3 . Aesthetic (审美) education aims to enhance aesthetic perception, experience aesthetic qualities, stimulate aesthetic creativity, and promote aesthetic judgement.

In order for kids to be able to appreciate natural wonders, shapes and pictures, they must be able to first notice them. This is why the development of the ability to notice the beautiful is the primary task of aesthetic education.     1     Kids are incapable of noticing particular shapes if their ability to notice object s and forms is undeveloped. The aesthetic relationship begins with the noticing of aesthetic qualities.

    2     This means that they generate emotional responses like excitement and joy, enriching individuals’ emotional lives and inspiring artistic expression. The ability to experience aesthetically must also be developed. The cognitive (认知的) elements of the processes that we experience during noticing must also include emotional tones with which we form impressions.     3     The aim of this task is, with the aid of aesthetic qualities, to enrich the emotional life of children and young people and the development of a sense for aesthetic values.

It is essential to allow children to participate in activities that will develop their creative abilities.     4     Instead, it is about creativity in the creation of aesthetic values in everyday life. We are not simply born with creative abilities which have to be developed.

Judging or evaluating aesthetic qualities demands formed evaluation criteria. In order for beauty to reveal its true value, we must be familiar with its particularities. Throughout the process of aesthetic education, various types of knowledge, abilities and evaluation criteria must be applied.     5    

4 . Teaching comedy is a delicate craft that Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Teaching Artists handle with expertise. Sabrina Mandell, specializing in clowning and physical comedy, believes in starting with examples of what she finds funny, helping students understand humor and its subtlety (微妙之处). She emphasizes the importance of discovering what works for individuals rather than specifying a right way.

Overcoming fear is crucial in comedy, with Mark Jaster noting that comedians must be willing to push beyond social norms. Sabrina also advocates opening up emotionally, recognizing the closeness of laughter and tears. After all, pushing students to face fear head-on can tap into their full comedic potential.

Precision is also essential in comedy, requiring crisp, clean, and well-timed performance. Jim Gagne emphasizes the need for precision in comedy compared to the flexibility allowed in drama. Teaching comedic timing is challenging, with some students naturally possessing the talent, while others need more guidance to refine this essential skill. Jim, however, believes it can be developed through awareness, practice, and thorough exploration.

Play and fun are crucial in teaching comedy. Sabrina emphasizes the importance of rediscovering the joy of play. Mark envisions a comedy lab where exploring its mysteries is as significant as its performance.

Despite the desire for laughs, teachers emphasize the importance of storytelling within comedic scenes. Jim provides a valuable insight: “In drama, you throw the dishes down; in comedy, you throw them up.” This comparison underscores that comedy demands a different approach, one that is more lighthearted and humorous. Nevertheless, the ultimate goal is to truly engage the audience and genuinely make them laugh.

5 . In one’s lifetime, especially during adolescence when mental maturity is yet to be achieved, everyone is likely to make some foolish mistakes that will be remembered for a lifetime. The way parents _________ these situations often directly determines the value attributed to these mistakes.

When I was ten years old, I got really angry one day and ended up breaking my favorite pen. Instead of scolding me, my parents chose a different _________. They quietly kept the broken pen and used it as a silent reminder of my mistake. Every time I saw that _________ pen, it served as a gentle yet _________ lesson.

In the beginning, I couldn’t understand why they didn’t yell at me or punish me _________. However, as days went by, the broken pen became a symbol of my _________ actions. It made me reflect on my behavior and the consequences of letting anger _________ me.

The silence from my parents _________ louder than words ever could. It wasn’t about the pen itself, but rather the lesson it represented. I realized that patience and self-control were _________ qualities to cultivate. Instead of reacting impulsively (冲动的), I learned to take a step back and __________ before acting.

Time __________, I eventually became a more patient and thoughtful person. The broken pen, once a source of __________, became a catalyst (催化剂) for positive change in my behavior. My parents’ quiet discipline __________ me a valuable lesson about the power of reflection and the importance of learning from my mistakes. This experience __________ me into a better person, reminding me that sometimes, the most profound lesson come in the form of silent __________.

6 . Imagine a school where students are taught by the best teachers in every subject, regardless of locations. Imagine a school where children can go on safe field trips to the Amazon rainforest or Everest base camp. Well, such schools are already being built: in virtual reality(VR).

Last month, Optima Academy Online (OAO) was launched in Florida and started to deliver courses for elementary, middle and high schools and 170 full-time students from all over the state signed up. They used VR headsets for about three hours a day for formal lessons and then do course work independently with digital check-ins.

It is worth watching how such educational experiments develop. Used properly, the VR technology can help students to access learning resources and be connected with fellow students and teachers all over the world. But if employed poorly, it will have the opposite effect and turn a digital inequality into an educational one.

There is growing evidence to suggest that it is happening. In Mexico, according to a survey, only 24% of 15-year-old students in poor schools have access to home computers for schoolwork compared with 87% in rich ones. As reported in another study, some students in northern England have been forced to travel around on the Greater Manchester train network or camp out around McDonald’s to access free WiFi because they cannot do their schoolwork at home.

“VR technologies will be widely used in education. The only questions are: for what purpose and at what speed?” says Beeban Kidron, a member of the UK’s Digital Futures Commission. “The trouble is that they are too often seen as a shiny new toy that will solve all problems and save money rather than being viewed as a means to enrich learning.”

The inescapable truth is that there is nothing that can replace teachers educating students in safe schools—ideally, with access to well-designed technological platforms. Leaving children in their bedrooms with just VR headsets and no physical social interaction with other kids will fill-many of them—and their parents—with horror.

Once kids hit the teenage years, parenting becomes more difficult than ever. Establishing(建立) effective house rules is one of the best ways to educate teenagers. House rules must respect teenagers’ desire to be independent and make sure they behave responsibly.

How can effective house rules be established?

First of all, get your teenager to take part in making the rules, which can help keep them motivated to follow them. Ask their opinion about what sorts of things they think are important when creating the rules and try to include some of their ideas.

When creating the list of rules, don’t list every single rule imaginable. Instead, try to limit it to the ten most important rules. I’ve seen some parents come up with several pages of rules which turn out to be more like a rule book rather than a list. Remember, it is important to make the list easy to remember and to be a basic guide.

Then, it is important that you write out the list of rules and hang them in a prominent (显眼的) location. Keeping the rules on the refrigerator or displayed somewhere where everyone can see them is a good reminder. Revise the rules whenever there’s a need, not very frequently though.

Explain clearly in advance what negative consequences(后果) will be in store when a rule gets broken. But ensure(保证) that none of your consequences are equal to abusive parenting. For example, take off the rule that says — “if you don’t get home by 11 at night, make arrangements to stay elsewhere until morning”. Let helping with small household chores like cleaning up their own rooms serve as consequences for disobeying rules.

Following these tips on establishing effective house rules accompanied by constant positive reinforcement (执行) will help improve your teenager’s behavior. Hope you can direct your teenager to become a responsible and independent person with the help of house rules!

10 . Many significant international projects have considered how schooling might change to better match the changes that have taken place in the 21st century.     1     One is a shift in the meaning of knowledge, and the other is the need to build education systems based around what we now know about learning.

The term “knowledge age” or “knowledge economy” refers to a reorganization away from an Industrial Age economy, where exploitation (开采) of natural resources, primary production and mass production were the standard models for economic development.     2     This is achieved through the rapid creation of new knowledge and has become the basis for economic development. It is argued that education for the knowledge age must focus on the development of learners’ competences to deal with new situations and environments.

    3     Nor does it deny the need for obvious goals for students’ knowledge development. Rather, the future-focused education literature suggests we need to adopt a much more complex view of knowledge, one that incorporates knowing, doing and being. Alongside this we need to rethink our ideas about how our learning systems are organized, resourced and supported. Research clearly shows that people do not learn well as passive recipients (接受者) of pre-packaged, bite-sized pieces of knowledge.     4    

Although some of these principles are understood by many teachers, our education systems and practices are often set up in ways that do not support these principles to operate in practice. Teachers and school leaders are attempting paradigm (范式) shifts.     5