VOA慢速英语2021--学生将从减少的上课时间中学到什么？

What Lessons Will Students Learn from Reduced Class Time?

Most public high school teachers in the United States never expected a school year like the current one. School buildings closed across the country in March of 2020. Education went online and distance learning¹ has continued since.

Teachers around the country quickly found they would not be able to teach as much material as usual to their students. The educators had to make choices about what content to cover and what could be dropped.

So, over time, English teachers began cutting some books and writing projects from their teaching² plans.

History teachers began to shrink³ their coverage⁴ of some periods.

Science teachers had to remove experiment-based work because school laboratories⁵ were no longer available.

While some students were able to keep up with their studies while working from home, many struggled without being at school. In the current school year, many teachers have not even met their students in person.

Alison Reeves is a Spanish teacher at a high school in Fairfax, Virginia, about 30 kilometers outside of Washington, D.C. She said by this time in a school year, she usually knows her students well. But this year is different.

"I have gotten a good sense of who they are, but you learn different things virtually⁶. I know their voices when they answer questions, but I don't know what their face looks like, per se."

She said distance learning is especially difficult for students in language classes.

At the start of a normal school year, she explained, some students can be shy about saying a word incorrectly in front of their friends. But after a while, they understand everyone in the class is learning a new language. At that point, they are not shy anymore.

But at home, Reeves said, the students are shyer. They worry about making mistakes in front of their parents.

Because of this, Reeves said, she has made speaking less of a priority⁷ this year than in past years. She is more centered on helping⁸ her students learn to write in Spanish. In addition, she usually has her students learning two different past tenses by now. This year she has centered more on the present tense.

Reeves is not the only teacher changing her teaching plan.

Tassie Zahner teaches Advanced Placement U.S. History at a high school in Silver Spring, Maryland, about 15 kilometers from Washington, D.C. She has been teaching for almost 10 years.

At the end of the school year, her students take a national history test. Colleges use the scores to help make admissions⁹ decisions.

Zahner cut how much time she spends on different parts of American history. For example, she usually spends 18 class periods teaching about the last part of the 19th century. That takes over three weeks. This year, she did it in four hours.

As a result, she thinks some of her students' test scores will not show their true ability. Zahner said the leaders of her school are not that worried about the test scores this year. But her students are.

"I have students who want that score on the exam. They do care very much. And not being able to give them the same kind of information and the same rigor¹⁰ that we do in the real classroom has been very difficult for me and for them."

Jake Stanford teaches English at Palm Springs High School in California. He has been teaching for 13 years. His school changed its schedule because of the pandemic.

That greatly affected¹¹ writing projects he would normally¹² give his students.

The writing projects require a lot of time. Students write and rewrite a paper several times before they are finished. Stanford said he normally asks students to write 24 papers over the year. But, not this year.

"It's just not been realistic to try to expect that. And I have not been able to. And I think that's what I've been hearing from colleagues as well."

Stanford said his students will do half the usual number of writing projects.

Cristin Espinoza teaches English in Denver, Colorado. She said she had to remove some of her favorite projects from her teaching plan this year. Class time used to be 90 minutes long, she said. Now she sees her students for about 20 minutes each class.

Some teachers, however, are also reporting educational successes within the new structure. Jake Stanford said some of his students are performing better than in the past. Due to the coronavirus health crisis¹³, they don't have as many other things going on.

"They are absorbing material and gaining a higher level of skill very, very quickly."

Alison Reeves said she hopes colleges will consider the pandemic's effects on high school education when they make admissions decisions.

She is hopeful about the future for students, overall¹⁴, even with less teaching time and subject coverage. They are learning how to deal with difficult educational conditions. "That truly," she said, "will take you much further than a lot of the content."

Tassie Zahner expressed similar thinking.

"We have students at my school that are working and helping support their families and taking care of multi-generational households, and still showing up every day and going to class and doing their work. That's impressive¹⁵."

Words in This Story

virtual- adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

shy- adj. tending to avoid something because of nervousness, fear, dislike, etc.

per se- adv. by, of, or in itself — used to indicate that something is being considered by itself and not along with other things

rigor- n. the quality or state of being very exact, careful, or strict

schedule- n. a plan of things that will be done and the times when they will be done

colleague- n. a person who works¹⁶ with you : a fellow worker

absorb- v. to learn (something)

impressive- adj. deserving attention, admiration, or respect : making a good impression

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

3 shrink   

n.收缩，萎缩；vi.收缩，退缩，萎缩；vt.使收缩

参考例句：

• Washing wool in hot water will shrink it.在热水中洗毛织品会使其缩水。
• This cloth won't shrink when it's washed.这种布下水不缩。

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 laboratories   

n.实验室( laboratory的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For, eight years, Marie Curie worked in cold laboratories with poor equipment. 整整八年，居里夫人在设备简陋、冰冷的实验室里做着实验。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• Some commercial laboratories use periodic nitrate tests as guides. 许多商业性的试验室已应用定期的硝态氮分析作为指导。 来自辞典例句

6 virtually   

adv.实际上，事实上

参考例句：

• The job was virtually completed by the end of the week.到周末时这项工作差不多完成了。
• He was virtually a prisoner.他实际上是个囚犯。

7 priority   

n.优先处理的事，居先，优先（权）

参考例句：

• The development of the national economy is a top priority.发展国民经济是应予以最优先考虑的事。
• Things should be taken up in order of priority.办事应有个先后次序。

8 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

9 admissions   

n.准许进入( admission的名词复数 )；入场费；入场券；承认

参考例句：

• a need-blind admissions policy 不考虑经济能力的录取政策
• He's the Dean of Admissions for the University of Michigan. 他是Michigan大学的新生注册主任。 来自辞典例句

10 rigor   

n.严酷，严格，严厉

参考例句：

• Their analysis lacks rigor.他们的分析缺乏严谨性。||The crime will be treated with the full rigor of the law.这一罪行会严格依法审理。

11 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

12 normally   

adv.正常地，通常地

参考例句：

• I normally do all my shopping on Saturdays.我通常在星期六买东西。
• My pulse beats normally.我脉搏正常。

13 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

14 overall   

n.工作服，工装裤；全面的，全体的

参考例句：

• The shop assistant was wearing a white overall.那店员穿着白色的工作服。
• How much will it cost overall?一共多少钱？

15 impressive   

adj.给人深刻印象的，感人的

参考例句：

• This cinema is so impressive that we can't help crying.这影片如此感人以至我们禁不住流下泪来。
• The suit made him look especially impressive.他穿上这套衣服真精神。

16 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。