Unit 11 On Becoming a Better Student Teaching plan综合教程三.doc

Unit 11 On Becoming a Better Student (abridged)Teaching PointsBy the end of this unit, students are supposed to1) grasp the authors purpose of writing and make clear the structure of the whole passage through an intensive reading of Text I On Becoming a Better Student (abridged).2) comprehend those useful or important expressions/sentences in Text I thoroughly and be able to paraphrase them.3) be aware of new words and structures and use them freely in conversation and writing.4) have a good understanding of the personality traits and the tips given in the text. Teaching Procedures1) lead-in activities2) cultural background3) Text analysis4) structural analysis5) language study6) Exercises Topics for pre-reading discussion1) What are the greatest problems your group has in English study? Specify two or three, or recommend your effective study habits.2) As a student, what is your expectation of teachers? Do you expect them to be omniscient and omnipotent, or as human as you are?3) What do you think are the personality traits of a fine student?Cultural BackgroundPositive Student-teacher Relationshipl Mutually respectful and supportivel Open communication, as well as emotional and academic support that exists between students and teachersl With empathy, warmth, and genuinenessText IOn Becoming a Better Student (abridged)Donna Farhi SchusterGlobal ReadingI. Text AnalysisIn student-teacher relationship, most students would question what teachers responsibilities are while neglecting their own merits in this reciprocal relationship. They might think they have the right to expect their teachers to be perfect, yet they do not understand that all the things they wish to get from their teachers are to be attained with their own efforts as a reward rather than a sure gift; otherwise such things can not be genuinely possessed by them. This essay in the beginning raises such an unequal situation between students and teachers, and continues to provide several key requirements good students should follow in the eyes of a teacher, including curiosity, discipline, risk-taking, initiative and enthusiasm. The essay ends with more tips for aspiring students. Only through efforts from both sides can students fully develop themselves in the days of schooling.II. Structural Analysis1) In terms of organization, the article clearly falls into three main parts:The first part (Paragraphs 1-2) states what the writer expects from her students learn how to learn by themselves.The second part (Paragraphs 3-9) is the body of the essay. The writer discusses the qualities good students have.The third part (Paragraph 10) provides more tips for aspiring students from the author. 2) In order to give prominence to the key points, the author uses the typographic device the main points in the second part are in bold and a solid dark dot is added in front of every tip in the third part.III. Rhetorical Featuresl Metaphore.g. “We may even have expectations that they be endless repositories of skill and knowledge ” (Paragraph 1) “Repository” is of metaphorical use to convey that they have so much skill and knowledge that we can perpetually learn from them. l CitationThe author has cited four people in the text: Nobel Prize-winning physician Albert Szent-Gyorgi (Paragraph 4), educator Neil Postman (Paragraph 6), director of the Institute for Education Therapy in Berkeley, California Jim Spira and F. M. Alexander of the Alexander Technique (Paragraph 9). Citing the rightly chosen people will certainly strengthen the writers argument.Detailed ReadingQuestions 1. Why does the writer mention the students expectations for their teachers first? (Paragraphs 1-2)This is an essay on how to become a better student, but the writer starts with the students expectations for their teachers. It seems that she is beating around the bush, but actually she intends to redress some of their views. Students are required to realize that learning is not meant to be a give-and-take process. What the students should get from school education is the cultivation of the ability to learn through their own observation and investigation. This leads to the discussion of the factors that will make a good student. 2 According to the writer, what should study mean? (Paragraph 5)According to the writer, study should not aim at achievements. Rather, it should be an infinite process, a process that goes on throughout ones life.3. Why is pushing or forcing considered a pitfall? (Paragraph 9)Many advanced learners are too anxious for new achievements. They tend to try very hard in one area, without realizing the fact that different fields of knowledge are related and that profound knowledge must be accumulated step by step. By pushing or forcing, they may gain little although theyve strained themselves. Text IIThe Art of AcknowledgementJean HoustonLead-in QuestionsHave you ever experienced any predicament in life? What is the force that drives you to come through difficulties and makes you confident toward the future? Or if you think you lack such force or strength, where do you think such force can derive from?Main idea In a vivid story, the writer tells us how she had been so confident, arrogant and even rude a student, how she became poorly-spirited after several disastrous events, and how she regained the self-confidence and self-respect with the help of a teacher. Through this story, the writer tries to illustrate that the greatest of human potentials is the potential of each one of us to empower and acknowledge the other, and that our greatest genius may be the ability to prime the healing and evolutionary circuits of one another.Notes 1. About the author and the text Jean Houston, Ph.D. (1937-) has been a leading figure in the cross-cultural study of New Thought spirituality and ritual processes. A prolific author of books, her PBS Special A Passion for the Possible has been widely viewed. 2. off-Broadway (Paragraph 1) Off Broadway theater is an umbrella term for a defined set of plays, musicals or revues performed in New York City. Originally referring to the location of a venue and its productions on a street intersecting Broadway in Manhattans Theatre District, the hub of the theater industry in the United States, the term later became defined by the League of Off-Broadway Theatres and Producers as a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 99 and 500, or a specific production that appears in such a venue. Off Broadway shows, performers, and creative staff are eligible for nomination for the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Outer Circle Critics Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Obie Award (presented since 1956 by The Village Voice), and the Lucille Lortel Award (created in 1985 by the League of Off Broadway Theatres & Producers).3. on the top of the heap (Paragraph 1) above everybody else 4. Job (Paragraph 5) Job is a gentile man in the Book of Job in the Hebrew Bible, as well as a prophet in Islam. In brief, the book begins with an introduction to Jobs character he is described as a blessed man who lives righteously. Satan, however, challenges Jobs integrity, arguing that Job serves God simply because of the hedge with which God protects him. God progressively removes that protection, allowing Satan to take his wealth, his children, and his physical health. Job remains loyal throughout, and does not curse God. The main portion of the text consists of the discourse of Job and his three friends concerning why Job was so punished, after which God steps in to answer Job and his friends. The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning and he lived 140 years (Job 42:10, 17).5. St. Paul and Nietzsche (Paragraph 6) Saint Paul, also called Paul the Apostle, the Apostle Paul or Paul of Tarsus was a Hellenistic Jew, who called himself the Apostle to the Gentiles, and was, together with Saint Peter and James the Just, the most notable of early Christian missionaries. His efforts to accept gentile converts and to define the Torah as superseded by Christ were successful and “decisive.” Nietzsche (1844-1900) was a nineteenth-century German philosopher and classical philologist. He wrote critical texts on religion, morality, contemporary culture, philosophy, and science. Nietzsches influence remains substantial within and beyond philosophy, notably in existentialism and postmodernism.6. Hegel (Paragraph 7) Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) was a German philosopher, and one of the creators of German idealism. Hegel developed a comprehensive philosophical framework, or system, to account in an integrated and developmental way for the relation of mind and nature, the subject and object of knowledge, and psychology, the state, history, art, religion, and philosophy.7. Sorbonne (Paragraph 7) The name Sorbonne (La Sorbonne) is commonly used to refer to the historic University of Paris in Paris, France or one of its successor institutions.8. Teilhard de Chardin (Paragraph 20) Pierre Teilhard de Chardin was a French philosopher and Jesuit priest who was trained as a paleontologist and geologist and took part in the discovery of Peking Man. Teilhards primary book, The Phenomenon of Man, set forth a sweeping account of the unfolding of the cosmos.9. Mother Teresa of Calcutta (Paragraph 20) Mother Teresa (1910-1997) was an Albanian Roman Catholic nun with Indian citizenship who founded the Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta, India in 1950. For over 45 years she ministered to the poor, sick, orphaned, and dying, while guiding the Missionaries of Charitys expansion, first throughout India and then in other countries.Additional Notes 1. I was in a state of galloping chutzpah. (Paragraph 2) I had such strong self-confidence that I was rash and rude without feeling ashamed of myself. Chutzpah is a noun (inf.) meaning shameless audacity, cheek.2. when hubris rises, nemesis falls (Paragraph 3) when one is arrogantly offensive, heavenly punishment befalls him. Nemesis is related to the Greek word meaning “to give what is due”. Nemesis is now often used as a term to describe ones worst enemy, normally someone or something that is the exact opposite of oneself but is also somehow similar.3. cracked the ice of my self-noughting (Paragraph 7) broke the confinement of my self-debasement and sense of inferiority4. For there is no answer to anyones anguished cry of “Why am I here, why am I at all?” except the reply, “Because I am here, because I am.” (Paragraph 22) The implied meaning is that if anyone lacks confidence, doubts his own ability or he is reduced to despair, just fill him with sufficient confidence. Questions for Discussion 1. Why does the author say that when hubris rises, nemesis falls?2. Why was Dr. Jacob Taubes considered the most brilliant and exciting teacher the author had ever met?3. What is the major difference between a bright show-off and a serious student?4. How does the author describe the way one feels when acknowledgement is granted?5. Why is acknowledgement an art form?Key to Questions for Discussion1. When she was so confident, arrogant and even rude without feeling guilty, several disastrous events happened to her. Three members of her immediate family died, a friend she had much affection for died and her friends drifted apart from her. 2. He displayed European academic wizardry, answered the questions raised by the author with intensity and challenged the author with intellectually vigorous questions and above all, he acknowledged the author when she most needed it. 3. The former tends to display superficial learning to attract attention or satisfy his vanity while the latter exerts himself to acquire new knowledge and explore the unknown areas. 4. One is given time and place in the sunshine as the acknowledgement granted to him is the solar stimulus for transformation. 5. It is based on deep psychological reciprocity and shows the skill of mutual transformation.Memorable QuotesThe great aim of