CONTEMPORARY ENGLISH G1 "EDUCATION’ This is homework for next week. You must have done it before class. | Don't try to do it immediately before the lesson — you won't have time. Read through the first page on the English education system ~ think of questions to ask and make some notes on questions 2 and 3. Read through the Summerhill text and make notes on the questions that follow it Look at the last page: a. Do you agree with Wilde's quotation? b. Complete vocabulary exercises 1 and 2 c. Think about and make notes on the discussion points entitled ‘A good education’ and "The happiest days?” What would your ideal school be like? Make some notes. Remember the words from these sheets will be included on your second spelling, test, so learn any new wordsEDUCATION (1) The best days of your life? NURSERY SCHOOL (voluntary 3s peel é a zs | PRIMARY SCHOOL, 8 {atleast si years primary education) 3 10) 1 72 SECONDARY SCHOOL is (atleast five years secondary edition} 4 1% General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) ‘examinations (taken at 15-16) 16. ee ee 2 oT parc eve ee 18 ‘examinations (aken at 17-18) ee v EDUCATION (generat, vocational Cc HIGHER EDUCATION 4 neal vat T EGE OF unwversmy BucaTiON POLYTECHNIC (teacher taining) The chart explains how state éducation is organized in England. In each town or district, the system is decided by the local education authority and so it can vary, but this is the usual system. 1 Ask your teacher questions to find out more about the system in England. Examples What does ‘comprehensive school’ mean? How many subjects do pupils study for ‘A’ level exams? What do you call the qualification you get at university? 2. In what ways does the state education system in your country differ from that in England? 3 Discuss the following questions: Did you have to wear a uniform? Were there many rules and regulations? ‘What forms of punishment were there? What exams did you have to take? Could you choose the subjects you studied?0 Education (2) In the following text, A.S. Neill describes his famous school, Summerhill, which he founded in 1921. Read through the text and then think about the discussion questions on the next page. THE IDEA OF SUMMERHILL This is a story of x modern school ~ Summerhill. Summerhill began as an experimental choo It is no longer such; it is now a demonstration school, for it demonstrates that freedom works. ‘When my first wife and ¥ begaa the school, we had cone main idea. to make the school fi the bd ~ instead of ‘making the child fit che school: ‘Obviously, a schoo! that niskes active children si at desis studying mostly useless subjects is & bad school: Iisa good school oly for those who believe in zk a school, for those uncreative citizens ‘wlio want docile, uilcreative: children-who whose standard of success is'money, ‘Thad taught in ordinary schools for many years. { < ‘Knew the other way well, T knew it'wasall: wrong. Tt. ‘was Wrong Bécause ic was based on dn adult coaceprion -olwhat a child: should be and of:how ‘a’child ‘should ‘Team ere | Well, We set out to make a, schodl “ig “which: we shotild. allow children freedom ‘to be themsclves. In. order to do this, we bad to enoiince all disciptine, all direction, all suggestion ll moral training, all religions instruction. We have been called brave, bu it di reqitire courage. Allt required war what we had complete belief in the child as a good, not an evil being. My-view is that a chil sinmately wise and realistic, If left to himself without adult suggestion of any kiod, the will develop as far as he is capable of developing Logically, Summerhill s a place in which people who have the innate ability and wish to be scholars will be scholars; while those who are only ft to sweep the stteets will sweep the streei But we have not produced a street cleaner 20 fa. Nor do I write this snobbish, for I would rather see a school produce a happy street, cleaner than a neurotic scholar. What is Summerhill ike? not, -. Well, for one thing, lessons are optional. Chil dren can go to them or stay away from them ~ for years if they want to. There is a timetable ~ but only for the teachers. “6 8 The children have classes usually according to their age, but sometimes according to their interests. We have no new methods of teaching, because we do not consider that teaching in itself matters very much. ‘Whether a school has or has not a special method for teaching long division is of no significance, for long division is of no importance except to those who want 10 learn it. And the child who wants to learn long division teil Yara it 20 matter how it is taught. ‘Summerhill is possibly che happiest school in the world. We have no truants and seldom a case of homesickness. We very rarely have fights ~ quarrels, of course, but seldom have I seen a stand-up fight lke the cones we used to have as boys. I seldom hear a child ery, because children when fee have much less hate to express than children who are downtrodden. Hate breeds hate, and ove breeds love. Love means approv~ ing of childrea, and that i essential in any school. You can't be on the side of children ifyou punish them and storm at them. Summerhill is a school in which the child knows that he is approved of “The fametion of the child is to live his own life not the life that his anxious, parents think he should live, nora life according to the purpose of the ediucator who ‘thinks he knows what is best. All this interference and guidance on the part of adults only produces a gencra- fon of robots Tn Summerhill everyone has equal rights. Noone is allowed to walk on my grand piano, and I am not allowed to borrow a boy's cycle without his permission. ‘Ata General School Meeting, the vote ofa child of six counts for as much as my vote docs. But, says the knowing one, in practice of course the ‘voices of the grownups count. Doesn't the child of six wait to see how you vote before-he raises his hand? I wish he sometimes would, for too many of my proposals are beaten. Free children are not easily influenced; the absence of fear accounts for this phenomenon. Indeed, the absence ofearis the finest thing thatcan happen to 2 childEducation (3) Think about the following questions before the lesson. You do not need to write anything, but be prepared to express your views at the lesson: J. Inwhat ways does a child usually have to fit school? To what extent do you think Summerhill fis a child? 2. What are the freedoms that children at Summerhill enjoy? Neill holds quite strong views on education, the innate qualities of children, and the way adults interfere with learning. Which of these views do you agree with? 4, What do you understand by the last sentence of the extract? What were you afraid of when you were young? Here are some more of A. S. Neill’sideas. What is your reaction to them? ‘Thold that the aim of life is to find happiness, which means to find interest. Education should be a preparation for life.” “Most of the school work that adolescents do is simply a waste of time, of energy, of patience. It robs youth of its right to play and play and play; it puts old heads on young shoulders.” ‘(Traditional education produces children] for asociety that needs obedient sitters at dreary desks, standers in shops, mechanical catchers of the 8.30 suburban train. 6, Look at the list below of the possible aims of education. Incoluma A, put a number 0-S according t6 the importance attached to these aims at Summerhill school. 0=notimportant at all $= vital A BC Helping youto develop your personality []° OC) 1 and character Helping youtodoas well aspossiblein =O O O exams ‘Teaching you about right and wrong oo0a ‘Showing you how to get on with other ooag people ‘Teaching you about what is going on in oao0g the world today Keeping you occupied ooa Teaching youhow toreadandwritewel C] OO] Helping you to get as good a job as ood possible Helping with things you will need toknoww CC] 1] O when you leave school (for example about running a home and managing money) Making school a pleasant placetobein §=§s $F OO OOEDUCATION (45 ‘Education is an admirable thing, but it is well to remember from time to time that nothing that is worth knowing can be taught.’ Vocabulary: education 11 st ne following words under one o more ofthese headings 1 school 2 university 3 assesment 4 qualifications (Wote: Match verbs with suitable nouns as you list the words.) Dip. BA exam grade MBA PGCE pupil take hall of residence detention MA degree fail sit lecturer curriculum PRD professor pass campus student GCSE teacher minimum leaving age discipline A-level uniform corporal punishment BSc seminar head teacher suspension read BEd module | deputy head Students’ Union drop out MSc OSCAR WILDE Explain the difference Can you explain the difference between these words? schooVeollege nurseryieréche/kindergarten public schooUstate school/private school high schoo/comprehensive school boarding school/day school grammar schooV/comprehensive school DISCUSSION eee A good education Discuss in groups: Which subjects do you think all children should study at school? Choose five subjects which you all agree are essential. Apart from studying an adequate range of subjects, what constitutes a good education’ in your opinion? ‘Mako a list of the good and bad points of the education system in your country. Think about: exam system school leaving age university + | class size subjects taught quality of teaching hours of study facilities What could be done, where necessary, to improve the education system? The happiest days? Mary people have unhappy memories of t ‘schooldays. Did you experience prablems in any of these areas when you were at school? + excessively severe discipline ‘+ pressure to conform * pressure to succeed ‘choosing academic direction living up to parents/teachers' expectations ‘exams and assessment + boredom