Teaching Fellows

By Jerilyn Watson
Broadcast: August 21, 2003
This is Bill White with the VOA Special English Education Report.
New York City has the largest public school system in the United States. The city Department of Education operates one-thousand-two-hundred schools. Three years ago, the city badly needed more teachers. It especially needed good teachers to work in poor schools. To help deal with the teacher shortage¹, educators launched² the New York City Teaching³ Fellows program.
The program chose two-hundred-fifty people from other jobs to study to become classroom teachers.
Today, more than three-thousand of these Teaching Fellows work in New York City schools. Most of them serve in the Bronx and Brooklyn areas of the city. They work in schools where students are performing poorly.
Many of these Teaching Fellows teach mathematics, science or special education. Special education is for students who have learning⁴ disabilities or other problems. The schools have the greatest demand for teachers in these subjects.
Teaching Fellows did not study education in college, like a lot of other teachers. They were lawyers, nurses, technology experts, business people and others. They prepare for their new 1)occupation by taking 2)intensive⁵ courses for about two months in the summer.
During that time, they study educational ideas and methods. They also work in classrooms under 3)supervision⁶ of people who have taught for years. They meet with advisors⁷ to discuss their progress. Then they begin work as teachers.
While doing so, the Teaching Fellows also attend local universities to earn a master's degree. These studies help them become accredited⁸ -- officially approved -- as teachers. Most of their expenses are paid through the program. The national service organization AmeriCorps also may help if its budget permits.
Programs that put new teachers in classrooms faster than usual are spreading. Several communities have started them. For example, the city of Washington, D.C began a Teaching Fellows program in two-thousand-one.
Many schools in the nation's capital have poor records and have needed teachers. Last fall, one-hundred Teaching Fellows were at work. At first, some school directors said they feared that the new teachers might not be well prepared. But officials say many school directors now want to consider hiring them.
This VOA Special English Education Report was written by Jerilyn Watson. This is Bill White.
注释：
1) occupation [7Ckju5peiFEn] n.职业
2) intensive [in5tensiv] adj.强烈的，精深的
3) supervision [7sju:pE5viVEn] n.监督，管理

1 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

2 launched   

v.发射( launch的过去式和过去分词 )；[计算机]开始（应用程序）；发动；开展（活动、计划等）

参考例句：

• He launched a bitter diatribe against the younger generation. 他对年轻一代发起了猛烈的抨击。
• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide. 这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。

3 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。

4 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。

5 intensive   

adj.加强的，密集的；精工细作的，集约的

参考例句：

• I'll make an intensive study of a subject.我将集中学一门课程。
• There we received several weeks of intensive training.在那里我们受了几星期的集中训练.

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 advisors   

n.顾问，劝告者( advisor的名词复数 )；（指导大学新生学科问题等的）指导教授

参考例句：

• The governors felt that they were being strung along by their advisors. 地方长官感到他们一直在受顾问们的愚弄。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We will consult together with advisors about her education. 我们将一起和专家商议她的教育事宜。 来自互联网

8 accredited   

adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于

参考例句：

• The discovery of distillation is usually accredited to the Arabs of the 11th century. 通常认为，蒸馏法是阿拉伯人在11世纪发明的。
• Only accredited journalists were allowed entry. 只有正式认可的记者才获准入内。