EDUCATION REPORT - Out of the Classroom: Summer School Goes

EDUCATION REPORT - Out of the Classroom: Summer School Goes Online
By Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, July 21, 2005

I'm Barbara Klein with the VOA Special English Education Report.

In the United¹ States, the traditional school year is September to June. Summer school used to be seen mainly as a place for high school students to a repeat classes they failed.

But summer programs have expanded. Students often go to summer school so they can ease² their class load during the school year. Or it might give them more freedom to choose the classes they want during the regular term.

Summer school students do the same amount of work as if they took the class during the school year. But they do it in a much shorter time -- just one to two months. They generally attend school for three to four hours every morning, five days a week.

Another choice for many students is to take classes online. Students work by computer at home or wherever they have an Internet connection. They could even be traveling with their families.

However, some online classes require students to come to a classroom to take tests. Students may also have to take part in group discussions³ with the teacher online. And there may be a required number of hours to spend logged⁴ on each day. Yet there may also be freedom to do the work anytime, day or night.

Teachers say students who have failed a class may find working by computer easier than taking the class again in school. For example, they may feel more willing⁵ to ask questions of the teacher through e-mail.

But teachers also say that students must be able to work independently to succeed at an online class. And a student must also be a good reader if all the material is presented in writing.

Students take classes through their local school system or they can find a private, online school. Families must make sure that the school is legally⁶ recognized as an educational provider. If not, then their local school might not give credit⁷ for the work.

More than three hundred schools are members of Virtual⁸ High School, a non-profit organization based in Massachusetts. It includes twenty-five schools outside the United States. Virtual High School says it has more than two hundred classes and six thousand students. The Web⁹ site for this online school is govhs.org. Again, it's go v-h-s dot org.

This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Nancy Steinbach.  I'm Barbara Klein.

1 united   

adj.和谐的；团结的；联合的，统一的

参考例句：

• The whole nation is closely united.全国人民紧密团结。
• The two men were united by community of interests.共同的利益使两个人结合在一起。

2 ease   

n. 安乐,安逸,悠闲; v. 使...安乐,使...安心,减轻,放松

参考例句：

• His mind was at ease and he felt confident in the future. 他心情舒畅,对前途很有信心。
• You should ease up on the child and stop scolding her. 你应该对那个孩子宽松些,不要再骂她了。

3 discussions   

n.讨论( discussion的名词复数 )；商讨；详述；论述

参考例句：

• Discussions are held on an informal basis within the department. 讨论限于在本部门内非正式地进行。
• Her specialist input to the discussions has been very useful. 她在这些讨论中提供的专家建议很有助益。

4 logged   

adj.笨拙的，（树）劈成木材的

参考例句：

• We have logged up a remarkable series of gains in technical innovation. 我们已在技术革新方面取得一系列可观的成就。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They asked the pilot how many hours he had logged. 他们问那飞行员累积了多少飞行时数。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 willing   

adj.愿意的，自愿的，乐意的，心甘情愿的

参考例句：

• We never lack food and clothing if we're willing to work.如果我们愿意工作,就不会缺吃少穿。
• He's quite willing to pay the price I ask.他很愿意照我的要价付钱。

6 legally   

adv. 合法地，法律上地

参考例句：

• A bill of exchange is a legally recognized document. 汇票是合法票据。
• The agreement will be legally binding. 这个协议将具有法律效力。

7 credit   

n.信用，荣誉，贷款，学分；v.归功于，赞颂，信任

参考例句：

• I credit him with a certain amount of sense.我认为他有一定的见识。
• He got the credit,and we did the dirty work.他得荣誉，我们做不讨好的工作。

8 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

9 web   

n.网，蛛丝，蹼，织物，圈套，卷筒纸；vi.生蹼，形成网；vt.织蜘蛛网于，使落入圈套

参考例句：

• The spider weaves a web.蜘蛛织网。
• You mean the World Wide Web?你是说国际互联网？