新西兰英语 609 Changes for teachers

 　　The Minister of Education, Hekia Parata, today announced changes which will affect teachers. She said that class sizes for Years 2 to 10 will average 27 students. This means that some classes will be slightly bigger while others will be slightly smaller. At the moment Years 2 and 3 average 23 students while Years 4, 5, 6 and 7 average 29 students. The government thinks this will save $43m a year in teachers’ pay. A few teachers will lose their jobs.

　　However, Ms Parata said that the government plans to spend half a billion dollars on education in the next four years. She said they want better teachers. All new teachers will need a post-graduate qualification. All new principals¹ will need a special principals’ qualification. At the moment, all secondary² school teachers do have a post-graduate qualification. After gaining a degree in the subject of their choice, they spend a year at a College of Education. Primary teachers need only a degree in education, a B Ed.

　　The Ministry³ of Education might also look at performance pay. This is extra pay for good teachers.

　　We will learn more about the government’s plans for spending on Education when the Minister of Finance⁴ reads the Budget next Thursday.

　　Listen to May 19th 2011 to hear about last year’s Budget.

　　Vocabulary

　　affect – make a difference

　　average – if one class has 31 students and another has 27, the average is 29.

　　slightly – a little

　　B Ed – Bachelor of Education

　　performance – the work someone does, especially how well it is done

　　The Budget – the government’s plan for spending for the year

　　Questions

　　?What is a ‘good teacher’? How would you decide who is a good teacher? Would this depend on student results?

　　?What do you think about class size? Is there much difference between 29 and 27 students in a class? Is there much difference between 23 and 27 students in a class?

　　?Which school years are the most important for a child?

1 principals   

n.负责人( principal的名词复数 )；[法律]本人；主要的人（或物）

参考例句：

• I must consult my principals. 我得同委托人商量一下。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The subsequent rapport between the two principals assisted the transition process. 这两位首脑在这次会谈后所建立的和谐关系帮助了交接工作的进行。 来自辞典例句

2 secondary   

adj.中级的，中等的，次要的；n.次要位置，副手

参考例句：

• It's a question of secondary importance.这是个次要的问题。
• Secondary school means junior school and high school.中学是指初中和高中。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 finance   

n.财务管理，财政，金融，财源，资金

参考例句：

• She is an expert in finance.她是一名财政专家。
• A finance house made a bid to buy up the entire company.一家信贷公司出价买下了整个公司。