美国国家公共电台 NPR The pandemic continues to take an enormous toll on schoolteachers

The pandemic continues to take an enormous toll¹ on schoolteachers

Transcript²

NPR's Rachel Martin speaks with National Education Association President Becky Pringle about school staffing issues, and the burnout that has more teachers thinking about leaving their jobs.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Sickness, frustration³, fury and burnout - all consequences of the pandemic for America's teachers. The National Education Association, which represents nearly 3 million teachers nationwide, asked their members how they're doing, and their survey found that more than half of America's teachers are planning to leave their jobs. Joining us now is Becky Pringle. She's the president of the National Education Association. Thank you so much for being with us.

BECKY PRINGLE: Good to be with you, Rachel.

MARTIN: I mean, this is not good news, right? More than half of all teachers in this country want to quit? What have you been hearing from teachers, not just in your union but in your life about what's pushing them out?

PRINGLE: You know, Rachel, I taught science eighth grade, the middle-level learners for over 30 years. And honestly, I have never seen anything like this. Mostly, it was just the overwhelm of having to cover classes and the shortages among staff and every day being, you know, chaotic⁴ in not knowing what was going to happen because of this continued pandemic. And so an already stressful job was made even more so because of the added workload⁵ and responsibilities and expectations.

MARTIN: I wonder about the general energy around all the pandemic debates, for lack of a better descriptor. I mean, we've seen these intense school board meetings where parents are pitted against teachers. I mean, there are parents who are sick and tired of their kids having to stay home for weeks at a time because of COVID protocols⁶ they don't think are necessary anymore, teachers who still feel vulnerable to the virus and don't want masking rules to change. Is that also driving teachers away - that ugly tension with parents?

PRINGLE: Absolutely. And I would I would certainly use a stronger word than energy around it.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

PRINGLE: We have seen (laughter) something...

MARTIN: Like what?

PRINGLE: It's crazy. That's the word I would use. I mean, for teachers to be blamed for the pandemic because they're trying to keep kids safe? They're trying to follow the science. Do you - can I just tell you, Rachel, it hurts my heart as a science teacher that we're having a conversation about science and whether it exists or not. When we have evidence that something is protecting our kids, then we want to use that evidence. You know, all of us are exhausted⁷. Our parents are exhausted. Our kids are not just exhausted. They're fearful about their future. But what's different here is we are actually being blamed and attacked, physically⁸ attacked, let alone verbally attacked, our families threatened. What - in what other space is that happening? So in addition to the stress, there is fear and this - that weight of the divisiveness within your community that is making it even harder to continue to educate our students.

MARTIN: So what's to be done? I mean, it can't just stay like this. You can't have half of America's teachers walking out the door. So do we just wait for the pandemic to pass, hoping that that will encourage teachers to stay?

PRINGLE: We can't. Most health care professionals, infectious disease experts are telling us that we're going to have to live with COVID for a while. So we do have to take some immediate⁹ steps. And we've seen school districts around the country do that. You know, we fought really, really hard to get that $170 billion in the American Rescue Plan. And so one of the things - the top issue when we asked, well, how do we - asked our teachers, well, how do we address this? And the very first, the top one was better pay and benefits. And so there are some school districts that have done that. They've used the American Rescue Plan money to raise teacher salaries, to raise support staff salaries. The second thing they said is the mental health of students. You know, as our students are coming back to school, not only are they - do they have issues around academic gaps. They have huge social and emotional challenges just being with each other and the traumas¹⁰ they're bringing back to school.

MARTIN: And that's tough on the teachers, who are expected...

PRINGLE: Yes.

MARTIN: ...To kind of bear the brunt of that.

PRINGLE: We need mental health professionals, people who are trained to help our students.

MARTIN: Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, we appreciate your time. Thank you.

PRINGLE: Thank you so much, Rachel.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 frustration   

n.挫折，失败，失效，落空

参考例句：

• He had to fight back tears of frustration.他不得不强忍住失意的泪水。
• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration.他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。

4 chaotic   

adj.混沌的，一片混乱的，一团糟的

参考例句：

• Things have been getting chaotic in the office recently.最近办公室的情况越来越乱了。
• The traffic in the city was chaotic.这城市的交通糟透了。

5 workload   

n.作业量，工作量

参考例句：

• An assistant one day a week would ease my workload.每周有一天配一个助手就会减轻我的工作负担。
• He's always grousing about the workload.他总是抱怨工作量大。

6 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

7 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 traumas   

n.心灵创伤( trauma的名词复数 )；损伤；痛苦经历；挫折

参考例句：

• She felt exhausted after the traumas of recent weeks. 她经受了最近几个星期的痛苦之后感到精疲力竭。
• Conclusion: Safety lens of spectacles can protect the occurrence of ocular traumas. 结论：安全镜片可以预防眼镜碎片所致的眼外伤。 来自互联网