密歇根新闻广播 克诺尔伯格对密歇根教师的短缺感到震惊

 

State Senator Marty Knollenberg of Troy doesn't have a reputation as a great humorist in politics. He's not the Al Franken of the Michigan Senate, shall we say.

But he actually made me laugh out loud this week. The Michigan Department of Education reported that we are now facing a teacher shortage.

There are more than 5,000 fewer certified¹ teachers in Michigan than there were in 2004, and the number of newly certified ones last year was barely a third of what it once was.

Knollenberg professed² to be shocked, absolutely shocked by this.

"Why hasn't this been addressed?" he asked. "Who is responsible? It certainly isn't coming from lawmakers."

Well, senator, permit me to explain.

You are, indeed, responsible. You and your colleagues, mostly Republicans, like yourself.

You have spent the last seven years attacking teachers and cutting their salaries and benefits and pensions. The Michigan Department of Education reported last year that the average teacher salary in our state declined for the fifth straight year.

(For more on teacher pay in Michigan, see our web series on the subject.)

David Crim, a spokesman for the Michigan Education Association, told me that many destructive things have led to our teacher shortage, beginning with Governor Snyder and the Legislature cutting a billion dollars from the elementary and secondary education budget seven years ago to give businesses a massive tax cut.

Additionally, Knollenberg's colleagues passed a law five years ago that allows districts to choose not to move teachers up on the salary schedule every year. Traditionally, beginning teachers weren't paid very much, but knew that if they performed well, they'd get a little more annually³ until they reached something like a middle-class lifestyle.

Now, many haven't had a raise in five years. Actually, again according to the MEA, the state's largest teachers' union, many teachers are actually making less, thanks to another law forcing them to pay more of their health care coverage⁴.

New teachers usually graduate with tens of thousands in student loan debt, unlike the baby boomers, whose education was largely paid for by the government.

On top of this, teachers have had to cope with constant attacks aimed at destroying what's left of their pensions, which have already been whittled⁵ down.

Senate Majority leader Arlan Meekhof has been attempting to force teachers into a 401(k) only plan, and has said that if they leave the profession after only a few years, that's fine with him.

Far too many Michigan lawmakers have the interesting attitude that we can treat the educated professionals we entrust⁶ with our children's minds and futures⁷ with somewhat less respect than we show government clerks and plumbers⁸.

Then there are the efforts by lawmakers at weakening public education in favor of charter schools, many operated by for-profit companies that can donate to their campaigns. Throw in the current ideology⁹ that instead of producing well-educated people, we should force our educators to "teach to the test," a sterile¹⁰ philosophy that also, based on the results, isn't working.

So Senator Knollenberg, the answer to the teacher shortage is that the Legislature you are part of is indeed responsible. It isn't shocking that more than 100,000 Michiganders with a valid¹¹ teaching certificate are no longer working in the profession.

What's shocking is that any young people still become teachers after what all of you have done.

Jack¹² Lessenberry is Michigan Radio's Senior Political Analyst¹³. Views expressed in his essays are his own and do not necessarily reflect those of Michigan Radio, its management or the station licensee, The University of Michigan.

1 certified   

a.经证明合格的；具有证明文件的

参考例句：

• Doctors certified him as insane. 医生证明他精神失常。
• The planes were certified airworthy. 飞机被证明适于航行。

2 professed   

公开声称的，伪称的，已立誓信教的

参考例句：

• These, at least, were their professed reasons for pulling out of the deal. 至少这些是他们自称退出这宗交易的理由。
• Her manner professed a gaiety that she did not feel. 她的神态显出一种她并未实际感受到的快乐。

3 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

4 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

5 whittled   

v.切，削（木头），使逐渐变小( whittle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He whittled a simple toy from the piece of wood. 他把那块木头削成了一个简易的玩具。
• The government's majority has been whittled down to eight. 政府多数票减少到了八票。

6 entrust   

v.信赖，信托，交托

参考例句：

• I couldn't entrust my children to strangers.我不能把孩子交给陌生人照看。
• They can be entrusted to solve major national problems.可以委托他们解决重大国家问题。

7 futures   

n.期货，期货交易

参考例句：

• He continued his operations in cotton futures.他继续进行棉花期货交易。
• Cotton futures are selling at high prices.棉花期货交易的卖价是很高的。

8 plumbers   

n.管子工，水暖工( plumber的名词复数 )；[美][口]（防止泄密的）堵漏人员

参考例句：

• Plumbers charge by the hour for their work. 水管工人的工作是以小时收费的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Plumbers, carpenters, and other workmen finished the new house quickly. 管道工、木工及其他工匠很快完成了这幢新房子。 来自辞典例句

9 ideology   

n.意识形态，(政治或社会的)思想意识

参考例句：

• The ideology has great influence in the world.这种思想体系在世界上有很大的影响。
• The ideal is to strike a medium between ideology and inspiration.我的理想是在意识思想和灵感鼓动之间找到一个折衷。

10 sterile   

adj.不毛的，不孕的，无菌的，枯燥的，贫瘠的

参考例句：

• This top fits over the bottle and keeps the teat sterile.这个盖子严实地盖在奶瓶上，保持奶嘴无菌。
• The farmers turned the sterile land into high fields.农民们把不毛之地变成了高产田。

11 valid   

adj.有确实根据的；有效的；正当的，合法的

参考例句：

• His claim to own the house is valid.他主张对此屋的所有权有效。
• Do you have valid reasons for your absence?你的缺席有正当理由吗？

12 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

13 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。