|
How did plants develop a taste for flesh?
How did plants like the Venus flytrap managed to develop the complex and
energy-intensive structures to catch their prey? A new study revealed that
insect traps are actually more efficient than botanists ever believed.
El mejor español, el del bilingüe
Al contrario de lo que se suele pensar, el español no sólo no
sufre por la enseñanza bilingüe, sino que se beneficia de ella,
como parece demostrado por el hecho de que los alumnos de los colegios que
combinan castellano e inglés obtienen mejores resultados en la
primera lengua que quienes asisten a una escuela monolingüe.
A diferencia de otros estudios, en esta ocasión el desnivel no puede explicarse
en términos de elitismo. Los colegios bilingües se democratizan al llegar a la
escuela pública. La evaluación de los 15 años de vida del programa bilingüe del
Ministerio de Educación en convenio con el British Council lo revela. Bajo ese
programa, 30.000 alumnos de infantil, primaria y secundaria estudian en 120
centros públicos repartidos por España. Los expertos celebran en particular el
éxito del programa en especial en las clases menos pudientes.
(...)
En la evaluación se asegura que el programa puede haber beneficiado
especialmente a los alumnos de entornos poco favorecidos desde el punto de
vista socioeconómico. "Sería razonable concluir que la participación en el
programa no ha perjudicado la competencia en español de los alumnos, y que, de
hecho, los datos apuntan que debe de haber sido beneficiosa en ese aspecto",
reza el informe.
Pero, ¿por qué el bilingüismo mejora el aprendizaje de idiomas? "Creo que si se
estudia un idioma desde una edad temprana, sus distintas áreas, la mente se
abre a otra forma de pensar, se desarrolla la capacidad de analizar. Y si se
aprende a leer bien en un idioma, eso se transferirá al otro", afirma Reilly.
No va errada en el tiro, como demuestran los científicos expertos en la
materia.
Como comenta el profesor de la Universidad de La Laguna especialista en lenguas
extranjeras Plácido Bazo, investigaciones psicolingüistas como las de la
catedrática de Harvard Catherine Snow, contrastan "la fuerza del aprendizaje
bilingüe sobre la lengua materna". Este experto subraya " el peso cognitivo que
supone realizar un aprendizaje con doble simetría de habilidades
lectoescritoras, que no sólo aumenta el tiempo de dedicación a estas técnicas,
sino que aumenta las habilidades de pensamiento al integrar las dobles formas y
estrategias de cada una de las lenguas". Y añade que es ese esfuerzo que una
parte de alumnado no puede realizar el que obliga a reconocer un abandono o
fracaso cercano al 10%.
Waterloo
Waterloo, by David
Frum, published on FrumForum, 21 March 2010.
David Frum, forme economic speechwriter for George W. Bush, explains why the
all-or-nothing strategy followed by the Republicans during the health care
reform debate was a terrible mistake.
No illusions please: This bill will not be repealed. Even if Republicans scored
a 1994 style landslide in November, how many votes could we muster to re-open
the “doughnut hole” and charge seniors more for prescription drugs? How many
votes to re-allow insurers to rescind policies when they discover a
pre-existing condition? How many votes to banish 25 year olds from their
parents’ insurance coverage? And even if the votes were there – would President
Obama sign such a repeal?
We followed the most radical voices in the party and the movement, and they led
us to abject and irreversible defeat.
There were leaders who knew better, who would have liked to deal. But they were
trapped. Conservative talkers on Fox and talk radio had whipped the Republican
voting base into such a frenzy that deal-making was rendered impossible. How do
you negotiate with somebody who wants to murder your grandmother? Or – more
exactly – with somebody whom your voters have been persuaded to believe wants
to murder their grandmother?
I’ve been on a soapbox for months now about the harm that our overheated talk
is doing to us. Yes it mobilizes supporters – but by mobilizing them with
hysterical accusations and pseudo-information, overheated talk has made it
impossible for representatives to represent and elected leaders to lead. The
real leaders are on TV and radio, and they have very different imperatives from
people in government. Talk radio thrives on confrontation and recrimination.
When Rush Limbaugh said that he wanted President Obama to fail, he was
intelligently explaining his own interests. What he omitted to say – but what
is equally true – is that he also wants Republicans to fail. If Republicans
succeed – if they govern successfully in office and negotiate attractive
compromises out of office – Rush’s listeners get less angry. And if they are
less angry, they listen to the radio less, and hear fewer ads for Sleepnumber
beds.
So today’s defeat for free-market economics and Republican values is a huge win
for the conservative entertainment industry. Their listeners and viewers will
now be even more enraged, even more frustrated, even more disappointed in
everybody except the responsibility-free talkers on television and radio. For
them, it’s mission accomplished. For the cause they purport to represent, it’s
Waterloo all right: ours.
|