| It's not quite that simple. "Kids can be given the opportunities to become passionate about a subject or activity, but they can't be forced," says Jacquelynne Eccles, a psychology professor at the University of Michigan, who led a landmark, 25-year study examining what motivated first- and seventh-graders in three school districts. Even so, a growing number of educators and psychologists do believe it is possible to unearth ambition in students who don't seem to have much. (47)They say that by instilling confidence, encouraging some risk taking, being accepting of failure and expanding the areas in which children may be successful, both parents and teachers can reignite that innate desire to achieve.
Figuring out why the fire went out is the first step.(48) Assuming that a kid doesn't suffer from an emotional or learning disability, or isn't involved in some family crisis at home, many educators attribute a sudden lack of motivation to a fear of failure or peer pressure that conveys the message that doing well academically somehow isn't cool. Parents can play a critical role by praising their children’s effort, strategy and progress rather than emphasizing their 'smartness' or praising high performance alone. Most of all, parents should let their kids know that mistakes are a part of learning.”
(49)Some experts say our education system, with its strong emphasis on testing and rigid separation of students into different levels of ability also bears blame for the disappearance of drive in some kids. Educators say it's important to expose kids to a world beyond homework and tests, through volunteer work, sports, hobbies and other extracurricular activities. "The crux of the issue is that many students experience education as irrelevant to their life goals and ambitions," says Michael Nakkula, a Harvard education professor who runs a mentoring program called Project IF (Inventing the Future). (50) The key to getting kids to aim higher at school is to disabuse them of the notion that classwork is irrelevant, to show them how doing well at school can actually help them fulfill their dreams beyond it. Like any ambitious toddler, they need to understand that you have to learn to walk before you can run.
Section Ⅲ Writing
Part A
51. Directions:
You are organizing your class of 20 students to visit the new National Opera House. Write a letter of enquiry to the manager of National Opera House on the basis of the following points:
1) giving a self-introduction and stating t << 上一页 [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18] [19] [20] 下一页
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