第一单元完整版.docx
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第一单元完整版
ArticlewithChineseGuideandExercisesforLectureOne(完整版)
What’sthePurposeofCollege:
AJoboranEducation?
ByJeffreyJ.SelingoFebruary2,2015TheWashingtonPost
1Asthepriceofcollegehasskyrocketedandtensofthousandsofrecentgraduateshavefoundthemselvesontheunemploymentlineorstuckinjobsthatdon’trequireabachelor’sdegree,highereducationhascomeunderattackforitsfailuretomakestudentsjob-ready.Addingfueltothedebateisaseriesofwhatseemtobemonthlysurveysshowingawidegapbetweenwhatemployerswantoutoftoday’scollegegraduatesandwhatschoolsareproducing.
2Itallbegsthequestion:
Isitsolelyacollege’sresponsibilitytomakestudentsjob-ready?
3Collegewasonceseenasaplacewhereadolescentswenttoexplorecoursesandmajorsbeforesettlingonajobandcareer,oftenwellaftergraduating.InarecentpieceintheChronicleofHigherEducation,DanBerretttracedthehistoryofwhenthepurposeofcollegeshiftedfromthatidyllic1visiontotoday’sviewthatit’sallaboutgettingajob.Hepegged2theoriginstoFeb.28,1967.That’swhenRonaldReagan,thenthenewRepublicangovernorofCalifornia(whichboastedthebestsystemofpublicuniversitiesinthecountry),toldreportersthattaxpayers
shouldn’tbe“subsidizingintellectualcuriosity.”
4Sincethen,inboththeirattitudesandintheirchoiceofmajors,collegestudentshaveincreasinglyseenabachelor’sdegreeasameanstoanend:
ajob.FreshmennowlistgettingabetterjobasthemostimportantreasontogotocollegeinanannualUCLAsurveyoffirst-yearstudents.Previously,thetopreasonwaslearningaboutthingsthatinterestthem.
5Thenumberofbachelor’sdegreesawardedintraditionalartsandsciencesfields(English,math,andbiology,forexample)hastumbledfromalmosthalfoftheundergraduatecredentialsawardedin1968toaboutaquarternow.Themajorityofcredentialstodayareawardedinoccupationalorvocationalareassuchaseducationandcommunicationsor,morerecently,sportsmanagementandcomputer-gamedesign.Themostpopularundergraduatemajorisbusiness.
6
Studentsandtheirfamilies,facedwithbigtuitionbills,wanttobesuretopickamajorthatleadstoajobaftergraduation.Collegesworriedaboutfillingseatshaveaccommodatedthembyrollingout3abevy4ofpracticalmajors,someinfieldsthatdidn'tevenexistfiveyearsago(thinkofabachelor’sdegreeinSocialMedia,orperhapsevenamaster’s).
1idyllic[ɪ'dɪlɪk]adj.牧歌的;田园诗的;悠闲的
2peg[peg]vt.钉住
3rollingout延伸;涨开
4bevy['bevɪ]n.一群
7Suchtrendsworrythosewhoadvocateliberalartsstudiesandtheideathatcollegeshouldbeaplacetodevelopafoundationalknowledgethatprovideslifetimebenefits.
8MichaelRoth—presidentofWesleyanUniversity,aprominentliberal-artscollegeinConnecticut—keepsacloseeyeonpublicopinionaboutthissubject.Hetoldmelastweekthathesometimeswondershowmuchofthisdisconnectbetweenemployersandhighereducationisa“manufacturedmoment.”Inhisview,employersalwayshavebeenunhappywithnewlyminted5collegegraduates.Thedifferencenowisthatwejustsurveythemmorefrequently.
9"Theerosionofthemiddleclass,”hesaid,“hasputalotmorepressureonparentsandstudentstomakeitbig6intheworldortheconsequencesaredire7.”WhenRothgraduatedfromcollege,hisfather,whodidn’tgotocollege,wasn’tconcernedifhissonendedupdrivingacabforawhiletofigurethingsout.Nowcoffeeshopbaristas8withaphilosophydegreearesubjectsofmockery9.
10"Theconfidencethattheeconomyoffersenoughopportunitieshaseroded,”Rothsaid.
11Evenso,Rothbelievesuniversitieslikehis,andhighereducationingeneral,candobetteratpreparingstudentsforthejobmarketwithoutabandoningtheirtraditionalroletoprovideabroadeducation.Likeotherliberalartscolleges,Wesleyanisinvestingmoreinitscareerservices.
12ButRothisinterestedinmakingmorefundamentalchangestowhathappensintheclassroomsothatstudentsbetterretain10whattheylearnonthespot,andmostimportant,areabletotranslatethatlearningforpotentialemployers.Hewantsmorecoursestobeproject-based,forexample,sothatstudentsbetterlearntoworkinteamsandapplytheirknowledgetoreal-worldproblemsasthey’relearning.
13"Itdoesn’tmatterwhatyoutakeincollege,itmatterswhatyoudo,”Rothsaid.“Youshouldbeabletoshowyourteachers,andthenanyoneelse,howwhatyou’vemadeinaclass,whatyoucreated,demonstratesyourcapacitytodootherthingsandwhatyou’regoingtodonext.”
14Whilehe’srethinkinghisownuniversity,Rothsaidothersarenotwithoutblamefortheperceiveddisconnectbetweencollegeandtheworkforce.Employersarelesswillingtotakechancesongraduateswithoutnarrowlytailoredmajors.AndwhileRoth’sfatherthoughtitwasfinetodriveacabaftercollege,parentsthesedays—especiallyfrommoreaffluentfamilies—havesometimesunreasonableexpectationsforwhattheirchildrencandodirectlyoutofschool.
15RothtoldmethestoryofaWesleyangraduatewhorecentlylandedasalespositionandhadthechancetoofferjobstohisclassmates.“Theydidn’twantajoblikethat,asalesjob,”Rothsaid.
5mint[mɪnt]vt.铸造,铸币
6makeitbig成功
7dire['daɪə]adj.可怕的;悲惨的
8barista[bə'rɪstə]n.咖啡师;咖啡吧员
9mockery['mɒk(ə)rɪ]n.嘲弄;笑柄
10retain[rɪ'teɪn]vt.保持;雇;记住
“Thatcomesfromacultureofentitlement11.Theydon’tbelievetheyshouldworkinthesamewaythatstudentsworked30yearsago.”
16Itseemseveryoneisnostalgicforanearliereraofhighereducation.Butthosewerealsothedayswhenanentiretuitionbillcouldbepaidbyworkingoddjobsduringthesummer.That’snolongerthecase.Thosetuitionbillshavegonewayup,andsotoohaveourexpectationsforhowmuchwethinkcollegesshoulddotopreparestudentsforthejobmarket.
第一单元WhatisthePurposeofCollege?
AJoboranEducation?
导读
各位同学,大家好。
这是本学期的第一篇阅读课文,题目是WhatisthePurposeofCollege?
AJoboranEducation?
想必大家也一直在思考这个问题吧?
读大学是为了什么?
大学到底是干什么的?
Okay,那我们就以这篇文章开始本单元的讨论,来梳理一下这些问题吧。
文章的表达和逻辑都不难,基本遵循提出问题、分析问题和解决问题的思路。
不过,文章叙述呈非线型,很多细节需按此思路厘清。
一、提出问题
学生毕业找不到工作,用人单位找不到可以胜任的毕业生。
学生、家长、用人单位都认为学校没有培养好学生的工作技能。
本文认为目前出现了两个widegaps,一个是awidegapbetweenstudents’expectationoftheircollegeeducationandtherealityofthejobmarket;另一个是awidegapbetweenwhatemployerswantoutof
today’scollegegraduatesandwhatschoolsareproducing(第1段)。
其实这些问题并非只出现在美国,中国也有,对吧?
那我们来看下作者是如何分析此问题并提出相应的解决方案,也看看我们能否从中获得启发。
二、分析问题:
大家都不满意的原因
1.学生现在上大学最主要的目的是找到好工作,而不是追求个人兴趣。
[C]ollegestudentshaveincreasinglyseenabachelor’sdegreeasameanstoanend:
ajob(第4段).文章的第3、4、5段都在讨论这个问题。
其中,作者用了三个supportingdetails来阐述这个论断。
Supportingdetails就是论据,我们将在之后的写作技巧讲解中详细讨论它。
那文章涉及哪三个supportingdetails呢?
1.1里根以来的实用主义教育导向。
作者认为本来美国的大学是个学生自由探索兴趣,然后再确定自己职业走向的地方。
Collegewasonceseenasaplacewhereadolescentswenttoexplorecoursesandmajorsbeforesettlingonajobandcareer.
11Ifsomeonehasasenseofentitlement,thatmeansthepersonbelieveshedeservescertainprivileges—andhe'sarrogantaboutit.Theterm"cultureofentitlement"suggeststhatmanypeoplenowhavehighlyunreasonableexpectationsaboutwhattheyareentitledto.
但从1967年2月28开始,大学转而以实用为导向。
那一天,作为加州州长的里根在采访时提到纳税人的钱不该被拿来支持一小部分学者出于好奇钻研没有用的东西。
[T]axpayersshouldn’tbe“subsidizingintellectualcuriosities”.我们都知道,里根在80年代当上了美国总统,他自然会推行自己的想法,所以美国大学的全面转向也是情理之中。
在此,我想提个问题。
任何思想的产生都离不开当时的时代环境,那么美国在60年代发生了什么事情,让大学不再是象牙塔,而更像是职业培训所了呢?
感兴趣的同学可以去找点资料,把这个问题搞搞清楚。
1.2对UCLA新生的年度问卷调查表明,UCLA的学生把找个好工作作为上大学的第一目的。
Freshmennowlistgettingabetterjobasthemostimportantreasontogotocollege。
而之前他们的第一目的是学习自己感兴趣的东西。
Previously,thetopreasonwaslearningaboutthingsthatinterestthem.
这边我还想提醒大家一句,即新闻写作和学术写作的一处区别。
这里作者提到的调查没有写明数据的年限;而且previously这个表达也很模糊,较不严谨。
不过,这就是报刊的东西,大家就是参考。
如果想真正搞清楚问题还是需要查阅学术期刊。
(第4段)
1.3大学里面纯文纯理学位毕业生锐减,就业为导向的学科增加。
纯文纯理专业包括文学、历史、生物等学科。
(第5段)Thenumberofbachelor’sdegreesawardedintraditionalartsandsciencesfields(English,math,andbiology,forexample)hastumbledfromalmosthalfoftheundergraduatecredentialsawardedin1968toaboutaquarternow.
2.学费上涨,对大学教育的期望值随之高涨。
Studentsandtheirfamilies,facedwithbigtuitionbills,wanttobesuretopickamajorthatleadstoajobaftergraduation.
(第6、16段)
3.但是美国经济状况不好,市场很难充分就业。
"Theconfidencethattheeconomyoffersenoughopportunitieshaseroded.”(第9段)
4.对用人单位过于频繁的调查,使问题看起来更夸张。
WesleyanUniversity校长MichaelRoth在接受采访时认为,用人单位向来对应届毕业的大学生不满意,而当前这个问题显得很严峻是因为媒体对用人单位的调查过于频繁。
Inhisview,employersalwayshavebeenunhappywithnewlymintedcollegegraduates.Thedifferencenowisthatwejustsurveythemmorefrequently.他认为这个问题是
“manufacturedmoment”,也就是说是媒体制造出来的问题。
(第8段)
你同意这位校长的看法吗?
当然,就这个问题,你也可以保留你自己的意见,你不同意的话,提出你的看法,但最重要的是要论证你的看法。
5.用人单位过于追求毕业生专业对口。
Employersarelesswillingtotakechancesongraduateswithoutnarrowlytailoredmajors.(第13段)narrowlytailored指严格裁剪的,这里指专业严格对口的。
三、解决问题
1.大学完全可以既注重培养学生的就业技能,也进行通识教育。
Wesleyan大学校长Roth认为:
Rothbelievesuniversitieslikehis,andhighereducationingeneral,candobetteratpreparingstudentsforthejobmarketwithoutabandoningtheirtraditionalroletoprovideabroadeducation.这里面Roth特意提到了project-basedteachingandlearning。
这也是我们这门课需要做的,大家重视起来哦!
Hewantsmorecoursestobeproject-based,forexample,sothatstudentsbetterlearntoworkinteamsandapplytheirknowledgetoreal-worldproblemsasthey’relearning.(第11、12、13段)
2.家长降低预期,要能接受诸如哲学系毕业去酒吧做服务员此类的事件。
[P]arentsthesedays—especiallyfrommoreaffluentfamilies—havesometimes
unreasonableexpectationsforwhattheirchildrencandodirectlyoutofschool(.
段)
第14
3.学生降低预期,不要有特权意识。
“Thatcomesfromacultureofentitlement.
Th