人民大学向俊伟-人民大学向俊伟
Unit1
Ways of Learning
Part II Reading Task
Comprehension
Content
Question
Pair Work
They were
studying arts education in Chinese kindergartens
and elementary schools in Nanjing.
Their 18-month-old son Benjamin was
fond of trying to place the key into the slot of
the key box
during their stay at the
Jinling Hotel.
They would come over to
watch Benjamin and then try to teach him how to do
it properly.
Because he realized that
this anecdote was directly relevant to their
assigned tasks in China: to
investigate
early childhood education and to throw light on
Chinese attitudes toward creativity.
Most of them displayed the same
attitude as the staff at the Jinling Hotel.
He
emphasized
that
the
most
important
thing
is
to
teach
the
child
that
on
can
solve
a
problem
effectively by oneself.
He
means that this incident pointed to important
differences in educational and artistic practices
between China and the USA.
The manner in which the Chinese staff
saw the need to teach the child by guiding his
hand in the
characteristic
of
a
broader
attitude
to
education,
one
that
stands
in
contrast
to
the
Western
preference
for leaving the child to explore and learn
unaided.
One example is of children at
the age of 5 or 6 painting flowers, fish and
animals skillfully and
confidently; in
a second example, calligraphers 9 and 10 years old
were producing works; and in a
third,
young artists work on perfecting their craft for
several hours a day.
Americans think
that unless creativity has been acquired early, it
may never emerge, and skills can
be
picked up later. Chinese think that if skills are
not acquired early, they may never be acquired,
and there is no hurry to promote
creativity.
This is mainly due to the
difference in their way of thinking.
The
author
makes
the
suggestion
that
we
should
strike
a
better
balance
between
the
poles
of
creativity and
basic skills.
Text Organization
Working On Your Own
The text begins with an anecdote.
His thoughts are mainly about different
approaches to learning in China and the West.
He winds up the text with a suggestion
in the form of a question.
Chinese
Show a child how to do something, or
tech by holding the hand
Give greater
priority to developing skills at an early age,
believing that creativity can be promoted
over time
Americans
Teach children that they should rely on
themselves for solutions to problems
Put more emphasis on fostering
creativity in young children, thinking skills can
be picked up later
Language Sense
Enhancement