Reaching for the Gold Standard: Metaphors and Good University Teachers

This article considers "good" teachers in the context of current developments in universities in China to reach a "gold standard" of considerably higher and more challenging levels of teaching and learning. We outline this context and consider concepts of good teachers in classical Chinese traditions and more recent Western thinking as a possible dialogue within and between cultures of learning. Using cognitive and cultural linguistic perspectives, we analyze metaphorical concepts of "gold" in "the gold standard" as related to teachers. We report our applied metaphor research which analyzes Chinese students’ expectations, values and beliefs about good university language teachers;this presents a rich picture beyond developing knowledge, skills and understanding to include strong social and moral characteristics. Other aspects which recognize the complexity of "good" teachers show a student appreciation of teachers’ tireless effort, devotion and selfless sacrifice: these aspects are absent in many discussions of good teachers. The participant-centered picture from elicited metaphor analysis is part of students’ "cultures of learning," but this should be developed culturally for the gold standard through further teacher development and student engagement. In line with interaction in cultures of learning, we indicate some classroom ways to extend students’ thinking through scaffolding teacher-student interaction based on textbook activities.

Hermeneutics of Identity： Latin American Philosophy＇s Search for Self-dependence

Does a Latin American Philosophy that is more than a copy of European thought exist？ This question determines the historical-systematic presentation of important philosophical approaches in the 20th century in the Spanish speaking part of Latin America. Jos6 Marti＇s essay, ＂Our America＂ （1891）, offers the essential topics of Latin American philosophy （liberation, literal plurality, continental and national identity, anti-positivistic emotionalism and intuitionalism, mestizo-philosophy, indigenous wisdom, unity of universal and regional principles, social-practical, ethical and intercultural orientation）. These topics are paradigmatically outlined by means of the portraits of pioneering poets, philosophers, and traditions of Latin America. The most convincing approach of the present seeks for an intercultural formatting and performance of philosophical issues, which includes a sensibility for the hybrid character of many Latin American realities and the attempt to identify universal insights in local traditions. Latin American intercultural philosophy avoids relativism and relies on discovering and developing communal ethical standards which link cultures.

Should Universities Use Family Background As a Standard for Recruiting Students?

Renmin University of China (RUC) has launched a project to help students from rural areas realize their dreams of going to college. This was part of the university’s 2012 recruitment policy. The project aims at giving an opportunity to rural