This page will in the end be made up of articles
about education. My main objective is to teach English via real
content. In other words, my main aim is to write short focused
articles that fit into broader general topics such as “education”
while at the same time helping you to learn English. I will
try to keep each article to 250 words or so, give or take 50
words as this number is similar to many exams.
I will also try
to include lots of words and phrases on this page: linkers, as I think that some intermediate and upper-intermediate students
of English need a lot of extra learning using this vocabulary.
To illustrate the obstacles that parents unconsciously place
in their children’s educational path, I’ll tell you a little
story: An excellent, conscientious elementary school teacher
who I know has a group of twenty-five 4 year-old children.
The brand new school still lacks some basic supplies for the
pupils.
Also, consumable classroom materials, such as scissors and
paper, generally tend to be paid for by their parents, who
deposit funds into a common account for the teachers to draw
from as needed.
Anyway, the first general parent-teacher meeting was held
and the teacher stated that
after having evaluated the students’ development during the
first week of class, her evaluation was that her primary objectives
would include encouraging sharing amongst the children and
stimulating an early interest in reading by providing them
with a small library of picture books for them to leaf through,
which would be donated to the class by the children themselves.
As you would expect at this age, many of the little students
were recalcitrant to share their property with the rest of
their class.
However, what’s really surprising is that many of their parents
were even more uncooperative with this teacher’s approach
than their own children. The general feeling amongst these
querulous parents was that if the teacher wanted to get those
books, the school should pay for them.
Granted, their opinions are to be respected, but
whether by commission or omission the eager teacher’s first
two projects were shot down in their infancy. Sadly, I think
it would take a mighty big-hearted teacher to risk approaching
this particular group of parents, or any other
for that matter, with another project of similar proportions.
In short,
if parents and students obstinately insist on making teachers
and schools completely responsible for their children’s education,
they can
actually hinder it. Ironic, isn’t it?
Vocabulary
unconsciously - inconscientemente
path - camino, trayectoria
conscientious - concienzudo
lack (s) - falta
draw from an account - sacar de una cuenta
held a meeting - tener una reunión
stated - decir, estipular
encouraging - animando
sharing - compartiendo
leaf through - ojear
recalcitrant - recalcitrante
approach - enfocar, abordar
querulous - quejoso
commission or omission - por obra o omisión
eager - entusiasta
shot down - rechazado
a mighty big-hearted teacher - un profesor con mucho corazón
obstinately - obstinadamente
hinder - dificultar
Symbols: ww: wrong word. g:
grammar. p: punctuation.
: remove
word. s: spelling. f-ww.:
(in)formal word. wo:
word order. :
add a word.
wf: word form.
*: possibly ok.
I think your children’s education is your responsibility.
Nowadays, we are getting used to delegating everything in
order to be able to work more, make more money, get more free
time, live more comfortably, etc. I think that there are some
things in life that you can’t delegate, such as love and the
education of your children.
Something else that people often think is that somehow things
can be done with no effort. This includes education. Nothing
could be further from the truth. The education of children
takes a lot of effort and sacrifice from their parents. It
is clear to me that you can’t go out until late at night with
your baby. You have to adapt to its schedule and not the opposite.
Also, I reckon that it’s very important to communicate with
your kids. You have to teach them why they should do some
things and not others. In fact, I watched an animal documentary
where they explained that human beings are the only animals
that teach their babies what they shouldn’t do (not only what
they should do).
Besides, kids learn mostly from what they see. They learn
a lot by imitation. For this reason, it’s important to watch
our own behaviour, since they are going to imitate what we
do. If we solve our problems by screaming and hitting things,
they will do the same. They have to learn that there are other
ways to solve situations, like talking and explaining your
reasons.
Lastly, I want to talk about schools. I think that while
your kids are in school, their education is the schools' and
teachers' responsibility. They have to do their part in education,
but they are not responsible for the complete education of
kids, like some parents expect. There should be communication
between parents and teachers to work together and guide the
children on the right track.
Victoria G.
Explanations:
"Nowadays
we..." vs. "Nowadays, we..." - Put a comma
after these time phrases at the beginning of sentences.
"are
getting used to delegate everything" vs."are
getting used to delegating
everything." - The structure "I am getting used
to something" means "I am getting accustomed to
something." When you mean to say that you are accustomed
to doing something, use this structure with the verbs + "ing."
When you mean to talk about the past, for example "I
used to be seven years old," don't use the auxiliary
verb "to be" or the infinitive + "ing".
"to
work more, get more money or more free time, live more comfortable,..."
vs. "to work more, make more money, get more free time,
live more comfortably,..." "Parallel development"
is the idea that when you have a list of ideas separated by
commas as above, you should repeat the same basic structure
again and again. For example, "make more...," "get
more...," and so on.
"get
money" vs. "make money " - Generally speaking,
we either "make money" or "earn money,"
both of which imply that we worked in some way to get it.
Technically speaking, however, "get money" is correct,
but it doesn't communicate that we worked to get it.
"comfortable"
vs. "comfortably"
- The first word is an adjective and modifies nouns, for example:
"a comfortable life." The second word is an adverb
and modifies verbs, for example: "to live comfortably."
Note: Try
to use something different from "etc." when writing.
Why not use "and so on" or "you name it"
in informal texts?
"that
in life, there are some things that you can’t delegate"
vs. "that there are some things in
life that you can’t delegate." While
the first sentence is technically correct, it has a typically
Spanglish structure. The second sentence has a more anglo-saxon
structure.
In any case,
the punctuation in "that in life, there" is incorrect.
Don't separate the subject from the verb with a comma.
"Another
usual thought" vs. "Something
else that people often think" - The first
phrase is awkward or uncomfortable and very uncommon while
the second is much more common. The main problem is with "usual
thought" where "usual" means something like
"the usual thing," which is a frequent phrase. However,
it doesn't work in this example.
"is
that, somehow, things can be" vs. "is that somehow
things can be" - the commas are unnecessary here.
"things
can be made with no effort" vs. "things can be done
with no effort". You can also say "without effort"
instead of "with no effort" if you like.
Technically
speaking, "Nothing further from the
truth" is correct. However, "Nothing could be further from
the truth" is the usual expression.
"The
education of the children" vs. "The
education of children" - if you say "the" children,
you are talking about a particular group of children that
both you and your readers know about. If you don't use the
word "the," you are talking about children in general.
"from
the parents" vs. "from their
parents" - Technically speaking, "the" is correct.
However, "their" more clearly articulates whose
parents we are talking about.
"why
they should do some things and why they shouldn’t do others"
vs. "why they should do some things and not
others" - The use of "not" here eliminates
redundancy.
"it’s
important to watch our behaviour" vs. "it’s important
to watch our own
behaviour" - I think it's important to clarify exactly
whose behaviour that we should be watching here.
"If
we solve our problems screaming" vs. "If we solve
our problems by
screaming..." This is the structure to use when you say
something similar.
"hitting
things" would be the best way to say this. It's important
to hit an object(s). they will do the same.
"If
we solve our problems by screaming and hitting things they
will do the same."
If we solve
our problems screaming and hitting,
they will do the same." If you start a conditional sentence
with the "if" clause, put a comma after it to separate
it from the second "will/would/etc." clause. This
isn't necessary if the "if" clause is second.
"They
have to learn that there are some
other ways to solve situations" - "Some" limits
the number of ways that there are to solve situations; compare
with "a few" other ways. I think that you probably
want to speak more generally and not specifically quantify
the number of ways.
"their
education is the schools'
and teachers'
responsibility" - Usage of the posssessive genitive here
indicates that it is the responsibility of "their"
teachers and schools.
"guide
the children in the right track" vs. "guide the
children on
the right track" - The original expression is to "keep
somebody on track". Try searching for "keep him
in track" and "keep him on track" in Google.
You won't find a single result with the meaning of inducing
correct behavior in children.
=> Vocabulary
=> Linkers
Writing:
Correction of texts.
: remove
word.
:
add a word.
wf: word form.
*: possibly ok.
"Nowadays
we..." vs. "Nowadays, we..." - Put a comma
after these time phrases at the beginning of sentences.
