Do you think that conventional schools meet the increasing demands of the society?

Many young people are unhappy with conventional education; they drop out of the conventional system because they are bored and feel stifled by such system that doesn’t seem to care about students. They are just numbers.

Conventional schools don’t meet the enquires of the society, people are worried about the quality of State education in their areas.

As a matter of fact, there seems to be an impressive number of arguments for alternative school system and none against. The main argument for is that most children seem to hate their school nowadays. They are so tired of teachers and classes that they simply sit through the whole day and then rush out to go home. It doesn’t happen due to their dislike of some particular subjects or teachers; the contemporary phenomenon is that kids don’t accept their school as a whole. In England parents choose to opt out of the State system, because they are opposed to comprehensive system, as mixed ability classes don’t make the best provision for the least and most able children. The students complain themselves that the educational system doesn’t seem to care about them; they feel as if they were just numbers.

The reason for all that is that ordinary school system is based on an adult conception of what a child should be and how a child should learn. It makes the child fit the school, not vice versa, as it’s supposed to be. The classroom atmosphere itself doesn’t reflect respect for individual worth of each pupil: the teacher confronts and controls pupils, pupils sit in rows and look at each other’s backs, there is no real communication and students can only speak when called to do so. But the process of education is the reflection of the society we live in. if children are constrained and humiliated by teachers who show no respect, they will grow up to copy that model and wish to be in position to humiliate and constrain others. It’s the pattern of military control.

Teachers should initiate the process of progressive or child-centered approach, which is based on the pedagogy of cooperation, where the learner shares the responsibility for the decisions in the learning process. The teacher doesn’t impose the view on the pupils who passively follow, pupils learn to discuss and listen, to respect the contribution of each of them from the very start.

There are thoughts of developing an alternative school system, or rather reforming the state one beyond recognition. But this theory should work, when it’s put to practice. One of such alternative school systems was launched in the USA, in NY. This programme called – the City-as-School, works in the following way: high school students spend their days as part-time apprentices in various spheres. The programme is individually tailored to the students’ needs and interests. Credits are given for satisfactory completion of assignments and the student stand as good a chance of getting into a college as their counterparts from ordinary high schools. Many of the CAS students are those who were bored and unhappy with conventional education.

Whether one has like or dislike for the education they got, everything flows, everything changes. And the system of schooling should follow that pattern. New thought in pedagogy gives rise to alternative systems, which hopefully will replace the outdated system of today, which fails to meet the demands of the contemporary society.

22) CONVENTIONAL SCHOOLING IN BELARUS: PROBLEMS AND WAYS OF THEIR SOLUTION.

School's mission is to promote intellectual growth in students providing a healthy emotional atmosphere, developed by positive interpersonal relationships between the stuff, students and community.

However, the possibility of schools to reach its main target depends:

1) on the approach which is chosen to fulfill educational goals and reach high academic standards and

2) on the role that is ascribed to teaching and learning processes.

Conventional schooling presupposes traditional forms of educating students through a teacher-centered approach, relying on

1) lecturing as a way of transmitting information and

2) test examination system as a way of knowledge control.

The Republic of Belarus has a highly developed system of education, which proves adult literacy rate (99.8%). However, the system of school teaching here -- conventional schooling -- has become nowadays the subject of multiple critiques. There are those who believe that this type of schooling does not well foster children's potential. Conventional schooling stifles curiosity and kills motivation. Children are regarded just as numbers.

Due to the big number of students in classes and limited amount of time it's impossible for teachers to find an individual approach to each student and to create a high motivation level for the subject. Teachers, due to low salaries, lack incentive and inspiration to give off their best. Rather than nurturing learning, the teacher's presence and questions often inhibit in children thinking more about what the teacher wants rather than the actual subject at hand.

Truancy, lack of interest and important extra-curricular activities, lack of financing and of new modern equipment and appropriate discipline are the issues that Belarusian conventional schooling faces today and that demand thorough consideration and resolution.

Among the ways of improving the situation is to make education more learner-centered based on the pedagogy of cooperation where the learner shares the responsibility for decisions in the learning process, to minimize pressure upon students and give them more freedom to express their thoughts and opinions, to put the emphasis on creative thinking, to shorten the amount of students in each classroom and thus to establish a contact with each child, to create the atmosphere of trust, to make teacher's schedule less taxing without the detriment to their wages. There should be emphasis on universal human values. Teachers are to respect the view of students.

Thus the key targets of conventional schooling should be the development of personality, democratization and creative thinking. Conventional education should be geared to all aspects of life, including employment. Such steps will help to inspire students to go to schools. On the whole, schools, parents and the state should integrate in order to build an educated society.

For every family the future of their kids is the most important question. Parents are ready to spend an enormous sum of money for the education of their children.

Choosing a school is of an exceptional importance. Because our decision will influence the march of events and will be a turning-point in the life of our kids. That’s why we have to choose the school where we would like our children to study and to what sphere of life we want to dedicate their life very carefully. But what are the criteria for the good school? How not to mistake while choosing one? Schools have for many years set out their purposes, often in clear and helpful statements of aims and objectives.

School’s mission is to promote intellectual growth in students through a meaningful education. However, the possibility of schools to reach the set up target depends on the approach they take to fulfill educational goals and reach high academic standards.

The reality nowadays shows that parents more often give their preference to private schools, choosing the name of the school but not its teaching methods. Conventional schooling presupposes traditional forms of educating students through a teacher-centered approach, relying on lecturing as a way of transmitting information and test examination system as a way of knowledge control. This type of schooling exists in Belarus. It should be mentioned that Belarus has a highly developed system of education, as evidenced by such statistical indicators as adult literacy rate (99.8%) and ratio of employed population who received basic, general secondary or vocational education (98%).

However conventional schooling has become nowadays the subject of multiple critiques. There are those who believe that this type of schooling does not well reveal children’s potential, moreover it stifles curiosity and kills motivation. Children are regarded as just numbers. Due to the big numbers of students in classes and limited amount of time it is next to impossible for teachers to find an individual approach to each student and to create high motivation for the subject. In their turn, some teachers, due to low salaries, lack incentive and inspiration to give off their best.

Truancy, lack of interest and important extra-curricular activities, lack of financing and of new modern equipment are the issues that Belarusian conventional schooling faces today and that demand thorough consideration and resolution.

Among the ways of improving the situation is to make education more learner-centered based on the pedagogy of cooperation where the learner shares the responsibilities for decisions in the learning process; it minimizes pressure upon students and give them more freedom to express their thoughts and opinions, puts the emphasis on creative thinking. This approach shortens the amount of students in each classroom and thus establishes a contact with each child, creates the atmosphere of trust.

Teachers are to respect the views of students and by no means to penalize them for the views different from the accepted norm. Thus the key targets of conventional schooling should be the development of personality and also the creative thinking.

On the whole, schools, parents and the state should integrate in order to build an educated society.

 

 

27. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences27. Environmental pollution causes and consequences

Nowadays environmental pollution is one of the major problems in the world. Environmental pollution is contamination of air, water and land from man-made waste. Pollution leads to depletion of the ozone layer, global warming and climate change.

There are lots of different types of pollution: air, water and soil pollution, noise and light pollution, nuclear and thermal pollution and others. Fossil fuels are among the most serious sources of environmental pollution. Other sources include agriculture, trading activities and residential sector.

Air pollution is the release of chemicals and particles into the atmosphere. Some of the most important air pollutants are sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone.

Water pollution includes surface runoff, leakage into groundwater, liquid spills, and littering. If toxins are spilled on the ground or if an underground storage tank leaks, soil can become contaminated. The most common contaminants are herbicides and pesticides.

Light pollution, defined as excess light at night, increases women’s risk of breast cancer significantly, as well as wasting energy and disrupting the migration patterns and breeding cycles of many birds and animals.

Noise pollution is not only annoying, it can also cause severe hearing loss and other health problems.

Litter pollutes waterways and leaches toxic chemicals into soil and groundwater as it breaks down. Most litter begins with a careless or thoughtless act by a single person who tosses away a cigarette butt or an empty soda can, which means there is a lot you can do to prevent litter.

Time Magazine reported in 2007 that the most polluted spots in the world included China, India, Peru and Russia.

Extensive measures should be taken to prevent environmental pollution.

29. THE ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS IN BELARUS.

We all love our native, land, remarkably beautiful Belarusian nature with its blue lakes and ribbons of rivers, edged with thick forests with its endless expanses of fields, meadows and swamps with its varied animal and plant kingdom.

Nature is a source of man’s p rosperity_, we are the children of the nature and we are eternally indebted to it As everyone admires the beauty of nature each of us must at the same time be filled with the sense of responsibility and concern for its protection, rational and thrifty of its riches.

Nature is an involved complex where all the components are closely intermixed and interdependent. That means that humankind must be very careful in usage of natural resources in order to avert the damaging consequences.

A great helper in the noble task of protection of the environment is the science of ecology, which reveals the links and makes forecasts if the people start improper business somewhere. Besides the ecology faces different programs connected with ecological disasters an d environmental holocausts like Chernobyl, for example.

Let's have a glimpse of Belarusian nature. The lands and forests are wonderful, we can find broad-leaved grove pine and fir forests. The republic has over 10.00Q lakes. More, than 58 types of fish are found in our rivers and lakes (pike, roach, bream, crucian, loach, burbot.

Every autumn 160 types of birds migrate southwards and return to their native parts in spring. And there are 286 types of birds overall in Belarus.

The territory of Belarus is inhabited by 47 types of mammals. Over 40 spices are game There are elk, roe, wild boar, squirrels, hare, fox, marten. A lot ofanimals and beards, kinds of fish and plants are registered in Belarus Red Data book, and are legally produced against extermination.

The republic has a great number of recreational areas and tourist attractions which gained popularity among the lovers of nature and are visited thousands of people every year. Everyone knows our famous lake Naroch, say, Braslavskie lakes, or BuelovezhskayaPustcha preserve. When people introduced to these unique parts, to their fauna and flora, they form love nature and come to realizing the need of its conservation.

The problems of environmental protection figure prominent part nowadays in the activities of the Belarusian government. But the burden Problems is overwhelming. There are few green zones around the industrial enterprises; our natural resources are not used properly. During the recent years there appeared a lot of harmful works, which pollute the surrounding neighborhood the water in the in rivers. And some more dangerous projects are still in progress.

Let me tell you about some of them. Everybody in Belarus knows that, for example, Orsha is highly industrialized area. Some businessmen together with the Italian partners decided to create a leather - producing joint venture construct the plant on the banks of the river Dniper. Of course leather necessary for producing shoes, jackets, etc. No doubt on the one hand it's necessary and economically income some undertaking. But on the other hand the dangerous industrial waste of chemicals. It's dangerous for composition including different acid and even heavy metals. It could ha ruined the nature in the territory of several miles around the factory. Moreover it could pollute the waters of the Dniper and produce harmful effect and even lead to ecological catastrophe.

One knows about the notorious LAVS AN in Mogilev an enterprise producing the artificial fibers. Beside the industria l output this plant throws into the air very dangerous micro elements which cause the allergic diseases such as asthma, for instance. The necessity of closing and re-profiling of factory is vivid to everyone, but it still functions.

Not to say about the Chernoby l holocaust As a result of it a great area the Belarusian territory became contaminated with radioactive particles, contamination caused a rapid raise of such incurable illnesses as the cancer, lot of people died from leukemia. N owadays the agricultural production from 30 % of the Belarusian territory is not valid for consumption: The harm effect of this tragedy according to some estimations amounts to 30 billion $US.

It goes without saying that Belarus faces now a lot of extremely ecological problems. The Government commissions are being created, adopted, but as for the changes, they are few and hardly radical. The Supreme Executives control over the activities of local executive committees in order safeguard the nature and protect the environment. But these steps are insuffic ient. Therefore a great majority of people join all sorts of "GREEN" movements and ecological parties. We know the examples when the joint efforts of the environmentalists and the government realized into some successful projects such as THE SMALL RIVERS in France or THE RAIN in Germany, I^ICHIGAN in the United States etc.

Only if the ecological coalition of the government and society is created _one can expect the positive and fast solution of the ecological problems.

In the conditions of science and technological revolution, when man interferes in the natural process on an increasing scale, the protection of the environment is one of the most vitally topical problems. Its solution involves the efforts of all people inhabiting the planet. And it is a necessary and noble task, because we must preserve the civilization, and leave for the generations to come fresh air, pure water, national parks and preserves.