美国国家公共电台 NPR Most Teachers Don't Teach Climate Change; 4 In 5 Parents Wish They Did

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Here's some Earth Day news for you. More than 80 percent of parents in this country strongly support the idea of their kids learning about climate change in school. That's according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll¹ that was released today. Teachers, as a group, are even more concerned about climate change and more supportive of teaching it. But there's a disconnect between what most Americans say they want and what is actually happening.

Anya Kamenetz from NPR's education team joins us now. Hi, Anya.

ANYA KAMENETZ, BYLINE²: Hi, Rachel.

MARTIN: First off, why'd you do this poll, and what were you looking to find?

KAMENETZ: So science, of course, tells us that it's children as well as future generations that are going to experience the most severe effects of climate disruption³. And we are also seeing an international student-led movement, the Global Climate Strike. So we wanted to know, are Americans supportive of teaching and talking to children about global warming, or do they think it's too complicated or too scary for kids?

MARTIN: And what was the answer?

KAMENETZ: Well, so on the central question, the vast majority of people do support teaching children about climate change, including both Republicans⁴ and Democrats⁵. Two-thirds don't think that you should need parental⁶ support - or parental permission to teach it. But, you know, on the other hand, even though 86 percent of teachers say, yes, we should teach about climate change, and even though most states have science standards that at least mention the topic, a little over half of teachers say they do not personally cover it in their classes.

MARTIN: So make sense of that. They like the idea of doing it, but they don't do it. Why?

KAMENETZ: Yeah. So, you know, 2/3 of teachers told us, of course, it's not my subject area. And, of course, teachers by and large tend to be overworked and under-resourced. However, Mallory Newell from Ipsos, which conducted the poll for us, said that there were also differences in attitude found in the poll between the teachers who cover or talk about climate change and those who don't.

MALLORY NEWELL: For some teachers, that might just be a way to rationalize why they're not talking about it.

KAMENETZ: For example, she said that teachers who don't talk about climate change were less likely to believe that it's a serious threat and were less comfortable answering students' questions about it. On the other hand, we also did a call-out. Then we heard from teachers from Florida to Hawaii that are covering the topic in their classes, and that includes not just science teachers. It's all levels, all subjects - preschool, English, home ec, public speaking, even Spanish language. Like Rebecca Meyer. She's an eighth-grade English teacher in the Bronx, and she assigned her students what's called a cli-fi, or climate fiction novel, called "Not A Drop To Drink."

REBECCA MEYER: They were very engaged. I mean, they loved it. They learned so much that they didn't know.

KAMENETZ: Another factor here might be that almost 1/3 of teachers told us that they're worried about parent pushback when talking about climate change.

MARTIN: But your poll would indicate that most parents are supportive. Right?

KAMENETZ: Yes. That's true. Although, we did talk to teachers who work in areas around the country where, you know, a big chunk⁷ of families might be climate deniers, or maybe they work in the fossil⁸ fuel industry, so it's a sensitive subject.

MARTIN: So I mean, if teachers aren't teaching climate change, are parents taking it upon themselves to talk to their kids about it?

KAMENETZ: Here's this other really interesting disconnect. So 84 percent of parents of kids under 18 say, yes, kids should learn about climate change. But just 45 percent said, yes, I speak to my own kids about it. So, like, I talked to a mom of three in Colorado who says she's personally very concerned about climate change. They even put solar panels⁹ on the house. But she hasn't talked to her kids about it. And now that we're asking, she's wondering why she has not.

MARTIN: All right. Anya Kamenetz with NPR's education team. Anya, thanks. We appreciate it.

KAMENETZ: Thanks, Rachel.

1 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

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 disruption   

n.分裂

参考例句：

• The state was in disruption. 国家处于分崩离析之中。
• Such storms cause considerable disruption in magnetic prospecting operation. 这种磁暴对磁法勘探产生严重的破坏。

4 republicans   

拥护共和政体者，共和主义者( republican的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Republicans got shellacked in the elections. 共和党在选举中一败涂地。
• The latest poll gives the Republicans a 5％ lead. 最近的民意调查结果表明共和党领先了五个百分点。

5 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》

6 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

7 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

8 fossil   

n.化石，食古不化的人，老顽固

参考例句：

• At this distance of time it is difficult to date the fossil.时间隔得这么久了，很难确定这化石的年代。
• The man is a fossil.那人是个老顽固。

9 panels   

镶板( panel的名词复数 )； 面； （门、墙等上面的）嵌板； 控制板

参考例句：

• One of the glass panels in the front door was cracked. 前门的一块方玻璃破裂了。
• Make sure the panels are treated with a wood preservative. 确保镶板用木材防腐剂处理过。