第十八篇Goal of American Education美国教育的目标.doc

第十八篇 Goal of American Education美国教育的目标 Education is an enormous巨大 and expensive昂贵的 part of American life. Its size规模 is matched相配的、敌得过的 by its variety.多样化 教育是美国人的生活中很重要的一部分，花销也大。基规模宏大，种类多样。 Differences 差别in American schools compared with those found创办 in the majority 法定年龄of other countries lie in 在于the fact that education here has long been intended有意的 for everyone — not just for a privileged享有特权的 elite精华. Schools are expected 期望to meet the needs of every child, regardless 无论如何of ability, and also the needs of society上流社会 itself. This means that public schools offer more than academic大学 subjects学科. It surprises many people when they come here to find high schools offering 提供such courses 课程as typing,打字 sewing,缝纫 radio repair, computer programming 训练or driver training, along with traditional传统的 academic学院 subjects 学科such as mathematics数学, history, and languages. Students choose their curricula总课程 depending on their interests, future goals, and level of ability. The underlying潜在的 goal of American education is to develop every child to the utmost最大限度的 of his or her own possibilities可能性, and to give each one a sense 观念of civic公民的 and community社区的 consciousness意识. 与其他大多数国家相比，美国教育处的不同在于美国教育是为每一个人设置的——不只是为享有特权的优等生。学校是要满足每个孩子的需要，不论其能力如何，同时也要满足社会本身的需求。这意味着公共学校提供的教育不只限于学术方面的课程。很多人来到美国之后会吃惊地发现高中除了提供传统课程，例如：数学、历史和语言之外，他们还提供一些课程如打字、缝纫、无线电修理、计算机课程，或驾驶训练课程。学生选择课程是根据个人喜好，目标以及能力水平。美国教育潜在目标是将每一个孩子的能力最充分发挥出来，培养每一个孩子的公民和社区觉悟感。 Schools have traditionally传统上 played an important role in creating national unity团结一致 and “Americanizing美国化” the millions of immigrants美国移民who have poured注入 into this country from many different backgrounds and origins出身. Schools still play a large role in the community,社区 especially in the small towns. 成千上万的移民者涌入到这个国家，他们的出身背景不同。习惯上，学校在建立民族团结以及使移民者美国化两方面起着重大的作用。学校在社区中，尤其在小城镇，仍然起着重要作用。 The approach途径 to teaching may seem unfamiliar不熟悉 to many, not only because it is informal不拘礼节的, but also because there is not much emphasis 强调on learning facts. Instead, American