美国国家公共电台 NPR--3 years after pandemic school closings, how were kids and parents affected?

3 years after pandemic school closings, how were kids and parents affected¹?

Transcript²

NPR's Sacha Pfeiffer talks to Anya Kamenetz, former NPR education reporter and author of The Stolen Year, about the COVID pandemic's impact on students and teachers.

SACHA PFEIFFER, HOST:

It's been three years since schools closed their doors in the United States, as they did all over the world, to try to slow the spread of COVID. Back then, Anya Kamenetz was covering education for NPR, and her reporting turned into a book about the impact of the pandemic on children and their families. It's called "The Stolen Year." And we invited her back to talk about what we now know and what comes next. Anya, hi.

ANYA KAMENETZ: Hi, Sacha.

PFEIFFER: We're now able to measure the impact of the pandemic on kids in schools. We know there was significant learning loss, now being reflected in test scores. An AP investigation³ found that almost a quarter-million children across 21 U.S. states are missing entirely⁴ from schools. And the CDC says teen mental health is worse than ever. Do we know how much of that is due to school closures versus⁵ all the other havoc⁶ that the pandemic wreaked⁷ on us educationally, personally, professionally?

KAMENETZ: Yeah, it's a good question. When you're talking about the loss of learning or children even going missing from school entirely, I think researchers would say that's a direct result of remote learning just not being an adequate substitute for in-person school for most children. It disconnected them physically⁸ from all the support in their schools. And the continued absence of children from school, that also may be connected to all the absenteeism that happened because of quarantines, even after schools reopened. The downturn in teen mental health, though, that started before the pandemic. And clinicians tell me, yes, the social isolation⁹ of lockdowns didn't help. We also have to understand, though, that this was a pandemic where more than a quarter-million American children have lost a parent or caregiver. So it was never just about closing schools.

PFEIFFER: Anya, you've been checking in with some of the families and teachers you profiled in your book and for NPR. So you've been able to track them over time. What are you hearing?

KAMENETZ: It's really heartbreaking, Sacha. Debby Rosenthal Harris, she's a veteran teacher originally from Guatemala who teaches in the bilingual program at Buena Vista¹⁰ Horace Mann, which is an elementary school in San Francisco that serves a really largely low-income immigrant community. And she was putting in 12-hour days when I first talked to her, translating her kindergarten class into online videos. When I talked to her recently, I was really surprised to hear her say...

DEBBY ROSENTHAL HARRIS: We worked so hard and it didn't make a difference. We should have stayed in school.

PFEIFFER: Does that mean, Anya, that she, at one point, supported the school closures and now questions whether they were worth doing?

KAMENETZ: When I first talked to her, she was very concerned about her own safety. Now she agrees the decisions were made with a lot of uncertainty¹¹ and fear. And San Francisco, of course, had some of the longest closures in the country. Now she's seeing this terrible toll¹² in her students who are now in third grade. They need even more support than before. They have even more struggles with basic needs than they did before and with mental health. And Rosenthal Harris says they just don't seem acclimated¹³ to the classroom in the same way.

ROSENTHAL HARRIS: I have two kids that walk out of my room at any given point when they just don't feel like doing something. I never experienced that.

PFEIFFER: Anya, my husband is a seventh-grade science teacher, and that story that teacher just relayed reflects or sort of echoes some of the stories he's been coming home with. He feels like COVID changed his students in a fundamental way. So I assume that what you're hearing is kind of common around the country.

KAMENETZ: It absolutely is. And, you know, certainly, there are kids who are resilient, who are thriving. We should recognize that. But the levels of challenges are just a lot higher than they were before.

PFEIFFER: Anya, how do we emerge from all this?

KAMENETZ: Well, Sacha, I'm out there ringing the bell that we don't stop paying attention to this. A huge, huge emphasis I'm hearing is on mental health and well-being¹⁴ for children and for healing burnout in their caregivers and their teachers. Debby said that many of her colleagues have left, some in the middle of the year. And we see schools making efforts, you know, to invest in mental health, in social and emotional well-being, but they can't do it alone, I mean, especially when you think about the community-level effort that's going to be required for these children who are still out of school, who may be drifting into paid work. So it's really all of us who have to take a role in supporting kids and mentoring¹⁵ them and getting them back on track.

PFEIFFER: Anya Kamenetz used to cover education for NPR. Anya, thank you.

KAMENETZ: Thank you.

1 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

2 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。

3 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。

4 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

5 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

6 havoc   

n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city.地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• This concentration of airborne firepower wrought havoc with the enemy forces.这次机载火力的集中攻击给敌军造成很大破坏。

7 wreaked   

诉诸（武力），施行（暴力），发（脾气）( wreak的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The earthquake wreaked havoc on the city. 地震对这个城市造成了大破坏。
• They have wreaked dreadful havoc among the wildlife by shooting and trapping. 他们射杀和诱捕野生动物，造成了严重的破坏。

8 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

9 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

10 vista   

n.远景，深景，展望，回想

参考例句：

• From my bedroom window I looked out on a crowded vista of hills and rooftops.我从卧室窗口望去，远处尽是连绵的山峦和屋顶。
• These uprisings come from desperation and a vista of a future without hope.发生这些暴动是因为人们被逼上了绝路，未来看不到一点儿希望。

11 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

12 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

13 acclimated   

v.使适应新环境，使服水土服水土，适应( acclimate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The rice has been acclimated in this area. 水稻已能适应这一地区的环境。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Have you become acclimated to Taiwan yet? 你已适应台湾的环境了吗？ 来自辞典例句

14 well-being   

n.安康，安乐，幸福

参考例句：

• He always has the well-being of the masses at heart.他总是把群众的疾苦挂在心上。
• My concern for their well-being was misunderstood as interference.我关心他们的幸福，却被误解为多管闲事。

15 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