Join the following sentences using the connectors given below. Sometimes more than one variant is possible.

1. The number of women in business was small. They encountered a lot of difficulties.

2. There are still many obstacles. The number of businesses owned by women is rising.

3. Some women fail. They face problems in raising money.

4. Women are still excluded from business world. The 1990s has seen a substantial increase of the women entrepreneurs.

5. Women have been traditionally engaged in "women's fields". Many of them managed to succeed in other spheres.

6. Sandra was bright and ambitious. Her business is flourishing.

7. A lot of women had advanced degrees in business. They could not enter the corporate world.

 

CONNECTORS: in spite of (the fact that), despite, because, nevertheless, however, that's why, notwithstanding, although.

 

Complete the following sentences choosing the best ending.

1. The major obstacle to women in the business world was

a) lack of abilities.

b) lack of academic degrees.

c) male domination in business and discrimination.

 

2. The author of the article believes that women

a) were unrealistic about their opportunities in management.

b) were more interested in education than in business itself.

c) were unable to work hard enough to succeed.

 

3. The author mentions "the shoebox under the bed" in order to

a) show the resourcefulness of Sandra.

b) stress that her financial resources were initially limited.

c) suggest that the company needed to expand.

 

4. Businesses owned by women are small because

a) women cannot deal with money property.

b) many women still encounter obstacles.

c) women prefer a small intimate setting.

 

5. The author’s attitude to the future of women in business is

a) sceptical.

b) negative.

c) optimistic.

Put the jumbled sentences in the logical order so as to sum up the contents of the text.

1. Women still face obstacles in running their business and they often fail.

2. The author adduces the carrier path of Sandra Kurtzig as an example of a woman who succeeded in male dominated field.

3. In the past there were few businesswomen.

4. The obstacles women face are male domination and financial difficulties

5. The reasons for that were their duties of mothers and housewives and lack of special training.

6. Fortunately the situation is changing for the better and the number of prosperous businesses run by women is increasing.

 

UNIT X V

 

Pre-reading tasks

Look at the title of the text. Does it ring the bell for you? do you know anything about this method?

Read biographical notes below and guess what the text is about. Render the information forming complete sentences.

 

MARIA MONTESSORI: biographical notes

Among greatest educators of the 20th century

Founder of Montessori schools chief strategy - follow the child

EARLY LIFE

Born Ancona (Italy) 1870 in a middle-class family.

Studied medicine in Rome. First woman graduate of medicine (1896). Working as a physician.

Contact with children from poor families.

DEVELOPMENT OF MONTESSORI SCHOOLS

1907 -founded first schools.

First schools in USA -1911.

Wrote more than 20 books on education theory and practice.

Developed pioneering Montessori method.

 

Look through the key words and expressions and guess what the text below is about.

 

Key words and expressions: to learn better, enriched environment, to stimulate, purposeful activity, to develop self-confidence, influence on education, learner centered.

 

Guess the meaning of the international words.

 

To adapt, to stimulate, a variety, to summarize, activity, specific, prevalent, disciplinarian, to nominate, senses.

 

 

Montessori Method

There are a number of key principles of the so-called 'Montessori method' which are still used in Montessori schools world-wide and widely copied and adapted elsewhere. Let me summarize these briefly now.

Firstly, there is the belief that children learn better if they are placed in what is called an 'enriched environment' - that is an environment which stimulates the senses through pictures, sound, colour, touch, etc., and in which the children themselves can choose from a wide variety of activities. Children need a wide range of activities from which they can choose what they'd like to do, rather than everybody having to do the same thing at the same time.

Secondly, the idea that children learn through purposeful activity, not just play, but activities with a purpose, for example, making something, drawing pictures, etc. Given a choice, children will choose work rather than play. Toys which do not serve a specific purpose are therefore discouraged.

And thirdly, in order that children develop confidence and self-esteem, they should always be treated with respect and should be allowed to develop at their own pace - a sharp contrast to many of the disciplinarian attitudes which were prevalent at the time when Montessori was developing her ideas.

Having looked at those principles, let's look briefly at some of the key events in Montessori's later life before summarizing her influence on the world of education today.

In her later years, Montessori travelled widely, spending several years in Spain, India and the UK. It was typical of her energy that, even in her seventies she remained as active and dynamic as ever. She was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on three occasions - in 1949, 19S0 and 1951. She died in the Netherlands in 1952. She had previously insisted that she was buried there rather than in her native Italy as she considered herself a ^“citizen of the world”.

The influence of Montessori is still widely felt today. She was among the first to put the learner at the centre of the learning process. As she wrote herself 'We teachers can only help the work going on, as servants wait upon a master.' There are now thousands of Montessori schools in more than fifty countries, and former students include Jacqueline Kennedy and the British royal princes, William and Harry.

Post-reading tasks