美国国家公共电台 NPR At DeVos' Senate Hearing, Questions Of Choice, Charters, 'Other Options'

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST: 

Betsy DeVos has spent much of her career and her own money trying to create alternatives to public schools that aren't giving students the education they need. Donald Trump¹ has tapped her to lead the Department of Education. And yesterday, DeVos took questions from senators on Capitol Hill about her education philosophy. NPR's Cory Turner says it all boils down to one word - choice.

CORY TURNER, BYLINE²: In her opening remarks, DeVos made clear she doesn't think traditional public schools are a good fit for every child.

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BETSY DEVOS: Parents no longer believe that a one-size-fits-all model of learning meets the needs - need of every child, and they know other options exist, whether magnet, virtual, charter, home, faith-based or any other combination.

TURNER: The problem, say DeVos' critics, is her faith in the free market and that she thinks parents should be able to use public school dollars to pay for options that aren't public schools. That led to this exchange with Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington.

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PATTY MURRAY: Can you commit to us tonight that you will not work to privatize public schools or cut a single penny from public education?

DEVOS: Senator, thanks for that question. I look forward, if confirmed, to working with you to talk about how we address the needs of all parents and all students.

TURNER: DeVos went on to say she hopes she can find common ground with those who disagree with her views on school choice, to which Murray said...

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MURRAY: I take that as not being willing to commit to not privatizing public schools or cutting money from education.

DEVOS: Well, I guess I wouldn't characterize it in that way.

MURRAY: Well, (laughter) OK.

TURNER: Congress passed a big bipartisan education law just a year ago. And as the committee's Republican chairman, Lamar Alexander, pointed³ out during the hearing, vouchers⁴ didn't make the cut. So he asked DeVos if, as secretary, she would try to push them on the states anyway. Her answer...

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DEVOS: No, I would hope I could convince you all of the merit of that in maybe some future legislation, but certainly not any kind of mandate⁵ from within the department.

TURNER: To be clear, Alexander is a strong supporter of DeVos, and began the hearing by saying he believes she is on our children's side. Also on DeVos' side, former Senator Joe Lieberman, who introduced her and swung back at her critics, including teachers unions, who point out that the billionaire has never taught in, managed or attended a public school. In Lieberman's words, she's not part of the education establishment.

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JOE LIEBERMAN: Honestly, I believe that today, that's one of the most important qualifications you could have for this job.

TURNER: The committee's Democrats⁶ were frustrated⁷, not just with some of DeVos' answers, but also with Chairman Alexander - first, because he chose to hold the hearing before the Office of Government Ethics⁸ could finish its review of DeVos' financial holdings, looking for conflicts of interest. Alexander also held senators to a strict five-minute time limit, prompting one of his colleagues to lament⁹ what he called a rush job. Cory Turner, NPR News, Washington.

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 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

4 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

5 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

6 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

9 lament   

n.悲叹，悔恨，恸哭；v.哀悼，悔恨，悲叹

参考例句：

• Her face showed lament.她的脸上露出悲伤的样子。
• We lament the dead.我们哀悼死者。