VOA慢速英语-Education Report - Former Teach for America Member S

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
　

More than ever, college graduates are signing up to spend two years in America's poorest communities as part of Teach for America

Teach for America is a non-profit program that places new teachers in schools in low-income areas across the country. The teachers must remain in their positions for at least two years. About seventeen thousand college graduates have worked in the program since it began in nineteen ninety.

A student at Princeton University, Wendy Kopp, developed Teach for America as part of her college work. Money from major businesses helped make her idea a reality. Wendy Kopp still heads Teach for America. It receives support from the federal¹ government, private businesses and individuals.

Some education experts criticize² the program because its teachers get only five weeks of training before they start teaching³. And they say most of the teachers do not continue teaching after two years. However, the program says most of the teachers who took part in the program are studying or working in education. And many of its former teachers have become leaders in the effort to improve education for all children.

Margery Yeager is an example of this. Mizz Yeager taught in a public school in Washington⁴, D.C. as part of Teach for America a few years ago. She now works⁵ in the office of Michelle Rhee, the top official of the District of Columbia public schools. Mizz Yeager says Teach for America changed her life path and that of many others. She says teaching in a city school is extremely⁶ difficult and more training time is not necessarily⁷ what is needed. She says even people who move to other kinds of work continue to stay involved in education issues⁸. Chancellor⁹ Michelle Rhee and other top officials of the D.C. school system also served in Teach for America.

Earlier studies about the success of students in Teach for America classes have been mixed. However, a recent study involved high school students in North Carolina. It found that the students of Teach for America teachers scored higher on mathematics¹⁰ and science tests than other students.

Working for Teach for America is extremely popular among top college graduates. The program reported an increase in applications this year from eighteen thousand to twenty-five thousand. About three thousand seven hundred new teachers were accepted. Teach for America will have about six thousand teachers in public schools across the country in the fall.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. I'm Barbara Klein.

　

1 federal   

adj.联盟的；联邦的；(美国)联邦政府的

参考例句：

• Switzerland is a federal republic.瑞士是一个联邦共和国。
• The schools are screaming for federal aid.那些学校强烈要求联邦政府的援助。

2 criticize   

vt.批评；批判，指责；评论，评价

参考例句：

• Whenever you criticize him,he always has an excuse.你批评他，他总有说头儿。
• You are free to criticize my work.你可以随意批评我的工作。

3 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

4 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

5 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

6 extremely   

adv.极其，非常，极度

参考例句：

• The film is extremely good,I just cannot miss it.这部电影太精彩了，我非看不可。
• The old man was extremely difficult to get along with.这个老人极难相与。

7 necessarily   

adv.必要地，必需地；必定地，必然地

参考例句：

• More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
• A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。

8 issues   

（水等的）流出( issue的名词复数 )； 出口； 放出； （特别重要或大众关注的）问题

参考例句：

• Let's start with the more easily addressable issues. 我们先从较容易处理的问题着手。
• Employment and taxation are the bread-and-butter issues of politics. 就业和征税是很重要的政治问题。

9 chancellor   

n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长

参考例句：

• They submitted their reports to the Chancellor yesterday.他们昨天向财政大臣递交了报告。
• He was regarded as the most successful Chancellor of modern times.他被认为是现代最成功的财政大臣。

10 mathematics   

n.（用作单）数学；（用作单或复）计算(能力）

参考例句：

• He has come out in front in the study of mathematics.他在数学方面已名列前茅。
• She is working at a difficult problem in mathematics.她在做一道数学难题。