美国国家公共电台 NPR The First State To Offer Free Community College To Nearly Every Adult

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

In Tennessee, community college is already free for graduating high school students, something many other states have done or are looking at as a model. But recently, Tennessee became first in the country to offer community college free of charge to almost any adult. Emily Siner has the story from member station WPLN in Nashville.

EMILY SINER, BYLINE¹: The first day of college is daunting² anyway, but Michelle Griffith felt especially out of place. It was August 2015. She walked into the sleek³, glass-paneled atrium of Motlow State Community College outside Nashville.

MICHELLE GRIFFITH: There was an entire lobby full of traditional students, and having to walk through them was hugely intimidating⁴ (laughter). I just pretended I knew what I was doing (laughter).

SINER: Griffith is 54, old enough to be the mother of some of her classmates. And she sometimes acts like one.

GRIFFITH: Hey, Michael.

MICHAEL: Hey. How are you?

GRIFFITH: How are you?

MICHAEL: Pretty good.

GRIFFITH: Test today?

MICHAEL: No.

GRIFFITH: Oh, good.

SINER: Griffiths says, growing up, she had always planned to be a traditional student. But when she got married right after high school, that changed.

GRIFFITH: Babies came quickly, and school got farther and farther away.

SINER: Instead, she was busy raising kids, working and eventually putting them through school. Then, her husband died four years ago. And with her children grown, she decided⁵ she needed to figure out what to do next.

GRIFFITH: And I kept thinking, school. School - that's what I want to do.

SINER: Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has long preached the importance of getting adults back to school. He says it's the only way that more than half of Tennesseans will get a college degree or certificate, one of his top goals as governor.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

BILL HASLAM: I'm proposing that Tennessee become the first state in the nation to offer all adults access to community college free of tuition and fees.

(APPLAUSE)

SINER: This is his newest idea, the Tennessee Reconnect Grant. The state has been piloting a version of the grant but only for adults who started college, got halfway⁶ through and then dropped out. The new Reconnect is much simpler. If you don't have a degree and you want one, your tuition is free. That's important because research shows the greatest obstacle to going back to school for many adults is finances.

GRIFFITH: When you don't have to worry about the money, it's huge in encouraging you to keep at it. Yes, I can do this because all I have to give up is a little time.

SINER: When Michelle Griffith enrolled⁷ two years ago, she actually qualified⁸ for a full federal grant, and the state expects many adults who sign up for Reconnect will. The program will only use state lottery⁹ money to pay for anything that isn't already covered by other grants. And that's the beauty of Reconnect. It guarantees free tuition no matter what.

ALLISON BARTON: I get tons of calls, I heard what Governor Haslam said.

SINER: Allison Barton, who oversees¹⁰ adult learners at Motlow State Community College, says it's a simple and therefore powerful message. The question then is, how do you get that message out? When talking to high schoolers, they're basically a captive audience. But adults...

BARTON: This is just kind of, you're throwing out a giant fish net and hoping they all, you know, come in.

SINER: And even for adults they can reach, Barton says getting them through the program is another challenge.

BARTON: They may have a schedule change at work, and they can't get a sitter or whatever it may be.

SINER: Nationally, only about a third of adults who start community college finish. And that number is even lower if they go back part time, which Tennessee Reconnect allows them to do. The state argues the flexibility¹¹ is necessary. Otherwise, they say, very few adults would bother enrolling¹². But they do hope to recruit motivated students like Michelle Griffith, who's now a year away from her degree.

GRIFFITH: Every day when I walk into class, it's just overwhelming. It's just an overwhelming experience to think, I'm doing this. I'm doing this.

SINER: Griffith is thinking about going to a nearby university after to get her bachelor's, and she's been encouraging friends to follow her lead in community college. Some are considering it, but she thinks the free guarantee will get them to commit. For NPR News, I'm Emily Siner in Nashville.

(SOUNDBITE OF CITY OF THE SUN'S "W. 16TH ST")

1 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。

2 daunting   

adj.使人畏缩的

参考例句：

• They were faced with the daunting task of restoring the house.他们面临着修复房子的艰巨任务。
• Starting a new job can be a daunting prospect.开始一项新工作有时会让人望而却步。

3 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

4 intimidating   

vt.恐吓，威胁( intimidate的现在分词)

参考例句：

• They were accused of intimidating people into voting for them. 他们被控胁迫选民投他们的票。
• This kind of questioning can be very intimidating to children. 这种问话的方式可能让孩子们非常害怕。

5 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。

6 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

7 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

9 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

10 oversees   

v.监督，监视( oversee的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She oversees both the research and the manufacturing departments. 她既监督研究部门又监督生产部门。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Department of Education oversees the federal programs dealing with education. 教育部监管处理教育的联邦程序。 来自互联网

11 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

12 enrolling   

v.招收( enrol的现在分词 )；吸收；入学；加入；[亦作enrol]( enroll的现在分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They lashed out at the university enrolling system. 他们猛烈抨击大学的招生制度。 来自辞典例句
• You're enrolling in a country club, Billy. 你是注册加入乡村俱乐部了，比利。 来自辞典例句