美国国家公共电台 NPR--Virginia Board of Education to vote on disputed changes to history curriculum

Virginia Board of Education to vote on disputed changes to history curriculum

Transcript¹

Virginia's board of education is set to vote on new history standards today. Governor Glenn Younkin and his staff have pushed changes that critics say minimize discussions of racism².

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

When he was a candidate for Virginia governor, Republican Glenn Youngkin got a lot of attention for his promise to rid schools of critical race theory - or CRT. Now, CRT has never been part of the state curriculum. And critics accused him of dog whistle racism. But he won that race back in 2021. And now Governor Youngkin has pressed on with plans for big changes in the state's education system. As Ben Paviour with member station VPM tells us in this next report, that includes a rewrite of history standards that the state could adopt as soon as today.

(CROSSTALK)

BEN PAVIOUR, BYLINE³: The scene in the school auditorium⁴ in Farmville, Va., last month has all the trappings of American-style civics in action. There are rows of folding chairs in a school auditorium, a simple podium and a timer that gives speakers three minutes.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

PAVIOUR: A state education staffer and Grace Creasey, with the board of education, are sitting alone on a stage. They're here to gather feedback on new proposed standards for teaching history. Creasey greets the crowd.

GRACE CREASEY: We are constantly thinking about what you all are telling us. And we appreciate it so much.

PAVIOUR: The proposed standards embrace a vision of the U.S. as a flawed but exceptional country. There's more focus on the Founding Fathers, patriotism⁵ and Ronald Reagan. But speakers like LaTonya Francis, who is Black, says it tells an incomplete story.

LATONYA FRANCIS: The Declaration of Independence that you talk about on Page 4 of the standards was originally published July 4, 1776. Those words did not apply to me or to people who look like me.

PAVIOUR: By law, the standards have to be updated every seven years. The process started under former Governor Ralph Northam. The Democrat⁶ staff sought to make history lessons more inclusive, soliciting⁷ feedback from parents, historians and cultural groups. But some people in Farmville, like Christel Gorman, say those standards would have focused students too much on systemic racism and conflict.

CHRISTEL GORMAN: They would be taught to hate our country, the best that this world can ever imagine, warts⁸ and all.

PAVIOUR: Last fall, the Youngkin administration hired a consultant⁹ to rewrite the original standards, with input¹⁰ from conservative voices like Hillsdale College. Critics argued the resulting document was riddled¹¹ with mistakes and bad framing, like referring to Native Americans as the first immigrants to the U.S. The board of education decided¹² to hit pause and ordered state officials back to the drawing board for a third draft. Youngkin defended the latest version at a CNN town hall last month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

GLENN YOUNGKIN: We, in fact, enhanced the discussion of slavery and made sure that everyone understood for the first time in Virginia history standards that the cause of the Civil War was slavery.

PAVIOUR: The newest draft adds content on Reconstruction¹³, the KKK and Japanese internment¹⁴ camps. But critics say it ignores the contributions of organized labor¹⁵. And historian Cassandra Newby-Alexander, who gave input on the first draft, argues the latest version treats slavery and racism as anomalies.

CASSANDRA NEWBY-ALEXANDER: While the document talks about it's going to look at, you know, our racial history, it really does it in a very minor¹⁶ way. It makes it almost as an aside that was quickly resolved.

PAVIOUR: Newby-Alexander says history isn't just a bunch of facts. She argues it needs to connect the dots into a fuller, sometimes unflattering picture. If the board of education approves Virginia's new history standards today, they'll likely be in place for seven years.

For NPR News, I'm Ben Paviour in Richmond.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOTHER FALCON SONG, "TO MAMA")

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 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

3 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。

4 auditorium   

n.观众席，听众席；会堂，礼堂

参考例句：

• The teacher gathered all the pupils in the auditorium.老师把全体同学集合在礼堂内。
• The stage is thrust forward into the auditorium.舞台向前突出，伸入观众席。

5 patriotism   

n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• They obtained money under the false pretenses of patriotism.他们以虚伪的爱国主义为借口获得金钱。

6 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

7 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 warts   

n.疣( wart的名词复数 )；肉赘；树瘤；缺点

参考例句：

• You agreed to marry me, warts and all! 是你同意和我结婚的，我又没掩饰缺陷。 来自辞典例句
• Talk about trying to cure warts with spunk-water such a blame fool way as that! 用那样糊涂蛋的方法还谈什么仙水治疣子！ 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

9 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。

10 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

11 riddled   

adj.布满的；充斥的；泛滥的v.解谜，出谜题(riddle的过去分词形式)

参考例句：

• The beams are riddled with woodworm. 这些木梁被蛀虫蛀得都是洞。
• The bodies of the hostages were found riddled with bullets. 在人质的尸体上发现了很多弹孔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 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。

13 reconstruction   

n.重建，再现，复原

参考例句：

• The country faces a huge task of national reconstruction following the war.战后，该国面临着重建家园的艰巨任务。
• In the period of reconstruction,technique decides everything.在重建时期，技术决定一切。

14 internment   

n.拘留

参考例句：

• Certainly the recent attacks against the internment camps are evidence enough. 很明显，最近营地遭受到的攻击就是一个足好的证明。 来自互联网
• The chapters on the internment are Both readaBle and well researched. 这些关于拘留的章节不仅具可读性而且研究得很透彻。 来自互联网

15 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

16 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。