堪萨斯学生人肉搜索校长获赞许

 

This is What's Trending Today.

American reporters and news media are praising a group of high school students from southeastern Kansas.

The students attend classes at Pittsburg High School and work for its newspaper.

The school has about 900 students.

Amy Robertson was named Pittsburg High's new principal in early March. School officials said she lived in Dubai. They said she would move to Kansas and start her new job before the next school year.

Robertson said she works as an education consultant¹ in the United Arab Emirates.

After reading a press release from the school and speaking with her on Skype for a newspaper story, the high school students had some questions.

One of the students, Connor Balthazor, told The Washington Post that there were some things about Robertson "that just didn't quite add up."

He and others from the school newspaper decided² to look at Robertson's credentials³.

The number-one thing they found is that Robertson claimed to have high-level degrees from Corllins University in California. When they went to the Corllins' website, it did not have the look of the website of a serious university.

The site had spelling mistakes and no information about how to become a student there or which classes are required to complete a study program. It also lacked information about a university library or how much money students have to pay for their education.

The high school students worked on the story about Robertson for three weeks, and published their findings on March 31.

The students said they had found "inconsistencies in Robertson's credentials" and raised their concerns to the school district. The Pittsburg Community Schools' superintendent⁴ asked the students to continue their investigation⁵.

The newspaper said it could not find evidence that Corllins University ever held classes in California.

And Robertson's problems did not end there. The students had further questions about her work at universities in both the United States and Britain.

On Tuesday, the school district announced that Robertson resigned.

Trina Paul is an editor of the student newspaper. She told the Kansas City Star "we wanted be assured that she was qualified⁶ and had the proper credentials."

Separately, Robertson told The Star that the students' concerns "are not based on facts."

Pittsburg Community Schools plans to reopen the position for the high school's principal.

When the news of the students' investigation came out, journalists and organizations that critique U.S. media expressed their admiration⁷.

Todd Wallack works for an investigative team at The Boston Globe newspaper. The team was recognized in the film that won the Best Picture Oscar at the 2016 Academy Awards.

Wallack tweeted to the students, writing: "great investigative work."

And that's What's Trending Today.

I'm Dan Friedell.

Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on reports from the Washington Post, Kansas City Star and the Booster Redux. George Grow was the editor.

What do you think of the students' work? We want to know. Write to us in the Comments Section or on 51VOA.COM.

 

Words in This Story

consultant – n. a person who gives work-related advice or services to companies

credential – n. a quality, skill, or experience that makes a person equipped to do a job

superintendent – n. a person who directs or oversees⁸ a place, office or organization

admiration – n. a feeling of great respect and approval

principal – n. a chief or head of an educational organization

1 consultant   

n.顾问；会诊医师，专科医生

参考例句：

• He is a consultant on law affairs to the mayor.他是市长的一个法律顾问。
• Originally,Gar had agreed to come up as a consultant.原来，加尔只答应来充当我们的顾问。

2 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。

3 credentials   

n.证明，资格，证明书，证件

参考例句：

• He has long credentials of diplomatic service.他的外交工作资历很深。
• Both candidates for the job have excellent credentials.此项工作的两个求职者都非常符合资格。

4 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

5 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

6 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

7 admiration   

n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕

参考例句：

• He was lost in admiration of the beauty of the scene.他对风景之美赞不绝口。
• We have a great admiration for the gold medalists.我们对金牌获得者极为敬佩。

8 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网