英语沙龙：Children’s Hours at Home

Children’s Hours at Home

However important we may regard school life to be,

there is no denying that children

spend more time at home than in the classroom.

Therefore, the great influence of parents cannot be ignored

or discounted by the teacher.

They can become strong allies of the school personnel

or they can consciously or unconsciously hinder curricular objectives.

Administrators¹ have been aware of the need

to keep parents informed of the newer methods used in schools.

Many principal have conducted workshops explaining

such matter as the reading readiness program

and developmental mathematics.

Moreover, the teacher,

with the permission of the supervisors²,

can also play an important role in enlightening parents.

The informal tea and the many interviews carried on during the year,

as well as new ways of reporting pupils’ progress,

can significantly aid in achieving a harmonious³ interplay

between school and home.

To illustrate⁴,

suppose that a father has been drilling John in arithmetic processes

night after night.

In a friendly interview,

the teacher can help the parent sublimate⁵ his natural paternal⁶ interest

into productive channels.

He might be persuaded to let John participate in discussing the family budget,

buying the food, using a yardstick⁷ at home, setting the clock,

calculating mileage⁸ on a trip

and engaging in scores of other activities that have a mathematical basis.

If the father follows the advice,

it is reasonable to assume that he will soon realize

his son is making satisfactory progress in mathematics,

and at the same time, enjoying the work.

Too often, however,

teachers’ conferences with parents

are devoted⁹ to petty accounts of children’s wrongdoings，

complaints about laziness and poor work habits,

and suggestions for punishment and rewards at home.

What is needed is more creative approaches in which the teacher,

as a professional adviser¹⁰,

plants ideas in parents’ minds for the best utilization¹¹ of the many hours

that the child spends out of the classroom.

In this way,

the school and the home join forces

in fostering the fullest development of youngsters’ capacities.

1 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

2 supervisors   

n.监督者，管理者( supervisor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I think the best technical people make the best supervisors. 我认为最好的技术人员可以成为最好的管理人员。 来自辞典例句
• Even the foremen or first-level supervisors have a staffing responsibility. 甚至领班或第一线的监督人员也有任用的责任。 来自辞典例句

3 harmonious   

adj.和睦的，调和的，和谐的，协调的

参考例句：

• Their harmonious relationship resulted in part from their similar goals.他们关系融洽的部分原因是他们有着相似的目标。
• The room was painted in harmonious colors.房间油漆得色彩调和。

4 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

5 sublimate   

v.(使)升华，净化

参考例句：

• We need sublimate water for our experiment.我们的实验需要纯净化的水。
• Her sublimate future husband will be tall,dark,and handsome.她理想化的未来丈夫将是身材高大，皮肤浅黑，相貌英俊。

6 paternal   

adj.父亲的，像父亲的，父系的，父方的

参考例句：

• I was brought up by my paternal aunt.我是姑姑扶养大的。
• My father wrote me a letter full of his paternal love for me.我父亲给我写了一封充满父爱的信。

7 yardstick   

n.计算标准，尺度；评价标准

参考例句：

• This is a yardstick for measuring whether a person is really progressive.这是衡量一个人是否真正进步的标准。
• She was a yardstick against which I could measure my achievements.她是一个我可以用来衡量我的成就的准绳。

8 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

9 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

10 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

11 utilization   

n.利用，效用

参考例句：

• Computer has found an increasingly wide utilization in all fields.电子计算机已越来越广泛地在各个领域得到应用。
• Modern forms of agricultural utilization,have completely refuted this assumption.现代农业利用形式，完全驳倒了这种想象。