EDUCATION REPORT - Magnet Schools

EDUCATION REPORT -August 8, 2002: Magnet¹ Schools

By Jerilyn Watson
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Many American students attend public schools called magnet schools. They are called magnet schools because
they include students from all areas of a city or community. Students can choose to attend a magnet school
instead of the school closest to their home if they meet the requirements.

Magnet schools offer programs designed for students with special abilities or needs. For
example, a sixteen-year-old boy has unusual abilities in science and technology. He
attends a magnet school that places special importance on these subjects. Another boy,
eleven years old, cannot hear. This child attends a magnet school for the deaf.

There have been schools like these in the United States for more than one-hundred
years. However, the Performing and Visual Arts School in Houston, Texas probably
was the first to call itself a magnet school in the early nineteen-seventies.

At that time, American courts were ordering public schools to end racial separation. The
law required public school children to attend schools so that there would be a racial
balance. Then came a legal decision about school attendance² in Detroit, Michigan. It
added a choice. The decision gave students a chance to attend a magnet school.

Today, magnet schools operate throughout the nation. Like traditional public schools, they receive government
support. Magnet programs are based on special subjects. They include communications, international studies, the
arts, and mathematics and science.

For example, one of America’s best known magnet schools is the Bronx High School of Science in New York
City. It began in nineteen-thirty-eight. Its first students were three-hundred young men. Today, about three-
thousand male and female³ students attend Bronx Science, as it is called.

Thousands of students from all areas of New York City take competitive⁴ examinations⁵ to attend the school. To be
chosen, students must show excellence⁶ in mathematics and reading and writing skills. Students at Bronx Science
must study all the sciences, mathematics, English, world and American history and a foreign language.

Many students at Bronx Science later have become successful scientists, doctors, lawyers and writers.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Jerilyn Watson.

Arkansas magnet school
students
(Photo -magnet.edu)
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1 magnet   

n.有强大吸引力的人或物；磁铁，磁体

参考例句：

• He picked all the pins up with a magnet.他用磁铁捡起了所有的大头针。
• Dalian is a magnet for tourists.大连是吸引游客的地方。

2 attendance   

n.出席，出席人数，护理，照料

参考例句：

• The attendance of this class never dropped off.这个班的出席人数从未下降。
• The young man danced attendance on his rich aunt.这个年轻人小心侍候他有钱的姑妈。

3 female   

adj.雌的，女(性)的；n.雌性的动物，女子

参考例句：

• We only employ female workers.我们只雇用女工。
• The animal in the picture was a female elephant.照片上的动物是头母象。

4 competitive   

adj.竞争的，比赛的，好竞争的，有竞争力的

参考例句：

• Some kinds of business are competitive.有些商业是要竞争的。
• These businessmen are both competitive and honourable.这些商人既有竞争性又很诚实。

5 examinations   

n.检查( examination的名词复数 )；考试；考查；试题

参考例句：

• He had been forced to incriminate himself in cross-examinations. 他在盘问中被迫受到牵连。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Examinations are hanging over her head—that's why she can't sleep at nights. 她大脑里想的都是考试，所以晚上无法入睡。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。