密歇根新闻广播 由苏联火车小故事思考密歇根公立学校现状

Back in the bad old final years of the Soviet¹ Union, when the economy and the infrastructure² were falling apart and the government was mostly non-responsive, there was a sour little joke that reminds me of Michigan today.

In the Soviet story, Stalin and Konstantin Chernenko, one of his increasingly ineffectual successors are going across Siberia on a train. Suddenly, it breaks down. There are, of course, no spare parts.

When the engineer can't get it started, Stalin has him shot.

That doesn't help.

So after sitting there for a while, Chernenko says, "Okay. Let's close the blinds and pretend the train is moving."

Which brings us to the Legislature and the Detroit Public Schools. The schools are in disgraceful shape. Buildings are falling apart. The heat doesn't work. There are rodents³, mold and a lack of necessary supplies. Teachers are underpaid, overstressed, and often at risk of violent behavior.

Frankly⁴, I don't know how so many teachers have tolerated this as long as they have, and I'm awestruck that so many have continued to try to teach often hungry, uncomfortable and miserable⁵ students in such conditions.

After years of this, teachers have begun staging sickout wildcat strikes in a desperate attempt to draw attention to their plight⁶.

Teacher strikes are of course technically⁷ illegal, though they have been an occasional and largely tolerated bargaining tactic⁸ in suburban⁹ districts for decades. This isn't about getting a raise, however; it is a desperate attempt to get somebody to notice the squalor. Unfortunately, many legislators couldn't care less. Detroit is a long way from their districts. Though none will say so publicly, many of them view what's going on from a racist¹⁰ perspective.

They think this is about a bunch of blacks who ran their schools into the ground and now want another state bailout. There's also another ingredient in what is fast becoming an explosive dynamic: the Republican legislative¹¹ leaders hate unions, and teachers' unions in particular.

So instead of trying to do something to help the schools, they are instead attempting to ram¹² through a three-bill package designed to harshly punish both teachers and their unions for striking.

Ron Bieber, the state president of the AFL-CIO, correctly said this was an outrage¹³, and added "the last thing we should be doing is punishing teachers for speaking up and shining a light" on the impossible conditions in which children are forced to learn.

The lawmakers may not care less about that, but the reality is they are also just giving out tickets on the dance floor of the Titanic¹⁴. With their revenues largely drained by the loss of students to charter schools and other alternatives, the Detroit Public Schools are headed for bankruptcy¹⁵ and disaster.

They will run completely out of cash by May.

Governor Snyder months ago offered a sensible solution, but it would cost money the legislators are unwilling¹⁶ to spend. Unfortunately, bankruptcy will cost us all much more, as the state does have an obligation to educate our children.

Our lawmakers are, in the words of the old Soviet story, trying to shoot the engineers and close the curtains of this runaway¹⁷ train. But unless we do something soon, it is going to go off the rails, with consequences devastating¹⁸ for us all.

Jack¹⁹ Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's political analyst²⁰. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

2 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

3 rodents   

n.啮齿目动物( rodent的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Rodents carry diseases and are generally regarded as pests. 啮齿目动物传播疾病，常被当作害虫对待。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some wild rodents in Africa also harbor the virus. 在非洲，有些野生啮齿动物也是储毒者。 来自辞典例句

4 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

5 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

6 plight   

n.困境，境况，誓约，艰难；vt.宣誓，保证，约定

参考例句：

• The leader was much concerned over the plight of the refugees.那位领袖对难民的困境很担忧。
• She was in a most helpless plight.她真不知如何是好。

7 technically   

adv.专门地，技术上地

参考例句：

• Technically it is the most advanced equipment ever.从技术上说，这是最先进的设备。
• The tomato is technically a fruit,although it is eaten as a vegetable.严格地说，西红柿是一种水果，尽管它是当作蔬菜吃的。

8 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

9 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

10 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

11 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

12 ram   

(random access memory)随机存取存储器

参考例句：

• 512k RAM is recommended and 640k RAM is preferred.推荐配置为512K内存，640K内存则更佳。

13 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

14 titanic   

adj.巨人的，庞大的，强大的

参考例句：

• We have been making titanic effort to achieve our purpose.我们一直在作极大的努力，以达到我们的目的。
• The island was created by titanic powers and they are still at work today.台湾岛是由一个至今仍然在运作的巨大力量塑造出来的。

15 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

16 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

17 runaway   

n.逃走的人，逃亡，亡命者；adj.逃亡的，逃走的

参考例句：

• The police have not found the runaway to date.警察迄今没抓到逃犯。
• He was praised for bringing up the runaway horse.他勒住了脱缰之马受到了表扬。

18 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

19 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

20 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。