美国国家公共电台 NPR--In converted buses and tin-roof sheds, migrant students get a lesson in hope

In converted buses and tin-roof sheds, migrant students get a lesson in hope

Transcript¹

In a small shelter made of cinder² block walls and a tin roof, Armando Hurtado Medina writes on a whiteboard the size of the TVs in many American homes.

It's 6pm and lessons have just begun in this makeshift classroom found at the end of a bumpy³ dirt road that winds its way through a canyon⁴ in Tijuana, Mexico. Hurtado Medina is teaching basic English and about 10 students of various ages slowly recite the alphabet back to him.

In another part of the city, Sergio Garcia has just finished his day teaching a group of children about emotional intelligence, guiding them on how they can turn the anger and trauma⁵ they feel into something productive, like leadership.

These efforts are replicated⁷ across the border city as volunteers and grassroots organizations grapple with a transient population of migrant students and try their best to educate those who find themselves living in shelters while awaiting a better life beyond.

"The purpose of this school is so that the migrants have a basic understanding of English," Hurtado Medina said. "Like how to get out of an emergency situation, [or when] they don't know how to communicate, or they don't know how to translate basic information like phone numbers or addresses."

"When they leave here, they leave with confidence and are proud of themselves that they're learning what's going to be their new language."

Hurtado Medina's classroom is next to the Embajadores de Jesús shelter that is home to hundreds of migrants. There are about 20 shelters across the city, and that means there are hundreds of children who suddenly find themselves in Tijuana and cut off from traditional education.

Garcia's school is an altogether more professional setup, next to the Pro⁶ Amore Dei migrant shelter in another part of town. He works for the Yes We Can program, a nonprofit group that has three schools in Mexico, including two in Tijuana.

"We try to develop resilience in them," he said of the emotional intelligence lessons. "So that they learn to perhaps detect the situations that make them feel a little sad, a little more vulnerable, and help guide them."

Yes We Can Executive Director Estefania Rebellon is the founder⁸ and driving force behind this landmark⁹ program that has grown exponentially over the last few years and has professionalized education for migrant children in a way not seen before in Tijuana.

Here, the children who arrive at the partner shelter next door are automatically enrolled¹⁰ in the school for free, and admissions are accepted every day of the year. They are given a uniform and backpack – even shoes, if they need them. All teachers are Mexican, are qualified¹¹ with college degrees, and are paid.

Classes are structured and there is a fully¹² formed curriculum that receives official accreditation¹³ from Mexico's Secretary of Public Education, and is also recognized in the United States. The efforts are funded by a patchwork¹⁴ of donations and money from non-government organizations.

"For migrant children, a school space is extremely important because if there weren't any school spaces like ours, they would be in a shelter sitting there every single day without any stimulation¹⁵, without any educational development," Rebellon said.

A converted 1993 MCI coach is one of the main classrooms at the Yes We Can school.

"We thought we were going to be here only for three months and now we've been here for three years. So at this point, we've realized that we're no longer a crisis response program, we are a permanent program."

The pride of place for this school is a converted 1993 MCI coach dubbed¹⁶ "the magic school bus" that has been gutted¹⁷ and fitted out with air-conditioning, iPads, a TV and workbooks. In the spirit of the community-led nature of this school, Rebellon and another co-founder bought the bus off eBay in Los Angeles and then watched YouTube videos to learn how to convert it.

The school has a practical benefit for the shelter next door, too. Space is at a premium¹⁸ there, where families share crowded rooms filled with bunks¹⁹. Each family gets just one mattress²⁰ to use, regardless of whether there are two people or five in the group. So taking the kids into the school for a day allows the parents the time and space to focus on the next step in their journey.

"We're talking about families going through very traumatic situations," Rebellon said. "So if a parent is having all those existential crisis moments and their children are there pulling on their jeans, like children do every single day, they're not going to be able to accomplish their goals."

Rebellon is open about the fact many of the kids who arrive are behind in their education. They have had teenagers arrive who don't know how to read or write, and who may have suffered terrible trauma fleeing violence or crises anywhere from Nicaragua to Venezuela and Guatemala.

But here, they find kindred spirits and are taught how to channel those emotions. Rebellon knows this experience well. She was a migrant child from Cali, Colombia who was forced to flee with her family to the U.S. when she was 10 due to death threats.

"What's unique about our space is that when a kid enters our program, they're not the strange one," Rebellon said. "They're not 'the migrant.' They're not 'the one from Honduras.' They're not 'the dark skinned kid.' They are a child that's entering a place where they all look the same."

Near the back of the bus, 12-year-old Justin is joking with friends as his class continues. He has come from Puerto Cortés in Honduras and says the bus is his favorite part of the school because he can just be himself in there.

"I can have fun with everyone, I can talk with them. It's incredible to be there," he said.

As for how long he'll be living in the shelter next door, where he will go next, and what his future looks like, Justin has no idea. It's a common story for the kids who find themselves in makeshift classrooms dotted across Tijuana.

Yes We Can is now hoping to take the venture further and is scouting²¹ locations to open a central school that migrant kids can catch a bus to from any shelter in the city. They have their eye on an old library that has shut down.

Back at his small shelter classroom in the canyon, Hurtado Medina has similar goals and is hopeful he can collaborate²² with Yes We Can and also reach the stage where his kids can get accreditation for their work.

The children deserve all the help they can get, Rebellon said.

"I always try to remind everyone that they're just children," she said. "They're not responsible for the situation they're going through. So when you focus on that, then everything starts happening."

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 cinder   

n.余烬，矿渣

参考例句：

• The new technology for the preparation of superfine ferric oxide from pyrite cinder is studied.研究了用硫铁矿烧渣为原料，制取超细氧化铁红的新工艺。
• The cinder contains useful iron,down from producing sulphuric acid by contact process.接触法制硫酸的矿渣中含有铁矿。

3 bumpy   

adj.颠簸不平的，崎岖的

参考例句：

• I think we've a bumpy road ahead of us.我觉得我们将要面临一段困难时期。
• The wide paved road degenerated into a narrow bumpy track.铺好的宽阔道路渐渐变窄，成了一条崎岖不平的小径。

4 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

5 trauma   

n.外伤，精神创伤

参考例句：

• Counselling is helping him work through this trauma.心理辅导正帮助他面对痛苦。
• The phobia may have its root in a childhood trauma.恐惧症可能源于童年时期的创伤。

6 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

7 replicated   

复制( replicate的过去式和过去分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Later outplant the seedlings in a replicated permanent test plantation. 以后苗木出圃栽植成重复的永久性试验林。
• The phage has replicated and the donor cells have lysed. 噬菌体已复制和给体细胞已发生裂解。

8 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

9 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

10 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

12 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

13 accreditation   

n.委派，信赖，鉴定合格

参考例句：

• a letter of accreditation 一份合格证明书
• This paper gives an overview of the Verification, Validation and Accreditation (VV&A) in High Level Architecture(HLA). 对基于高层体系结构(High Level Architecture,简称HLA)的仿真系统的校核、验证与确认(Verification, Validation and Accreditation,简称VV&A)问题进行了详细的介绍及分析。 来自互联网

14 patchwork   

n.混杂物；拼缝物

参考例句：

• That proposal is nothing else other than a patchwork.那个建议只是一个大杂烩而已。
• She patched new cloth to the old coat,so It'seemed mere patchwork. 她把新布初到那件旧上衣上，所以那件衣服看上去就象拼凑起来的东西。

15 stimulation   

n.刺激，激励，鼓舞

参考例句：

• The playgroup provides plenty of stimulation for the children.幼儿游戏组给孩子很多启发。
• You don't get any intellectual stimulation in this job.你不能从这份工作中获得任何智力启发。

16 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 gutted   

adj.容易消化的v.毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的过去式和过去分词 )；取出…的内脏

参考例句：

• Disappointed? I was gutted! 失望？我是伤心透了！
• The invaders gutted the historic building. 侵略者们将那幢历史上有名的建筑洗劫一空。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

18 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

19 bunks   

n.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的名词复数 )；空话，废话v.（车、船等倚壁而设的）铺位( bunk的第三人称单数 )；空话，废话

参考例句：

• These bunks can tip up and fold back into the wall. 这些铺位可以翻起来并折叠收入墙内。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At last they turned into their little bunks in the cart. 最后他们都钻进车内的小卧铺里。 来自辞典例句

20 mattress   

n.床垫，床褥

参考例句：

• The straw mattress needs to be aired.草垫子该晾一晾了。
• The new mattress I bought sags in the middle.我买的新床垫中间陷了下去。

21 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

22 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。