2. 外语
  3. Some people believe that the most important qualities of an effective teacher are understanding and empathy. Others believe that

Some people believe that the most important qualities of an effective teacher are understanding and empathy. Others believe that

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问题 Some people believe that the most important qualities of an effective teacher are understanding and empathy. Others believe that it is more important for teachers to be rigorous and demanding in their expectations for students.
Write a response in which you discuss which view more closely aligns with your own position and explain your reasoning for the position you take. In developing and supporting your position, you should address both of the views presented.
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答案 Education has long been one of the hotly debated topics of societal issues. One question related to education asks what the most important quality of an effective teacher is. Two schools of thoughts present two contradicting views: the first claims that to be effective, teachers must be able to understand and feel empathy for their students, while the second states that the more important qualities of an effective teacher are rigorous and demanding in his or her expectation for students. The latter view more closely aligns with my own position on this issue, although I do not deny the importance of empathy. In other words, while it is certainly important for teachers to possess qualities like understanding and empathy, being able to be rigorous and demanding are the more important qualities to be an effective teacher. To begin, admittedly teachers should learn to understand their students and be able to feel for them, for the reason that a child’s development in school is not only intellectual and physical but also mental. If the teacher ignores the understanding and empathy for students, they could get lost and may not be able to follow the correct path. For example, in recent decades we have seen a number of tragic cases of school shooting committed by disgruntled and desperate students. The shooting suspects vary from high school teens to PhD candidates. Subsequent investigations revealed that such students do not feel welcomed at school and abandoned by their peers as well as their teachers. Had those teachers learnt to give the troubled students sufficient attention and cares, they would much be less likely to commit the crime. Therefore, since one of teachers’ responsibilities is to promote students’ mental health, qualities such as understanding and empathy are certainly important for teachers. However, while it is important for teachers to learn to understand the students, it is not the decisive factor in evaluating a teacher’s effectiveness. Instead, I argue that it is more important for teachers to be rigorous and demanding in the expectation of the students. Such expectations not only concern academic performance but are also related to becoming an independent individual capable of overcoming adversities. Regarding the expectations on academic performance, I feel the urge to point out that the practical purpose of education is to select talents from the young for the society. An example is that almost in every culture education is associated with certain forms of examination. While some may see exams as a mere way to test the performance of students, in reality they serve as a differentiating tool to classify different levels of learners. As a result, on an individual level, to survive in future society it is necessary to stand out in the process of education. Teachers, on the other hand, have the responsibility to help the society identify talents and allow them to receive high-quality education. To fulfill this responsibility, it becomes apparent that teachers must set rigorous expectations for the students, a responsibility authorized by the very nature of education. Furthermore, beyond the simple purpose of identifying talents, educators also have the responsibility to prepare the younger generation for embracing the challenges of the society. Compared to the ivory tower of campus, the society is a much harsher place. For instance, immediately after the announcement of the 2016 Presidential Election result in the USA, many students who support Hilary Clinton cannot accept the fact that Donald Trump had just won the election. Many of them had mental meltdown and just refused to believe in the reality. Obviously simple denial won’t change what happened; what those students should do instead is to learn to face the challenges and adversities and eventually fight for change. Such an attitude cannot be gained unless teachers set up demanding expectations for the students. In fact, critics attribute the mental weakness of many of those aforementioned students to the lax style of teaching they receive in school, which essentially becomes a greenhouse that protects the students from the adversities in life. To summarize, I acknowledge that teachers should possess qualities such as understanding and empathy, but it is more important for them to be rigorous and demanding in order to become effective. Here, the effectiveness can be evaluated in two parts: whether academically teachers are rigorous and demanding enough to identify talents, and whether students are challenged to become a mentally strong individual. (727 words)
解析     教育类的题目是GRE Issue中非常喜欢考查的类别，围绕学生、教师、家长、学校乃至政府都可以设计出花样繁多的题目。这个题目讨论的是教师应该如何教学，当中提到了两种对立的观点：究竟是应该能理解学生、表达共情，还是要对学生严格要求、毫不留情(rigorous)。
    这两种立场反映了两种不同的教育理念，即教师是应该唱红脸为主，给学生提供鼓励式教育，还是应该唱黑脸为主，像“虎妈”那样提供严格的教育。本文选择了后一种观点(虽然认可同理心的重要性，并且在第一主旨段做出了让步)，同时给出了两个理由。值得注意的是，这两个理由都根植于本文对于教育目的的定义。
    教育的目的究竟是什么?我们的小孩为什么需要去学校进行统一的学习?这背后其实有着一套内在的逻辑，哪怕不是为了写Issue作文，这些问题也是值得我们去思考的——毕竟我们在学校学习了这么多年，考GRE是为了出国，还得再读几年。本文首先提出一个鲜明的观点：教育的目的(从社会整体的角度来看)其实是为了更好地选拔人才，这是因为我们人类社会本质上是“择优制度”(meritocracy)。而对人才的选拔，我们需要一个公平有效的方式，这就是考试。
    故而教育的目的实则就是提供一个公平的平台让学生的能力得以被评估。这也许听起来有一些铁面无情，但客观来说，教育的确起到了筛选人才的作用(想想我们经历的干军万马过独木桥的高考吧)，所以教师作为筛选人才机制的一部分，需要强硬。另一方面，对于学生来说，教育可以看作是他们进入复杂社会之前接受洗礼的过程。如果是这样的话，一个严师的好处就不言自明了——社会是残酷的，学生们需要在学校里就接受挫折教育，否则会成为温室里的花朵，在社会的大风大浪前不知所措。综上，按照题目所说对学生严格要求，既是为了学生好，也是出于整个社会利益的考量。
    本文值得学习的地方在于对“教育的目的”进行的探讨。在Issue题目当中，不仅仅是教育类的题目，广泛深入挖掘题目内涵是一种提分手段。当然，读者不一定要认同本文对于教育的定义，但我们需要知道的是写文章的过程中可以这么做，而且这样做有好处。因此大家可以多思考诸如“教育的目的是什么”“科学技术的目的是什么”“政府的目的是什么”这一类看起来很形而上的问题，思考这些问题会对大家的学术写作提升有显著帮助。
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