美国国家公共电台 NPR The Biggest Education Stories Of 2017 And 2018

 

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

How much has the Trump¹ administration really changed public education? A tax bill includes a huge break for parents of private school students. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos has made several high-profile moves in recent months, and so we're going to talk through all of the results with Anya Kamenetz of the NPR Ed team. Hi, Anya.

ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE²: Hi, Steve.

INSKEEP: Having watched the administration in action for a while now, do you feel you understand their broad goals for education?

KAMENETZ: As soon as Betsy DeVos was appointed, people in the education world kind of knew what the playbook was going to be because she has a long history in Michigan and elsewhere of backing two big areas. Of course, school choice. Everyone's heard her advocacy for private schools, sometimes religious schools and for-profit schools, and, at the same time, kind of a culture war element. And that has to do, with the use of the Education Department as a little bit of a bully³ pulpit, which really has been its strength over the decades.

INSKEEP: OK. So a couple of things to follow up on there. Let's talk about choice first, which often gets down to money, which schools are receiving federal funds. How much progress has DeVos made in pushing money the way she'd like?

KAMENETZ: Well, until recently we didn't see big massive federal policy changes. There were some things in the budget request that came out earlier this spring that would have directed hundreds of millions of dollars to private schools and charter schools, but that was pretty much ignored by Congress. So it wasn't until this tax bill that just passed that we saw the beginnings of what may be directing more resources toward private schools. And that's something you alluded⁴ to at the top, which was the use of 529 Plans, college savings⁵ plans, which really are the province of the wealthy. Not many people have that much money to save, but 529 college savings plans can now be used for private schools. On the other side of the ledger⁶, the change in the state and local tax deduction⁷ has a lot of public school advocates worried that it's going to be harder to fund public schools, and especially harder to fund them equitably⁸.

INSKEEP: Now, what about the culture war?

KAMENETZ: (Laughter). Well, you know, some would say that, you know, the Obama administration's education department pursued a certain vision, and that was done oftentimes through these dear-colleague letters or guidance. And one of the most high-profile changes of the year was when DeVos walked back the transgender rights guidance, and this had to do with the ability of students to access the bathrooms of their choice.

INSKEEP: The Obama administration offered one opinion to schools, which it couldn't necessarily enforce absolutely, but it gave guidance. And now the Trump administration is giving different guidance?

KAMENETZ: Exactly. And as a result of that, actually, the case of Gavin Grimm was not heard by the Supreme¹⁰ Court because of this change in direction.

INSKEEP: Gavin Grimm. Remind us. That's a student...

KAMENETZ: Gavin Grimm was a student in Virginia who sued the school district for the right to use the bathroom of his gender⁹ identity.

INSKEEP: Are there other cases where the Trump administration has spoken out on issues in ways that have influenced public education across the country?

KAMENETZ: Sure. So you know, in the higher education realm, but K-12 as well, we heard a lot about the rollback of sexual assault guidance. That was also coming from the idea that Title 9 covered sexual assault victims. And Betsy DeVos has really pushed for a notion of the rights of the accused and due process rather than just emphasizing the rights of victims, and that has led to a real firestorm.

INSKEEP: Does the education world feel different then after almost a year of the Trump administration because of the things you've just described?

KAMENETZ: I think it does, for a lot of reasons, not just the reasons I've described. But, you know, when you go to schools, we have a very diverse public school population. One figure commonly cited is that 1 in 4 young students has an immigrant parent. And so surveys show, and my reporting shows, that there is a feeling of oftentimes anxiety and especially polarization because of the rhetoric¹¹ of the Trump administration around minority rights, around civil rights, around immigrants' rights.

INSKEEP: So students, at least some students, are more tense.

KAMENETZ: That's right. We reported on a survey that said 79 percent of teachers nationwide said their kids were concerned about their well-being¹², and more than half of them were stressed and anxious compared to prior years.

INSKEEP: Anya, thanks very much. Always a pleasure.

KAMENETZ: Thanks, Steve.

INSKEEP: That's Anya Kamenetz of the NPR Ed team.

1 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

4 alluded   

提及，暗指( allude的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In your remarks you alluded to a certain sinister design. 在你的谈话中，你提到了某个阴谋。
• She also alluded to her rival's past marital troubles. 她还影射了对手过去的婚姻问题。

5 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

6 ledger   

n.总帐，分类帐；帐簿

参考例句：

• The young man bowed his head and bent over his ledger again.那个年轻人点头应诺，然后又埋头写起分类帐。
• She is a real accountant who even keeps a detailed household ledger.她不愧是搞财务的，家庭分类账记得清楚详细。

7 deduction   

n.减除，扣除，减除额；推论，推理，演绎

参考例句：

• No deduction in pay is made for absence due to illness.因病请假不扣工资。
• His deduction led him to the correct conclusion.他的推断使他得出正确的结论。

8 equitably   

公平地

参考例句：

• We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
• Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。

9 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

10 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

11 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

12 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。