邹奇奇的家位于雷德蒙市(Redmond,该市与西雅图毗邻,是微软总部所在城市)一栋不起眼的平房里。记者在她妈妈邹灿的引导下来到地下室,远远就听见奇奇的声音,邹灿告诉记者奇奇在给学生上写作课。看到奇奇时,她正站在一幅投影屏幕前,对着个大电视机严肃地说着话。借助远程视频等高科技,12岁的奇奇在家中,为世界各地的人讲授写作技法。她的学生从5岁到50岁,从美国到加拿大、英国,说是“桃李满天下”也不为过。
她开堂授课,把自己的写作心得和更多人分享。奇奇自己独立备课,一张张颇具专业水准却又不失童趣的演示文稿让她的讲课条理清晰、逻辑缜密。她说自己很享受给人上课的感觉,“站在讲台上,把自己的想法传递出去,就像是体育项目那样令人兴奋,所不同的只是更加学术性”。
奇奇上课不是一个12岁的孩童在玩“家家酒”,她是受邀上课,他人会支付其课时费。经过300多场视频或现场授课的锤炼,奇奇已是一个资深老师;在设想自己未来的时候,她直言教育领域的职业会是自己的首选,无论是教师,还是联邦教育部长。下段为她的写作讲课节要:
Writing a Good Endling for Your Story
By Adora Svitak
一个故事,如果开头引人入胜,高潮跌宕起伏,结局却马马虎虎,难免给人“虎头蛇尾”的感觉,之前所做的努力也就前功尽弃了。因此,写故事一定要善始善终,有一个完美的结局。
The evil magician was tied with chains and thrown into the dungeon1), shrieking2), while the kind, lovely princess and her rescued pet monkey lived happily ever after.
That was not the greatest ending in the world; I would like to read something a little more interesting. Sometimes ending a story can be a little hard. But don't sweat. There is a guide to writing a good ending for your story.
Home education, also called homeschooling or home school, is the process by which children are educated at home rather than in an institution such as a public or private school. Prior to the introduction of compulsory school attendance laws in the 19th century, most education worldwide occurred within the family or community, with only a small proportion of the population attending schools or employing tutors.
The terms homeschooling or home education may refer to instruction in the home under the supervision of correspondence schools or umbrella schools. A curriculum-free philosophy of homeschooling may be called unschooling, a term coined in 1977 by American educator John Holt in his magazine Growing Without Schooling.
Especially in the English-speaking nations, homeschooling can be an option for parents who wish to provide their children with a quality of education or social environment which they believe is unattainable in schools. At present, most children are institutionally schooled..