【英语时差8,16】摒弃严厉的「管教」方式

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"'Stop Beating Kids!'" read the darkly inked headline. After studying the results of a survey it conducted among 250 schools and 1,550 students, the Humanistic Education Foundation (HEF) found as many as 88% of our junior high schools still use some form of corporal punishment. Nearly 15% of our students at that level describe themselves as "miserable¹" when at school. The emotions and ideas behind the teachers' behavior using those methods are flat out wrong. The argument I use in ethics² courses is that even young people are whole people. Teenagers may not be full adults, but they not only have minds, but also spiritual and psychological selves. Once we reduce people to a single attribute of their lives or personalities³, we've ceased to treat them as fully⁴ human. That is wrong. A student is more than a student, and academic performance should not make us blind to the contours of their interior selves. The principle of the dignity of the human person also applies to these situations. What disturbs me the most in the news report was the absence of any mention of parenting. Parents, I am told, often abdicate⁵ their responsibilities. Their feelings: Let the school handle discipline. But if we do that, look what happens. Is this the meaning of education? VOCABULARY

foundation (n.) 基金会 There are several foundations in Taiwan that were created with the intent of helping⁶ those in need.

miserable (adj.) 悲惨的；凄惨的 The dreary⁷ weather today made me feel miserable and sad.

ethics (n.) 伦理学；伦理观It is important for businesses to follow a code of ethics as they can be easily blinded by money.

spiritual (adj.) 精神上的 Some people seek spiritual guidance to find peace in their lives.

academic (adj.) 学术的 Academic success is viewed as being important in determining one's future.

dignity (n.) 尊敬 He will not sacrifice his dignity for financial gain.

to abdicate (v.) 正式放弃（权力等）；辞职；（国王）退位 King Edward the VII abdicated⁸ his throne for the love of Ms. Wallis Simpson.

corporal punishment 体罚 Corporal punishment, aside from causing physical harm, can also lead to psychological damage.

to be flat out wrong 大錯特錯 The claims that the 9/11 attacks were a hoax⁹ are flat out wrong.

to make us blind 蒙蔽我们；让我们看不见（事实或真相） Our preoccupation with our petty problems makes us blind to the bigger problems of hunger and poverty in the world.

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