美国国家公共电台 NPR--How Florida's Gov. DeSantis is exerting more control over the state's schools

How Florida's Gov. DeSantis is exerting more control over the state's schools

Transcript¹

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has gained a national profile by focusing on "culture wars," including how race and gender² are taught in schools. But his education agenda goes much further.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Florida's governor, Ron DeSantis, has made education a major part of his agenda. He has set limits on how topics involving race and sexual orientation³ can be taught in schools. He's approved so-called viewpoint diversity surveys for colleges and universities. And now he's getting involved in local school board races. NPR's Greg Allen tells us these are just some of the measures DeSantis is taking to exert more control over Florida's schools.

GREG ALLEN, BYLINE⁴: Ron DeSantis has made it clear how he views public schools and what they're teaching children. He doesn't trust them.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

RON DESANTIS: Following woke indoctrination in our schools - that is a road to ruin for this country, and we're not going to let it happen in Florida.

(APPLAUSE)

ALLEN: DeSantis, a possible 2024 presidential contender, has signed a number of measures aimed at preventing the sort of indoctrination he and his Republican supporters fear is taking place. His Stop WOKE Act sets limits on how issues involving race may be taught and allows parents to sue teachers and school districts that violate it. Another, the Parental⁵ Rights in Education Act, dubbed⁶ Don't Say Gay by critics, bans any instruction involving sexual orientation or gender identity in the earliest grades and says, beyond that, it must be age-appropriate.

Robert Cassanello, who teaches history at the University of Central Florida, says although the law just took effect this month, it's already had an impact.

ROBERT CASSANELLO: There have been high school teachers who've reported to me that they've been told by their superiors, don't mention gay, lesbian or any sexuality in class. Don't even approach this with 11th or 12th graders. And these were things that they had previously⁷ taught.

ALLEN: Cassanello was part of a lawsuit⁸ challenging the limits on teaching about race that are part of DeSantis' Stop WOKE Act. Governor DeSantis' focus on the schools really took shape with the onset⁹ of the COVID pandemic, when he battled with school districts over face masks and other issues. Since then, he's made parental rights one of his main issues, taking aim at school boards and administrators¹⁰. He's rolled out a new civics education initiative that he says will make sure students aren't taught a distorted view of history.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DESANTIS: You're learning the real history. You're learning the real facts. But it's not going to be done in a way that's trying to indoctrinate students with whatever modern agenda that somebody may have.

ALLEN: Barbara Segal, a high school government teacher in Fort Lauderdale, recently took a three-day training session on Florida's new civic¹¹ standards.

BARBARA SEGAL: They were pushing an ideological¹² agenda.

ALLEN: In the training materials, one slide said it was a misconception that the Founding Fathers wanted strict separation of church and state and that they in fact wanted religion to be promoted. Segal says some of the most jarring material seemed to downplay the role of slavery in the country's founding, including one that said...

SEGAL: Only 4% of enslaved people came to America, which means we're not that bad.

ALLEN: Segal, a teacher with 18 years in the classroom, says DeSantis' education initiatives are aimed at what she calls a false narrative¹³ - that schools are promoting a woke progressive agenda.

SEGAL: I hate to say this, but I feel that maybe, possibly he's pandering¹⁴ to a base for reelection, and that's very hurtful.

ALLEN: All this comes as Florida is facing a critical teacher shortage with more than 9,500 vacant jobs statewide. In Brevard County, school board member Jennifer Jenkins says teachers are demoralized. Many have retired¹⁵ or found jobs in other fields.

JENNIFER JENKINS: I don't know how we're going to continue to live in this hostile environment, how we're going to encourage educators to enter the field and stick around. It's really, really scary.

ALLEN: School board members have become a particular target. Jenkins has had protesters outside her home, vandalism and threats of violence stemming from her support for a school face mask mandate¹⁶. DeSantis has begun endorsing¹⁷ candidates running for school board seats, races that have long been nonpartisan. And his gubernatorial reelection campaign has released a survey for school board members that includes questions about parental rights, school choice and critical race theory.

Greg Allen, NPR News, Miami.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

3 orientation   

n.方向，目标；熟悉，适应，情况介绍

参考例句：

• Children need some orientation when they go to school.小孩子上学时需要适应。
• The traveller found his orientation with the aid of a good map.旅行者借助一幅好地图得知自己的方向。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

6 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

8 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

9 onset   

n.进攻，袭击，开始，突然开始

参考例句：

• The drug must be taken from the onset of the infection.这种药必须在感染的最初期就开始服用。
• Our troops withstood the onset of the enemy.我们的部队抵挡住了敌人的进攻。

10 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

11 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

12 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

13 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

14 pandering   

v.迎合（他人的低级趣味或淫欲）( pander的现在分词 )；纵容某人；迁就某事物

参考例句：

• This magazine is criticized for pandering to the vulgar taste of some readers. 这家杂志因迎合某些读者的低级趣味而遭到批评。 来自辞典例句
• We're four points up there; we don't need to get hit for pandering. 我们在那儿领先四个百分点；我们不必为了迎合一些选民而遭受批评。 来自电影对白

15 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

16 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

17 endorsing   

v.赞同( endorse的现在分词 )；在（尤指支票的）背面签字；在（文件的）背面写评论；在广告上说本人使用并赞同某产品

参考例句：

• Yet Communist leaders are also publicly endorsing religion in an unprecedented way. 不过，共产党领导层对宗教信仰的公开认可也是以前不曾有过的。 来自互联网
• Connecticut Independent Senator Joseph Lieberman is endorsing Republican Senator John McCain. 康涅狄格州独立派参议员约瑟夫。列波曼将会票选共和议员约翰。麦凯恩。 来自互联网