PBS高端访谈:非盈利机构指导教师上任抵制离职危机

 　　JUDY WOODRUFF: Now a coming crisis in the classroom, as more teachers exit the profession. A nonprofit organization is combating the high turnover¹ rates by mentoring² new teachers.

　　Our story comes from Ash-har Quraishi of WTTW Chicago.

　　ABBY MILLER³, Sumner Elementary School: Eyes up on the board. Let's read our question real quick.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Walk in to Abby Miller's third grade class at Sumner Elementary School on Chicago's West Side and you would never guess this is her first year teaching.

　　ABBY MILLER:If he puts them in 10 rows, how many chairs should he put in each row? Get to work. I'm setting the timer for six minutes.

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　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:She exudes⁴ the confidence and authority of an old hand in front of her sometimes unruly 8-year-old students.

　　ABBY MILLER:My mom and I have this running joke that in my first year of teaching, I actually have 15 years of experience.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Still, it's been a tough year for Miller and for the Chicago Public School District as a whole.

　　PROTESTER: Whose choice was this?

　　PROTESTERS: Rahm's choice!

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:The year began with a bitter dispute between the Chicago teachers union and Mayor Rahm Emanuel over wages, teacher evaluations⁵ and class size. It was the district's first strike in 25 years.

　　And then the city's controversial decision to close more than 50 elementary schools sparked renewed opposition⁶ from teachers. The closings this fall will be the nation's largest ever.

　　Amidst all the very public disruptions, about 100 Chicago public schools suffer from chronically⁷ high rates of teacher turnover, losing a quarter or more of their teaching staff every year.

　　As a result, there are thousands of new teachers, like Abby Miller, who are trying to take charge of a classroom for the first time.

　　ABBY MILLER:How come every time we come back from math lab, half the class has lost their pencil?

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:To say it's a challenge is an understatement.

　　ABBY MILLER:I think I kind of had a false sense of what I was getting myself into. You can study it in a classroom. You can say, oh, well, if this student does this, then you should do this, if this student does that, you should do that, but really it depends on where you teach, it depends on who you teach.

　　Things that worked for my fifth graders at the beginning of the year don't work over here. Things that work over here with the third graders didn't work with my fifth graders. And I have a strong feeling that things that worked this year are not going to work next year.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Her experience of trial by fire in the classroom is increasingly common. A recent national study found that the teaching work force is getting younger and less experienced. Making matters worse is a tsunami⁸ of retiring veteran teachers. Between 2004 and 2008, more than 300,000 veteran teachers left the work force for retirement⁹.

　　Walk into any classroom in the country today and you're more likely to find a teacher in their first year of teaching than any other experience level. And they're not sticking around.

　　At the core of the crisis, the experts say, that first-year teachers are particularly vulnerable when it comes to buckling¹⁰ under the pressures and frustrations¹¹ they are sometimes ill-prepared to face once they take to the classroom.

　　ELLEN MOIR, University of California, Santa Cruz: It's a huge problem. I mean, we lose 50 percent of all new teachers in the first three to five years.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Ellen Moir saw the problem firsthand. As a director of teacher education at the University of California, Santa Cruz, she found that success was eluding¹² even her best and brightest student teachers.

　　ELLEN MOIR:They said, oh, my gosh, I thought I was going to be a great teacher, and I'm really -- I'm not. And I feel like a fraud. I shouldn't really be doing this work. And I thought, wait a minute, there's some disconnect here if you could really get a great teacher ed program and you tee someone up for their first year of teaching. What's the problem?

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Inevitably, she says, these teachers faced some of the toughest assignments in some of the country's toughest schools, and they were left to sink or swim.

　　To combat that, she founded the New Teacher Center, a nonprofit educational organization that focuses on first-year teacher mentoring and development led by skilled veteran teachers.

　　LARISSA BENNETT, New Teacher Center: Tell me about some of the things that have been a challenge or concern for you lately.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Larissa Bennett is one of those expert teachers and has been mentoring Abby Miller for the better part of the last school year. Mentors¹³ like Bennett meet one-on-one with their apprentices¹⁴ to provide professional development, leadership training, and specific advice on classroom management.

　　ABBY MILLER:They did just below what I expected and it was hard not to see that as like a reflection upon my teaching. So, that was a tough day.

　　LARISSA BENNETT: We want them to know that they have someone that they can go to. Teachers that feel supported, that feel appreciated and valued stay in the profession. So if we can get to those teachers their first year and make them feel those things, give them the tools to succeed, they will stay.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:In addition to that support, Bennett says teachers in big districts like Chicago don't have the luxury of taking months and years to become effective.

　　LARISSA BENNETT: We need them great yesterday. So we help them develop skills and strategies to teach in these difficult areas.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:The high dropout¹⁵ rate for new teachers is also expensive. For example, the price tag associated with recruiting, hiring, and training replacement¹⁶ teachers is substantial. It's estimated that every time a teacher walks out the door in Chicago, it costs the district about $18,000 to replace them.

　　According to a report from the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future, the total cost of turnover in the Chicago public schools is estimated to be over $86 million a year. Nationally, that figure tops more than $7 billion annually¹⁷.

　　WOMAN: And you want to make sure you're asking those mentoring questions, right? You know, I'm wondering have you thought about doing it this way? You know, could it be possible that? Thinking about where the teacher is in their practice.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:New Teacher Center mentors meet regularly with other expert teachers to discuss protocols¹⁸ for supporting their first-year teachers. They partner with school districts and educators to help implement¹⁹ best practices for new teacher induction²⁰.

　　ELLEN MOIR: As the country's talking about developing teachers, I think there's a much greater understanding and recognition that really talented teachers are not born. They're made. And we have to be systematic²¹ about it and we need to really build off of the talent that we have in our school systems.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:The New Teacher Center has financial support from numerous foundations, as well as the U.S. Department of Education. It's one of the largest teacher mentoring resources in the nation. Today, the organization reaches over 15,000 new teachers, in all 50 states, with about 7,000 expert teachers, and is being modeled in countries like Singapore, Finland, Scotland, and Panama. And Moir says it's working.

　　ELLEN MOIR: It's a great idea and it's super successful. I mean, look, it's hard to measure teacher effectiveness, but let me talk a little bit about the retention²² side of the equation. We're easily upping retention by 20 percent in the districts that we're working in. In the 24 largest -- 24 of the largest urban districts, I mean, retention is up significantly.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:And for teachers like Abby Miller, while this year has tested her resolve, she says the mentoring has helped her retain the grit²³ that got her into teaching in the first place.

　　ABBY MILLER:Right now, I see myself still teaching. I -- there is a reason that I decided²⁴ to come into teaching. There's a reason that I decided to leave the career I had before and make this switch. And it's tough.

　　There are days where I come home and throw up my arms and say, I'm done, I'm not doing it anymore, but those are in the rarity. And there are more days when I come home and say, I helped this kid learn this today.

　　ASH-HAR QURAISHI:Using a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the New Teacher Center plans to expand in Chicago with a focus on high-poverty schools.

1 turnover   

n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量

参考例句：

• The store greatly reduced the prices to make a quick turnover.这家商店实行大减价以迅速周转资金。
• Our turnover actually increased last year.去年我们的营业额竟然增加了。

2 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

3 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

4 exudes   

v.缓慢流出，渗出，分泌出( exude的第三人称单数 )；流露出对（某物）的神态或感情

参考例句：

• The plant exudes a sticky fluid. 这种植物分泌出一种黏液。
• She exudes sexual magnetism. 她洋溢着女性的魅力。

5 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。

6 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

7 chronically   

ad.长期地

参考例句：

• Similarly, any pigment nevus that is chronically irritated should be excised. 同样，凡是经常受慢性刺激的各种色素痣切勿予以切除。
• People chronically exposed to chlorine develop some degree of tolerance. 人长期接触氯气可以产生某种程度的耐受性。

8 tsunami   

n.海啸

参考例句：

• Powerful quake sparks tsunami warning in Japan.大地震触发了日本的海啸预警。
• Coastlines all around the Indian Ocean inundated by a huge tsunami.大海啸把印度洋沿岸地区都淹没了。

9 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

10 buckling   

扣住

参考例句：

• A door slammed in the house and a man came out buckling his belt. 房子里的一扇门砰地关上，一个男子边扣腰带边走了出来。
• The periodic buckling leaves the fibre in a waved conformation. 周期性的弯折在纤维中造成波形构成。

11 frustrations   

挫折( frustration的名词复数 )； 失败； 挫败； 失意

参考例句：

• The temptation would grow to take out our frustrations on Saigon. 由于我们遭到挫折而要同西贡算帐的引诱力会增加。
• Aspirations will be raised, but so will frustrations. 人们会产生种种憧憬，但是种种挫折也会随之而来。

12 eluding   

v.（尤指机敏地）避开( elude的现在分词 )；逃避；躲避；使达不到

参考例句：

• He saw no way of eluding Featherstone's stupid demand. 费瑟斯通的愚蠢要求使他走投无路。 来自辞典例句
• The fox succeeded in eluding the hunters. 这狐狸成功地避过了猎手。 来自辞典例句

13 mentors   

n.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的名词复数 )v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Beacham and McNamara, my two mentors, had both warned me. 我的两位忠实朋友，比彻姆和麦克纳马拉都曾经警告过我。 来自辞典例句
• These are the kinds of contacts that could evolve into mentors. 这些人是可能会成为你导师。 来自互联网

14 apprentices   

学徒，徒弟( apprentice的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They were mere apprentices to piracy. 他们干海盗仅仅是嫩角儿。
• He has two good apprentices working with him. 他身边有两个好徒弟。

15 dropout   

n.退学的学生；退学；退出者

参考例句：

• There is a high dropout rate from some college courses.有些大学课程的退出率很高。
• In the long haul,she'll regret having been a school dropout.她终归会后悔不该中途辍学。

16 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

17 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

18 protocols   

n.礼仪( protocol的名词复数 )；（外交条约的）草案；（数据传递的）协议；科学实验报告（或计划）

参考例句：

• There are also protocols on the testing of nuclear weapons. 也有关于核武器试验的协议。 来自辞典例句
• Hardware components and software design of network transport protocols are separately introduced. 介绍系统硬件组成及网络传输协议的软件设计。 来自互联网

19 implement   

n.(pl.)工具，器具；vt.实行，实施，执行

参考例句：

• Don't undertake a project unless you can implement it.不要承担一项计划，除非你能完成这项计划。
• The best implement for digging a garden is a spade.在花园里挖土的最好工具是铁锹。

20 induction   

n.感应，感应现象

参考例句：

• His induction as a teacher was a turning point in his life.他就任教师工作是他一生的转折点。
• The magnetic signals are sensed by induction coils.磁信号由感应线圈所检测。

21 systematic   

adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的

参考例句：

• The way he works isn't very systematic.他的工作不是很有条理。
• The teacher made a systematic work of teaching.这个教师进行系统的教学工作。

22 retention   

n.保留，保持，保持力，记忆力

参考例句：

• They advocate the retention of our nuclear power plants.他们主张保留我们的核电厂。
• His retention of energy at this hour is really surprising.人们惊叹他在这个时候还能保持如此旺盛的精力。

23 grit   

n.沙粒，决心，勇气；v.下定决心，咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The soldiers showed that they had plenty of grit. 士兵们表现得很有勇气。
• I've got some grit in my shoe.我的鞋子里弄进了一些砂子。

24 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。