英語角-圓桌會議 RoundTable - 精華版奇葩班
Topic1 Public Schools Open International ClassWith more high school students eager to enter foreign colleges, many middle schools began to open international classes. Some say it could effectively ease the competition to enter domestic universities, while some say it will deepen education inequity.
Guangdong might be the best example. In the province, 10 out of 12 experimental middle schools opened or plan to open international classes.
Why have these classes become so popular?
Topic2 Fraudulent Training ClassAround 30 pupils aged from seven to 17 were enrolled for the Shanghai summer course which claims that after 10 days of classes, students would learn to finish a book in 20 seconds and identify poker cards by touch.
However, after paying 100 thousand yuan tuition fee, parents found that all their children had learnt is how to cheat. For example, students are supposed to tell poker cards by touch with eyes blind-folded, but in fact, the training teaches students to peek from gaps between blindfold and face.
Some summer programs claim they can train children to use the right-hand side of their brain. A tutor told an undercover reporter from the Oriental Morning Post that pupils learned to detect "certain waves" that emanated from everything, including words. Those waves were "recorded in their brains as pictures" so that they could read without even looking.
Why do parents believe this?
Topic3 SH high school expands all-boy class experimentThe operator of Shanghai's first all-boy classes plans to expand enrollment for the new semester as one of its founders hailed the once-controversial program a success. After eight months of operation, Shanghai No. 8 High School gained approval from parents for the two boys-only classes and plans to double enrollment to 120 students for the semester starting in September. The classes are a pilot program of the Huangpu district education bureau and East China Normal University, as they attempt to address the tendency of boys being outperformed and overshadowed by girls in school.
Has the boys’ class been successful?
Topic4 College course on entrepreneurshipUniversities have been ordered to start teaching basic courses on entrepreneurship to undergraduates to encourage students to start businesses and become self-employed after graduation. According to the draft teaching plan Entrepreneurship Foundations released by the Ministry of Education, the course requires no less than two credit units and 32 hours. The regulation also emphasizes pragmatic exercises and encourages schools to create practical opportunities for students, such as internships.
Is it necessary to open such courses?
Topic5 “Fair Lady” ClassStarting from this year, True Light High School in Guangzhou hopes to train noble ladies by opening two classes of fair maidens. The students in these 2 classes will learn household work and social etiquettes in order to become the real ladies.
The classes have sparked controversy among the public.
Why do they come up with such an idea? What do they teach?
Topic6 Marriage and love class in universityRecently an optional course named marriage and love in Hua Dong Normal University is particularly popular among students, and nearly 500 students chose this course though the course’s capacity is only 84.
