organized, found in her files an introductory article about Chaplin, which she got from an encyclopedia five years ago, the Q & A I made for the article then, and the song “Smile” and a word game Tracy (陳品璇老師), a student teacher last year, used during her teaching demonstration. Mei-yun (張美雲老師) bought and watched a video of Chaplin’s “The Kid.” She even prepared a cloze activity for the movie. Ushuan (陳育萱老師) shared with us what she used 2 years ago–three clips from the movie “City Lights.”

A teacher’s job is challenging and fun, including not only teaching in the classroom but also preparing lessons outside of class! And when working as a team, we all enjoy greater resources.

經驗談／美大教學活 鼓勵「問題」學生

【聯合報╱記者陳智華／台北報導】2009/11/23

 台灣學生深造仍以美國為主，留美學生認為，國內教育太重視累積知識，美國大學則注重經驗，鼓勵學生問問題，提出想法，值得台灣學習。

 My comments: Before encouraging students to ask questions, we teachers should often ask questions to get them to think. I like listening to students talk about their opinions and ask questions in class. A silent class drives me crazy.

建中畢業的張耀文目前讀美國MIT（麻省理工學院）一年級，大二打算雙主修材料與生物，雙輔修歷史與應用國際研究。

My comments: Wow! To college students in Taiwan, this would seem a mission impossible. Like us, Mr. Chang has 24 hours; however, he makes the best of his time. Does he have time for friends or recreation?

 他說，美國頂尖大學給的獎助學金是依家庭收入，以台灣一般家庭收入而言，獎助學金可達九成以上，不分國籍，他申請到了。

 他指出，MIT教育紮實，每科很多作業，占成績比率不低，一學期三次期中考，加期末考共四次考試，能深入了解課程內容。

My comments: See? To ensure the students have really learned something, assignments and exams are a must.

 張耀文認為，美國大學好處在於可和世界最有名的跨國公司或研究團隊接觸，例如Google、Intel、Yahoo、Amazon等公司會到MIT來挖人。他強調，不論在國內或到國外念大學，視野要開闊，即使留在台灣，也要好好學習，當一個有宏觀視野的世界人。

My comments: Reading, watching films, talking to foreigners can help our students to be global-minded.

 北市麗山高中畢業的邢本元，在美國杜克大學念四年級，雙主修生物與環境科學，他說：「我覺得出國念書是最幸運的，接觸與國內截然不同的學術文化。」

 My comments: When I was studying at UOI, Champaign, I was amazed when professors spent almost the whole class period discussing a question a student posed.

他指出，出國前很多人跟他說，美國學生程度差，連基本課程如微積分都有困難，出國後，他發現多數美國學生的知識確實少於台灣學生。但杜克是世界排名前十五的大學，學校注重學習經驗，而不只是知識。

 他主修之一是生物，課程雖較台灣的大學簡單，卻獲無數研究經驗，去年與學校研究團隊到新幾內亞外海，在研究船上遙控潛水艇，打撈深海生物，做成八千多個標本。今年七月，更在國際會議上發表初步研究結果。邢本元強調，在美國求學讓他走出教室，大開眼界，非國內實驗課能比。

My comments: What an experience! Learning by doing is the soul of the empirical approach. I often ask myself, “How can I make students ‘experience’ English rather than simply ’study’ English?” Using as much as English in class is one way and encouraging them to read authentic English materials, including books, newspapers, magazines, etc. is another.

Whenver we play this game in class, the students become very excited, just like kindergarten kids. In fact, when I say, “Now, the Big Cross,” all the students straighten up. When the number is called out, the target students stand up as fast as well-trained soldiers. Good!

Knowledge is something static, while the process of thinking and the way to get and analyze information are dynamic. If we take knowledge as the aim of education, once the students leave school, they stop growing. However, if our aim is to teach the students how to get and analyze knowledge and how to think independently, they keep growing after graduation.

This reminds me of the speech “Have a Good Four Years,” which was given by the then president of Harvard University, Derek C. Bok. Part of that speech deals with this idea.

The following is the related part:

Have a Good Four Years

Speech delivered at Harvard University, Sep. 18, 1971
Derek C. Bok

There is a popular notion that a college education is something to be endured in order to become certified to obtain certain kinds of jobs or go to graduate school. This is not what we are trying to do at Harvard, nor would we wish to have many students here who took such a narrow view of a college career.
There are several goals we aspire to reach in our undergraduate program.
The most obvious one is to give knowledge–fairly concentrated knowledge in one field and a more general knowledge of a variety of other subject areas which you may choose. But if acquiring knowledge is a self-evident part of a college education, it is far from the most important. Remarkably few of the facts you learn here will remain in your memory for many years, and some of those that do will be discredited by new knowledge. So if we were to concentrate on conveying information, we would give you something fleeting and impermanent.
Instead, we have looked to other things we can give that will last a little longer. Among these things are certain habits of mind–the capacity for more critical analysis, for more accurate and logical use of information, the ability to derive useful concepts and generalizations, to find and process data, and so forth.

不要盡想填滿學生的胃口，
而 要設法刺激他們的食慾。

Do not always want to fill the students’ stomach.
Instead, try to stimulate their appetite.