Voices from the Classroom
1 What new challenges do American teachers of English think they will face over the
next five years The following is an interview with four American educators about thatquestion.
2 Interviewer. We. 11 begin with Ms. Woods , who is teaching at a junior-high school
in Ohio. What do you think are the biggest problems for today. s English teacher
3 Ms. Woods: Language arts teachers are faced with teaching literacy to students
from diverse backgrounds , students who do not value reading , and students who have diverseneeds in an increasingly complex, technological society. We teachers are caught betweendoing our best to help these diverse students and give them what they really need , and at thesame time satisfying the state-mandated proficiencies.
4 Interviewer: So you think that sometimes the state curriculum does not suit the realneeds of these students.
5 Mr. Jones: May I add something here I have to agree. In my high school inDetroit , the increasing number of students from non-English speaking homes continues tomake language education challenging. For example, Shakespeare is on the curriculum for my 11th grade class this term , but many of them have problems with basic English communication skills. I don.t mean to throw out Shakespeare , but something is wrong here 一there is a gap between the curriculum and the reality of the students. skills and needs. Keeping our students connected by giving them better tools of communication in a commonlanguage is essential.
6 Interviewer: I bet Professor Mahiri will have something to say on that.
7 Dr. Mahiri: Yes indeed. What I.ve come to realize in my educational research atUniversity of California is that teachers must understand youth popular culture -- which isstrongly influenced by African American culture---in order to relateeffectively to today. sstudents. Teachers should use African American and youth culture as sources for today. scurriculum. They must make a huge effort to connect the classroom to the students. uniquebackgrounds , experiences and interests.
8 Interviewer: You mean by including literature written by Afro-American authors
9 Dr. Mahiri: That. s just the tip of the iceberg. Of course , a more diversecurriculum is necessary. But not throwing out Shakespeare , as Mr. Jones has said. KeepShakespeare , add new authors , include newspaper, music , comic books - and give up theirtraditional power and control over the classroom so that students are teaching each other andthemselves 一so that students are empowered and creative thinkers.
10 Interviewer: Do you have anything to add to this discussion, Mr. Hunt
11 Mr. Hunt: Well , I think that from primary school to university level , the biggestchallenge will be introducing technology in language arts instruction. Computers and theInternet are revolutionizing how students learn and how teachers teach. We must haveeducators who are computer literate if we are to exploit the amazing power of technology inthe Information Age. "
diversemeans ____(paragraph 3)
(单选题)
.clever
.\xa0hard-working
.different
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