The first day at school

Can you remember your first day at school? It was probably rather confusing. Now to avoid this confusion many primary schools have a special teacher who welcomes new pupils. In England she is called a reception-class teacher. On the first day it is her responsibility to "settle" the newcomers. The difficulty is that a lot of people give their children the wrong idea about going to school. The children are threatened with the idea of school, and if they have been good, they can't understand why they have to go to school. They imagine that school is optional.

When the child goes to school, on his first day, he has to watch his mother leaving. Often he thinks that she is deserting him. The teacher must convince him that at the end of the day his mother and his home will still be there. The children are not the only people that are disturbed by going to school. The teacher sometimes has just as much difficulty in coping with the mothers. They are just as upset as their children. They hang around and dislike leaving the child to his fate. All day they stay at home, wondering what is happening and how their son Or daughter is managing.

The best way to deal with the situation is to get the child used to the idea of school. Before the beginning of term the mother should take her child to see the teacher and to look round the school. The first day should be something to emphasize the regularity of school, and although the first day is difficult, the mother must remember that her child must be encouraged for a whole term at least.

B1. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению:

On the first day a reception-class teacher ...

a) is a newcomer.

b) teaches in a special way.

c) establishes the children in the class.

B2. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению:

A lot of people ...

a) tell their children that school is wrong.

b) misinform the children about the school.

c) have bad ideas about school.

B3. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению:

The mothers are often ...

a) as angry as their children,

b) as difficult as their children,

c) as nervous as their children.

B4. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению:

Often the children feel ... a) happy when their mothers leave.

b) lonely,

c) angry.

B5. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению:

The teacher tells him that his mother ...

a) has left.

b) has deserted him.

c) has left him temporarily.

Let kids be kids

(by Stephen R.C. Hicks)

1. The newspaper in Indiana town ran a contest for schoolchildren. The students were to create a picture on any topic; the best would be published in the paper.

2. A second-grader drew a sad-faced earth with the caption "I am weary. I am tired. Please quit wasting me!"* A third-grade girl depicted animals crying near a house under construction, with smokestacks in the distance; the caption read "We want our home back!"

3. Apparently many children are coming home from school frightened that the world is cold and inhospitable. All the furry animals are being killed and the nice green trees being chopped down. Even breathing air is dangerous.

4. Motivated by the best of intentions, most teachers want their students to become informed and independent thinkers. But in trying to convey a sense of urgency about such problems, they become frustrated and frightened. They begin to realize that we are living in a hostile world whose problems are too big to handle. And that's an attitude children often acquire early in life.This does not mean educators and parents should pretend that problems do not exist. We need to take pains** to help children confront them on a scale they can grasp.

5. Frightened children are not going to grow into adults who can solve the world's problems. That requires a confidence in one's ability to find solutrons. And such healthy self-esteem*** requires nurturing**** over a long period, on a great number of small, day-to-day matters. Too much, too fast, can only destroy it.

В1. Определите, является ли следующее утверждение

Most teachers want their students to become informed and independent thinkers.

a. ложным;

b. истинным;

c. в тексте нет информации.

В2. Определите, является ли следующее утверждение

Students become frustrated and frightened.

a. ложным;

b. истинным;

c. в тексте нет информации.

B3. Укажите какой из абзацев текста содержит следующую информацию

All the furry animals are being killed and the nice green trees being chopped down.

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

e. 5

B4. Укажите какой из абзацев текста содержит следующую информацию

Many children are coming home from school think that the world is cold and inhospitable.

a. 1

b. 2

c. 3

d. 4

e. 5

B5. Найдите правильный ответ к следующему утверждению.

Children begin to realize that we are living in a….world.

1. kind

2. hostile

3. changing

4. wonderful