美国国家公共电台 NPR--After 4 decades in the classroom, a Texas teacher is keeping history alive

After 4 decades in the classroom, a Texas teacher is keeping history alive

Transcript¹

Nelva Williamson, a Houston public school history teacher, didn't think she'd end up in the classroom — even though her mom was a teacher. She tells her son about how her love of learning began.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Time now for StoryCorps. Today, we'll hear from a public school history teacher in Houston, Texas. Nelva Williamson grew up in one of the only Black families in her small town, where her mother spent 52 years as a teacher. Still, Nelva didn't think she'd end up in the classroom. Here, she tells her son, Timothy Harris, about how her love of learning began.

NELVA WILLIAMSON: When I was little, my dad called me professor. I remember I wanted to read the high school books when I was in grammar school. But the librarian was like, you're not old enough. You have to read all the books in the elementary room before you could go to the middle school room. And I powered through those two rooms just so I could read "The Lord Of The Rings" (laughter). I had been living this carefree life. But when Dr. King was assassinated², I believe I was 11 years old. It made me want to study more and more about Black history to prove to myself our worth. And when I grew up, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer. I had this plan where I thought I would teach for seven years and then go to law school.

But I remember a sixth grader saw me studying. And she said, I want to be able to read big books like that. What is that big book about? And I told her it was a law book. And she said, I think you'd make a better teacher than a lawyer. Well, eventually, that student became a lawyer (laughter). And just the thought of it makes me cry because I had influenced her to do something that she wound up loving. And I stayed in the classroom and found my true love of teaching. It's especially important for me, topics that, in the state of Texas, I'm not supposed to teach. Like, just recently, we talked about Juneteenth and its connection to Houston. And the students were like, why hasn't anyone ever told us this before? When we take out big chunks³ of history, that diminishment diminishes⁴ us. You know, my grandmother was a quilter. And she put scraps⁵ together into these beautiful patterns. And I feel that I'm doing that, but with history.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARTIN: That was Nelva Williamson speaking with her son, Timothy Harris, at StoryCorps. She teaches history at a public high school she helped found. This school year will be her 42nd year in the classroom. This conversation will be preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

1 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。

2 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

3 chunks   

厚厚的一块( chunk的名词复数 )； （某物）相当大的数量或部分

参考例句：

• a tin of pineapple chunks 一罐菠萝块
• Those chunks of meat are rather large—could you chop them up a bIt'smaller? 这些肉块相当大，还能再切小一点吗？

4 diminishes   

（使）减少，缩小( diminish的第三人称单数 )； 减弱…的权势

参考例句：

• Like printing paper money, issuing too much stock diminishes the basic value of each share. 就像印发纸币那样，发行太多的股票会降低每份股票的基本价值。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• For a target of any thinkness, the undeflected flux diminishes exponentially with thickness. 对具有任意厚度的靶，无偏折的通量随厚度扫指数规律而衰减。

5 scraps   

油渣

参考例句：

• Don't litter up the floor with scraps of paper. 不要在地板上乱扔纸屑。
• A patchwork quilt is a good way of using up scraps of material. 做杂拼花布棉被是利用零碎布料的好办法。