VOA教育报道2024--Top US School Gives Teachers More Independence

When teachers at one of the top public schools in Florida are asked how they succeed, one answer is universal: They have autonomy in the classroom.

Teachers with autonomy are able to make decisions and plans independently in their classrooms.

The majority of American teachers report feeling stressed and unhappy at work, a Pew Research Center study found last year. Another study by Brown University and the University of Albany found that reduced job satisfaction has been connected to a drop in teachers' sense of autonomy in the classroom.

But at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Florida, school leaders permit their staff high levels of classroom autonomy - and it works.

Henderson is a public school of 636 kindergartners to eighth graders on the campus of Florida Atlantic University. Henderson students scored in the top 1 percent to 3 percent in nearly every subject in the state's latest standardized¹ tests. In almost every subject, 60 percent or more of Henderson students scored far above the Florida state average.

"There is a lot of our own individual input² allowed in doing the activities that we want to do in the classroom," said Vanessa Stevenson. She is a middle school science teacher at Henderson. She plans to start a horse medicine class next fall even though the school has no horses. She believes she will find a way to make the class a success.

"It's a bit of trial and error because there's nothing being handed to you saying, 'Do it this way.' You just have to figure it out," she said.

Joel Herbst is the superintendent³ of Henderson and its partner FAU High School. He called the teachers his "secret sauce." He said the school's success can be done anywhere if administrators⁴ give teachers more freedom.

When that happens, he said, teachers create hands-on programs that help students learn more.

"Give (teachers) the freedom to do what they do best, which is to impart knowledge, to teach beyond the textbook," Herbst said.

Madhu Narayanan is an education professor at Portland State University. He studies teacher independence. He said independence is highly related to teacher morale⁵ and success. But independence must be combined with administrative⁶ support.

"It can't be, 'Here is the classroom, here is the textbook, we'll see you in six months.' Those teachers have tremendous autonomy, but feel lost," he said.

About 2,700 families enter a lottery⁷ each year for the 60 spots in Henderson's kindergarten class and openings in other grades.

Some children entering Henderson are gifted. Some have learning disabilities. Most are average learners, however.

The school must follow a Florida law requiring the student population at university-run "laboratory" schools match state population demographics for race, gender⁸ and income. Because families apply to attend, parental⁹ involvement is high.

Jenny O'Sullivan teaches a class on art and technology. Her kindergartners learn computer coding basics by playing a game with a robot. And fourth and fifth graders make videos celebrating Earth Day.

Her new classroom has the newest technology. But she says such classes can be taught anywhere if the teacher is given the ability to be creative.

Amy Miramontes teaches sixth graders a Medical Detectives class. They examine pieces of rabbit muscle under a microscope, using safe chemicals to find what disease each animal had.

Miramontes hopes the class grows students' interest in medicine. She also hopes her class gives students the knowledge needed in two years when they take the state's eighth-grade science test.

Using art to teach science

Henderson's success has led to more money and grants. The middle school's drone program, for example, recently won a national competition in California.

Henderson's drone teams have a room to practice flying the devices through an obstacle course, plus flight simulators donated by the local power company. The drone program is a chance to compete while using the physics and aeronautics¹⁰ learned in the classroom, teacher James Nance¹¹ said.

Eighth grader Anik Sahai is in Stevenson's science class. He created an app that uses the camera to diagnose diabetic retinopathy. The eye disease is a leading cause of blindness worldwide.

Sahai's app took first place in the state's middle school science fair and is being considered for commercial use. The 14-year-old credits his success to his years at Henderson, beginning in the preschool program.

"The teachers here, they're amazing," he said. "They've been trained on how to get us to the next level."

Words in This Story

autonomy - n. the state of existing or acting¹² separately from others

allow - v. to permit

trial - n. a formal meeting in a court in which evidence about crimes, disagreements, etc., is presented to a judge and often a jury so that decisions can be made according to the law

superintendent - n. a person who directs or manages a place, department, organization, etc.

secret sauce - n. a special quality or feature considered the most important factor in the success of something or someone

impart - v. to give something, such as a quality, to a thing

morale - n. the feelings of enthusiasm and loyalty¹³ that a person or group has about a task or job

tremendous - adj. very large or great

lottery - n. a system used to decide who will get or be given something by choosing names or numbers by chance

gifted - adj. having great natural ability

gender - n. a person's own sense of being male, female, some combination of male and female, or neither male nor female

income - n. money that is earned from work, investments, business, etc.

grant - n. an amount of money that is given to someone by a government, a company, etc., to be used for a particular purpose

diagnose - v. to recognize by examining someone

1 standardized   

adj.标准化的

参考例句：

• We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
• The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。

2 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。

3 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。

4 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

5 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

6 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。

7 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

8 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

9 parental   

adj.父母的；父的；母的

参考例句：

• He encourages parental involvement in the running of school.他鼓励学生家长参与学校的管理。
• Children always revolt against parental disciplines.孩子们总是反抗父母的管束。

10 aeronautics   

n.航空术，航空学

参考例句：

• National Aeronautics and Space undertakings have made great progress.国家的航空航天事业有了很大的发展。
• He devoted every spare moment to aeronautics.他把他所有多余的时间用在航空学上。

11 nance   

n.娘娘腔的男人，男同性恋者

参考例句：

• I think he's an awful nance.我觉得他这个人太娘娘腔了。
• He doesn't like to be called a nance.他不喜欢被叫做娘娘腔。

12 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

13 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。