写作教案英语高中精选20篇

As a child, I am so luck. I don’t need toworry about food. I always have enough delicious food, live in a big house, andhave beautiful clothes to dress. I am so happy that I have no idea to treasureall these things.

I am a kind of particular about food. I often eat a littlefor one dish and the throw it away, because I have many choices.

I will be fullafter eating several dishes. But one day, I watch a piece of news on TV.

It isabout some Africa children who are suffering starvation. They are so poor.

Theyare not only having no food to eat but also having little water to drink. A bowlof rice is very rare for them.

Seeing their longing eyes, I feel guilty. I amregret about wasting food before.

How can I waste so much rare food? From nowon, I will try my best to save food, to do something for them.

作为一个孩子，我是如此的幸运。我不用担心食品的问题。我总是有充足的美味食物，住在大房子里面，穿着漂亮的衣服。

我是如此的幸福，所以我都没想过要珍惜这一切。我可以说得上是挑食的人。

我经常吃一样菜只吃一点点，然后就扔掉了，因为我有很多的选择。吃了几道菜后我就会饱了。但是有一天，我在电视上看到一个新闻。

那是关于正在遭受饥饿的非洲儿童。他们是如此的可怜。他们既没有食物也没有多少水可以喝。一碗白饭对他们是那么的弥足珍贵。看到他们那双渴望的眼睛，我感到很内疚。我很后悔一直在浪费食物。我怎么能浪费那么珍贵的食物呢？从现在开始，我会努力节约粮食，为他们尽一份力。

[高中英语作文：节约粮食

Dear Tim,

With Spring Festival drawing near, I’d like to invite you to my home to experience the festival.

When you come, we can enjoy traditional Chinese food together, and then put up Spring Festival couplets. As a traditional custom, the couplets are always posted on the door of a house. Written on red paper, a couplet is composed of two lines of poetry, which rhyme with each other. Not only do the couplets add some joyous atmosphere to the festival, but also they express people’s wishes for a better life.

I would appreciate it if you could accept my invitation. Looking forward to your coming.

Yours,

Li Hua

引言：培养小学生的英语写作能力,应从培养良好的书写习惯、扎实的词汇句型开始。接下来小编给各位读者总结了一些小学英语写作必备句型，希望大家认真打好基础，不断提高写作水平。

一、~~~ the + ~ est + 名词 + (that) + 主词 + have ever + seen ( known/heard/had/read, etc)~~~ the most + 形容词 + 名词 + (that) + 主词 + have ever + seen ( known/heard/had/read, etc)

例句：Helen is the most beautiful girl that I have ever seen.

海伦是我所看过最美丽的女孩。

Mr. Chang is the kindest teacher that I have ever had.

张老师是我曾经遇到最仁慈的教师。

二、Nothing is + ~~~ er than to + V

Nothing is + more + 形容词 + than to + V

例句：Nothing is more important than to receive education.

没有比接受教育更重要的事。

三、~~~ cannot emphasize the importance of ~~~ too much.

(再怎么强调…的重要性也不为过小学英语写作必备句型小学英语写作必备句型。)

例句：We cannot emphasize the importance of protecting our eyes too much.

我们再怎么强调保护眼睛的重要性也不为过。

四、There is no denying that + S + V …(不可否认的…)

例句：There is no denying that the qualities of our living have gone from bad to worse.

不可否认的，我们的生活品质已经每况愈下。

五、It is universally acknowledged that + 句子~~ (全世界都知道…)

例句：It is universally acknowledged that trees are indispensable to us.

全世界都知道树木对我们是不可或缺的。

六、There is no doubt that + 句子~~ (毫无疑问的…)

例句：There is no doubt that our educational system leaves something to be desired.

毫无疑问的我们的教育制度令人不满意。

七、An advantage of ~~~ is that + 句子(…的优点是…)

例句：An advantage of using the solar energy is that it won’t create (produce) any pollution.

使用太阳能的优点是它不会制造任何污染。

八、The reason why + 句子 ~~~ is that + 句子(…的原因是…)

例句：The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can provide us with fresh air.

The reason why we have to grow trees is that they can supply fresh air for us.

我们必须种树的原因是它们能供应我们新鲜的空气。

作为一名英语教师，备课是上好课的前提。开始备课时，教师得考虑一系列的问题：如何计划一个课时？如何遵循教学大纲所规定的课程标准？怎样才能成为一名优秀的课堂教学组织者？怎样最充分地利用课本和各种教学手段？怎样的教案才算是“规范”的？下面谈谈如何写好规范的教案：

一、教案的格式

教案的格式可以多种多样。但好的教案一般至少应包括

以下内容：

1、教学目标：即一堂课最主要的总目标。

2、教学目的：即一堂课中要求学生掌握的详细目标。细列这些条目，可以帮助教师明确本堂课的教学目标；有机地安排各个教学环节，预先判断目标是否适度，在课堂结束时或课后评估学生的学业成就。要罗列教学目标，明确写清要求学生做到的是什么，不能太含糊。这里要注意其可行性。清晰的教学目标有利于课后重新审视并评估学生对教学目

标的掌握程度。

3、重点和难点：一堂课中要求学生掌握的重点和难点

列出来，以便于设计合理的教学步骤。

4、教材和教具：列出教材和教具看似小事，但设计好使用策略就意味着教师明确了上课要带什么以及课堂各个环节如何安排。常常有教师去上课忘记带录音机、投影片、挂图、卡片、课堂作业或学生作业本之类的东西。写上要带什么、如何应用会有帮助。

5、教学步骤：这也没有统一格式。不同课型的课堂教学步骤自然不同。即使相同的课型，教材、学生、教学条件不一样，教学步骤也就不一样。这一部分可包括：

（1）开场白或开场活动、游戏，作为“热身”(warming-up)。

（2）一系列的活动及教学设计。应预先给全班活动、小组活动、两两活动、教师和学生的说话时间等各个环节分配好时间。

（3）结束语。

6、板书设计：将最重要的单词或词组或知识点，列出来，使得学生明确一节课的重点，课前设计好，就不会出现漏写或者板书杂乱无章的现象。

7、课外作业：要精心设计，符合学生的实际能力。

8、课后小结：小结一堂课的得失，分析教与学的实际情况，以便于及时作出调整。

二、写教案时要考虑的问题

1、如何开始备课

在教师着手备课之前，必须吃透课程标准（大纲）及教材，在此基础上，考虑学生的认知规律和实际的语言能力，以确定课题和教学目的，明确教学目标。从教学目标出发，确定重点和难点，考虑用哪些教学法来组织课堂。然后精心挑选、设计练习，确定要做、改、删、增的练习，列授课计划提纲，再逐步仔细预测各种教学技巧和教学手段的应用，特别是涉及可能修改计划、增删内容的教学步骤。

2. 思考几个问题

（1）教学技巧上，是否有足够的变化可以使课堂教学生动有趣？成功的外语课上总有不同的活动，使学生思维活跃，情绪高涨。

（2）不同教学技巧的应用和教学的组织有没有得到有序的、合乎逻辑的安排？理想化的课堂教学须朝着教学目标由易及难、循序渐进。建立在新知识之上的教学活动必须精心安排。

（3）整堂课的节奏设计得好吗？节奏的含义，可以有以下三个方面：第一，活动不能太短，也不能太长。如果课堂活动多而短，那么学生刚刚找到某活动的“感觉”，又得“跳到”下一个活动去了。这样不好。第二，教师应考虑如何把各种教学技巧、教学手段和教学组织形式揉合在一起。例如，一堂课上连续搞全班俩俩全班小组俩俩全班??的活动，每个活动五分钟，那么，这些活动是难以发挥其应有作用的。第三，控制好节奏也有利于各个教学活动之间的衔接。例如：

（4）整节课的时间有没有安排好？这是备课最难控制的因素之一。新教师往往容易提早授完所备内容，而后又易矫枉过正，不能完成课时计划。这里有两点值得提醒。预先准备一些“备用”的复习活动。如果提早授完已准备的内容，则进行复习巩固练习。

3. 学生的个体差异

随着教学过程的重心由教师向学生转变，学生的主体作用日益突出。课堂教学必须充分考虑学生的个体差异。我们主张，备课一般应以中等程度的学生为准，但也应适当照顾两头的学生。可以考虑以下五个方面：（1）教学内容适当包含一些较难或较易的项目，（2）针对不同水平的学生问不同难度的问题，（3）设计的教学活动尽可能让全体同学都参与。

4. 学生谈话与教师谈话

备课时要充分考虑教师与学生的谈话时间。一般的英语课上，总是教师说得多， 学生说得少。要注意让学生有较多的机会进行交际。

总之，课堂教学是实施素质教学的主渠道。随着素质教育的不断深入，向课内时间要质量的呼声越来越高。而要提高课堂教学的效益，备课是关键。充分考虑影响课堂教学的各种因素，使之成为教师备课的必须考虑的内容，对备好课必将起到重要的影响。

引导语：写作手法包括表达方式、写作方法、修辞手法等。 表达方式,是指写文章时所采用的反映社会生活、表达思想感情、介绍事物事理的方式手段。下面是小编为你带来的高中话题作文写作方法技巧，希望对你有所帮助。

近些年话题作文一直是高考的作文主流，可以说是称霸“考坛”，因此，是平时作文训练的重点。笔者认为，话题作文大大增强了对学生语言表达能力、分析概括能力以及个性思维能力的要求。只有敏锐的洞察力、较高的概括与表达能力以及真正属于自己的思想与体悟，才能较好地具体操作一个话题，因此，对处于对人生理解还在起步阶段的中学生来说，如何写好话题作文是一个很有研究价值的课题，在此笔者简单提供以下几点写作方法与技巧以供参考。

一、体味生活，感悟人生

我们都知道思想离不开生活，一切皆从生活中来，一切也皆将回归生活，话题作文中的话题也更是如此，它们有的是对世界本质的反思，有的是要表达人们的一种愿望或想象，在课改教材中，这一部分内容也倍受重视，更有对人生经历、生命内涵的体悟。

话题作文是要求学生对身边的一切都有敏锐的感悟力的一种作文形式，虽然它看似没有任何硬性要求，但学生的分数这些年来却呈下降趋势，这说明话题文比人们想象中的要难得多，中学生还处在人生旅程的起始阶段，必须培养自己在这个人生阶段的独特视角与感悟力。每个人只要细心观察，都可以轻易地从中领会出自己的真谛。因此，想写出一篇出彩的话题文，就必须善于观察生活、分析生活、总结生活。

二、认真阅读教材，同时尽量增加课外阅读量，从而积累词汇与语言，善于调遣各种知识储备

积累词汇的方法有许多种，当然最主要同时也是最重要的途径莫过于阅读书籍。书籍是人类的精神食粮，是千百年来人类圣哲思想的经典总汇，因此，要尽量增加自己的课外阅读量，多读些经典名著，陶冶自己的情操，认识这个世界。

有的学生课业繁重，对于课外阅读恐怕是有心无力，这也不要紧，每个学生身边都有一份非常好的阅读资料，那就是人手必备的语文教材。教材可以说是无数教育学家按照学生心理年龄与认知水平而打造出的完全符合其自身智力与能力发展的呕心之作，因此，只要能够有效地利用好自己的教材，调动多年学校学到的知识，那么成为一个有思想且能够出口成章的儒林学士则不成问题。

三、要有质疑与批判精神，只要思想积极，就要忠于自己的情感与体悟，勇敢、尽情地表达自己对世界、社会、历史、人生以及未来等的见解

这一点可以说是话题作文的本质所在，它没有固定的要求，却有最佳的选择角度，那就是理智、积极、个性、真实，而这所有的种种却又都取决于真实，如果你敢于把自己真实的想法付于笔纸，那么“文情并茂”中的“情”就可以轻易地表达了，而一篇优秀的文章也会“接近”完成。

但要注意的是个性并不等于不同，批判也并不是叛逆，两者不可混淆，不能一味地用“异于常人”作为个性的最佳代言，也切忌用叛逆来代替批判精神，这样很容易步入阅读与写作的误区。对理解文意毫无帮助，也最终会导致思维的一种批判模式，一旦这种模式在其心中根深蒂固，那么不仅会影响其阅读写作，其一生也终将活在吹毛求疵的误区中。

四、发挥自己形象思维的特长，经常练笔，挖掘自身的述说能力，从而写出真正符合自己特点的话题作文

在现实的作文写作中经常有这样一种怪现象，有很多学生在进行写作时，心中明明已满载乾坤，等到真正落笔时却词不达意，文章显得苍白无力，这种表达能力的缺乏必须经过“艰苦”的练笔来克服。我们现在的学生一般在小学阶段就开始接触作文，而所写的作文一般都是具有强烈叙事色彩的记叙文，因此，对于一个学生来说形象思维能力在小学阶段就得到了一定的锻炼，相对于议论思辨等能力来说具有更多的优势，因此，学生只要有意识地练习写作或诵读片段式记叙文（或称作叙事散文）、微型小说、故事、童话、寓言以及抒情散文等，就能够比较轻松地增强自己的表达能力，从而达到“我手写我口”的境界。

五、掌握最基本的一种话题作文结构，即“三段式”结构

在初中阶段学生在尽量提升作文布局的同时，必须掌握话题文，也同样适用于议论文与记叙文的一种基本结构形式，那就是

“总—分—总”结构，也可以说是“凤头、猪肚、豹尾”结构。初中语文教材上的课文范文，70%以上都是这种三段式结构，熟练地掌握这种文章结构，不但可以作为写文章的基本保证，而且当学生随着年龄的增长，认知能力进一步发展，对文章的理解达到更高一层的境界时，自然就会举一反三，以此为基础写出更多优异结构的美文了。

总的来说，提高话题作文的写作能力，只有教师平时多关注社会动态，感悟生活，再综合多方面的方法和技巧，方能写出精彩，写出创新！

In the past few decades, our Earth has changed a lot, but to the bad

direction. Among these changes, the air pollutions resulting from a huge number

of automobiles and coal-burning is almost the severest. The severe air pollution

alarms humans of the heavy load we have exerted on Earth by our insatiable

production and usage of automobiles. However, with the deepening of

urbanization, more cars are needed, which will make the air pollution worse.

Therefore, the following actions should be taken. First, we should apply the

most cutting-edge technologies in order to adopt new forms of energy as

substitutes for fossil fuels. Second, try hard to develop possible

transportation means, which are enviromental friendly. So that the citizens can

reduce the dependence on cars. In short, our humans should take responsibilities

for the air pollution and have to find ways to solve this problem.

【训练目标】

1、回忆自己的暑假生活

2、了解写最熟悉、最动情的东西的意义

3、作文要写的具体，写出情意。

【文题要求】

假期，给我们的生活增添了新的色彩。你可能外出旅游，拥抱自然;可能走走亲戚，会会同学;可能看看奥运会，听听音乐;还可能读了一些你喜欢的书。

也许，假期带给你的不全是快乐，还有些许烦恼、寂寞……

请你选择假期中感受最深的一段生活经历，写一篇作文。

【作文指导】

(1)假期生活，是一个老话题，怎样才能写出新意?

回顾自己的假期生活经历，什么是自己最熟悉、最动情的。要从自己最熟悉、最动情的东西写起。

因为有内容可写，而且能写得具体、生动、有感情。最熟悉、最动情的东西是自己所亲身经历的，有真体验，真感受，能写得见人见物见精神，能绘声绘色，生动描述。文学是脱离不开一个人的实际生活经历的，即使是作家，也只有写他们最熟悉的事物，才能写出好作品来，我们写文章也是如此。

(2)怎样写好最熟悉、最动情的东西?

要善于观察周围的人和事，用心感受。一件细微的小事，一句动人的话语，一个细致的动作，一处独具特色的景物，都能引起人们的某种感受，成为写作的契机和切入点。要有再现客观事物和表现主观情意的能力，所谓再现客观事物，就是把所见所闻的客观事物，如实地再现出来，形象地描绘人物和事物的状貌，清楚顺畅地表述人物的经历或事情发生的过程，让读者也有所感知。表现主观情意，就是要写出自己的感情和思想、意旨。凡是优秀作品，都是感于物而动于情的有感而发之作。文章不是无情物，人们说，没有情意的作品好像是泥胎、木偶、纸花，这是不无道理的。

想到了一些事后，确定自己要写的一件或几件事。想清楚具体情景。整体把握事情的过程，当时自己的情况，对方的一举一动、一言一语，把要描述的地方捕捉住，就像这篇文章所写的那样。将客观事物和主观情意结合起来，写出来的事情才有动人之处。

【素材积累】

(优美句段一)在暑假里，同学们像一只无拘无束的小鸟，没有学习沉重的负担，没有母亲断续地唠叨，在属于自己的空间里自由地飞翔，到游泳池边尽情地嬉戏，任由晶莹的水珠在四处跳跃，到风景如画的东湖，体会那湖水浸湿群衫的别样风情，走进热闹的超市，品味那空调所带来的那份清凉，坐在电脑桌前，让电脑键盘在指间奏出“噼哩啪啦”的美妙乐章。

(优美句段二)炎热的夏季往往是考验人毅力的时候，每个人的毅力不同，但求知的大门永远敞开。就看远处的你我愿不愿走进。走过了炎热，也就代表你走上了一个新的起点。

(优美句段三)游泳是我在夏日中必不可少的运动，在碧波里狠狠一个猛蹿，便会让那碧湛湛的、清凉的池水，凉便全身，浸透心田。虽说在游泳池里偶尔喝几口水，但在池里感觉还是很棒、很爽的!在炎热的夏，来几个狗爬式，几下蛙泳，有一种休闲时尚的感觉。

【优秀例文】

快乐着，痛苦着

――我的暑假生活

一、快乐章

“时光如水，生命如歌。”在白驹过隙间，我们又送走了紧张的一学期，迎来了又一个暑假。

“从今天开始放假了。”老师话音刚落，同学们便欢呼起来：“放假了!放假了。”老师还说了些什么，没有谁听清了。大伙像放飞的小鸟，摆脱了书本的束缚。一拥而出，奔向回家的路。

走出教室，我深呼了一口气。我觉得自己犹如一只单色的氢气球，上学的日子里，老师紧紧的牵着我。放假了，老师放松了手中的线，让我飞向我梦想的地方。

放假的感觉真好。早上睡到十点多才睁开惺忪的睡眼。不紧不慢地穿着衣服，不用在担心爸妈的催促。细细地品味那武汉的风味小吃。空调吹来的凉风令我不由得想到同学。他们一定和我一样此时都在家享受着空调所带来的清凉。

放假的感觉真好。抱上一本闲书故意地从爸妈面前走过。他们的脸上挂着笑，似乎原来所反对的闲书，此时再看起来已经不闲了。

放假的感觉真好!

二、痛苦章

好日子似乎永远都是那么地短暂。对于明年即将成为毕业生的我，这样的好日子就更加的短暂了。

为了让我在最后一年里，成绩能有突飞猛进。妈妈给我订下了目标：抓紧假期的每一天。

母命难为。我的好日子迅速地终止了。每天的学习任务安排得居然比上学的时候还满。几点到几点学英语，几点到几点完成作业，几点到几点学数学，几点到几点学语文。时间经过妈妈精心的安排，居然连一点玩的时间都没有了。真烦!像这样。我的暑假生活何乐之有。

居然怀念起上学的日子来。平时，在学校只不过多一些条条款款的限制，多一些上课的疲惫，多一些作业……但用心地去体会，却可以发现同学之间的友情其实很纯洁，学习生活不仅很有规律，而且那紧张的学习、生活其实很充实。如今，我听不见悦耳的铃声，看不见同学们欢快的身影，只听得见妈妈无休止的唠叨，只看得见爸爸一脸的严肃。我只有满腹的无奈和无尽的烦恼。

每个人在夏天就盼冬天，到了冬天就盼夏天，一开学我就盼放假，可一放假又想上学了。真是一个快乐而又痛苦的暑假。

帮妈妈减肥

暑假里,我看见妈妈总是心事重重的,还总是在镜子前照来照去,我知道,妈妈是为自己逐渐变胖的身材而苦恼。暑假以来,妈妈的客户经常请妈妈吃饭,这些东西不知道有多少卡路里呢!唉，可不是嘛,《大长今》过后，妈妈爱上了韩剧，每天晚都要看，而且天天都到10点多钟，早上怎么能早起?妈妈下班晚，根本没有时间去运动，怎样才能让妈妈变瘦呢?

我先让妈妈做健美操，其实就是广播操，妈妈才做了一半，就已经气喘吁吁了，接下来，是转呼啦圈，妈妈接过那个特大号的呼啦圈。只见妈妈踢踢腿，弯弯腰，扭扭脖子，甩甩手，很认真地做着每个动作。一会儿工夫，就见她全身大汗。我赶紧拿来毛巾和水杯，关心地说：“好了好了，今天到此为止。”妈妈擦了擦汗，一下子喝完了整杯水，这才舒了一口气。

一个星期后，妈妈站上台称。她惊喜地喊道：“减了减了，1公斤呢!”“耶!减肥成功!”我欢呼道。

原来只要能坚持，减肥一定也会成功。

暑假游滨海路

暑假的一天，我和同学一起探访了滨海路。

当我们到达星海广场上滨海路，看见这里路很窄、很曲折、很长，路边的景色也很美。

这儿，刚才大广场的气势没有了，人群的浮器没有了，天上的风筝、地上的马车没有了，使你的心烦气躁也没有了。一边是山，山上松柏常青、槐杨不绝;一边是海，海上涟漪微泛、水天相接。一边给你悦目的翠绿、嫩绿，一边给你赏心的淡蓝、碧蓝;一边挡住都市的喧哗，一边送来自然的风韵;一边高得望不到头，一边深的探不见底;一边展示着顶天立地，一边诠释着有容乃大;一边静得让你想动，一边动得让你平静……

有什么地方能给予人这么美的山水，这么新的空气呢?有什么地方能给予人这么多的联想，这么清的思绪呢?一个个观景台，带你看海，带你看人生、看世界;一处处景点，带你游大连，带你游天地、游历史和未来。每一朵鲜花都在为“天然氧吧”怒放，每一块巨石都在为“水滴石穿”坚毅地挺立在自己的位置。路边一对蚂蚁行过，无忧无虑，因为他们有自己的工作，自己的规则，自己的一片蓝天碧海、高山绿树。

这是自然的厚赐，这才是人类最美的——家。

假期捉鱼

今天，因为天气炎热，所以爸爸带我到河边去玩，还带了瓶子装鱼。

来到河边，爸爸坐在大树下乘凉，我呢，就在河里玩水呀、捉鱼呀。

忽然，我看见一只虾，还以为是鱼，就迫不急待地正想把它搂了起来，没想到它却跑了。我又去追，好不容易才用手把它围住了，搂到瓶子里，仔细一看，呀，原来是一只虾。这时，我像一个泄了气的皮球，一下子软了。我想：好不容易才把它抓住，还是把它养起来吧!接着，我又捉住几条鱼放在瓶子里，和虾做伴。

我抬着瓶子得意地往前走，不小心踩到石头上的一块青苔。只听“咚”的一声，我像一只落汤鸡，浑身是水。而且瓶子里的鱼和虾也趁此机会跑了，留下一个空瓶子泡在水里。我捡起瓶子闷闷不乐地向岸上走去。真是“偷鸡不成，反失把米”。结果我就这样湿漉漉地回家了。

平时的我，总是在学校，很少和大自然亲密接触，对于大自然的很多东西，我都很陌生，以后有机会我一定多接触接触大自然。

Luxuriant it gives us boundless endless fun. A long summer vacation to supply the vast reveals itself for the classmates of the stage. And plans to use the summer vacation time, has become our current begin to should do.

One, scientific and reasonable to develop a plan of summer vacation work.

Amount of work in the holiday, want to do the work. To put these job screening, mediation, according to the summer fair time settling, draw up a table "" summer deeds. All the cruel deeds should be carried out in accordance with the "schedule", but still need to be careful mix.

Second, serious review, welcome to scholarship test

This test is after the summer vacation the first put a summary of the semester, summer vacation, want to put the first semester studies the entire contents of the seriously review again, and to formulate a "review schedule. For good measure.

Third, develop my funny hobbies, growth of my specialty.

According to my funny hobby, takes an active part in all kinds of funny Hong shed organized group, such as: painting, calligraphy, music, English, journalism skills, grasp the skills, as to lay a foundation for the growth of the letters patent day.

Fourth, study diligently, careful accumulation, longer than writing, used motor

Manipulation of the heat I visit a few good books as points. Such as: national classics, history allusions, good books and periodicals, fables, fairy tales, etc., progress I browse ability and writing level, edify sentiment.

Else, might as well also active in the summer sports refined, help parents do more housework, experience to meet the social actual deeds... Only seize the opportunity to reveal themselves constantly, expand the line of sight, to be healthy growth.

小学阶段不同年级的作文有不同要求和写作技巧小学英语写作指导小学英语写作指导。

对于小学3年级的学生，在他们已经掌握好了如颜色(colour)、衣服(clothes)、数字(number)、星期(day of the week)、月份(month)、宠物(pet)、情感(feeling)、身体部位(body)、文具(school things)的基础上进行文章的填空，如果学生能够按照文章的要求写进相关的信息，那就已经很不错了。下面是一个自我介绍的简单例子：

Myself

Hello，my name is_____. I am_____years old.My favourite colour is_____，_____， and_____.My favourite pet is______，_____ and______. My favourite food is_____，______and______.My favourite day is______. My favourite school thing is______and______.My favourite number is and______.I am______today.

上面的这个例子，如果学生能够依次能吧自己的姓名、年龄、喜欢的颜色、喜欢的宠物、喜欢的食物、喜欢的日子、喜欢的文具、喜欢的数字和今天的心情准确无误地写出来，那么就已经能够完成了3年级阶段的作文要求。

对于4年级的学生，可以写一篇介绍自己课室或者自己卧室的文章。下面是一篇4年级学生的介绍课室范文。

My classroom

I am studying at Tongji primary school.I am in Class Two, Grade Four. (介绍自己所在的学校和所在的年级) There is a blackboard in front of the classroom. There are twenty-five desks in our classroom, they are brown. There are many books on the desk. There are fifty students, thirty boys and twenty girls. There is a picture on the wall. There are two fans on the wall. (用there+be句型把班里和摆设和班上的人数都表达出来了) It is tidy and clean.I like my classroom very much.(最后是作者的总结)

对于5年级的学生，作文的要求也提高了很多，很多学生在介绍别人或者是写自己喜欢的小动物的时候很容易忘了第三人称单数动词要加ses，如：He get up at 7 o’clock(get忘了加s)，在用到现在进行的时候动词很容易忘了加ing(如I am play the piano，play就忘记了加ing)，介词和介词短语也占了很重要的位置如介词in，on，at，of。介词短语如dream of(区分dream that)和be afraid of都是很重要的介词短语，很多学生忘记了介词后面要加动词小学英语写作指导少儿基础英语。

对于6年级的学生，作文考查的是英语的综合应用能力，而且出的题目大部分都是看图作文，这就在一定程度上增加了写作的难度，它也是综合了3年级的分类词汇，4年级的句型，方位介词，5年级的重点介词短语和时态，不过我相信只要平时多点积累单词和句型、多点动笔、多注意语法上的问题、多看作文书，那么就能写出流畅、有深度的文章。

The first day for me to go to high school, I felt so excited, because I came into the new stage of my life. The school asked the students to live in the dormitory, so I had to move out and left my parents. This was such a big challenge for me, because I never left home before. I needed to learn to be independent, what’s more, I also learned to get along with others. High school was like a little society for me and I handed the problems well. The other challenge was from study. I had to learn so many subjects and fought for my future college. I met difficulties and felt frustrated, but I told myself not to give up and I got over the difficulties. High school life is not easy, but we grow up quickly.

我上高中的第一天，感到很兴奋，因为我来到了生命的新阶段。学校要求学生住宿舍，所以我搬离了家里，离开了父母。这对于我来说是一个很大的挑战，因为我从来没有离开过家里。我需要学着去独立，而且，也要学着去和别人相处。高中就像一个小社会，我把问题处理得很好。另一个挑战来自学习。我要学习很多的科目，为了将来的大学而奋斗。我遇到了困难，感到受挫，但是我告诉自己不要放弃，克服了困难。高中生活不容易，但是我们会快速长大。

[高中学习生活英语作文

Today, we live in the modern world, most things we do can use the machine. The technology brings so many convenience to us, it facilitates our life. As we are facing the new products all the time, the traditional things are fading away. Take the paper-cut for example. When I was very small, paper-cut was so popular in my grandma’s generation, most women could cut all kinds of interesting shapes.

While today when I went back to my hometown, I found that most of them had stopped cutting papers, because they could buy them at the very low price.

What’s more, the young people don’t learn such art, for the parents think it is not necessary for their children to learn the old-fashion thing. The tradition should not be abandoned, it is the reflection of our culture. Even facing the challenge, we need to inherit the tradition.

今天,我们生活在摩登时代,我们可以使用机器做大部分的事情。科技给我们带来了很多方便,它便利了我们的生活。我们每天都面对着新产品,传统的东西正在慢慢消失。以剪纸为例。在我很小的时候,在我祖母的那一代，剪纸很受欢迎,大多数女性可以剪出各种有趣的形状。现在当我回到家乡时,我发现他们中的大多数已经停止剪纸,因为他们可以以很低的价格购买。更重要的是,年轻人不了解这种艺术, 以为父母认为他们的孩子没有必要去学习这种不时髦的东西。传统不应该被放弃,这是我们文化的反映。甚至面临挑战,我们仍然需要继承传统。

[高中英语作文：传统文化的继承

The happiest memory in my childhood was making snowman with my friends. As

I was a little boy, I always went out with my friends to make snowmen and play

with snow when it snowed heavily. We divided ourselves into several groups, two

or three people in each group. Then, we began to make our own snowman. We used

buttons to be snowmans eyes and carrots for its nose. After making our snowman,

we compared ours with others’ to decide whose snowman is the best. Sometimes, we

wrapped our scarfs around snowmen or put our caps on their head, so as to make

our snowman more beautiful. The last time I making a snowman was when I was in

university. But it snowed rarely these years. Thus, making snowman has become

the long-lost fun for me. How I hope it would be snowy this winter!

考研英语应用文写作范文之感谢信感谢信

结构要点感谢信是就某事向收信人表示感谢的信件，分为三个部分：

1． 指出对方帮助自己的事情，表示感谢；

2． 展开叙述这件事；

3． 再次感谢，并可表示希望回报对方。

Suppose your were recommended by Professor Sun to get further education in Yale University last June and now you have been admitted by that university. Write a letter to Professor Sun to express your gratitude in about 100 words. Do not sign your own name, using “Li Ming” instead.Dear Professor Sun,

I am writing to extend my gratitude to you—without your help I would not have been a postgraduate student of Applied Mechanics Department of Yale University.

Last June, you helped me with no reservation when I applied for Yale University. You wrote a recommendation letter for me to Professor W, the dean of the department. You gave me instructions on how to fill the application forms and write the application letters. Whats more, you also taught me how to take care of myself and get along with others, which I believe are lifes great lessons.

Your help enabled me to fulfill my dream to pursue my studies in a great university. In the following days I will remember what you have told me and work and study hard to be a capable, conscientious and responsible person.

Yours truly,

Li Ming

感谢信

语言注意点感谢信应充分表达自己的谢意，切不可给对方草率的印象。可借助谈对方的帮助来进一步表达感激之情。言辞应真挚、得体。

Suppose you were taken good care of by Aunt Sun when you pursued your studies in Los Angels where Sun lived. Write a letter in about 100 words to extend your appreciation. Do not

sign your own name, using “Li Ming” instead.Dear Aunt Sun,

It is a great pleasure to extend my sincere gratitude to you for your hospitality and consideration while I pursue my bachelors degree at University of California.

As soon as I arrived in Los Angeles, you found me an apartment near my university. When I met with difficulties you often sent your daughter to help me and when I felt homesick you often talked to me patiently. You told me how to improve my efficiency in both work and study and how to get on well with teachers and schoolmates. Furthermore, you invited me to dinner on nearly every weekend.

Without your help, I would not have graduated with honors and found a satisfactory job back here in China. I know I can never repay you for everything you have done for me in the past four years, but you can be sure that I

Best regards.

Yours faithfully,

Li Ming ll never forget it.

题目：我家的一个星期天

一、教学目的、要求：

1．作文前列出提纲。

2．按一定顺序叙述。

3．把主要事情写具体些。

二、教学时间：2课时

三、教学准备：教学小黑板

四、教学过程：

㈠启发谈话，导入新课。

星期天你们家是怎样度过的？哪一个星期天你过得最愉快、最有意义？说给大家听听。

㈡指导作文提纲。

1．这次作文的题目可以怎么定？（学生发言）

可以用“我家的一个星期天”，也可以自己另外定题目，强调题目一定要紧扣文章内容来定。

2．选好写哪一个星期天以后，再想一想用什么题目，表达什么中心思想，材料怎样安排，然后列一个作文提纲。

㈢学生各自列作文提纲，教师指导。

㈣请几个学生读自己列的提纲，教师酌情评议指导。

㈤提出具体作文要求。

1．写作时要按提纲来写，做到有顺序。

2．把主要的事重点写。

3．做到有中心，有条理，语句通顺。

㈥学生写作，教师巡视指导。

st important role in the environmental protection today.

In my opinion, to protect environment, the government must take even more concrete measures. First, it should let people fully realize the importance of environmental protection through education. Second, much more efforts should be made to put the population planning policy into practice, because more people means more people means more pollution. Finally, those who destroy the environment intentionally should be severely punished. We should let them know that destroying environment means destroying mankind themselves.

一篇优秀的中考作文之所以能从数百万份试卷中脱颖而出，其中必有他值得称赞之处。按照评分标准而言，一般会从选材，立意，语言和结构这样几个方面去衡量，这四个标准里，其中最为阅卷老师欣赏也最让学生头痛的是作文的立意，一边羡慕于别人标新立异的思路，一边又苦于自己落入俗套的构思，这成为很多学生作文档次上升的一个障碍。其实，创新立意并不是天马行空，而是有所根据的，它的根据就来源于卷面已经给出的题目，从审题入手去分析出题人的意图，从审题入手去挖掘更深邃的含义，如何审题审出新意，这是我们接下来几篇连载要集中解决的问题。

第一讲主要解决的是审题方法的问题，创新的前提是审准题，在准确的基础上才能有所新，如果题目审偏了，立意再好也是妄谈，所以首先要解决的问题是如何正确审题。

(一)短题要补充

很多题目我们看起来很简洁，不过三五字，但其实题目越短，审题难度越大，因为它能够给与我们的信息是极为有限的，很多时候让人感觉难以下手，这时我们可以用补充题目的方式让题目变得具体充实有可写性起来。

如写《雪》这样一篇文章

1、在前补充：冬雪，看雪，洁白的雪

2、前后补充：瑞雪兆丰年，冬雪也暖人，风雪中的身影

3、在后补充：雪后，雪的温度，雪的诉说

再如以《朋友》为题写一篇文章

1、在前补充：真诚的朋友，执着的朋友，诚信的朋友，我最敬佩的朋友

2、前后补充：我的朋友叫自信，这个朋友值得尊敬

3、在后补充：朋友的心愿，朋友的真谛，朋友的故事

需要注意的是，补充题目这件事是在我们脑海中完成的，也就是说如果题目中没有要求我们去补充完整题目，那么我们就不要随便改动题目，只是在心中把你要写的内容通过给题目补充，进一步缩小即可，如果补充题目的过程中发现脑海中想出的好几个题目都还不错，怎样取舍呢?这时，可以选择你最熟悉的那个话题，或者你认为最有话可说感触最深的那个去写。

(二)长题抓关键

题目长了有时也会干扰我们审题，原因很简单，各个独立出来的词你不知道到底哪一个是题目的核心，这时就需要抓住题目的关键词去分析，而关键词就是我们平时所说的题眼，我们一般会选择动词，形容词和副词作为题眼，因为这些一般是起修饰和强调作用的，当然题目的主要对象一般是名词，这个是不容忽视的，但是关键是要看修饰它的那个词是什么，你要围绕那个词写什么。

如《这件事教育了我》中的“教育”，《其实并不是这样的》中的“并不是”，《**也美丽》中的“也”，《水仙花开》中的“开”。

(三)标志定体裁

有些题目常带有明显的体裁标志，可帮助我们迅速确定文章的体裁，内容和重点。

1、记叙文的标志：题目中凡带有“记”“忆”“人”“事”“见闻”等字眼，一般都是记叙文。如《回忆我的母亲》《记我的同桌》《值得赞美的人》《假期见闻》《我的初中生活》等。

2、抒情散文的标志：题目中凡有“赞”“颂”“赋”等字眼，一般都是托物言志，借景抒情的散文。如《白杨礼赞》《绿叶颂》《茶花赋》等。

3、说明文的标志：题目中凡带有“制作”“介绍”“说明”“自述”“为什么”“原理”“话”，或直接写某事物的名称，一般应写成说明文，如《文具盒的自述》《森林为什么能防风》《手表的使用和原理》《秋天话菊花》等。

4、议论文的标志：题目中凡是带有“说”“议”“谈”“论”“评”“辩”“驳”“从……谈起”“从……说开去”“读……有感”等字眼，一般都是说明文，如《谈骨气》《由‘滴水石穿’想到的》《读有感》等。

(四)联想化深意

联想就是由甲想到乙，而甲一般是由实际意义的，乙是有象征意义的。

如《圆月》《白杨》《长城颂》《我心中的阳光》就需要用联想法来审题，把这些大家在生活中熟悉的事物与一些具有象征意义的事物联系起来，从而给这个题目赋予更深层的含义。比如：“圆月”联想到中华同胞，“白杨”联想到扎根边疆的志愿者，“长城”联想到战无不胜的人民解放军，“阳光”需要联想温暖，亲情，关爱，希望甚至信仰，这样通过审题文章的寓意就大大深化了。

完成正确审题后，接下去几讲我们会结合具体题目来给同学们分析，如何通过审题来创新立意，请同学们继续关注。

[初中/高中作文如何在审题中创新立意的写作指导

When I was very small, my grandpa liked to tell me his tough year and I liked to listen to him. At that time, wars were everywhere, people ran away for keeping alive. My grandpa was so hungry all the time because he had no food to eat. People had the very hard life before the found of new China. Today, Chinese economy develops so fast, we live the good life, we are no longer struggle for the hunger. Thanks to our great predecessors, they build the road for us. We enjoy the peaceful life and I know it is not easy to achieve. My grandpa educates me not to waste the food and I keep his words in my mind. Peace is the main theme of today’s world, we can chase our dreams and enjoy our life, but we must remember the contribution which is from our predecessors.

在我很小的时候，爷爷很喜欢给我讲他的艰难岁月，我也喜欢听他讲。那个时候，战争无处不在，人们为了活命而逃亡。爷爷总是很饿，因为他没有东西吃。人们在新中国成立前过着艰难的生活。今天，中国的经济发展快速，我们过上了好生活，不再为饥饿挣扎。多亏了我们伟大的先辈们，他们为了开拓了道路。我们享受这和平的生活，我知道这来之不易。爷爷教育我不要浪费食物，我一直记着他的话。和平是世界现在的主题，我们可以追求梦想，快乐生活，但是我们必须记得先辈们的贡献。

[《和平的生活》高中英语作文赏析

Once， when I was a teenager， my father and I were standing in line to buy tickets for the circus. Finally， there was only one family between us and the ticket counter.

This family made a big impression on me. There were eight children， all probably under the age of 12. You could tell they didnt have a lot of money.

Their clothes were not expensive， but they were clean. The children were well-behaved， all of them standing in line， two-by-two behind their parents， holding hands. They were excitedly jabbering about the clowns， elephants， and other acts they would see that night.

One could sense they had never been to the circus before. It promised to be a highlight of their young lives. The father and mother were at the head of the pack， standing proud as could be.

The mother was holding her husbands hand， looking up at him as if to say， "Youre my knight in shining armor."

He was smiling and basking in pride， looking back at her as if to reply， "You got that right."

The ticket lady asked the father how many tickets he wanted. He proudly responded， "Please let me buy eight childrens tickets and two adult tickets so I can take my family to the circus."

The ticket lady quoted the price. The mans wife let go of his hand， her head dropped， and his lip began to quiver. The father leaned a little closer and asked， "How much did you say?"

The ticket lady again quoted the price. The man didnt have enough money.

How was he supposed to turn and tell his eight kids that he didn‘t have enough money to take them to the circus? Seeing what was going on， my dad put his hand in his pocket， pulled out a $20 bill and dropped it on the ground. (We were not wealthy in any sense of the word!)

The moment I go to high school, I have made up my mind to study hard. It is

known to all that the period of high school is the turning point of people’s

life, which may decide my future career. So I know the importance of striving

for my future. The reason why I study so hard are various. First, I want my

parents to be proud of me. When my mothers’ friends come to visit her, they

always brag about how excellent their children are, but my mother would never

take me as the topic, because she does not want me to have the pressure. I

appreciate what my mother does to me and really want her to be proud of me.

Second, If I enter a good university, I can have the promising future. It is

time for me to return my parents’ love.

对未来不懈追求，是理想形成的动力和源泉。下面是关于理想的英语名言，供大家写作参考。

1.And love, young men, and venerate the ideal. The ideal is the word of God. High above every country, high above humanity, is the country of the spirit, the city of the soul.

青年人啊，热爱理想吧，崇敬理想吧。理想是上帝的语言。高于一切国家和全人类的，是精神的王国，是灵魂的故乡。

2.Between the ideal and the reality, between the motion and the act, falls the shadow.

理想与现实之间，动机与行为之间，总有一道阴影。

3.Ideals are like the stars... we never reach them, but like mariners, we chart our course by them.

理想就像是星星...我们永远够不着它，但是我们像水手一样，靠星星指引航程。

4.The ideal is in thyself, the impediment too is thyself.

理想存乎已心，障碍亦是如此

5.Its is the most pleasant thing in the world to struggle for a noble ideal.

世界上最快乐的事，就是为理想而奋斗

6.Anything one man can imagine, other men can make real.

但凡人能想像到的事物，必定有人能将它实现。

7.Ideal is the beacon. Without ideal, there is no secure direction; without direction, there is no life.

理想是指路明灯。没有理想，就没有坚定的方向;没有方向，就没有生活

8.The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today.

实现明天理想的惟一障碍是今天的疑虑。

9.High expectation are the key to every thing.

远大理想是开启万物的钥匙。

10.The important thing in life is to have a great aim, and the determination to attain it.

人生重要的事情就是确定一个伟大的目标，并决心实现它。

11.Living without an aim is like sailing without a compass.

生活没有目标就像航海没有指南针。

12.Life is not all beer and skittles.

人生并不全是吃喝玩乐。

13.Don’t part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.

不要放弃你的幻想。当幻想没有了以后，你还可以生存，但虽生犹死

14.No man or woman who tries to pursue an ideal in his or her own way is without enemies.

凡按自己的方式追求理想者，无不树敌。

15.How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.

我们怎样打发日子，当然，也就是我们怎样度过这一生。

16.If you doubt yourself, then indeed you stand on shaky ground. (Ibsen, Norwegian dramatist )

如果你怀疑自己，那么你的立足点确实不稳固了。 (挪威剧作家 易卜生)

17.If you would go up high, then use your own legs ! Do not let yourselves carried aloft; do not seat yourselves on other people’s backs and heads. (F. W. Nietzsche, German Philosopher)

如果你想走到高处，就要使用自己的两条腿!不要让别人把你抬到高处;不要坐在别人的背上和头上。(德国哲学家 尼采. F. W.)

18.It is at our mother’s knee that we acquire our noblest and truest and highest, but there is seldom any money in them. ( Mark Twain, American writer )

就是在我们母亲的膝上，我们获得了我们的最高尚、最真诚和最远大的理想，但是里面很少有任何金钱。(美国作家 马克·吐温)

19.The ideals which have lighted my way, and time after time have given me new courage to face life cheerfully 19 have been kindness, beauty and truth.(Albert Einstein, American scientist)

有些理想曾为我们引过道路，并不断给我新的勇气以欣然面对人生，那些理想就是--真、善、美。 (美国科学家 爱因斯坦. A.)

20.The important thing in life is to have a great aim, and the determination to attain it. (Johan Wolfgang von Goethe, German Poet and dramatist)

人生重要的事情就是确定一个伟大的目标，并决心实现它。(德国诗人、戏剧家 歌德. J. M.)

21.If winter comes, can spring be far behind ?( P. B. Shelley, British poet )

冬天来了，春天还会远吗?( 英国诗人, 雪莱. P. B.)

22.The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds. (Mark Twain, American writer)

具有新想法的人在其想法实现之前是个怪人。 (美国作家 马克·吐温)

23.When an end is lawful and obligatory, the indispensable means to is are also lawful and obligatory. (Abraham Lincoln, American statesman)

如果一个目的是正当而必须做的，则达到这个目的的必要手段也是正当而必须采取的。(美国政治家 林肯. A.)

24.The dream is a kind of desire, think it is a kind of action. Dream is the dream and want to crystallization.梦是一种欲望，想是一种行动。梦想是梦与想的结晶。

25.A realization of dream, is a successful person.一个实现梦想的人，就是一个成功的人。

26.Dream no matter how vague, the total hidden in our hearts, our feelings never be quiet, until the dream become a reality.梦想无论怎样模糊，总潜伏在我们心底，使我们的心境永远得不到宁静，直到这些梦想成为事实。

27.Dream is the soul, is our secret truth ( Truman Capote )梦是心灵的思想，是我们的秘密真情(杜鲁门·卡波特)

28.Once the dream into action, will become sacred (, Ann Procter )梦想一旦被付诸行动，就会变得神圣(阿·安·普罗克特)

29.The dreamer is afraid of Destiny ( Thomas Phillips )梦想家的缺点是害怕命运(斯·菲利普斯)

30.A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. A man is not old until regrets take the place of dreams. (J. Barrymore) 只要一个人还有追求，他就没有老。直到后悔取代了梦想，一个人才算老。(巴里摩尔)

31.If you would go up high , then use your own legs! Do not let yourselves carried aloft; do not seat yourselves on other people’s backs and heads . (F. W . Nietzsche , German Philosopher) 如果你想走到高处，就要使用自己的两条腿!不要让别人把你抬到高处;不要坐在别人的背上和头上。(德国哲学家 尼采. F. W.)

32.Have an aim in life, or your energies will be wasted.没有目标的一生注定碌碌无为，确定一个目标吧。——R.Peters

下面的材料旨在丰富学生在是非问题写作方面的思想和语言，考生在复习时可以先分类阅读这些篇章，然后尝试写相关方面的作文题。

对于素材中用黑体字的部分，特别建议你熟读，背诵，因为它们在语言和观点上都值得吸收。学习语言的人应该明白，表达能力和思想深度都靠日积月累，潜移默化。从某种意义上说，提高英语写作能力无捷径可走，你必须大段背诵英语文章才能逐渐形成语感和用英语进行表达的能力。这一关，没有任何人能代替你过。

因此，建议你下点苦功夫，把背单词的精神拿出来背诵文章。何况，并不是要求你背了之后永远牢记在心：你可以这个星期背，下个星期忘。这没有关系，相信你的大脑具有神奇的能力。背了工具箱里的文章后，你会惊讶的发现：I can think in English now！

1.?????? Proverbs

1. A graduation ceremony is an event where the commencement speaker tells thousands of students dressed in identical caps and gowns that individuality is the key to success.

2. The primary purpose of a liberal education is to make one’s mind a pleasant place in which to spend one’s time.

3. Next in importance to freedom and justice is popular education, without which neither freedom nor justice can be permanently maintained.

4. The classroom--not the trench--is the frontier of freedom now and forevermore.

5. Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.

6. It is the purpose of education to help us become autonomous, creative, inquiring people who have the will and intelligence to create our own destiny.

7. You see, real ongoing, lifelong education doesn’t answer questions; it provokes them.

8. People will pay more to be entertained than educated.

9.the most important function of education at any level is to develop the personality of the individual and the significance of his life to himself and to others. This is the basic architecture of a life; the rest is ornamentation and decoration of the structure.

10. The essence of our efforts to see that every child has a chance must be to assure each as equal opportunity, not to become equal, but to become different-to realize whatever unique potential of body, mind, and spirit he or she possesses.

11. A great teacher never strives to explain his vision-he simply invites you to stand beside him and see for yourself.

12. If you can read and don’, you are an illiterate by choice.

2. Damaging Research

A study by National Parent-Teacher Organization revealed that in the average American school, eighteen negatives are identified for every positive that is pointed out. The Wisconsin study revealed that when children enter the first grade, 80 percent of them feel pretty good themselves, but by the time they get to the sixth grade, only 10 percent of them have good self-images.

3. Education and Citizenship

An important aspect of education in the United States is the relationship between education and citizenship. Throughout its history this nation has emphasized public education as a means of transmitting democratic values, creating equality of opportunity, and preparing new generations of citizens to function in society. In addition, the schools have been expected to help shape society itself. During the 1950s, for example, efforts to combat racial segregation focused on the schools. Later, when the Soviet Union launched the first orbiting satellite, American schools and colleges came under intense pressure and were offered many incentives to improve their science and mathematics programs so that the nations would not fall behind the Soviet Union in scientific and technological capabilities.

Education is often viewed as a tool for solving social problems, especially social inequality. The schools, t is thought, can transform young people from vastly different backgrounds into competent, upwardly mobile adults. Yet these goals seem almost impossible to attain. In recent years, in fact, public education has been at the center of numerous controversies arising from the gap between the ideal and the reality. Part of the problem is that different groups in society have different have different expectations. Some feel that children should be taught basic job-related skills; still others believe education should not only prepare children to compete in society but also help them maintain their cultural identity (and, in the case of Hispanic children, their language). On the other hand, policymakers concerned with education emphasize the need to increase the level of student achievement and to improve parents in their children’s education.

Some reformers and critics have called attention to the need to link formal schooling with programs designed to address social problems. Sociologist Charles Moscos, for example, is a leader in the movement to expand programs like the Peace Corps, Vista, and Outward Bound into a system of voluntary national service. National service, as Moscos defines it, would entail “the full-time undertaking of public duties by young people whether as citizen soldiers or civilian servers-who are paid subsistence wages” and serve for at least one year. In return for this period of service, the volunteers would receive assistance in paying for college or other educational expenses.

Advocates of national service and school-to-work programs believe that education does not have to be confined to formal schooling. In devising strategies to provide opportunities for young people to serve their society, they emphasize the educational value of citizenship experiences gained outside the classroom. At this writing there is little indication that national service will become a new educational institution in the United States, although the concept is steadily gaining support among educators and social critics.

4. The Teacher’s Role

Given the undeniable importance of classroom experience, sociologists have done a considerable amount of research on what goes on in the classroom. Often they start from the premise that, along with the influence of peers, students’ experiences in the classroom are of central importance to their later development. One study examined the impact of a single first-grade teacher on her students’ subsequent adult status. The surprising results of this study have important implications. It is evident that good teachers can make a big difference in children’s lives, a fact that gives increased urgency to the need to improve the quality of primary-school teaching. The reforms carried out by educational leaders like James Comer suggest that when good teaching is combined with high levels of parental involvement the results can be even more dramatic.

Because the role of the teacher is to change the learner in some way, the teacher-student relationship is an important part of education. Sociologists have pointed out that this relationship is asymmetrical or unbalanced, with the teacher being in a position of authority and the student having little choice but to passively absorb the information provided by the teacher. In other words, in conventional classrooms there is little opportunity for the students to become actively involved in the learning process. On the other hand, students often develop strategies for undercutting the teacher’s authority: mentally withdrawing, interrupting, and the like. Hence, much current research assumes that students and teachers influence each other instead of assuming that the influence is always in a single direction.

5. Education Philosophy

For the past fifty years our schools have operated on the theories of John Dewey (1859-1953), an American educator and writer. Dewey believed hat the school’s job was to enhance the natural development of the growing child, rather than to pour information, for which the child had no context, into him or her. In the Dewey system, the child becomes the active agent in his own education, rather than a passive receptacle for facts.

Consequently, American schools are very enthusiastic about teaching “life skills” –logical thinking, analysis, creative problem--solving. The actual content of the lessons is secondary to the process, which is supposed to train the child to be able to handle whatever life may present, including all the unknowns of the future. Students and teachers both regard pure memorization as an uncreative and somewhat vulgar.

In addition to “life skills”, schools are assigned to solve the ever growing stoke of social problems. Racism, teenage pregnancy, alcoholism, drug use, reckless driving, and are just a few of the modern problems that have appeared on the school curriculum.

This all contributes to a high degree of social awareness in American youngsters.

6. Student Life

To the students, the most notable difference between elementary school and the higher levels is that in junior high they start “changing classes”. This means that rather than spending the day in one classroom, they switch classrooms to meet their different teachers. This gives them three or four minutes between classes in the hallways, where a great deal of the important social action of high school traditionally takes place. Students have lockers in these hallways, around which thy congregate.

Society in general does not take the business of studying very seriously. Schoolchildren have a great deal of free time, which they are encouraged to fill with extracurricular activities—sports, clubs, cheerleading, scouts—supposed to inculcate such qualities as leadership, sportsmanship, ability to organize, etc. those who don’t become engaged in such activities or have afterschool jobs have plenty of opportunity to “hang out”, listen to teenager music, and watch television.

Compared to other nations, American students do not have much homework. Studies also show that American parents have lower expectations for their children’s success in school than other nationalities do. (Historically, there has not been much correlation between American school success and success in later life.) “He’s just not a scholar”, the American parents might say, content that their son is on the swim team and doesn’t take drugs. (Some of the young do choose to study hard, for reason of their own, such as determining that the road to riches lies through Harvard Business School.)

What American schools do effectively teach is the competitive method. In innumerable ways children are pitted against each other—whether in classroom discussion, spelling bees, reading groups, or tests. Every classroom is expected to produce a scattering of A’s and F’s (teachers often grade A=excellent; B=good; C=average; D=poor; and F=failed). A teacher who gives all A’s looks too soft—so students are aware that they are competing for the limited number of top marks.

Foreign students sometimes don’t understand that copying from other people’s papers or from books is considered wrong and taken seriously. Here, it is important to show that you have done your own work and are displaying your own knowledge. It is more important than helping your friends to pass, whom we think do not deserve to pass unless they can provide their own answers. Group effort goes against the competitive grain, and American students do not study together as many Asians do. Many Asians in this country consider their group study habits a large contributor to their school success.

7. Adult Education

After complaining about many aspects of American life, a 40-year-old woman from Hong Kong concluded, “But where else could someone my age go back to school and get a degree in social work? Here you can change your whole life, start a new business, do what you really want to do.”

So at least to this person, school requirements weren’t inhibiting. And to millions of others, adult education is the path to a new career, or if not to a new career, to a new outlook. Schools generally encourage the older person who wants to start anew, and besides regular classes, schedule evening classes in special programs. Today there are so many people of retirement age in college that it is no longer remarkable.

8. Moral Relativism in American

Improving American education requires not doing new things but doing (and remembering) some good old things. At the time of our nation’s founding, Thomas Jefferson listed the requirements for a sound education in the Report of the Commissioners for the University of Virginia. In this landmark statement on American education, Jefferson wrote of the importance of education and writing, and of reading history, and geography. But he also emphasized the need “to instruct the mass of our citizens in these, their rights, interests, and duties, as men and citizens.” Jefferson believed education should aim at the improvement of both one’s “morals” and “faculties”. That has been the dominant view of the aims of American education for over two centuries. But a number of changes, most of them unsound, have diverted schools from these great pursuits. And the story of the loss of the school’s original moral mission explains a great deal.

Starting in the early seventies, “values clarification” programs started turning up in schools all over America. According to this philosophy, the schools were not to take part in their time-honored task of transmitting sound moral values; rather, they were to allow the child to “clarify” his own values (which adults, including parents, had no “rights” to criticize). The “values clarification” movement didn’t clarify values; it clarified wants and desires. This form of moral relativism said, in effect, that no set of values was right or wrong; everybody had an equal right to his own values; and all values were subjective, relative, and personal. This destructive view took hold with a vengeance.

In 1985 The York Times published an article quoting New York area educators, in slavish devotion to this new view, proclaiming, “They deliberately avoid trying to tell students what is ethically right and wrong.” The article told of one counseling session involving fifteen high school juniors and seniors. In the course of that session a student concluded that a fellow student had been foolish to return one thousand dollars she found in a purse at school. According to the article, when the youngsters asked the counselor’s opinion, “He told them he believed the girl had done the right thing, but that, of course, he would not try to force his values on them. ‘If I come from the position of what is wrong,’ he explained, ‘then I’m not their counselor.’”

Once upon a time, a counselor offered counselor, and he knew that an adult does not form character in the young by taking a stance of neutrality toward questions of right and wrong or by merely offering “choices” or “options”.

In response to the belief that adults and educators should teach children sound morals, one can expect from some quarters indignant objections (I’ve heard one version of it expressed countless times over the years): “Who are you to say what’s important?” or “Whose standards and judgments do we use?”

The correct response, it seems to me, is, is we ready to do away with standards and judgments? Is anyone going to argue seriously that a life of cheating and swindling is as worthy as a life of honest, hard work? Is anyone (with the exception of some literature professors at our elite universities) going to argue seriously the intellectual corollary, that a Marvel comic book is as good as Macbeth? Unless we are willing to embrace some pretty silly position, we’ve got to admit the need for moral and intellectual standards. The problem is that some people tend to regard anyone who would pronounce a definitive judgment as an unsophisticated Philistine or a closed-minded “elitist” trying to impose his view on everybody else.

The truth of the real world is that without standards and judgments, there can be no progress. Unless we are prepared to say irrational things—that nothing can be proven more valuable than anything else or that everything is equally worthless—we must ask the normative question. It may come, as a surprise to those who fell that to be “progressive” is to be value-neutral. But as Matthew Amold said, “the world is forwarded by having its attention fixed on the best things” and if the world can’t decide what the best things are, at least to some degree, then it follows that progress, and character, is in trouble. We shouldn’t be reluctant to declare that some things, some lives, books, ideas, and values are better than others. It is the responsibility of the schools to teach these better things.

At one time, we weren’t so reluctant to teach them. In the mid-nineteenth century, a diverse, widespread group of crusaders began to work for the public support of what was then called the “common school”, the forerunner of the public school. They were to be charged with the mission of school felt that the nation could fulfill its destiny only if every new generation was taught these values together in a common institution.

The leaders of the common school movement were mainly citizens who were prominent in their communities—businessmen, ministers, local civic and government officials. These people saw the schools as upholders of standards of individual morality and small incubators of civic and personal virtue; the founders of the public schools had faith that public education could teach good moral and civic character from a common ground of American values.

But in the past quarter century or so, some of the so-called experts became experts of value neutrality, and moral education was increasingly left in their hands. The commonsense view of parents and the publicthat schools should reinforce rather than undermine the values of home, family, and country, was increasingly rejected.

There are those today still that claim we are now too diverse a nation, that we consist of too many competing convictions and interests to instill common values. They are wrong. Of course we are a diverse people. We have always been a diverse people. And as Madison wrote in FederalistNo.10, the competing, balancing interests of a diverse people can help ensure the survival of liberty. But there are values that all American citizens share and that we should want all American students to know and to make their own: honesty, fairness, self-discipline, fidelity to task, friends, and family, personal responsibility, love of country, and belief in the principles of liberty, equality, and the freedom to practice one’s faith. The explicit teaching of these values is the legacy of the common schools, and it is a legacy to which we must return.

9. Schools Should Teach Values

People often said, “Yes, we should teach these values, but how do we teach them?” this question deserves a candid response, one that isn’t given often enough. It is by exposing our children to good character and inviting its imitation that we will transmit to them a moral foundation. This happens when teachers and principals, by their words and actions, embody sound convictions. As Oxford’s Mary Warnock has written, “You cannot teach morality without being committed to morality yourself; and you cannot be committed to morality yourself without holding that some things are right and others wrong.” The theologian Martin Buber wrote that the educator is distinguished from all other influences “by his will to take part in the stamping of character and by his consciousness that he represents in the eyes of the growing person a certain selection of what is, the selection of what is ‘right’, of what should be.” It is in this will, Buber says, in this clear standing for something, that the “vocation as an educator finds its fundamental expression.”

There is no escaping the fact that young people need as example principals and teachers who know the difference between right and wrong, good and bad, and who themselves exemplify high moral purpose.

As Education Secretary, I visited a class at Waterbury Elementary School in Waterbury, Vermont, and asked the students, “Is this a good school?” They answered, “Yes, this is a good school.” I asked them, “Why?” Among other things, one eight-year-old said, “The principal Mr. Riegel, makes good rules and everybody obeys them.” So I said, “Give me an example.” And another answered, “You can’t climb on the pipes in the bathroom. We don’t climb on the pipes and the principal doesn’t either.”

This example is probably too simple to please a lot of people who want to make the topic of moral education difficult, but there is something profound in the answer of those children, something education should pay more attention to. You can’t expect children to take messages about rules or morality seriously unless they see adults taking those rules seriously in their day-to-day affairs. Certain must be said, certain limits lay down, and certain examples set. There is no other way.

We should also do a better job at curriculum selection. The research shows that most “values education” exercises and separate courses in “moral reasoning” tend not to affect children’s behavior; if anything, they may leave children morally adrift. Where to turn? I believe our literature and our history are a rich quarry of moral literacy. We should mine that quarry. Children should have at their disposal a stock of examples illustrating what we believe to be right and wrong, good and bad—examples illustrating what are morally right and wrong can indeed be known and that there is a difference.

What kind of stories, historical events, and famous lives am I talking about? If we want our children to know about honesty, we should teach them about Abe Lincoln walking three miles to return six cents and conversely, about Aesop’s shepherd boy who cried wolf if we want them to know about courage, we should teach them about Joan of Arc, Horatius at the bridge, and Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. If we want them to know about persistence in the face of adversity, they should know about the voyages of Columbus and the character of Washington during the Civil War. And our youngest should be told about the Little Engine That Could. If we want them to know about respect for the law, they should understand why Socrates told Crito: “No, I must submit to the decree of Athens.” If we want our children to respect the rights of others, they should read the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, and Martin Luther King, Jr.’ “Letter from Birmingham jail.” From the Bible they should know about Ruth’s loyalty to Naomi, Joseph’s forgiveness of his brothers, Jonathan’s friendship with David, the Good Samaritan’s kindness toward a stranger, and David’s cleverness and courage in facing Goliath.

These are only a few of the hundreds of examples we can call on. And we need not get into issues like nuclear war, abortion, creationism, or euthanasia. This may come as a disappointment to some people, but the fact is that the formation of character in young people is educationally a task different from, and prior to, the discussion of the great, difficult controversies of the day. First things come first. We should teach values the same way we teach other things: one step at a time. We should not use the fact that there are many difficult and controversial moral questions as an argument against basic instruction in the subject.

After all, we do not argue against teaching physics because laser physics is difficult, against teaching American history because there are heated disputes about the Founders’ intent. Every field has its complexities and its controversies. And every field has its basics, its fundamentals. So they are too with forming character and achieving moral literacy. As any parent knows, teaching character is a difficult task. But it is a crucial task, because we want our children to be healthy, happy, and successful but decent, strong, and good. None of this happens automatically; there is no genetic transmission of virtue. It takes the conscious, committed efforts of adults. It takes careful attention.

10. College Pressures

Mainly I try to remind that the road ahead is a long one and that it will have more unexpected turns than they think. There will be plenty of time to change jobs, change careers, change whole attitudes and approaches. They don not want to hear such liberating news. They want a map—right now – that they can follow unswervingly to career security, financial security, Social Security and, presumably, a prepaid grave.

What I wish for all students is some release from the clammy grip of the future. I wish them a chance to savor each segment of their education as an experience in itself and not as a grim preparation for the next step. I wish them the right to experiment, to trip and fall, to learn that defeat is as instructive as victory and is not the end of the world.

My wish, of course, is na?ve. One of the national gods venerated in our media—the million-dollar athlete, the wealthy executive—and glorified in our praise of possessions. In the presence of such a potent state religion, the young are growing up old.

I see four kinds of pressure working on college students today: economic pressure, parental pressure, peer pressure, and self-induced pressure. It is easy to look around for villains—to blame the colleges for charging too much money, the professors for assigning too much work, the parents for pushing their children too far, and the students for driving themselves too hard. But there are no villains: only victims.

“In the late 1960s.” one dean told me. “The typical question that I got from students was ‘Why is there so much suffering in the world’ or ‘how I can make a contribution?’ Today it’s ‘Do you think it would look better for getting into law school if I did a double major in history and political science, or just majored in one of them?’” many other deans confirmed this pattern. One said: “They are trying to find an edge—the intangible something that will look better on paper if two students are about equal.”

Note the emphasis on looking better. The transcript has become a sacred document, the passport to security. How one appears on paper is more important than how one appears in person. A is for Admirable and B is for Borderline, even though, in Yale’s official system of grading, A means “excellent” and B means “very good.” Today, looking very good is no longer good enough, especially for students who hope to go on to law school or medical school. They know that entrance into the better schools will be an entrance into the better law firms and better medical practices where they will make a lot of money. They also know that the odds are harsh. Yale Law School, for instance, matriculates 170students from an applicant pool of 3,700; Harvard enrolls 550 from a pool of 7,000.

It’s all very well for those of us who write letters of recommendation for our students to stress the qualities of humanity that will make them good lawyers or doctors. And it’s nice to think that admission officers are ready reading our letters and looking for the extra dimension of commitment or concern. Still, it would be hard for a student not to visualize these officers shuffling so many transcripts studded with As that they regard a B as positively shameful.

The pressure is almost as heavy on students who just want to graduate and get a job. Long gone are the days of the “gentleman’s C.” when students journeyed through college with a certain relaxation, sampling a wide variety of courses-music, art, philosophy, classics, anthropology, poetry, religion—that would send them out as liberally educated men and women. If I were an employer I would rather employ graduates who have this range and curiosity than those who narrowly pursued safe subjects and high grades. I know countless students whose inquiring minds exhilarate me. I like to hear the play of their ideas. I do not know if they are getting As or Cs, and I do not care. I also like them as people. The country needs them, and they will find satisfying jobs. I tell them to relax. They cannot.

Nor can I blame them. They live in a brutal economy. Tuition, room, and board at most private colleges now come to at least $7,000, not counting books and fees. This might seem to suggest that the colleges are getting rich. But they are equally battered by inflation. Tuition covers only 60 percent of what it costs to educate a student, and ordinarily the remainder comes from what college receives in endowments, grants, and gifts. Now, the remainder keeps being swallowed by the cruel costs—higher every year—of just opening the doors. Heating oil is up. Insurance is up. Postage is up. Health-premium costs are up. Everything is up. Deficits are up. We are witnessing in American the creation of a brotherhood of paupers—colleges, parents, and students, joined by the common bond of debt.

Today it is not unusual for a student, even if he works part time at college and full time during the summer, to accrue $5,000 in loans after four years—loans that he must start to repay within one year after graduation. Exhorted at commencement to go forth into the world, he is already behind as he goes forth. How could he not feel under pressure throughout college to prepare for this day of reckoning? I have used “he,” incidentally, only for brevity. Women at Yale are under no less pressure to justify their expensive education to themselves, their parents, and society. In fact, they are probably under more pressure. For although they leave college superbly equipped to bring fresh leadership to traditionally male jobs, society has not yet caught up with this fact.

Along with economic pressure goes parental pressure. Inevitably, the two are deeply intertwined.

I see many students taking pre-medical courses with joyless tenacity. They go off to their labs as if they were going to the dentist. It saddens me because I know tem in other corners of their life as cheerful people.

“Do you want to medical school?” I asked them.

“I guess so,” they say, without conviction, or “Not really.”

“Then why are you going?”

“Well, my parents want me to be a doctor. They are paying all this money and …”

Poor students, poor parents, they are caught in one of the oldest webs of love and duty and guilt. The parents mean will; they are trying to steer their sons and draughts toward a secure future. But the sons and daughter want to major in history or classics or philosophy—subjects with no “practical” value. Where’s the payoff on the humanities? It’s not easy to persuade such loving parents that the humanities do indeed pay off. The intellectual faculties developed by studying subjects like history and classics—an ability to synthesize and relate, to weigh cause and effect, to see events in perspective—are just the faculties that make creative leaders in business or almost any general field. Still, many fathers would rather put their money on courses that point toward specific profession—courses that are pre-law, pre-medical, pre-business, or, as I sometimes heard it put, “pre-rich.”

But the pressure on students is severe. They are truly torn. One part of them feels obliged to fulfill their parents’ expectations; after all, their parents are older and presumably wiser. Another part tells them that the expectations that are right for their parents are not right for them.

I know a student who wants to be an artist. She is very obviously an artist and will be a good one—she has already had several modest local exhibits. Meanwhile she is growing as a well-round person and taking humanistic subjects that will enrich the inner resources out of which her art will grow. But her father is strongly opposed. He thinks that an artist is a “dumb” thing to be. The student vacillates and tries to please everybody. She keeps up with her art somewhat furtively and takes some of the “dumb” courses her father wants her to take—at least they are dumb courses for her. She is a free spirit on a campus of tense students—no small achievement in it—and she deserves to follow her muse.

Peer pressure and self-induced pressure are also intertwined, and they begin almost at the beginning of freshman year.

“I had a freshman student I’ll call Linda,” one dean told me, “who came in and said she was under terrible pressure because her roommate, Barbara, was much brighter and studied all the time. I could not tell her that Barbara had come in two hours earlier to say the same thing about Linda.”

The story is almost funny—except that it is not. It is symptomatic of all the pressure put together. When every student thinks every other student is working harder and doing better, the only solution is to study harder still. I see students going off to the library every night after dinner and coming back when it closes at midnight. I wish they would sometimes forget about their peers and go to a movie. I hear the clacking of typewriters in the hours before dawn. I see the tension in their eyes when exams are approaching and papers are due: “Will I get everything done?”

Probably they won’t. They will get blocked. They will sleep. They will oversleep. They will bug out.

Part of the problem is that they are expected to do. A professor will assign five page papers. Several students will start writing ten page papers to impress him. Then more students will write ten page papers, and a few will raise the ante to fifteen. Pity the poor student who is still just doing the assignment.

“Once you have twenty or thirty percent of the student population deliberately overexerting,” one dean points out, “It’s bad for everybody. When a teacher gets more and more effort from his class, the student who is doing normal work can be perceived as not doing well. The tactic work, psychologically.”

Why cannot the professor just cut back and not accept longer papers? He can, and he probably will. But by then the term will be half over and the damage done. Grade fever is highly contagious and not easily reversed. Besides, the professor’s main concern is with his course. He knows his students only in relation to the course and does not know that they are also overexerting in their other courses. Nor is it really his business. He did not sign up for dealing with the student as a whole person and with all the emotional baggage the student brought along from home. That’s what deans, masters, chaplains, and psychiatrists are for.

To some extent this is nothing new: a certain number of professors have always been self-contained islands of scholarship and shyness, more comfortable with books than with people. But the new pauperism has widened the gap still further, for professors who actually like to spend time with students do not have as much time to spend. They are also overexerting. If they are young, they are busy trying to publish in order not to perish, hanging by their figure nails onto a shrinking profession.

If they are old and tenured, they are buried under the duties of administering departments—as departmental chairmen or members of committees—that have been thinned out by the budgetary axe.

Ultimately it will be the students’ own business to break the circles in which they are trapped. They are too young to be prisoners of their parents’ dreams and their classmates’ fears. They must be jolted into believing into themselves as unique men and women who have the power to shape their own future.

“Violence is being done to the undergraduate experience,” says Carlos Hortas. “College should be open-ended: at the end it should open many, many roads. Instead, students are choosing their goal in advance, and their choices narrow as they go along. It’s almost as if they think that the country has been codified in the type of jobs that exist-that they’ve got to fit into certain slots. Therefore, fit into the best paying slot.”

“They ought to take chances. Not taking chances will lead to life of colorless mediocrity. They’ll be comfortable. But something in the spirit will be missing.”

I have painted too drab a portrait of today’s students, making them seem a solemn lot. That is only half of their story; if they were so dreary I wouldn’t so thoroughly enjoy their company. The other half is that they are easy to like. They are quick to laugh and to offer friendship. They are not introverts. They are usually kind and are more considerate of one another than any student generation I have known.

Nor are they so obsessed with their studies that they avoid sports and extracurricular activities. On the contrary, they juggle their crowded hours to play on a variety of teams, perform with musical and dramatic groups, and write for campus publications. But this in turn is one more cause of anxiety. There are too many choices. Academically, they have 1,300 courses to select from; outside class they have to decide how much spare time they can spare and how to spend it.

This means that they engage in fewer extracurricular pursuits than their predecessors did. If they want to row on the crew and play in the symphony they will eliminate one; in the ‘60s they would have done both. They also tend to choose activities that are self-limiting. Drama, for instance, is flourishing in all twelve of Yale’s residential colleges, as it never has before. Students hurl themselves into these productions—as actors, directors, carpenters, and technicians—with a dedication to create the best possible play, knowing that the day will come when the run will end and they can get back to their studies.

They also cannot afford to be the willing slave of organizations like the Yale Daily News. Last spring at the one-hundredth anniversary banquet of that paper—who’s past chairmen include such once and future kings as Potter Stewart, Kingman Brewster, and William F. Buckley, Jr.—much was made of the fact that the editorial staff used to be small and totally committed and that “newsies” routinely worked fifty hours a week. In effect they belonged to a club; Newsies is how they defined themselves at Yale. Today’s students will one or two articles a week, when he can, and he defines himself as a student. I’ve never heard the word Newsie except at the banquet.

If I have described the modern undergraduate primarily as a driven creature who is largely ignoring the blithe spirit inside who keeps trying to come out and play, it’s because that’s where the crunch is, not only at Yale but throughout American education. It’s why I think we should all be worried about the values that are nurturing a generation so fearful of risk and so goal-obsessed at such an early age.

I tell students that there is no one “right” way to get ahead—that each of them is a different person, starting from a different point and bound for a different destination. I tell neither them that change is a tonic and that all the slots are not codified nor the frontiers closed. One of my ways of telling them is to invite men and women who have achieved success outside the academic world to come and talk informally with my students during the year. They are heads of companies or ad agencies, editors of magazines, politicians, public officials, television magnates, labor leaders, business executives, Broadway products, artists, writers, economists, photographers, scientists, historians—a mixed bag of achievers.

I asked them to say a few words about how they got started. The students assume that they started in their present profession and knew all along that it was what they wanted to do. Luckily for me, most of them got into their field by a circuitous route, to their surprise, after many detours. The students are startled. They can hardly conceive of a career that was not pre-planned. They can hardly imagine allowing the hand of God or chance to nudge them down some unforeseen trail.

11. To Err Is Wrong

In the summer of 1979, Boston Red Sox first baseman Carl Yastrzemski became the fifteenth player in baseball history to reach the three thousand hit plateaus. This event drew a lot of media attention, and for about a week prior to the attainment of this goal, hundreds of reports covered Yaz’s every more. Finally, one reporter asked, “Hey Yaz, aren’t you afraid all of this attention will go to your head?” Yastrzemski replied, “I look at this way: in my career I’ve been up to bat over ten thousand times. That means I’ve been unsuccessful at the plate over seven thousand times. That fact alone keeps me from getting a swollen head.”?

Most people consider success and failure as opposites, but they are actually both products of the same process. As Yaz suggest, an activity that produces a hit may also produce a miss. It is the same with creative thinking; the same energy that generates good creative ideas also produces errors.

Many people, however, are not comfortable with errors. Our educational system, based on “the right answer” belief, cultivates our thinking in another, more conservative way. From an early age, we are taught that right answers are good and incorrect answers are bad. This value is deeply embedded in the incentive system used in most schools:

Right over 90% of the time = “A”

Right over 80% of the time = “B~”

Right over 70% of the time = “C~” Right over 60% of the time = “D~” Less than 60% correct, you fail.

From this we learn to be right as often as possible and to keep our mistakes to a minimum. We learn, in other words, that “to err is wrong.

Playing It Safe

With this kind of attitude, you aren’t going to be taking too many chances. If you learn that failing even a litter penalizes you (e.g., being wrong only 15% of the time garners you only a “B” performance), you learn not to make mistakes. And more important, you learn not to put yourself to situation where you might fall. This leads to conservative thought pattern designed to avoid the stigma our society puts on “failure”.

I have a friend who recently graduated from college with a Master’s degree in Journalism. For the last six month, she has been trying to find a job, but to no avail. I talked with her about situation, and realized that her problem is that she doesn’t know how to fail. She went through eighteen years of schooling to try any approaches where she might fail. She has been conditioned to believe that failure is bad in and of itself, rather than a potential stepping-stone to new ideas.

Look around. How many middle managers, housewives, administrators, teachers, and other people do you see who are to try anything new because of this failure? Most of us have learned not to make mistakes in public. As a result, we remove ourselves from many learning experience except for those occurring in the most private of circumstances.

Different Logic

From a practical point of view, “to err is wrong” makes sense. Our survival in the everyday world requires us to perform thousand of small tasks without failure. Think about it: you wouldn’t last very long if you were to step out in front of traffic or stick your hand a pot of boiling water. In addition, engineers whose bridges collapse, stock brokers who lose money for their clients, and copywriters whose ad campaigns decrease sales won’t keep their jobs very long.

Nevertheless, too great an adherence to the belief “to err is wrong” can greatly undermine your attempts to generate new ideas. If you are more concerned with producing right answers than generating original ideas, you’ll probably make uncritical use of the rules, formulae, and procedures used to obtain these right answers. By doing this, you’ll by-pass the germinal phase of the creative process, and thus spend litter time testing assumptions, challenging the rules, asking what-if questions, or just playing around with the problem. All of these techniques will produce some incorrect answers, but in the germinal phase errors are viewed as a necessary by-product of creative thinking. As Yaz would put it, “if you want the hits, be prepared for the misses.” That’s the way the game of life goes.

Errors as Stepping Stones

Whenever an error pops up, the usual response is “Jeez, another screw up, what went wrong this time?” the creative thinker, on the other hand, will realize the potential value of errors, and perhaps say something like, “Would you look at that! Where can it lead our thinking?” and then he or she will go on to use the error as a stepping stone to a new idea. As a matter of fact, the whole history of discovery is filed with people who used erroneous assumptions and failed ideas as stepping-stones to new ideas. Columbus thought he was finding a shorter route to India. Johannes Kepler stumbled on to the idea of interplanetary gravity because of assumptions that were right for the wrong reasons. And, Thomas Edison knew 1800 ways not to build a light bulb.

The following story about the automotive genius Charles Kettering exemplifies the spirit of working through erroneous assumptions to good ideas. In 1912, when the automobile industry was just beginning to grow, Kettering was interested in improving gasoline engine efficiency. The problem he faced was“knockthe phenomenon in which gasoline takes too long to burn in the cylinder-thereby reducing efficiency.

Kettering began searching for ways to eliminate the “knock.” He thought to him, “How can I get the gasoline to combust in the cylinder at an earlier time?” the key concept here is “early”. Searching for analogous situations, he looked around for models of “things that happen early.” He thought of historical models, physical models, and biological models. Finally, he remembered a particular plant, the trailing arbutus, which “happens early,” i.e., it blooms in the snow (“earlier” than other plants). One of this plant’s chief characteristics is its’ red leaves, which help the plant retain light at certain wavelengths. Kettering figured that it must be the red color, which made the trailing arbutus bloom earlier.

Now came the critical step in Kettering’s chain of thought. He asked himself, “How can I make the gasoline red?” perhaps I’ll put red dye in the gasoline—maybe that’ll make it combust earlier.” He looked around his workshop, and found that he didn’t have any red dye. But he did happen to have some iodine—perhaps that would do. He added the iodine to the gasoline and, lo and behold, the engine didn’t “knock”.

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