Follow Your Own Course

Don＇t listen to those who say ＂It＇s not done that way.＂ Maybe it＇s not, but maybe you w Don＇t listen to those who say ＂You＇re taking too big a chance.＂ Michelangelo would have painted the Sistine Floor and it would surely be rubbed out by today.     

幽默与笑话

Peculiar Order
A visitor at a seaside hotel called over the head waiter at breakfast one morning and said： ＂I want two boiled eggs, one of them so undercooked it＇s runny, and the other so overcooked it＇s tough and hard to eat. Also grilled bacon that has been left on the plate to get cold; burnt toast that crumbles away as soon as you touch it With a knife; butter straight from the deep freeze so that it＇s impossible to spread; and a pot of very weak coffee, lukewarm.＂     

Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Inquiry： An Instrument to Assess It and Its Application to High School In-Service Science Teachers

It is argued that the lack of consensus on what constitutes an inquiry-based approach makes the generalization about it difficult, because the concept is relatively unspecific and vague. This problem can partially be solved by constructing a set of activities promoted by inquiry, thus defining the inquiry objectives for classroom and laboratory teaching. Five high school and college Mexican teachers＇ PICK （pedagogical inquiry/content knowledge） was documented and assessed by means of Loughran, Mulhall and Berry＇s （2004） l-CoRe （inquiry content representation） developed by the authors through a proposal of a set of seven inquiry activities. They were also interviewed to construct the professional and pedagogical experience repertoires, a second tool by Loughran et al. （2004） to document PICK. It was observed that all teachers interviewed have used inquiry to modify their students＇ way of thinking, mainly through question posing. Some of them employed research as their main tool to promote scientific inquiry but others mentioned the lack of time to do it. It is interesting to notice that in spite of the fact that inquiry is out of the curriculum in M6xico, the teachers make use of it to improve their teaching practice. According to their answers, their actions in the classroom or the lab were classified within the three general approaches expressed by Lederman （2004）： implicit, historical and explicit. It is concluded that a given teacher cannot be classified exclusively in one of them, because in his/her activities one general approach overlaps the others. The authors conclude that Lederman＇s classification has to be taken into account as an orientation to characterize a given activity of one teacher, even though the same teacher may use another activity characterized by other general approach. That is, Lederman＇s classification applies to characterize activities, not persons     

Dawn of a New Technology

Until recently, 3D printers were so expensive that only large companies could afford them. In just the last year or two, their cost has dropped dramatically. Today, you can buy a 3D printer for as little as $300. The technology offers the potential to print anything at home, when you want it, without having to buy it in a store or order it from a factory. Of course, there＇s a catch. It has to do with the word ＂potential＂.     

骑驴找马——谋划第二事业6绝招

While many of these work transitions involve following a dream or a calling. you don＇t want to get caught up in the romance of it all. ＂There is a blitheness that all you have to do is embrace your passion and the rest happens magically,＂ Freedman says. ＂It＇s not that easy. You don＇t open the doors to your bed-and-breakfast and the cheering crowds arrive.＂ Here are six key steps to planning your next career.     

Eating Custom and Practice in America

American eating is funny. They eat almost everything with a fork, and it appears that holding a knife in one＇s right hand longer than a few seconds is considered to be against good table manners. The system is that if it is absolutely necessary to use a knife, people take the fork in their left hand, and cut off a piece of meat or whatever it is in the normal manner. Then they put the knife down, transfer the fork tO their right hand, and only then do they transport the food to their mouth. This, is clearly funny, but it is considered good manners.     

A comparative study of history interests between American and Chinese college students

The purpose of this study was to compare the history interests between American and Chinese college students. Research studies have consistently shown that American students have very limited knowledge on their country＇s history. American college students usually do better than K-12 students, but their scores are still low. To address the issue, it is important to understand their history interest. By conducting a cross-nation comparison between American and Chinese college students, the authors found that American students had lower history interest than their Chinese cotmterparts, but the difference only existed on their positive feeling toward history. Suggestions have been made on how to increase American students＇ involvement in the history subject.     

A new juncture in indigenous language education The impact of the experience of Maori education

If Taiwan＇s indigenous people are not able to save their own languages, they will lose their ways of thinking, cultural heritage, and the relation to the rest of the universe that distinguishes them as indigenous peoples. Taiwan is a multi-ethnic country. Although the majority of the population is comprised of Han speakers, there is also a significant indigenous Austronesian-speaking population. The multiple cultural manifestations of the indigenous people of Taiwan enrich the overall culture of Taiwan＇s society. Under the influences of globalization and colonial governance, indigenous peoples are facing the disappearance of their traditional languages and cultures. Therefore, Taiwan needs to carefully handle the topic of the development of its people＇s cultures; otherwise, it is not difficult to see the outcome of cultural assimilation due to encroachment by mainstream cultural dominance. Education is the best method of helping protect and revitalize non-dominant cultures and their languages; by the same token, it is also the most effective means of cultural assimilation. What course should indigenous education take？ From the development of local culture subject to current stage of dialects subject, indigenous languages are still highly subject to the nightmare of extinction. Thus, in this paper, the author analyzes the development status of Maori education in New Zealand, with the aim of providing Taiwan＇s education authorities with different viewpoints for consideration so that appropriate educational methods may be applied for the development of indigenous people, and also appeal to Taiwan＇s indigenous people to take on the challenge of ridding themselves of the rigid modes of thought caused by colonial education, and, from the bottom-up, contribute their efforts for the sake of revitalizing the languages and cultures of their people.     

The Effect of Culture Integrated Language Courses on Foreign Language Education

When examined carefully, it is seen that there is not an available and detailed cttrriculum designed for the aim of foreign language teaching with integrated cultural items of the target language in the programs of the schools under authority of the Ministry of Education and Turkish higher education institutions. In recent years, the specialists have an agreement on the issue that foreign language instruction should be carried out by the means of target language＇s history, literature, geography and also its social characteristics. The idiom ＂it＇s raining cats and dogs＂ can be misinterpreted by a Turkish student without the knowledge of this idiom＇s story in English history as ＂Cats and dogs are pouring down from the sky＂. An important French architectural building ＂Saint Mary Cathedral, Notre Dame de Paris＂ can be misunderstood as ＂Our Parisian Woman＂ by a student who is unfamiliar with French culture. Both examples show that encountered foreign words and phrases can be misunderstood and mostly these words are perceived and interpreted according to learners＇ own cultural figures. The aims of this study are to show the significance of culture-based foreign language courses and to make a contribution to the literature by regarding the views of researchers beheving that culture and language are inseparable concepts. In this context, Erzincan University French Language Teaching Department students＇ opinions on the relation between culture and language learning were received with the application of qualitative structured written response method. Then, document analysis of written comments was evaluated. Consequently, the analysis on the participants＇ written comments showed that a culture integrated foreign language course can make positive contributions to students＇ learning, language learning process and learning environment.     

Don’t Ever Forget to Repeat!

In a sales company, the boss said to one of his employees, ＂The main remember is repetition, repetition and repetition! That＇s the key! If you have a thing to product to sell, keep harping on it in every way possible. Repeat it; cram it down people＇s throats. Even make yourself sickening and repulsive if you have to, but don＇t ever forget to repeat, repeat and repeat. It＇s the only way to get resuhs and sell our products!＂