EDUCATION
REPORT - Middle School Recommendations
By Jerilyn Watson
This is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English
Education Report.
More than nine-million children in the United States
attend public middle schools. Middle school is the level between elementary
and high school. The first one opened in nineteen-sixty to help ease
crowding（拥挤现象）in existing schools.
Today thirty-thousand teachers, school officials,
parents and others belong to the National Middle School Association.
This independent group advises and represents schools. This month, the
association suggested ways to improve education for students between
the ages of ten and fifteen. Its position statement is called "This
We Believe: Successful Schools for Young Adolescents."
Sue Swaim is executive director of the association.
Mizz Swaim says there are middle schools that are well on their way
to providing the best possible education. But, she says, having some
successful schools is not enough. She says all must do better, especially
if the nation is to meet the goals of the education law called No Child
Left Behind. President Bush signed this law last year. It requires greater
testing in schools.
The National Middle School Association says schools
should employ teachers who are trained especially to work with students
in this age group. It says schools should offer a number of teaching
methods. And it says they should form teams of two to four teachers
to work with a common group of students.
The association advises middle schools to get students
actively involved in their learning. It says students learn best when
they take part in the teaching process. Schools are also urged to continually
measure the progress of students. And they are told that expectations
for everyone in the school should be high.
The National Middle School Association also advises
schools to create a mission statement. Such a statement describes the
needs and goals of a school, and helps guide decisions. Middle schools
are also urged to develop an inviting and safe environment. Students
should feel supported.
Further, the association says all the adults in successful
middle schools help advise and guide the students. It says successful
schools work to get families involved. And these schools recognize that
young people can learn more than adults often believe.
This VOA Special English Education Report was
written by Jerilyn Watson. This is Steve Ember.
万千英语族关于VOA Special English听力材料的特别说明：
- 本站收集整理、转载VOA Special English之音频及文本仅出于方便英语爱好者学习英语，练习听力之目的，不代表本站赞同VOA之任何观点。
- 新闻一般都有其倾向性，VOA做为境外站点，其新闻报导的倾向性必然带有其自身的目的，本站作为公益性英语学习站点，在收集资料时力求不损害国家和民族之利益，对于明显与主流媒体观点不一致的资料已经进行了删减，但是由于我们自身的局限性，可能对于个别篇章把握尺度不够严格，若您在使用这些听力资料时发现个别材料不合适，请与我们联系处理。更多信息，请点击关于我们链接获得。
- 本站VOA Special English音频资料为rm格式，需要安装RealPlayer 或 RealOne方可使用，关于RealPlayer下载、安装使用等问题，请访问其官方站点http://www.real.com/products/player。若您需要mp3格式文件，请下载RM格式文件后自行转换。
|
| 