VOA慢速英语2012 Education Report - Using Student Writing to Teach Global Issues

 

Education Report - Using Student Writing to Teach Global Issues

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

One World Education is a nonprofit group based in Washington. The group has a program in which teachers develop curriculum¹ based on student writing. The students are in middle and high school and write essays about culture and global issues.

Students are invited to write about an issue they find important. Then professionally developed learning materials based on chosen essays are used in schools to teach other students.

Eric Goldstein is the executive² director of One World Education.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN: "Over the last four years, we have worked with over fifteen hundred student writers and we have worked with almost three hundred twenty-five teachers accessing the One World curriculum."

He says the essays can serve as a writing and learning guide for thousands of students.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN: "It is truly the only online academic arena³ for young people to share and publish their writings in a way [that] it serves as a teaching tool for other students."

Mr. Goldstein is himself a former classroom teacher. He and another teacher, Emily Chiariello, began forming plans for One World Education in two thousand six.

The group publishes a study unit each month from August through May. Each unit of curriculum starts with a chosen essay, called a "One World Reflection." The subjects have ranged from single parenthood to protecting rainforests to exploring Arab cultures, says Mr. Goldstein.

ERIC GOLDSTEIN: "We have had students writing One World Reflections on women in the Muslim world, on Islamic media, on Arab media, on Arab identity. One student [wrote] about being Muslim and how she is perceived in her neighborhood."

Laila Kunaish of Washington wrote about her feeling that the media in the United States are often unfair to Muslims. A learning activity based on her reflection called for students to collect examples of media stories and discuss whether or not that was true.

Laila was chosen as a One World Student Ambassador⁴ last year. Twelve are chosen each year. Their reflections are published on the group's website, along with learning activities linked to common reading and writing standards used for testing.

Isabel Nampakwa Kapotwe of Lusaka, Zambia, was also chosen as a student ambassador. She wrote about Zambia's cultural traditions, its languages, religions and tourist attractions. But she also wrote about poverty and disease, and how, after her parents died, her grandmother made a home for the remaining family. One activity based on her reflection called for research into the care given by grandparents as heads of households in today's society.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Go to www.voanews.cn to find a link to the One World Education website, where you can read some of the student reflections. I'm Jim Tedder⁵.

1 curriculum   

n.课程，（学校等的）全部课程

参考例句：

• Is German on your school's curriculum?你们学校有德语课吗？
• The English curriculum should stress both composition and reading.英语课程对作文和阅读应同样重视。

2 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

3 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

4 ambassador   

n.大使，特使，（派驻国际组织的）代表

参考例句：

• He took up office as an ambassador for ten years continuously.他连任十年大使。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

5 tedder   

n.（干草）翻晒者，翻晒机

参考例句：

• Jim Tedder has more. 吉姆？特德将给我们做更多的介绍。 来自互联网
• Jim Tedder tells us more. 吉姆？泰德给我们带来更详细的报道。 来自互联网