A Proposal: Replace Some Exams With Presentations

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1. 01Replace Some Exams With Presentations

   Good afternoon, teachers and classmates. I'm the student council representative for our grade. Today, I'd like to propose that we replace one written exam per subject each year with a short presentation.

   各位老師、各位同學，午安。我是我們年級的學生會代表。今天，我想提議每年把每門課的一次筆試換成一次簡短的演講。

2. 02The Problem With Only Exams

   Here's the problem as I see it. Most of our grades come from written exams. Many of us memorize information the night before and forget it soon after. And we rarely practice explaining our ideas out loud.

   在我看來，問題是這樣的。我們的成績大部分來自筆試。很多人前一天晚上死記硬背，沒多久就忘了。而且我們很少練習把自己的想法大聲說出來。

3. 03Why Presentations?

   Presentations would help in three ways. To explain a topic clearly, you have to really understand it. We'd build speaking skills, and those skills are useful in university and almost every job.

   演講能在三個方面帶來幫助。要把一個主題講清楚，你必須真正理解它。我們能鍛鍊口頭表達能力，而這種能力在大學和幾乎所有工作中都很有用。

4. 04How It Would Work

   The format would be simple. Each student gives a five-minute presentation, then answers two questions from the teacher. Everyone would be graded with the same clear rubric, shared in advance.

   形式很簡單。每個學生做五分鐘的演講，然後回答老師的兩個問題。所有人都按照同一套清晰的評分標準打分，並且提前公佈。

5. 05"Isn't It Unfair to Shy Students?"

   Some of you may worry that this is unfair to shy students. That's a fair concern. So we could practice in small groups first, and students who are very anxious could present only to the teacher.

   有些人可能會擔心，這對內向的同學不公平。這個擔心很合理。所以，我們可以先在小組裡練習，而非常緊張的同學可以只在老師面前演講。

6. 06"Won't It Take Too Much Class Time?"

   Teachers may also worry about time. But this would replace an exam, not add one. With five minutes per student, a class of thirty could finish in about two or three periods.

   老師們可能也會擔心時間問題。但這是替換一次考試，而不是增加一次。每個學生五分鐘，一個三十人的班級大約兩三節課就能完成。

7. 07A First Step

   I'm not asking for every subject to change at once. As a first step, could we try it in one subject this year, and then ask students and teachers what they think?

   我並不是要求所有科目一下子都改變。作為第一步，我們能不能今年先在一門課上試一試，然後再聽聽同學和老師們的想法呢？

8. 08Conclusion

   To conclude, exams test what we remember, but presentations show what we understand. Let's give both a place in our school. Thank you, and I'm happy to take questions.

   最後，考試考的是我們記住了什麼，而演講展示的是我們理解了什麼。讓我們在學校裡給兩者都留出一席之地吧。謝謝大家，我很樂意回答問題。