美国国家公共电台 NPR High School Reunion: Making A 'Teachable Moment'

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Think back to your high school days. Maybe you were one of the lucky ones who didn't just survive those years but thrived. Or maybe you've spent the better part of your adult life trying to forget the whole thing. Well, our co-host Rachel Martin has been thinking a lot about those years.

RACHEL MARTIN, BYLINE¹: It's been 25 years since I graduated from high school. At one point, there was going to be a reunion, then there wasn't. There were still people I wanted to reconnect with, though - not even necessarily people I was close to but people I had wondered about. So I decided² I did not need an official reunion. I just called them up and asked them how they think back on that time.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOOR CREAKING)

MARTIN: I went back to my hometown recently and walked around Idaho Falls High School. Classes hadn't started yet, and the maintenance crews were busy waxing floors and getting the place ready for a new year. Almost immediately, I noticed this sign on the wall above the front door.

This is so cool. It says, celebrate our diversity, the power of one. This plaque³ seems to be put here in honor of Shirley Murphy, my English lit teacher, who we're going to go talk to.

Hi, lady.

SHIRLEY MURPHY: How are you doing?

MARTIN: Oh, my God.

MURPHY: Oh, it's so good to see you. And notice...

MARTIN: A lot of her students just called her Murph. To me, she was always Mrs. Murphy, the woman who opened up my mind to a whole world of ideas. She's retired⁴ now, but she taught English literature at Idaho Falls High School for more than 30 years. She also happened to be the first African-American teacher at that school.

I sat down with Mrs. Murphy before the violence in Charlottesville had happened, but our conversation feels all the more relevant today. She and her husband retired and moved to Florida, but they keep their home in Idaho Falls. And they come back every summer because this is still the place that feels like home. And who could pass up the chance to go to your teacher's house?

MURPHY: But then we'll come downstairs.

MARTIN: Yeah.

MURPHY: It's cooler.

MARTIN: OK, good.

The wall along the staircase to the basement is covered with framed family photos.

MURPHY: So here, we are graduating from college. Look how young we are. And that's...

MARTIN: Shirley Murphy and her husband met in the 1960s in Georgia, a long way away, geographically⁵ and culturally, from this rural town in Idaho.

MURPHY: When I first got here, I asked my husband, what had he gotten me into? Because I did not see anyone who looked like me. But I saw people who acted like me. They were friendly.

MARTIN: Your parents were in Georgia...

MURPHY: Georgia.

MARTIN: ...At the time. I mean, what did they make of that move?

MURPHY: Initially⁶, my mom said, what is that?

MARTIN: What is that?

MURPHY: What is that?

MARTIN: Not where is that (laughter).

MURPHY: Not where is that - I'd say, we are going to Idaho. She'd say, what is that?

MARTIN: (Laughter).

MURPHY: And - so I'd say, that's where we're going to go. And I promise you we'll come back every year, which we did.

MARTIN: Yeah.

MURPHY: And the intent was not only to go back to see the family but to share a little diversity with our children.

MARTIN: When I was growing up, this place was a monoculture. It was rural, lots of Mormons, overwhelmingly white. Mrs. Murphy said she had to learn early on how to handle the racial digs that came her way.

MURPHY: For an example, my Avon lady came to my house, and then she walked in and then she sat. And she was just looking around. And then she said, every time I come to your house, it's always clean. And then she said, and you only have two kids.

I knew exactly where she was coming from. And I said yeah, that's right. And then she said, do you know that they are building a Kentucky Fried Chicken? I said, you know, I don't even eat chicken. Threw her off - and I love chicken. And she could not believe that I did not like chicken, only had two kids - she couldn't understand.

MARTIN: And that you had a clean house.

MURPHY: And that I had a clean house. But you see, as opposed to becoming offended, I used that time as a teaching tool.

MARTIN: So this is what I remember - I remember this in high school. Every year, you held an assembly around Martin Luther King Day, where you would call the entire student body together. We'd all sit in the bleachers in the gym. You, by yourself, stand in the middle of the gym floor with a microphone and invite the entire student body to ask you whatever question they want to ask you about what it is like to be an African-American...

MURPHY: Right, exactly.

MARTIN: ...Which is pretty remarkable⁷ to open yourself up that way. Why did you want to do that?

MURPHY: I wanted to create a safe zone for the students to ask the question that they've always wanted to know, regardless of whether they thought they knew the answer.

MARTIN: What kind of questions?

MURPHY: For an example, number one, the tanning.

MARTIN: The tanning?

MURPHY: Do black people tan? And my answer was yes. (Gasps) Really? I said, and even burn.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

MURPHY: They wanted to know my feeling about interracial marriages. And I said, how would you feel if someone were to tell you you can't love someone? And so they're just in awe⁸ when that bubble is burst.

MARTIN: Did that ever become burdensome or just downright annoying?

MURPHY: No, I just loved it. And when we were doing the multicultural⁹ week, I had a lot of my students who felt left out. They were hurt.

MARTIN: Why?

MURPHY: They felt as if they were in the minority because they didn't have an opportunity to go and talk about their race.

MARTIN: And these were white students?

MURPHY: These were my white students. And I said excellent, I'm glad you came to talk to me about that. So if you feel that way for a week, how do you think these students feel the other weeks?

MARTIN: It was classic Mrs. Murphy. Anything could be turned into a teachable moment. She didn't care if she got a question that was insulting or demeaning. It wasn't about her.

She adjusted herself in her chair and leaned closer to me. Empathy, she said, taking the time to understand the path that someone else has walked - that's what we could all use more of right now.

MURPHY: I enjoyed my students. I enjoyed the classroom. People said, you work in high school? I don't know how you could get along. I said, they are beautiful. And so - and I just look at where the students are now, and I do feel that things will get better.

(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL BACHMAN'S "COMING HOME")

MARTIN: Thank you so much for doing this.

MURPHY: You are so welcome.

(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL BACHMAN'S "COMING HOME")

MARTIN: Shirley Murphy - she taught English at Idaho Falls High School for 34 years.

(SOUNDBITE OF DANIEL BACHMAN'S "COMING HOME")

GREENE: That was Rachel Martin bringing us her radio reunion.

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 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。

3 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

4 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

5 geographically   

adv.地理学上，在地理上，地理方面

参考例句：

• Geographically, the UK is on the periphery of Europe. 从地理位置上讲，英国处于欧洲边缘。 来自辞典例句
• All these events, however geographically remote, urgently affected Western financial centers. 所有这些事件，无论发生在地理上如何遥远的地方，都对西方金融中心产生紧迫的影响。 来自名作英译部分

6 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

7 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

8 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

9 multicultural   

adj.融合多种文化的，多种文化的

参考例句：

• Children growing up in a multicultural society.在多元文化社会中长大的孩子们。
• The school has been attempting to bring a multicultural perspective to its curriculum.这所学校已经在尝试将一种多元文化视角引入其课程。