GRE作文范文 Issue-18

"Students should bring a certain skepticism to whatever they study. They should question what they are taught instead of accepting it passively."

嘉文博译Sample Essay

The unquestioned role of a student is to learn as much as possible through whatever means it takes to ingrain that knowledge in the individual student. Teachers and professors are human beings and are therefore not perfect. No one knows the correct answer to every question even when you limit the questions to a certain field of study. Having a certain skepticism about what they are being taught can help students to make the teachers and professors even better by clarifying correct answers or correcting mistakes and misinformation.

Students certainly have a huge role in their own abilities to learn. Teaching faculty should act more as guides along the way rather than trying to force each student to learn whatever it is that they are studying. The best teachers in the world cannot teach an unmotivated student. If the teacher, for whatever reason, cannot motivate the student, then the student must somehow find a way to motivate him or herself. One method of doing this is by become an active rather than a passive student. The more the student involves him or herself in the act of studying, the better he or she can learn. One of the best ways to become more active is simply to ask the teacher or professor questions. Students who passively sit in a classroom and take everything that the teacher says for granted are not fully using their mental capacities to learn. Better education comes from teachers who are able to get their students to think about a subject rather than merely absorb a certain amount of information. Having a healthy skepticism can improve a student's ability to both think and absorb knowledge in a learning situation.

Students should practice a certain amount of skepticism in the classroom as a means of fostering better communication between the teacher and the students. To sit passively receiving and digesting information from a teacher or professor would be to assume that everything that the teacher says is absolutely correct. Teachers are human beings and no one is one hundred percent right all of the time, even in a classroom situation. No professor or teacher is infallible. Perhaps a teacher would simply unconsciously say the wrong word or pass on some misinformation that the teacher truly believed was correct. Simply asking a question by the student could prevent an entire classroom from becoming confused or misinformed.

In my own education, I have had at least two experiences that showed me the value of being somewhat of a skeptic at times in a classroom situation. In my younger years, a grade school teacher told the class that it was wrong for people of different races to intermarry because the children would grow up confused about their "real" identity. Although it seemed wrong at the time, because I was so young and impressionable, I thought that the teacher must be right because he was the teacher. Looking back now, I realize just how wrong he was and that a healthy skepticism even at a young age can be a valuable tool in education. In another example of the value of questioning a teacher, we had an inexperienced first-time teacher teaching our second language class. Although she tried very hard, it became obvious that she was making many mistakes. I began asking questions (in a helpful manner) and found out that the book that she was using was full of mistakes. She appreciated the feedback and we all had a better learning experience by watching for mistakes from the book. Without a little skepticism, we would have been pronouncing and using many words incorrectly.

There is of course a fine balance between a student having a healthy skepticism and just being a downright cynic. But with the proper attitude toward learning and a little skepticism, both the student and the professors or teacher can improve upon the learning process and maximize learning efficiency.

(652 words)

参考译文

学生应该对他所学的一切东西持怀疑态度。他们对教给他们的东西应该进行质询而不是被动地接受

毫无疑问，学生就是应该通过一切手段尽可能地多学习，牢牢掌握所学到的知识。老师和教授毕竟也是人，因此不可能尽善尽美。即使将问题限制在特定的研究领域内，也不可能有人会知道所有问题的正确答案。对别人教给他的东西持有一种怀疑态度能够帮助学生督促老师和教授改正错误，进一步讲清正确答案，纠正错误的表达，从而使他们做得更好。

学生自身确实具有很强的学习能力。老师应该在学生学习的过程中多引导他们取得进步而不应该强迫他们学习。如果一个学生自己没有学习的动力，那么就算是全世界最好的老师也对他无能为力。如果老师出于某种原因不能激发学生学习的动力，那么学生自己必须要找到激励、启发自己的方法。方法之一就是要成为一个积极的而不是消极的学习者。学生积极参与学习过程的程度越深，他就能学得越好。变得积极起来的最好方法之一就是去问老师或教授问题。那些被动地坐在课堂上理所当然地将老师说的话奉为真理的学生并没有充分运用自己的智能。能在学习中启发学生思考而不仅仅是让学生单向吸收知识的老师才能进行更好的、卓有成效的教育。

学生在课堂上应该抱有一些怀疑态度，以期达到学生与老师之间更好的交流。被动地坐在课堂上接收、消化老师或教授所传授的信息无异于认为老师说的就是绝对正确的。老师也是人，没有人总是百分之百正确，即使是在课堂这个小小的领域内也是如此。没有哪一个老师或教授是绝不犯错的。有时老师可能会无意识地说错词或者传达一些自己认为是正确但实际上却是错误的信息。这时，学生只要问一个问题就能防止全班产生迷惑或被误导。

在我受教育的过程中，至少有两次经历告诉我在课堂上有时有一点怀疑态度的重要性。我小时候，一个小学老师上课时说不同种族的人通婚是错误的，因为他们生下的孩子长大后会搞不清自己"真正"的身份。尽管这种说法当时就是错误的，但是由于我那时还很小很单纯，我认为因为他是老师他肯定就是正确的。现在回想起来，我意识到老师的错误有多么严重，意识到即使是在很小的年纪，有益的质疑态度也会是受教育过程中的宝贵工具。另一个例子发生在一个初次教学毫无经验的老师给我们上第二外语课的时候。尽管她很努力，但显然她犯了很多错误。因此我就开始对她提问(是以一种帮助的口吻)，结果发现是她用的那本书错误百出。她非常感激我的提问，我们也在给书找出错误的同时达到了更好的学习效果。如果当时我没有一点怀疑态度的话，我们现在对许多词语的读音和用法可能都会是错误的。

当然，一个学生应该找到一个好的平衡点，使自己具有一种有益的质询态度而不是成为一个彻底的愤世嫉俗、好嘲笑挖苦的人。有了对学习的正确态度和一点质疑精神，学生和老师、教授都能够完善学习过程，最大限度地提高学习效率。