2014年12月30日 星期二

Making Language Immersion Fun for the Kids

Making Language Immersion Fun for the Kids

André Letria
Personal Journeys
By DANIELLE PERGAMENT
It was summer in Tuscany. The rolling hills were adorned with their famous haystacks. The cypress trees were majestically verdant against the golden backdrop. We were in the picturesque Renaissance town Pienza, its spire shooting up into a cloudless sky. I watched as my children boarded a scuolabus with 15 Italian kids they’d never met before. The bus pulled away, heading to a local terra-cotta museum. I looked at the faces of my children — crying, hysterical, their tiny hands banging on the windows. And I was filled with joy.
I should explain.
What brought me to this pocket of Italy for a month, and inspired me to take a leave of absence from work and my husband? I wanted my children to learn Italian. To be clear: I hate watching them cry as much as the next loving, fallible mother. But this was different. These tears — as well as the not insubstantial expense of the endeavor — were collateral damage toward a larger, longer-term goal.
My daughter is 5, my son is 3, and conventional wisdom — along with annals of scientific studies — suggests the sooner you learn a language, the easier it is. In recent months, the voice inside my head had started to sound like a ticking clock.
“Bilinguals have a stronger executive control system in the brain, which allows them to selectively focus on what is necessary and not get distracted,” said Dr. Ellen Bialystok, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology at York University in Toronto, referring to the neurological system that is responsible for concentration. “Both languages are always active in the bilingual brain; if you are speaking one language you have to prevent the other one from intruding and causing errors."
And there’s this: “Nothing predicts academic success as well as the executive control system,” Dr. Bialystok said.
But I also want my children to be true citizens of the world in a way that I have never been, even as a travel writer — I’m not bilingual. I want their comfort zones to be measured in time zones. And so last winter, before their summer in Tuscany, I decided to enroll them in an immersion school.
If language immersion programs have a godfather, it is Fabrice Jaumont, Ph.D., the education attaché for the French Embassy in New York, who is widely credited with expanding these programs in public schools.
“I want a revolution,” Dr. Jaumont told me over coffee last spring. “I am French, and France is a country of revolutionaries.”
That this revolution happens in public schools is very intentional. “Why should bilingualism be a privilege of the rich?” Dr. Jaumont said. “When I started in 2001, second language education was only in private schools. The first public school to adopt an immersion program was P.S. 58 in Brooklyn.”
P.S. 58 in Carroll Gardens was the school my children were zoned for. This wasn’t a coincidence, but in fact a highly calculated move.
But even best laid plans. ­ . . . In New York City, acceptance into a Dual Language Program, or D.L.P., is by lottery at the Department of Education. Not only did my daughter not get in, but she was also at the bottom of the wait-list. Here’s my advice to anyone whose scheme includes winning a lottery: Have a backup plan.
That’s when I learned about a magical place called the International School of Brooklyn, or I.S.B., an International Baccalaureate World School that offers full immersion in French and Spanish. “There’s a difference between learning a language and acquiring a language,” said Rebecca Skinner, the head of I.S.B. “Our students learn Celsius and Fahrenheit, meters and feet. We teach them to be bicultural.”
The way I saw it, it was akin to being in school in Marseilles or Madrid. And last spring, I found myself in Ms. Skinner’s office, a bright, cheery place where the sounds of Spanish, French and — to my ears anyway — happiness and opportunity drifted in from the classrooms.
“A generation of people grew up thinking there was a stigma to a second language, so they focused on learning English,” Ms. Skinner said. “Now people see that as a missed opportunity.”
There was just one problem. The application was due months before (around the time we were planning on winning a space in the D.L.P.). We had missed the boat.
A future conversation filled me with dread: “Sorry you have inferior executive control systems, kids. Mommy missed the deadline.”
So I switched my focus from September through May to June through August: Summer camp.
One of the most rigorous is Middlebury Monterey Language Academyin Vermont, which has programs in Spanish, French, Chinese, German and Arabic. But there was an asterisk: It is for middle and high school students only.
In Minnesota, Concordia Language Villages offers programs in 15 languages. “Each language has its own village,” said Patricia Thorton, the dean of program. “Kids eat the food of that culture, change their dollars for local currency; they’re completely immersed.” Concordia accepts children as young as 7, which made it a great option — in a few years.
In the meantime, I aimed closer. I focused on Hands on World, a language-immersion preschool in Brooklyn with camps in French, Spanish and Italian.
“Young children have no voice that says ‘you can’t,’ ” said Felicity Miller, the founder. “As soon as they’re prepubescent, they are self-conscious, the idea of making mistakes is harder. And if you are going to learn a language, you are going to make mistakes."
I signed my children up and off they marched every day for Italian class — a mini-step. That’s when I spoke to a friend in Italy. “Why not put the kids in day camp here?” she asked.
Hours after I dropped them off on the bus of tears, I was back in the same parking lot, watching the scuolabus return. My kids bounced off, clutching their lunchboxes and giggling with the other children. They were beaming.
My son got right to the point. “Mama, next time we go to Italian camp, can we do it in English?”
By the end of summer, they actually understood Italian. We’ll do some version of it again next summer. And if the language doesn’t stick, there’s always one last option available: a whole school year in, say, Bologna.
After all, we’re doing it for the children.
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自制力：小時可延遲享樂，大必好.....

朝三暮四多少有差別。今年，"棉花糖試驗"發明者過世？

BBC World Service
Did you know that self-control can have life-long benefits? The 1960s Marshmallow Test on delayed gratification showed that the longer a child can resist a sweet treat, the more successful, healthy and resilient they are likely to be in later life. http://bbc.in/1vE2Qbm
你知道自我控制可以有終身益處嗎？20 世紀 60 年代棉花糖試驗對延遲享樂表明更長的時間，一個孩子可以抵抗香甜可口的食物、 更成功、 更健康、 更有彈性，他們很可能要在以後的生活。HTTP://bbc.in/1vE2Qbm
翻譯由 Bing 提供
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2014年12月27日 星期六

吳思華該嗆朱立倫；李家同：12年國教是教改以來最大的敗筆

清大榮譽教授李家同下午發表「教改休兵，不要鬧了！」新書，他表示，12年國教是教改以來最大的敗筆，根本沒有免試入學，而且補習班數量也倍增。他也質疑，最近的基北區超額比序爭議已浪費太多社會資源及時間，中央和地方不應發生對立這種事情。
李家同指出，民國94年至103年，10年內的補習班總數從9714家增為1萬8886家，增加了1倍，不但都會區的升學壓力沒有改善，而且外島金門的補習班數量10年來也從10家增為27家。
李家同提到，12年國教強調免試入學，但事實上，免的只是升高中的基測，雖然沒有基測，但還要考國中會考，根本沒有免試。
李家同強調，教改最大的問題就是沒有抓到目前教育上的問題所在，首要改善的是減少城鄉差距，而不是放在入學方法上，最好不要再改來改去，造成大家的困擾。
李家同感嘆，教育部的官員從來沒聽他的演講，他已經76歲了，如果他是一位清大社會系學生，只有22歲，立委和政府就都會聽他說的話。

風評：吳思華與其嗆柯 不如嗆朱立倫

主筆室 2014年12月28日
風評：吳思華與其嗆柯 不如嗆朱立倫
教育部長吳思華為了免試升學方案拜訪台北市長柯文哲卻被搶白一頓。（資料照／余志偉攝）
教育部長吳思華為十二年國教免試升學方案，拜訪新就任的台北市長柯文哲，沒想到，半個小時談話不歡而散，吳思華腦袋很清楚知道自己「要負政治責任」，偏偏碰到直言快語的柯文哲反問：「我可以做四年，你部長能做多久？」一句話打到吳思華痛腳，不過，還是沒解決北北基免試爭議，大人隨便吵架，孩子還是莫衷一是。

堂堂教育部長，被民選市長搶白，心中必是不快。不過，吳思華要面對的不只是柯文哲，別忘了，這個方案是雙北市長柯文哲與朱立倫「熱線」建立的共識，朱立倫在一個月之後，就是中央執政的「執政黨主席」，做為「從政同志」，請問吳思華，你不聽柯文哲的，聽不聽朱立倫的呢？

在吳柯會後，教育部發出新聞稿，痛批基北區違反「比無可比」時才使用量尺的規定，不符12年國教引導學生適性發展、不增加學生壓力的精神；教育部指出，基北區用量尺過度細分，將使前段學生考試壓力加大、考試取代教學、升學主義至上、教學更難正常化，卻無助學校選才，教育部「至感遺憾」，既不會備查方案、也不核准招生簡章、更不會提供量尺資料，並要基北區自行承擔所有責任。

柯文哲對這場「用力討論」的會面，下了如此註腳：「看到時候家長是包圍教育部還是市政府？」

吳思華要柯文哲思考為何會有這樣的爭議？他的答案是：因為台北市學生和家長們對明星高中有太多期待。事實上，這也是十二年國教硬推上路始終存在的爭議，為論文弊案下台的前教育部長蔣偉寧已經備嘗苦果，北北基免試方案爭議亦非始於柯文哲，柯的女兒就是在這個爭議方案下，考了兩次進入第一志願。

九合一選舉前，卸任市長郝龍斌為了志願序扣分，被家長罵臭頭，國民黨首都敗選，十二年國教被視為原因之一，而且中央和地方都有責任；但選前郝就和朱立倫取得共識維持原案，而雙北方案送教育部亦遲遲未被備查，某種程度國民黨敗選，也算付出政治代價。

九合一選舉後，朱柯會談的第一件事就是北北基方案維持不變。形同兩位民選首長把十二年國教免試升學的「疏誤」認定是中央政策問題，而選前各市縣提報方案中，只有北北基延用量尺成績的「會考總積點」項目，並排在「第四順次」（不是第一），這是否符合教育部所認定「比無可比」，顯然見仁見智。
國教升學到底要適性無壓力？還是要維繫競爭力？永遠沒有解答，到底要全國一致還是保留各招生區特色？則猶有討論空間。

做為教育部長，吳思華面對的問題和其他部會首長一樣，當地方執政變天，而中央政策又牽涉地方不同考慮時，該如何調整？如桃園航空城，當地方政府決定暫緩徵地，交通部不轉向也得轉向；但吳思華更為難的是，十二年國教是總統的政見，爭議發生時是國民黨北北基三位民選首長與中央抗衡，九合一選舉後，三位民選首長分屬不同政黨和無黨，竟依舊有志一同維持原案，那他就不能只用「憑良心做事」做為堅持的理由，三位民選首長哪位不是憑良心做事呢？

吳柯會沒能解決已經延遲備案的北北基免試方案，教育部揚言不給量尺是莫名其妙、以考生為犧牲的氣話，與其說這些無用之氣話，吳思華不如找執政黨主席朱立倫商量解決之道，否則待朱立倫就任黨魁，要吳思華在中常會提出十二年國教檢討報告，以常會決議翻盤，豈不更難看？當然，吳思華還有一個選擇，不必落入柯文哲的譏嘲，政務官既如此難為，自己提包包走人吧。

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2014年12月26日 星期五

Leland Stanford’s vision of Stanford

History Corner: Leland Stanford’s vision of Stanford

Abigail Schott-Rosenfield
new.120314.BigLeland.jpg
Leland and Jane Stanford at the laying of the University cornerstone in 1887. (Courtesy of Lee Altenberg.)
Leland Stanford, though himself a multimillionaire and a “robber baron,” was not the die-hard capitalist we may presume him to be, according to the research of alumnus Lee Altenberg Ph.D. ’84 PD ’85.
Rather, Altenberg found that Stanford championed the idea of a world where business was controlled not by monopolies but by laborers, founding a university that he hoped would foster this vision — a hope the Stanford University of today seems to have forgotten, according to Altenberg.
“This piece of Stanford history has fallen through the cracks of the institution’s collective memory,” said Altenberg, who published his findings in a 1990 issue of the Stanford Historical Society’s journal “Sandstone & Tile.”
In letters and speeches, Stanford reiterated the idea that “when money is controlled by a few it gives that few an undue power and control over labor and the resources of the country.”
In the University’s Grant of Endowment itself, Stanford declared that it would be the duty of the Trustees “to have taught in the University…the right and advantages of association and co-operation.”
Altenberg, an evolutionary theorist, became interested in the issue while doing postdoctoral work at Stanford in the 1980s.
He’d heard rumors that Leland Stanford was interested in cooperative living. After doing some research, he found a plethora of archival evidence showing Stanford’s serious commitment to the values of cooperation.
The result would surprise anyone who thinks of Leland Stanford solely as a titan of monopolized industry.
“He was deeper than what that success conferred upon him,” Altenberg said.
As a United States senator, Stanford introduced two bills — never passed — which were decried as “fully impregnated with socialistic ideas.” His politics struck such a chord with the Populist Party, which advocated the interests of farmers and laborers, that there were calls within the movement to nominate him for the 1892 presidency (Stanford, elected as a Republican, declined.)
Though he proposed some of the most radical economic policies in the Senate, Stanford could not have been called a socialist, according to Alternberg.
Instead, he took a “third way,” advocating free enterprise in the form of direct worker ownership.
The magnate of the Central Pacific Railroad emerged as a representative of the interests of the common man.
“In the unrest of the masses I augur great good,” Stanford said. “It is by their realizing that their condition of life is not what it ought to be that vast improvements may be accomplished.”
Stanford emphasized many times that he wished Stanford University to reflect his principles.
One of the main objectives of the university was to be “the independence of capital and the self-employment of non-capitalist classes, by such system of instruction as will tend to the establishment of cooperative effort in the industrial systems of the future,” wrote Stanford.
And he welcomed non-capitalist classes most particularly to the University:
“The few very rich can get their education anywhere,” Stanford said. “They will be welcome to this institution if they come, but the object is more particularly to reach the multitude — those people who have to consider the expenditure of every dollar.”
As to why this important aspect of Stanford’s dream for his university is not common knowledge, Altenberg can only speculate.
During Stanford’s 1985-91 Centennial celebration, Altenberg and then-Stanford professor Henry Levin hoped to bring a prominent historian of the Populists to campus to talk about Stanford’s ideas about cooperatives.
“We found [Leland Stanford] really fascinating,” Levin said.
“I mean, there’s this really rich guy who had a lot of wealth, who had accumulated it in some questionable ways, and all of a sudden he’s talking about democratic organizations, he’s talking about workers who participate in the decision-making,” he added.
The two thought the Centennial would be a good opportunity to remember Stanford’s “forgotten vision.” The planning committee, however, rejected their proposal.
Altenberg suggests that this may be because this aspect of Stanford’s history doesn’t contribute to the current ‘branding’ of the institution. Its highly successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, for instance, do not necessarily represent the cooperative or populist principles Stanford set forth.
Altenberg also proposes that part of the reason Stanford’s ideals didn’t stick with the university over the years is that Leland Stanford died a mere two years after the University opened, and with him died the impetus behind his plans to have “association and co-operation” taught there to all students.
After the election of President William McKinley in 1896, widespread support for the Populist movement, aligned with Leland’s aims, died out, and neither Jane Stanford nor the staff of the University carried on this part of his wishes.
Regardless, Altenberg believes that there is still an obligation to share and discuss Stanford’s ideas rather than forget them over time.
“This particular story of Stanford’s history is important with the idea of preserving the diversity of ideas about things, and approaches, and ways of doing,” Altenberg said. “[It’s] a part of showing us that there can be a lot of diversity in thinking that gets lost, and we need to take active steps to cultivate our reserves of concepts.”
*****
Amasa Leland Stanford[1] (March 9, 1824 – June 21, 1893) was an American tycoon,industrialist, politician and founder of Stanford University. Migrating to California from New York at the time of the Gold Rush, he became a successful merchant and wholesaler, and continued to build his business empire. He served one two-year term as governor of California after his election in 1861, and later eight years as senator from the state. As president of Southern Pacific and, beginning in 1861, Central Pacific, he had tremendous power in the region and a lasting impact on California. Many consider him a robber baron.[2][3][4][5][6]


Stanford University[edit]

The Memorial Church at Stanford University is dedicated to the memory of Leland Stanford.
Leland Stanford, Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier, 1881, Stanford museum
Main article: Stanford University
With his wife Jane, Stanford founded Leland Stanford Junior University as a memorial for their only child, Leland Stanford, Jr., who died as a teenager of typhoid fever in Florence, Italy, in 1884 while on a trip to Europe. The University was established by March 9, 1885, Endowment Act of the California assembly and senate, and the Grant of Endowment from Leland and Jane Stanford signed at the first meeting of the board of trustees on November 14, 1885.[28]
The Stanfords donated approximately US$40 million[29] (over $1 billion in 2010 dollars) to develop the university, which held its opening exercises October 1, 1891. It was intended for agricultural studies. Its first student, admitted to Encina Hall that day, was Herbert Hoover. The wealth of the Stanford family during the late 19th century is estimated at about $50 million (about $1.3 billion in 2010 dollars).
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在哪裡學不重要，重要的是學到什麼 (彭明輝)


清大退休教授彭明輝：別再迷思名校

2014-12-25 聯合晚報 記者王彩鸝／台北報導


清大榮譽退休教授彭明輝說，家長應打破對明星學校的迷思。 記者王彩鸝／攝影

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清大榮譽退休教授彭明輝分析台北市明星高中升學率，並比較知名大學電機系就業薪資，發現建中成績後段的600名學生，大學學測成績不如師大附中前段500人；輔大電機有15.4%畢業生月薪超過8萬元，勝過57%交大畢業生 (低於8萬元)，強調「能力比學力重要，分數不是人才的唯一指標。」
彭明輝說，英數理化的分數只在學校有用，職場需要多元人才，連調皮搗蛋都是能力；迷信明星學校的結果，讓學生害怕考試失常、不敢犯錯、不敢走跟別人不一樣的路，缺乏創新思維與能力。
2012年一份報告也讓彭明輝極為震驚，調查前一周曾有自殺念頭的高中生超過15%，其中基測PR97以上孩子自殺念頭比率最高。他指出，PR97以上學生可錄取建中、北一女等明星高中，是教育制度的優勝者，卻也是壓力大到厭世比率最高的一群，「這是比黑心油更嚴重的問題」。因此他著手寫書告訴高中生，在哪裡學不重要，重要的是學到什麼，職場老闆在乎的是能力不是學歷，新書《人生如果是一個()你想填入什麼》剛上市。

圖片提供／聯經出版

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他說，高中生考大學失常沒有關係，考不上台大還是可以到台大隨班附讀，每學期修六學分、兩門課，四年16門課都拿到學分，憑成績去應徵工作可證明有台大實力，也可用來報考研究所。
他舉例，他的學生清大電機系畢業後年薪60萬，但一天工作12小時、一周工作七天；他在清大遇到的油漆工日薪3000元。他相信，台大電機系最後一名的收入比不上油漆師父，「父母還要逼孩子去讀台大電機系嗎？」
彭明輝說，製造業時代擅長數理化的人，才有機會出人頭地；現在台灣服務業已占70%，不再只靠技術賺錢，而是靠文化與創意賺錢，終於可實現「行行出狀元」；此外，蘋果公司薪水最高的是工業設計師而不是工程技術人員，科技業最需要的人才是能洞悉客戶需求的人，即人類學研究者。
彭明輝說，拚升學考試會把孩子的腦袋拚壞掉；最重要的是，提早讓學生多認識職場的多元樣貌，真正做到適性發展的教育。

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2014年12月21日 星期日

盲目追尋世界第一，台灣技職從根爛起(路仁教授)



路仁教授：盲目追尋世界第一，台灣技職從根爛起


by 路仁 教授 on 2014-12-0



      渴望世界第一的感覺在台灣瀰漫，從閃亮金牌填補不被國際承認的缺憾。「日內瓦發明展，台灣連四年第一！」在科大、職校評鑑加分、學生直升明星校系誘惑下，拼金牌風氣瀰漫技職。
        金牌握於金髮瑞士人手，當他走近台灣攤位時，師生浮現緊張神情。日內瓦發明展本名Exhibition of Inventions Geneva，是類似世貿商展的博覽會，參展無門檻但得付高額攤位租金，與參展間的天價旅館費等旅遊支出，全進瑞士人口袋。「歡迎台灣！」是他說不出的話。
        他不必多說，只要發獎牌，明年就更踴躍。台灣人口中的「世界大賽」，光台灣就發30面金牌，評審不嚴謹，只要參賽說出創意，中小學生也鼓勵；金牌數不限制、樂於發給東方國家。那西方人到哪裡了？
        他們不在商展，在專利交易戰場，那裡台灣節節敗退。國際科技大廠互告搶專利時，沒台灣人的份，甚至鴻海等台灣公司，得花大錢跟國外買專利。那每年學校的發明、專利到那裏了？讓學校換獎牌、換評鑑分數、再換補助，讓學生換名校入學權後，多成遺跡。
        不讓瑞士專美於前，法國也開始辦世界賽。法國麵包多年來打不進東方米食市場，但幾年前法國私人酵母公司樂意斯非（Lesafree）辦「世界麵包大賽」，頒發金牌後，台灣再度瘋狂。「我們是世界第一，」台灣人啃著比本土麵包貴三倍的法國麵包說。
        台灣餐飲科學生，從學做中式餐飲，轉流行做法國麵包。進口法國麵粉、法國酵母粉，花費事小，忘了自己的根事大。台灣飲食多元性，本就世界第一、讓外國人流連忘返，何必苦尋外國人的金牌？何況在法國，第一流麵包烘焙賽是 Milleur Ouvrier de France，由法國總統頒獎(請見法國電影 Kings of Pastry)，而我們的世界金牌，卻是由法國私企發給。
        但縱由瑞士總理、法國總統手中拿金牌也不足喜。「不要追逐明星、做第一，要適性做自己，」教育部還拿著看板，在鼓吹12年國教理念。教育部，你看見一股「追逐世界第一」的低氣壓，從被殖民的台灣心靈處生成，在高教吹出競逐世界排名颶風，摧毀大學精神後，又繼續吹，想將技職教育連根拔起嗎？你手中的看板，還能撐多久？
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2014年12月20日 星期六

the Lloyds Scholars scheme


University of Oxford 新增了 6 張相片 — 與 María Noel 和Jameel Tariq Abro
Every year, 15 new undergraduates supported by the Lloyds Scholars scheme start their studies at Oxford. As part of the scheme, they are challenged to complete 100 hours of volunteering during the year.
We asked the new Lloyds Scholars to tells us what they hope to achieve with their volunteering… Here is what they said.
Read more: http://ow.ly/FMJij
參考翻譯



HELPING MANAGE THE FINANCIAL STRAIN OF UNIVERSITY
Lloyds Scholars, our social mobility programme aimed at UK students, was established in 2011. In partnership with eight leading universities across the UK, we offer students from lower income households a complete support package, helping them manage the financial strain of University whilst improving their employability.

The Scholars Programme

Lloyds Scholars receive a unique combination of financial support, a Lloyds Banking Group mentor, sessions to develop their skills and the opportunity to gain valuable work experience though paid internships.
In return we ask that they volunteer for local causes, enabling them to enhance their CV and give back to their local community. We accept students from nearly all disciplines and all have the opportunity, but not obligation, to join our Graduate Leadership programme after university.
Open book

Our Partner Universities

The programme continues to go from strength to strength, with the University of Bath and the University of Birmingham joining the programme in 2013 taking the number of our universities to eight.
  • University College London
  • University of Bath
  • University of Birmingham
  • University of Bristol
  • University of Edinburgh
  • University of Oxford
  • University of Sheffield
  • University of Warwick

More Information

Find out more at www.lloyds-scholars.com
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