题型：阅读理解 题类：常考题 难易度：普通
浙江省台州中学2018-2019学年高二上学期英语第二次统练试卷
America's top education official says many schools are spending too much time teaching the "basics"—reading, math and writing. It might seem opposite to what educators have been promoting. But U.S. Education Secretary John King says children really deserve access to a well-rounded education that includes music and arts because it will help them go into being well-rounded, well-educated persons.
King spoke about his own education when explaining why schools need to teach more than math, reading and writing.
King grew up in New York. Both his parents died when he was quite young. In his house, things were often crazy and frightening. It was his teacher, Mr. Osterwei, who helped him escape his difficult life. Quite often, the teacher took him and his classmates to the theater, the zoo, the ballet and famous Museum of Natural History. "Those were powerful, life-changing experiences, "King says. King graduated from Harvard University. He received his law degree from Yale University. He took charge of New York State public schools from 2011-2015. The U.S. Senate approved him as Education secretary last month.
Many schools spend almost all funding on the "basics" because they lack money for other subjects, King says. Or they want students to do better on tests used to compare student performance.
Students need to connect their studies and things that matter to them personally, such as music if they are to become "sophisticated(水平高的) thinkers". A 2013 report by UNESCO says today's world needs people able to solve new and unusual problems. It says arts can help students find those answers. In the report, UNESCO said teaching the arts in China, South Korea and Japan is different.
From that in many Western countries, the emphasis(重点) in those three countries is "on joyful experiences and children's interests." In the West, educators are more likely to connect the arts to reading, writing and math. A 2014 report tried to compare how well countries teach children how to solve problems. It found Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Canada, Australia and Finland with the highest scores for 15-year-olds. Singapore led the way with a score of 562 out of a possible 1, 000. The average score was 500. The United States had a score of 508.
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