美国国家公共电台 NPR It's Hard To Imagine How Armed Teachers Might Change Schools

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

What would our schools really be like if teachers carried guns in their classrooms, if, as President Trump¹ suggested at this week's White House meeting with families who have suffered through school shootings, 20 percent of teachers were armed? He repeated the idea in tweets the next day, saying, quote, "20 percent of teachers, a lot, would now be able to immediately fire back if a savage² sicko came into a school with bad intentions. Far more assets at much less cost than guards, a gun-free school is a magnet for bad people. Attacks would end." Some people at the meeting seemed to approve of the president's idea. Many did not.

The president repeated his message to applause before the Conservative Political Action Conference yesterday. But beyond the Oval Office, Dr. David Hemenway at the Harvard School of Public Health, an expert on gun violence, calls the president's idea a crazy proposal. And many teachers took to social media to say they're infuriated by the idea. But 42 percent of Americans told a Washington Post-ABC News poll they believe gun-bearing teachers could have deterred³ last week's school shootings in Parkland, Fla.

I've tried to imagine how pistol-packing teachers might change the nature of a school and the relationship between students and teachers. Will students now advise each other, don't get caught text messaging in physics class? That teacher is locked and loaded. Will principals who hire new teachers now say, well, his college recommendations aren't strong, but he's won marksmanship medals. And will teachers now flash their weapons before admonishing⁴ students. OK, class. Do I have to remind you what happens if you don't get those essays on Gwendolyn Brooks⁵ in by Friday?

The valor⁶ and devotion of American teachers is beyond doubt. In one school shooting after another, teachers and staff have risked and even given their lives to protect their students, including Scott Beigel, a geography teacher, Aaron Feis, a football coach, and Chris Hixon, an athletic⁷ director just last week at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. But would strapping⁸ guns on teachers make them educators or armed guards? What happens if and when a teacher's gun is left unlocked or is stolen or gets wrestled⁹ away from a teacher by a disturbed student? Would giving guns to teachers make students feel safer or even more on guard when they should be open to learning? Isn't it already hard enough for teachers to teach?

(SOUNDBITE OF GOGO PENGUIN'S "A HUNDRED MOONS")

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 savage   

adj.野蛮的；凶恶的，残暴的；n.未开化的人

参考例句：

• The poor man received a savage beating from the thugs.那可怜的人遭到暴徒的痛打。
• He has a savage temper.他脾气粗暴。

3 deterred   

v.阻止，制止( deter的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I told him I wasn't interested, but he wasn't deterred. 我已告诉他我不感兴趣，可他却不罢休。
• Jeremy was not deterred by this criticism. 杰里米没有因这一批评而却步。 来自辞典例句

4 admonishing   

v.劝告( admonish的现在分词 )；训诫；（温和地）责备；轻责

参考例句：

• It is waste of time, admonishing you. 劝告你简直是浪费工夫。 来自辞典例句
• To date, the Doctrine of Cheng Fu still exerts its admonishing effect. 时至今日，承负说仍具有警示作用。 来自互联网

5 brooks   

n.小溪( brook的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Brooks gave the business when Haas caught him with his watch. 哈斯抓到偷他的手表的布鲁克斯时，狠狠地揍了他一顿。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ade and Brooks exchanged blows yesterday and they were severely punished today. 艾德和布鲁克斯昨天打起来了，今天他们受到严厉的惩罚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 valor   

n.勇气，英勇

参考例句：

• Fortitude is distinct from valor.坚韧不拔有别于勇猛。
• Frequently banality is the better parts of valor.老生常谈往往比大胆打破常规更为人称道。

7 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

8 strapping   

adj. 魁伟的, 身材高大健壮的 n. 皮绳或皮带的材料, 裹伤胶带, 皮鞭 动词strap的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• He's a strapping lad—already bigger than his father. 他是一个魁梧的小伙子——已经比他父亲高了。
• He was a tall strapping boy. 他是一个高大健壮的小伙子。

9 wrestled   

v.（与某人）搏斗( wrestle的过去式和过去分词 )；扭成一团；扭打；（与…）摔跤

参考例句：

• As a boy he had boxed and wrestled. 他小的时候又是打拳又是摔跤。
• Armed guards wrestled with the intruder. 武装警卫和闯入者扭打起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》