《education (2)》由会员分享，可在线阅读，更多相关《education (2)（11页珍藏版）》请在金锄头文库上搜索。
1、1. How does education in the United States reflect the nations basic value?2. What do you know about the system of education in the United States?( educational ladder)3. What is a charter school?4. Is there any area of inequality of education system?5. What is the monetary value of education?6. What
2、 should be the requirements for entering a university?7. What is “separate but equal” doctrine?8. How do you understand Regents of University of California v. Bakke case?9. What is SAT?10. What is the canon?11. Having been a student for more than 10 years, what have you gained from your school life?
3、12. Are students vessels to be filled or lamps to be lit? Which do you think is more important -learning a large quantity of facts or learning to think creatively? Why?13. What do you think are the similarities and differences between American education and Chinese education?Education in the United
4、States Americans regard education as the means by which the inequalities among individuals are to be erased and by which every desirable end is to be achieved. George S. Counts (1889-1974)The Establishment of Public Schools in America: Tocquevilles observations As might be expected, educational inst
5、itutions in the United States reflect the nations basic values, especially the ideal of equality of opportunity. From elementary school through college, Americans believe that everyone deserves an equal opportunity to get a good education. From the beginning, when Americans established their basic s
6、ystem of public schools in 1825, they reaffirmed the principle of equality by making schools open to all classes of Americans and by financing the schools with tax money collected from all citizens. Those who favored public schools believed that these institutions would help reduce social-class dist
7、inctions in the United States by educating children of all social classes in the same “common schools,” as they were known at the time. When Alexis de Tocqueville arrived in the United States in 1831, he found a great deal of enthusiasm about the new and growing public elementary schools. The mayor
8、of New York City gave a special dinner for Tocqueville during which a toast was offered in honor of “Education-the extension of our public schools-a national blessing.” Because he was a French aristocrat, Tocqueville at first shared the fears of some wealthy Americans who believed that universal edu
9、cation would be a danger rather than a national blessing. He eventually decided, however, that the tendency of public education to encourage people to seek a higher status in life was in harmony, not in conflict, with the customs of American society. The ideal of equal opportunity for all regardless
10、 of family background was much stronger in the United States than in France.Tocqueville also noted that American public education had a strong practical content which included the teaching of vocational skills and the duties of citizenship. Thus, public education not only gave Americans the desire t
11、o better themselves, but also gave them the practical tools to do so. Moreover, the material abundance of the United States provided material rewards for those who took full advantage of the opportunity for a public education.During the next century and a half, public schools in the United States we
12、re expanded to include secondary or high schools (grades 9-12) and colleges and universities, with both undergraduate and graduate studies.The Educational LadderAmericans view their public school system as an educational ladder, rising from elementary school to high school and finally college underg
13、raduate and graduate programs. Most children start school at age five by attending kindergarten, or even at age three or four by attending preschool programs. Then usually there are six years of elementary school, two years of middle school (or junior high school), and four years of high school. Sch
14、ool systems may divide the twelve years up differentlygrouping sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders into middle school, for example. Not all school systems have kindergarten, but all do have twelve years of elementary, middle school, and senior high school.After high school, the majority of students
15、 go on to college. Undergraduate studies lead to a bachelors degree, which is generally what Americans mean when they speak of a “college diploma.” Students may also receive an associate degree for two years of study at a community college. Some of these associate degrees are in vocational or technical fields.The bachelors degree can be followed by professional studies, which lead to degrees in such professions as law and medicine, or graduate studies, which lead to masters and doctoral degrees. The American public schools are free and
