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VOA教育报道2023--TV Show Explores Teaching at an Urban Public School

时间:2023-09-25 02:29:49

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TV Show Explores Teaching at an Urban Public School

An American TV show called Abbott Elementary is a comedy about teachers in a Philadelphia elementary school.

The show has been praised for being funny, smart and heartwarming and for dealing1 with important education issues. Over two seasons of 35 episodes, the show has explored education issues like school budgets, charter schools and teacher mental health.

The show is on ABC, one of the biggest American television networks. The show is being aired at a time of teacher shortages and debates about how race issues and history should be taught.

The creator and star of the show is Quinta Brunson. Brunson's mother was a public school teacher in Philadelphia. Brunson plays a young, second-grade teacher named Janine at Abbott Elementary. The show follows several other teachers at Abbott, which is a badly supervised and majority-Black school that does not have enough money. Although the teachers often run into trouble with students and the administration, they care about their jobs and try to help their students.

Brunson said in an interview with Education Week that two writers on the show are former teachers. She said she wanted all the writers to have "a healthy relationship to education."

She added that since the COVID-19 pandemic, education has been a subject on the minds of everyone.

"Three years ago, no one was talking about teachers as much as they are now," Brunson said. "And now, everywhere we look, we're talking about education...I hope that it leads us into a better place in this country with our treatment of education, specifically public education."

Sara Jones is a professor of elementary education at Illinois State University. Next spring, she will be teaching a class on Abbott Elementary. At each class, students will watch an episode of the show then discuss an issue related to urban education that appeared in that episode. The class will also read related research papers from education experts.

Jones is a former elementary school teacher and has researched urban education. She said the show covers many issues that come up in her research like teacher shortages, teacher training and unfair use of public money.

"I immediately fell in love with the characters and the storytelling and that connection to my own teaching experience," Jones told VOA.

The class is part of the university's honors program instead of the education school, so it will have students from different areas of study. Jones added that the show is funny and interesting but deals with issues in a simple way that people who are not involved in education can understand.

A repeated issue in the show's second season is the charter school movement. Charter schools receive public money but operate outside the public school system. Charter schools also receive private money. Businessmen like Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and former Microsoft chief Bill Gates have invested money in some charter schools. In Abbott, a group called Legendary2 Charter schools threatens to turn every public school in Philadelphia into a charter school.

Charter schools do not have the same operating requirements as local government-operated public schools. Critics argue that charter schools receive local tax money that could go to traditional public schools.

In one episode, the teachers discuss the threat of Legendary charter schools. One of the older teachers, Barbara, says, charters "take our funding. Not to mention the private money from wealthy donors3 with ulterior motives5."

But the principal, Ava, who is often portrayed6 as foolish says, "Weird7 cash swirling8 around? Don't threaten me with a good time."

Jones said the story explores urban school issues better than most shows on television, including the news media.

"I hope students will get from (this class) a deeper understanding of those issues and perhaps a shift in perspective about particularly urban schools."

Brunson said she hopes people who watch the show will be more likely to support schools and teachers.

"It's a public service," Brunson said of teaching. "Who are we without teachers? Who are we without the people who teach us how to read?"

Words in This Story

comedy — n. a kind of performance meant to make people laugh

smart –adj. showing a sharp mind or clever way of looking at things

episode –n. one in a series of television or radio shows

charter school –n. a school established under a charter (legal agreement) that is not part of the local government, but receives some public tax money as called for by local law

character –n. a person in a television show, play or other performance

ulterior motive4 –n. an addition reason that something is done that is usually hidden

weird — adj. unusual or strange

perspective — n. a way of looking at an issue as it relates to other things


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 dealing NvjzWP     
n.经商方法,待人态度
参考例句:
  • This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
  • His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。
2 legendary u1Vxg     
adj.传奇(中)的,闻名遐迩的;n.传奇(文学)
参考例句:
  • Legendary stories are passed down from parents to children.传奇故事是由父母传给孩子们的。
  • Odysseus was a legendary Greek hero.奥狄修斯是传说中的希腊英雄。
3 donors 89b49c2bd44d6d6906d17dca7315044b     
n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 );献血者;捐血者;器官捐献者
参考例句:
  • Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去,请给我们发电子邮件。
  • About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 motive GFzxz     
n.动机,目的;adv.发动的,运动的
参考例句:
  • The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
  • He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。
5 motives 6c25d038886898b20441190abe240957     
n.动机,目的( motive的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • to impeach sb's motives 怀疑某人的动机
  • His motives are unclear. 他的用意不明。
6 portrayed a75f5b1487928c9f7f165b2773c13036     
v.画像( portray的过去式和过去分词 );描述;描绘;描画
参考例句:
  • Throughout the trial, he portrayed himself as the victim. 在审讯过程中,他始终把自己说成是受害者。
  • The author portrayed his father as a vicious drunkard. 作者把他父亲描绘成一个可恶的酒鬼。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
7 weird bghw8     
adj.古怪的,离奇的;怪诞的,神秘而可怕的
参考例句:
  • From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来,他好像有点怪。
  • His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。
8 swirling Ngazzr     
v.旋转,打旋( swirl的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • Snowflakes were swirling in the air. 天空飘洒着雪花。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • She smiled, swirling the wine in her glass. 她微笑着,旋动着杯子里的葡萄酒。 来自辞典例句

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