EDUCATION REPORT - Teacher of the Year

EDUCATION REPORT - Teacher of the Year
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, April 29, 2004

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

A teacher of English as a second language is the two-thousand-four Teacher of the Year in the United¹ States. Kathy Mellor of Rhode Island will spend the next year as an international spokeswoman for education. President Bush² and his wife, Laura, honored⁴ her during a ceremony at the White House last week.

 
President Bush and first lady Laura Bush present Kathy Mellor with the National Teacher of the Year award, Wednesday, April 21, 2004
For the past nineteen years, Kathy Mellor has taught English as a second language at Davisville Middle School. Davisville Middle School is in North Kingstown, Rhode Island, in the northeastern United States.

Mizz Mellor redesigned the program for E.S.L. students at her school. She designed a program to provide each student with one to three periods per day in classes for English learners. How much instruction the students get depends on their level of skill in listening, speaking, reading and writing.

The amount of time they spend in these classes is reduced as their level of English increases. They spend more and more time in classes with native speakers until they no longer need E.S.L. instruction.

Another teacher describes this as the most successful E.S.L. program in North Kingstown. She also praises Kathy Mellor for providing help to students and their families. Kathy Mellor formed a local parents group for speakers of other languages. This improved their ability to help their children.

One parent of a former student praised Kathy Mellor for her understanding of the difficulties⁵ in learning⁶ a new language. She says Mizz Mellor was always there to answer any questions the family had. And she says Mizz Mellor urges⁷ her students and their families to speak their first language at home and not forget their culture.

Kathy Mellor was born in Providence⁸, Rhode Island. She earned a master's degree in education from Rhode Island College. Later she earned a master's from Brown University. She studied teaching⁹ English as a second language.

She was chosen for the national honor³ of Teacher of the Year from among top teachers in each of the fifty states. The Council¹⁰ of Chief State School Officers and the children's book publisher Scholastic¹¹ organize the program.

As Teacher of the Year, Kathy Mellor will travel around the United States and to other countries. She will talk about the importance of education and the work of teachers.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 bush   

n.灌木，灌木丛，矮树

参考例句：

• This bush has grown up a lot in the last few months.这矮树丛几个月来已向上长高了很多。
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.一鸟在手，胜于二鸟在林。

3 honor   

n.光荣；敬意；荣幸；vt.给…以荣誉；尊敬

参考例句：

• I take your visit as a great honor.您的来访是我莫大的光荣。
• It is a great honor to receive that prize.能拿到那个奖是无上的光荣。

4 honored   

adj.光荣的：荣幸的v.尊敬，给以荣誉( honor的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I hope to be honored with further orders. 如蒙惠顾，不胜荣幸。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This is a time-honored custom. 这是一个古老的习俗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 difficulties   

n.困难( difficulty的名词复数 )；难度；难事；麻烦

参考例句：

• I am acutely aware of the difficulties we face. 我十分清楚我们面临的困难。
• the difficulties of English syntax 英语句法的难点

6 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

7 urges   

n.强烈的愿望( urge的名词复数 )；强烈的欲望；冲动v.力劝( urge的第三人称单数 )；强烈要求；推进；驱策

参考例句：

• She urges me to take steps in the matter. 她催我处理此事。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He urges his sister's study. 他敦促妹妹学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 providence   

n.深谋远虑，天道，天意；远见；节约；上帝

参考例句：

• It is tempting Providence to go in that old boat.乘那艘旧船前往是冒大险。
• To act as you have done is to fly in the face of Providence.照你的所作所为那样去行事，是违背上帝的意志的。

9 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

10 council   

n.理事会，委员会，议事机构

参考例句：

• The town council passed a law forbidding the distribution of handbills.市议会通过法律，禁止散发传单。
• The city council has declared for improving the public bus system.市议会宣布同意改进公共汽车系统。

11 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。