时尚英语话题 03

 　　Teaching¹ and Learning² Responsibility
“Teaching a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” It sounds good in theory. But is it realistic to make your kids “work”? They are supposed to study or play or do something other than “work”. Parents “work” for the future of their kids, right? But that’s exactly why kids should do a little work --- to learn responsibility. It's good for their futures³.
They should know how to do things like: clean up after themselves by putting their toys and books away. Perhaps they should even throw out the trash / separate the stuff⁴ for recycling / help for the laundry / dust the house /clean the floor. If they are older, they can set the table or wash the dishes. (Actually, in my house, washing the dishes is my job). Those are just some ideas of things that kids can do.
Sure, one of the first things that may come to mind is “Cinderella”, but it’s not like they are doing this all day long. They may do their “chore” once a day or even once a week. But it’s THEIR job. Not Mom's. When we talk about young kids and education, most agree that it should be fun, or the kids will get sick of it.
When we clean our house, we sometimes turn on music. We often all clean together. For example, when it's time to clean the floor, we might get two damp rags each and skate around the room. We also clean the car together. When we all clean together, we give each other energy. But doing some things alone to learn a sense of responsibility is crucial⁵. Having a kid who is always dependent⁶ makes life hard for a parent.
Talk about it.
Is it cool to make kids to chores? Do your kids have any house chores? What are some common house chores? What can children learn from doing chores? How can you make chores more fun? How often should children do chores? What kinds of work shouldn’t kids do around the house? What do you think of children who don’t do chores? What chores did you do when you were younger? How did you feel about doing house chores?

1 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

2 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

3 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

4 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

5 crucial   

adj.极重要的，决定性的，关键性的

参考例句：

• It's a crucial decision.这是一个极其重要的决定。
• The foreign market was increasingly crucial.国外市场越来越重要了。

6 dependent   

adj.依靠的，依赖的，依赖他人生活者

参考例句：

• He has a mother completely dependent on him.他有一个完全靠他赡养的母亲。
• The country is dependent on foreign aid.这个国家靠外援生存。