Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Essay about Different Education Pattern

Essay about Different Education Pattern Essay about Different Education Pattern Name: Yvonne Lin Level: 4A Differences in Education Pattern When it comes to Nobel Laureates, there is a prevailing question in mainland China why there is not a mainland-born Chinese who is rewarded the Nobel Prize in scientific areas such as Physics and Chemistry. In 2010, statistics conducted by BBC News has shown that over the intervening 109 years (1901-2010), Western countries claimed the most winners. Many Chinese blame this for the education pattern as they embrace that it is education that changes a country and the world. Due to the differences in political system and history, generally speaking, there are significant differences but few commonalities in education pattern between China and Western countries. Despite that Chinese educationists are making revolutionary progress in education pattern, they emphasizes too much on solely obtaining knowledge in various realms while Western countries aim at cultivating students’ habit of analysis, fostering creativity and developing critical thinking. Because of the requirement of tests, Chinese students have to recite all the theories they have learned, and usually, there is only one answer to a question. In addition, they have rare access to the laboratory to experience the magic of science especially in some impoverished areas where top-notch facilities don’t exist. In contrast, students in Western countries are more fortunate since they can immerse themselves in experiments which most Chinese students are eager to do. Besides, not only do the teachers in Western countries teach knowledge, they are also trying to fulfill students’ potential no matter whether it is relevant to academic areas. Furthermore, when we compare students in these countries, it is obvious that Chinese students are less likely to be exposed to the sunshine. Why? Because Chinese parents and teachers attach great importance to score, the youths lack opportunities to get involved in abundant extracurricular activities, which is cont rary to the situation in Western countries where students are fully encouraged to participate in

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Straight-Tusked Elephant - Facts and Figures

Straight-Tusked Elephant - Facts and Figures Name: Straight-Tusked Elephant; also known as Palaeoloxodon and Elephas antiquus Habitat: Plains of western Europe Historical Epoch: Middle-Late Pleistocene (1 million-50,000 years ago) Size and Weight: About 12 feet tall and 2-3 tons Diet: Plants Distinguishing Characteristics: Large size; long, slightly curved tusks    About the Straight-Tusked Elephant Understanding the Straight-Tusked Elephant requires a quick primer in modern elephant classification. Living elephants are represented by two genera, Loxodonta and Elephas; the former comprises two species (Loxodonta africana and Loxodonta cyclotis) of African elephants, while the latter contains but a single species: Elephas maximus, the Asian elephant. Long story short, most paleontologists consider the Straight-Tusked Elephant to be an extinct species of Elephas, Elephas antiquus, though some assign it to its own genus, Palaeoloxodon antiquus. As if thats not confusing enough, this prehistoric relative of the Asian elephant was native to western Europe! Classification issues aside, the Straight-Tusked Elephant was one of the largest pachyderms of the Pleistocene epoch, standing 12 feet tall and weighing in the neighborhood of two to three tons. As you might expect given its name, this elephants most distinctive trait was its exceptionally long, slightly curving tusks, which it used along with its unusually long tongue and trunk to strip the leaves off trees. Judging by fossil remains, the Straight-Tusked Elephant roamed the European plains in smallish herds of a dozen or so individuals, and was eventually out-competed in its increasingly frigid ecosystem by the well-insulated Woolly Mammoth. (By the way, some experts believe it was the Straight-Tusked Elephant that spawned the Dwarf Elephants of the Mediterranean basin.)