Recently, a student used his Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) to film a female teacher scolding and tearing the work of a classmate. The public discussion that the incident caused started on the Internet. However, when it came to the media’s attention, it quickly became a major topic in the education circles. The reactions so far suggest that the focus of the debate has been on one question: whom to blame?
Teachers who are anxious to defend their professional dignity have tried to put the blame on the students. They mentioned their right to privacy 隐私）and for this reason they requested the Ministry of Education (MOE) to prohibit PDAs in schools. On the other hand, some parents and students have taken a different position. They feel that the teacher is also at fault. Caught up in the war of words between both sides, people are no longer interested in the “truth” of the matter which seems now unimportant. It was left to newspapers to discover the central point of the controversial issue, by stressing the problems that are not always easily noticed in our educational system.
For those responsible for educating the young, this PDA incident conveys the message that “Times have changed”，a reality that must have been felt even more strongly by the female teacher when reflecting on this unpleasant experience. Different times call for different professional approaches in education. The ability to understand the students they are teaching has always been the quality of successful teachers. Despite some factors, the incident shows that the teacher lacks good qualities on her part. Besides, the rules under current system to deal with recalcitrant students need to be improved. Also, it is an example which shows the issue we are familiar with: what to do with new technology? With PDA, the new technology, the interaction (交流）between the teacher and students in classroom has been changed.
小题1:The author’s purpose in writing this passage is to______.
A．improve the teachers’ way of teaching
B．stress the using of PDA in the classroom
C．change the students’ behavior in the classroom
D．discuss the potential problems of educational system小题2:The underlined word “recalcitrant” in paragraph 3 probably means______?
A．difficult to control
B．interested in nothing
C．unwilling to learn
D．ready to obey rules小题3:The writer’s attitude toward the PDA incident is______.
A．optimistic
B．critical
C．uncertain
D．approval小题4:What might be the best title for the passage?
A．Whom to blame?
B．The PDA incident
C．Times have changed
D．What to do with new technology?
