新西兰英语 761 Teachers march

 　　More than 10,000 teachers marched this morning as a protest¹ against education changes. About 4,000 protested² in Auckland and 2,000 in Wellington. All around the country, in 26 towns, groups of teachers marched in protest. The protest was organised by the primary teachers’ union, NZEI (New Zealand Education Institute).

　　What were they protesting³ about? There were many things; some of these things have worried teachers for the last two or three years. National standards are still a concern. Some teachers say that national standards will label some children as failures. Another concern is that different teachers judge the national standards in different ways. A third concern is that the government wants to make league tables which show the schools failures. Also, more time is now spent on those subjects which are tested like reading, writing and mathematics and less time on other subjects like science, social studies, art and music.

　　Perhaps the main concern is that the government wants to set up charter⁴ schools. These will be private and many will be run by religious groups. Teachers are worried about time spent on religious education and about government money going to private schools.

　　Listen to August 3rd 2012 to hear more about charter schools and October 28th 2009 to hear more about national standards.

　　Vocabulary

　　concern – things that worry people

　　league tables – lists of all schools which show the number of students who have passed the standards

1 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

2 protested   

v.声明( protest的过去式和过去分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• He protested he was being cheated of his rightful share. 他提出抗议说他被人骗取了他依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Amy protested she was being cheated of her rightful share. 艾米提出抗议，说有人骗取了她依法应得的份额。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 protesting   

v.声明( protest的现在分词 )；坚决地表示；申辩

参考例句：

• They were formally protesting. 他们正式提出抗议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They were protesting soaring prices. 他们抗议物价暴涨。 来自辞典例句

4 charter   

n.特许状，执照，宪章；v.特许，发给特许执照

参考例句：

• This new law amounts to a tax evader's charter.这项新法律简直成了为逃税者开的许可证。
• We will charter a steamer to convey the goods.我们将租一艘船运送这批货物。