PBS高端访谈:两万多名芝加哥教师罢工争取教育改革

 　　JEFFREY BROWN: We have heard much about education reform in recent years, and again in the political conventions that just ended. In Chicago, the issue and fight has spilled into the streets.

　　Hours after a midnight deadline passed, Chicago public school teachers headed not for the classroom, but for the picket¹ lines.

　　It was the first time in 25 years that teachers have struck the nation's third largest school system and it came after five months of negotiations² over pay and health benefits and over tying teacher performance to student results on standardized³ tests.

　　Late last night, the talks involving 26,000 teachers and support staff broke down.

　　KAREN LEWIS, Chicago Teachers Union: This is a difficult decision and one we hoped we could have avoided. We must do things differently in this city if we are to provide our students with the education they so rightfully deserve.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Mayor Rahm Emanuel had a very different view today, as he talked to students on Chicago's South Side.

　　MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL, D-Chicago: I believe that what has been discussed over the last 100-plus meetings over five months, over 400 hours, is an agreement that is an honest compromise. This is, in my view, a strike of choice. And it's the wrong choice for our children.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: The strike left nearly 400,000 pupils in limbo⁴. And officials plan to open 140 schools for half-days to feed those who get free breakfast and lunch. But some of the parents arriving at those schools today were anything but happy.

　　GLADYS HAMPTON, parent: How dare you guys stop school in session? How dare you do that to our children? What are you thinking about? Not about them.

　　JESSE SHARKEY, Chicago Teachers Union: I'm a parent myself. And we recognize how hard this is for parents. And we're working as hard as we can to solve the issues of the schools, so that school can open.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: When that might happen remained unclear. The talks between the union and the city resumed today.

　　The Chicago strike also found its way into the presidential campaign today. Mitt⁵ Romney blamed the teachers union and accused President Obama of siding with it. White House spokesman Jay Carney rejected that and said the president was urging a quick settlement. And Mayor Rahm Emanuel, a former White House chief of staff, said he didn't give—quote—"two hoots⁶" about comments trying to embarrass the president.

　　Eddie Arruza has been following the strike for "Chicago Tonight" at public broadcasting's WTTW. And he joins us now.

　　Eddie, first help us to understand what this is all about. What are the key issues here?

　　EDDIE ARRUZA, WTTW: Well, Jeff, it's rather unusual that a strike is not about compensation, but it appears that that is one issue that both sides are very close to agreeing on.

　　The mayor says that the city is offering 16 percent over the next four years, but the key issues that the board—that the teachers union president says are most at play are teacher recall—that is, laid-off teachers being hired back—and teacher evaluations⁷.

　　Now, the teachers union president says that too much emphasis is being placed on standardized test results, and that in many schools throughout Chicago where students have a lot of difficulties outside of school that test scores do not always result in a fair assessment⁸ of how teachers are doing.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Just give us a little bit of context here. Is there the history of tension or—there has been a lot of experimentation⁹ in Chicago over the years. How did this—how did we get to this point?

　　EDDIE ARRUZA: Well, as some may know, about 17 years ago, 1995 or so, the former Mayor Daley, Richard M. Daley, took over control of the schools.

　　And for the most part during his tenure¹⁰, up until last year, he kept peace with the union, the teachers union. And there were a few times when there was a lot of disagreement. But the schools always started on time.

　　Last year, when Mayor Rahm Emanuel took office, he was instrumental in passing state legislation to reform schools. And among the issues that the state approved was how much control principals and the Chicago Board of Education would have over schools.

　　They also changed ways in which the teachers union could bargain, negotiate, for their contract. And so that is what is at play this time around.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: Well, you mentioned Rahm Emanuel. You have got some large personalities¹¹ in play there, I guess. He comes with a national attention already.

　　He, of course, was involved with some of these issues when he was at the White House. And then you have the teachers union chief, Karen Lewis. Tell us about—is it a personality clash?

　　EDDIE ARRUZA: Well, it doesn't seem to be a personality clash, but these are two very strong-willed people.

　　Many people know Rahm Emanuel as the former White House chief of staff. There is a legendary¹² story about him sending a rival a dead fish in the mail. There's also a story of him accosting¹³ a congressman¹⁴ in the congressional locker¹⁵ room, in the showers, no less, to try to convince him to change his vote.

　　And then we have Karen Lewis, who is also a larger-than-life person. She has been very successful in rallying her membership behind her and their cause.

　　And in terms of how the two get together, they have met behind closed doors. And Karen Lewis once said that he—the mayor was pretty assertive¹⁶ with her, even using a profanity towards her, but at the end of their meeting, they—she said that they hugged and that all was well after that.

　　But we have two very strong personalities, Rahm Emanuel, who wants things done his way, and Karen Lewis, who is fighting for her 26,000 members.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: So, what is the atmosphere then today? How is the city, how are citizens responding?

　　EDDIE ARRUZA: Well, we heard in that piece one parent who was less than happy with how things are developing today.

　　But it seems that there is a lot of support for the teachers among parents and among the community. At this hour, there is a huge rally in downtown Chicago, mostly of teachers. Thousands of teachers have taken to the streets right outside the Chicago Board of Education to march through downtown Chicago.

　　There are rolling street closures as we speak. But at the same time, the negotiations have continued on this first day of the strike. Both sides were back at the bargaining table as of 11:30 this morning. They are still at it today. Whether they can reach a consensus¹⁷ tonight and have schools back in operation tomorrow, we will just have to wait and see.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: And, Eddie, just very briefly¹⁸, is there a sense there—because these fights have gone on around the country—is there a sense that others are watching and waiting to see what the outcome will be?

　　EDDIE ARRUZA: Definitely.

　　This strike is making national headlines. And there are a lot of school districts that, in these tough budgetary times, are looking to see what the outcome of this standoff here in Chicago will be, especially when it comes to teacher evaluations and how teachers—how schools and school districts can control the teachers that are hired and fired.

　　And so there's a lot at stake here, not just here for Chicago, but for many other school districts around the country.

　　JEFFREY BROWN: All right, Eddie Arruza of WTTW, thanks so much.

　　EDDIE ARRUZA: Thank you, Jeff.

1 picket   

n.纠察队；警戒哨；v.设置纠察线；布置警卫

参考例句：

• They marched to the factory and formed a picket.他们向工厂前进,并组成了纠察队。
• Some of the union members did not want to picket.工会的一些会员不想担任罢工纠察员。

2 negotiations   

协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过

参考例句：

• negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
• Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。

3 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

4 limbo   

n.地狱的边缘；监狱

参考例句：

• His life seemed stuck in limbo and he could not go forward and he could not go back.他的生活好像陷入了不知所措的境地，进退两难。
• I didn't know whether my family was alive or dead.I felt as if I was in limbo.我不知道家人是生是死，感觉自己茫然无措。

5 mitt   

n.棒球手套，拳击手套，无指手套；vt.铐住，握手

参考例句：

• I gave him a baseball mitt for his birthday.为祝贺他的生日，我送给他一只棒球手套。
• Tom squeezed a mitt and a glove into the bag.汤姆把棒球手套和手套都塞进袋子里。

6 hoots   

咄，啐

参考例句：

• His suggestion was greeted with hoots of laughter. 他的建议引起了阵阵嗤笑。
• The hoots came from the distance. 远处传来呜呜声。

7 evaluations   

估价( evaluation的名词复数 )； 赋值； 估计价值； [医学]诊断

参考例句：

• In fact, our moral evaluations are merely expressions of our desires. 事实上，我们的道德评价只是我们欲望的表达形式。 来自哲学部分
• Properly speaking, however, these evaluations and insights are not within the concept of official notice. 但准确地讲，这些评估和深远见识并未包括在官方通知概念里。

8 assessment   

n.评价；评估；对财产的估价，被估定的金额

参考例句：

• This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
• What is your assessment of the situation?你对时局的看法如何？

9 experimentation   

n.实验，试验，实验法

参考例句：

• Many people object to experimentation on animals.许多人反对用动物做实验。
• Study and analysis are likely to be far cheaper than experimentation.研究和分析的费用可能要比实验少得多。

10 tenure   

n.终身职位；任期；(土地)保有权，保有期

参考例句：

• He remained popular throughout his tenure of the office of mayor.他在担任市长的整个任期内都深得民心。
• Land tenure is a leading political issue in many parts of the world.土地的保有权在世界很多地区是主要的政治问题。

11 personalities   

n. 诽谤，（对某人容貌、性格等所进行的）人身攻击； 人身攻击；人格, 个性, 名人( personality的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There seemed to be a degree of personalities in her remarks.她话里有些人身攻击的成分。
• Personalities are not in good taste in general conversation.在一般的谈话中诽谤他人是不高尚的。

12 legendary   

adj.传奇（中）的，闻名遐迩的；n.传奇（文学）

参考例句：

• Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
• Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。

13 accosting   

v.走过去跟…讲话( accost的现在分词 )；跟…搭讪；（乞丐等）上前向…乞讨；（妓女等）勾搭

参考例句：

• The provider of our first breakfast was found by the King of Accosting. 首顿早餐的供货商，此地的发现得来于搭讪之王简称讪王千岁殿下的首次参上。 来自互联网

14 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

15 locker   

n.更衣箱，储物柜，冷藏室，上锁的人

参考例句：

• At the swimming pool I put my clothes in a locker.在游泳池我把衣服锁在小柜里。
• He moved into the locker room and began to slip out of his scrub suit.他走进更衣室把手术服脱下来。

16 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

17 consensus   

n.(意见等的)一致，一致同意，共识

参考例句：

• Can we reach a consensus on this issue?我们能在这个问题上取得一致意见吗？
• What is the consensus of opinion at the afternoon meeting?下午会议上一致的意见是什么？

18 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。