感恩节趣话

每年十一月的第四个星期四是美国人的感恩节，它在美国已有380多年的历史，是美国全国性的假日，而且还和美国早期历史有密切的关系。正如大家所知，第一次感恩节是1621年英国移民在普利茅斯(Plymouth)举行的。     

图文配

See if you can do this matching exercise. Look at the list of things （1 to 13）, and the photos （A-M）. Write a letter next to the name of each thing in the list below.     

ROYAL TRIVIA

英国是君主立宪制国家,英国皇室作为凝聚国家力量的象征发挥作用,并不具备实质性权力。但从女王伊丽莎白二世到已故的戴安娜王妃,再到即将大婚的威廉王子,这个家庭吸引了全世界人民太多的注意力。     

SMOKING TRIVIA

Emma：吸烟有害健康,这是很多人都知道的。明知道有害却欲罢不能,它是有多大的魔力啊,这还得从历史说起。     

图文配

Exercise See if you can do this matching exercise. Look at the list of things （1 to 13）, and the photos （A-M）. Write a letter next to the name of each thing in the list below.1. A light bulb 2. A jaw 3. An eyeball .     

THE UNIONIZATION OF TEACHERS IN TURKEY

The beginnings of teacher unionization in Turkey go back to 1921, before the proclamation of the Turkish Republic. The process of unionization has had to confront two obstacles: on the one hand, the tendency of teachers’ associations and unions to be co‐opted by the ruling party and thus to lose their militancy; on the other hand, the fact that although professional associations may have been permitted to exist by certain Turkish regimes, true unionization, and above all, the right to strike, has been prohibited on the grounds that teachers are civil servants and like all civil servants do not have the right to strike. The latter restriction was most recently confirmed by provisions in the Constitution of 1982. Thus Turkey is the only country in Europe in which teachers do not have the right to form true labour unions and to go on strike.     

WOMEN AND UNIVERSITY EDUCATION IN TURKEY

An examination of the statistics indicates that Turkish women have made great strides with respect to their recruitment to positions at all levels in the higher education institutions of their country, particularly in such fields as medicine, the hard sciences, and engineering in which women in very many countries are usually thought to be underrepresented. The author attributes this achievement to the Republican ideology of post‐1923 Turkey, the opportunities which were opened to élite women by the correspondence of the latter with the developmental needs of the country, the availability of domestic service provided by non‐elite women, and the existence of family solidarity networks. Women, however, have not been so well represented in such fields as law and political science which, were traditionally close to the loci of political power. In recent years, however, with the expansion of the higher education system, competition between men and women for posts has greatly increased, and economic change and urbanization have dried up the supply of inexpensive domestic help and have stymied family solidarity networks. Thus academic women are increasingly beset by conflicts between their professional and their family roles. This new situation has caused Turkish women to lose ground with regard to recruitment to prestigious positions in higher education and to seek conservative Islamic solutions to the conflicts in question. Reforms based on a renewed Republican ideal are needed to improve the situation and to enable Turkish women academics to build on their past achievements.     

ADMISSION OF STUDENTS TO HIGHER EDUCATION IN TURKEY

The system of higher education in Turkey is designed to meet the manpower requirements of the economy. However, from the point of view of the individual it is perceived as a means of upward social mobility and material betterment. For these reasons, the demand for higher education in Turkey is very high whereas the supply of higher education possibilities is limited. In this situation, the problem of admission to Turkish higher education is an important educational, social, economic and political issue.

The following article is based on the report written by Professor Alton Günalp, Director of the Inter‐university Student Selection and Placement Centre (USYM) in Ankara. It discusses recent developments in and the present situation of student admission to higher education in Turkey.     

CURRICULUM ASSESSMENT: CONSTRUCTIVIST PRIMARY MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM IN TURKEY

Many national and international studies put forward the idea that primary education in Turkey is questionable in many aspects. As a result, the Ministry of National Education changed primary curriculums in 2004 in Turkey. The curriculum for primary mathematics was redeveloped taking into consideration constructivist theory of education. The purpose of this study is to assess the qualities of the 2004 mathematics curriculum using a goal-oriented curriculum evaluation model in which the intrinsic value of the curriculum is examined in terms of its qualities and success depending on teachers’ perspectives, as they are one of the most important elements of the teaching–learning situation. The results show that the qualities of the 2004 mathematics curriculum match the criteria of a constructivist curriculum as set out in the literature. Also, the level of performance expected from the teachers’ perspective as those who instruct in the curriculum is very high. The results point to the fact that the 2004 mathematics curriculum may be considered as a positive change even if there is room for improvement in all aspects.     

THE VITALITY OF BASIC UNITS IN HIGHER EDUCATION IN TURKEY

Starting off with a brief evocation of the origins of modern higher education in Turkey and the founding of Hacettepe University, the author proceeds to describe how the Department of English at this university spawned several other language‐related departments and eventually became itself the Department of Western Languages and Literatures. It is now subdivided into 5 units and subunits. Although the department itself is no longer a basic unit, it serves as testimony to the strength and the vitality of basic units.     

TEACHERS' ATTITUDES TOWARD DIFFERENT TYPES OF BULLYING AND VICTIMIZATION IN TURKEY

In the present study, attitudes of elementary school teachers toward different types of bullying (verbal, physical, and relational) were investigated. Six written vignettes describing all types of bullying were given to 405 elementary school teachers (F = 218; M = 187). Results indicated that teachers perceived relational bullying, specifically, social exclusion, less serious than verbal and physical bullying. Unlike previous findings, however, the teachers considered verbal bullying behaviors more serious than physical bullying behaviors and were also more empathetic toward the victim physically bullied and the victim verbally bullied than the victim relationally bullied. Coherent with the findings of empathy, they were also more likely to intervene in verbal and physical bullying behaviors than relational bullying behaviors. Gender of the participant was a significant factor for all variables. The most rated intervention strategy was having a serious talk with the bully, regardless of the type of victimization. Multiple regression analysis illustrated that seriousness and empathy scores both predicted the need for intervention scores significantly in all types of bullying. The findings of this study highlight the importance of increasing teachers’ awareness and knowledge about all types of bullying, their consequences, and intervention skills to lessen bullying behaviors.