VOA教育报道2022--Schools Increasingly Go Online During Disasters

More school systems around the country are using online classes when communities face disasters like wildfires, storms, or water shortages¹.

In Jackson, Mississippi, a problem with the public water system left the city without safe water for several days. As a result, schools went online for one week.

The time in remote learning² did not last long for the 20,000-student school system in Jackson. Enough water pressure was returned earlier this month for children to go back to in-person learning. And last week, the city said water was safe for normal use.

However, online learning increased the disruption³ for children and teachers. At home, children attending online classes often had their whole family in the house.

Early in 2020, school officials had high hopes for remote learning. Since then, the problems with it have become clearer. The change to online learning caused many students to fall behind where they should be in their studies. And it added to new worries about students' mental health.

At the same time, the push to online learning led to increased use of technology, which made remote learning possible on a large scale.

In 2018, two powerful storms hit the same areas in North Carolina, causing schools in some places to close. Some students were out of school for weeks. There were attempts at remote learning, but many children did not have laptop computers or other technology.

As a result, most schools tried to move students to other in-person buildings, said Gary Henry. He is head of the University of Delaware's College of Education and Human Development and has been part of a research team studying the effects of remote learning.

Henry said school systems now will look first to online learning. For a period of a few weeks, he said it could be a way to keep students on track. But the pandemic showed that it is not effective over a long period of time.

Schools in Mora, New Mexico, for example, switched to remote learning last April when the town was evacuated⁵ because of a wildfire.

It was a difficult start, Superintendent⁶ Marvin MacAuley said. Some of the displaced⁷ students and teachers were in evacuation centers and did not have computer technology. As time went on, people were able to get computers or get on the internet.

In mid-August, students went back to school, in person, for the first time since the fire.

"When there's a lot of stuff⁸ that has happened, it's better to have the kids in person so you can see how they are, take note of their behaviors and provide the support to them," MacAuley said.

In Cresskill, New Jersey⁹, after a strong ocean storm hit in 2021, the building containing the high school and middle school was flooded. The school system had no choice but to start the school year online.

School Superintendent Michael Burke said that learning online is rough for kids' mental health issues. "It's rough for kids for socialization. And it's hard for parents who have to arrange for someone to be home."

After a period of time, Cresskill offered both online and in-person teaching¹⁰. The school system worked with a local religious group to use its 14 classrooms. Later, in February, the school moved into a neighboring town's church building so students could go to class every day.

Sarah Barrs has a daughter going to school in Cresskill. "It's not school," she said of remote learning. "It's a last resort¹¹ and it shouldn't be a crutch¹² that we rely on for school."

In Jackson, Mississippi, fifth-grade teacher Ryan Johnson used his experience from the pandemic to help new teachers at his school. They faced the same problems when the school system moved online during the city's water crisis¹³.

Teachers worked hard last year to help students improve, he said. But he said he worries about the possible effects of another long school closure.

Words in This Story

disruption –n. something that makes it impossible to continue in a normal way

remote — adj. far away; distant

scale –n. the size or level of something

on track –phrase happening as it should or is expected

evacuate⁴ — v. to leave or be taken out of a place because of danger

last resort — n. the last remaining choice or possibility

crutch — n. something that is used too much for help or support

1 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

2 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。

3 disruption   

n.分裂

参考例句：

• The state was in disruption. 国家处于分崩离析之中。
• Such storms cause considerable disruption in magnetic prospecting operation. 这种磁暴对磁法勘探产生严重的破坏。

4 evacuate   

v.遣送；搬空；抽出；排泄；大(小)便

参考例句：

• We must evacuate those soldiers at once!我们必须立即撤出这些士兵！
• They were planning to evacuate the seventy American officials still in the country.他们正计划转移仍滞留在该国的70名美国官员。

5 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

6 superintendent   

n.监督人，主管，总监；(英国)警务长

参考例句：

• He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
• He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。

7 displaced   

移动( displace的过去式和过去分词 )； 替换； 移走； 撤职

参考例句：

• Gradually factory workers have been displaced by machines. 工厂的工人已逐渐被机器取代。
• He was displaced by another young man. 他已被另一个年轻人顶替。

8 stuff   

n.原料，材料，东西；vt.填满；吃饱

参考例句：

• We could supply you with the stuff in the raw tomorrow.明天我们可以供应你原材料。
• He is not the stuff.他不是这个材料。

9 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

10 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。

11 resort   

n.凭借，手段，常去之地，胜地；vi.求助，诉诸，采取（某种手段等），常去

参考例句：

• He couldn't have passed the exam without resort to cheating.他要不是靠作弊是通不过这次考试的。
• Beidaihe is noted for its summer resort.北戴河以避暑胜地而著称。

12 crutch   

n.T字形拐杖；支持，依靠，精神支柱

参考例句：

• Her religion was a crutch to her when John died.约翰死后，她在精神上依靠宗教信仰支撑住自己。
• He uses his wife as a kind of crutch because of his lack of confidence.他缺乏自信心，总把妻子当作主心骨。

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。