VOA慢速英语20060720a

EDUCATION REPORT - Immediate¹ Pay Increase Urged for U.S. TeachersBy Nancy Steinbach

Broadcast: Thursday, July 20, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

Almost half of new American teachers leave the profession within five years. Some get tired of large class sizes, limited planning time and support, and wishing to feel more valued by society. At the same time, experts say too many teachers lack the required knowledge of what they teach, especially math and science.

Criticisms of teaching are usually less about the working conditions than about the pay. A new report calls for an immediate pay increase of fifteen to twenty percent. It says this would lift teachers from the bottom in starting pay among professions.

The report, Teachers and the Uncertain American Future, is from the Center for Innovative² Thought. The College Board formed this group last year with some of the best minds in education, in its words.

The College Board is a non-profit organization that owns the SAT college entry test. It also administers the Advanced Placement program.

The report urges new programs to solve a crisis in the number of qualified³ math and science teachers. It says less than half of students who finish high school are ready for college-level math or science.

It says another problem is a shortage of minority teachers, to better represent society. It says two times as many black and three times as many Hispanic, Asian and Native American teachers are needed.

The report says the nation needs a new agreement, a compact, with its teachers to defend its position in the world. All this would be financed with public and private money through a proposed Teachers' Trust.

The suggested fifteen to twenty percent pay raise would rise to fifty percent. Teachers would work eleven months of the year instead of ten. Excellent teachers and those who agree to teach in troubled schools and subjects with shortages could get extra pay.

The plan also calls for better working conditions, and more pathways into teaching for those without traditional training.

The National Education Association is America's largest teachers union. Its president says the proposals from the Center for Innovative Thought are nothing new.

Reg Weaver⁴ says schools will not improve until teachers have the support, skills and training necessary to do their jobs. He says the surest way to end the teacher shortage is for all teachers to receive pay that recognizes the job they have to do.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Transcripts⁵ and archives are at www.unsv.com. I'm Faith Lapidus.

1 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

2 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

3 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。

4 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

5 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句