新视野大学英语视听说教程 3 Unit 2-11（在线收听）

V. Let’s Talk
Script
Hi, everybody. My topic today is “Problems with Our Educational System”.
There are a lot of things in our educational system that I don’t agree with. It seems that educators just want to give standardized tests, which focus only on academic performance but neglect students’ abilities and interests in other areas. I think there’re a lot of people who are very intelligent, but haven’t had the opportunities they could’ve had, had they been educated in a broader-minded educational systems. I feel that a lot of courses that students are focused to take in high school are too academic, and, as a result, many kids lost their interest in learning.
Educators have failed to recognize various kinds of intelligence. They often exert a lot of pressure on students to be as well-rounded as possible. I think being well-rounded isn’t really possible. And as a consequence some students who are believed to be intelligent can’t get into good colleges if they, for example, haven’t scored well on the math section, even if they ate brilliant writers.
Another thing that disturbs me is that the so-called “weak students” are separated from the rest of the school. Some kids are kept in a separate class id their grades are lower then others. And they’ve very aware of their social position, you know. I think it causes them to act in a way that is not really positive. They’re just acting in a way that they are expected to act. Often their grades go from bad to worse. And that’s pretty sad to me. I think that many of the kids in those classed are intelligent, but never actually realize their potential because of the way they are treated very early on in their education.