Lesson 5 Angels on a Pin 现代大学英语精读第一册课件.ppt

Lesson 5 Angels on a Pin Why is the article entitled “Angels on a Pin”? The title of the text “Angles on a Pin” comes from the much-talked about question: “How many angles can dance on the head of a pin?” which is used to ridicule those people who asked meaningless questions about the Bible in the Middle Ages. It is also used ironically to describe the kind of questions that philosophers ponder. Medieval scholastics were fond of debating such meaningless questions as “How many angels can dance on the point of a pin?” “Did Adam have a navel?” and “Do angels defecate?” The emerging sciences replaced such “scholarly” debates with experimentation and appeals to observable fact. Discussion How adults “kill” creativity? Insisting that children do things in the “right way” Teaching a child to think that there is just one right way to do things kills the urge to try new ways. Pressuring children to be realistic, to stop imagining. When we label a child’s flights of fantasy as “silly”, we bring the child down to earth with a blow, causing the inventive urge to die. Making comparisons with other children. This is a subtle pressure on a child to conform; yet the essence of creativity is freedom to conform or not to conform. Discouraging childrens curiosity. One of the indicators of creativity is curiosity; yet we often brush questions aside because we are too busy for silly questions. Childrens questions deserve respect. Introduction to the Text 1.This article was written at a time when the whole of the United States was thrown into a panic over the launching of the first satellite by the Russians. 2.Many Americans believed that there must be something seriously wrong with their educational system.. 3.The nation’s problem in education was the traditional teaching and testing methods, which emphasized book knowledge rather than student’s originality and creativity. Theme of the Story Part of the nation’s problem in education is the traditional