VOA慢速英語：給美國學(xué)生教美國的開國文件

Teaching American Students About US Founding Documents

給美國學(xué)生教美國的開國文件

Should American high school students know at least as much about their country's historic documents as immigrants seeking citizenship? Many states and schools are asking that question.

美國高中畢業(yè)生是否應(yīng)該像申請入籍的移民一樣了解該國的歷史文件?很多州和學(xué)校都開始這樣要求。

People who want to become American citizens must know about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers. These documents were written in the late 1700s by some of the founders of the country.

希望成為美國公民的人們必須了解《獨立宣言》、《憲法》以及《聯(lián)邦論》。這些文件都是由美國的一些開國元勛在18世紀(jì)末期編寫的。

But, some experts say American students generally know little about these founding documents. They say if students do not understand the documents, they cannot know how the American system of government operates.

但是，有些專家認(rèn)為，美國學(xué)生通常對這些開國文件知之甚少。他們說如果學(xué)生們不了解這些文件，他們就不知道美國政府是如何運作的。

So, an increasing number of American schools are requiring students learn about these documents before they can graduate. Individual states are using different methods for teaching the subject.

因此，越來越多的美國學(xué)校開始要求學(xué)生們在畢業(yè)前學(xué)習(xí)這些文件。個別州開始就此采用不同的教學(xué)方法。

Since 2012, Kentucky, Arkansas and at least 12 other states put into effect such requirements. Students in those states learn about the founding documents as part of their social studies classes.

自從2012年以來，肯塔基州、阿肯色州以及其它至少12個州實施了這樣的要求。這些州的學(xué)生把學(xué)習(xí)開國文件作為他們社會研究課程的一部分。

But lawmakers in other states -- including Minnesota -- want to give students a greater understanding of the documents. They want schools to teach a separate course about them.

但是包括明尼蘇達州在內(nèi)的其他州的議員希望學(xué)生們更加了解這些文件。他們希望學(xué)校就此開設(shè)單獨的課程。

Maida Buckley is a retired history and government teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska. Last year, she spoke at a meeting of state legislators studying the issue of civics education. She supports expanded study of the founding documents.

梅達·巴克利(Maida Buckley)是阿拉斯加州費爾班克斯市一位教授歷史和政府的退休教師。去年，她在一次研究公民教育問題的州議員會議上作了發(fā)言。她支持加大對開國文件的學(xué)習(xí)。

Buckley says, "when you have a system of government that is based on ideas -- espoused in the Declaration of Independence and carried out with a working document in the Constitution -- those ideas need to be taught."

巴克利說：“我們政府體系是基于《獨立宣言》主張的理念，并遵照《憲法》的工作文件實施。這些理念需要教導(dǎo)給人們。”

In many states, Republicans and Democrats support the teaching of the documents, although their reasons may differ. Some are concerned about the lack of public involvement in school boards and town halls. Others are worried about the way Republican President Donald Trump and his supporters use their power.

在很多州，共和黨和民主黨都支持教授這些文件，盡管他們的理由可能有所不同。有人擔(dān)心在校董會和市政廳中缺乏公眾參與，還有人擔(dān)心共和黨總統(tǒng)川普及其支持者的用權(quán)之道。

Gregg Amore is a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He also has taught history classes in high schools for many years. He supports a bill that says the "survival of the republic" depends on Americans understanding their country's principles and history.

格雷戈·阿莫爾(Gregg Amore)是羅德島州眾議院的議員。他還在高中教過很多年的歷史課程。他支持一項聲稱“共和制存亡”取決于美國人對該國原則和歷史的了解的法案。

He says "we clearly have seen there is a serious civics deficiency in this country, all the way up to the top -- the very top."

他說：“我們清楚地看到，這個國家存在嚴(yán)重的公民缺陷，一直延伸到最頂層。”

The Joe Foss Institute is a non-profit civics education group based in Arizona. It is campaigning to persuade states to pass laws requiring their students to know the answers to the questions on the citizenship test.

喬福斯學(xué)院是一家總部位于亞利桑那州的非盈利性公民教育組織。它正在爭取說服各州通過法律，要求該州的學(xué)生們知曉入籍考試相關(guān)問題的答案。

But some supporters of civics education do not support such laws.

但是一些公民教育的支持者卻不支持這樣的法律。

Charles Quigley is the executive director of the Center for Civic Education. He says students take too many tests already.

查爾斯·奎格利(Charles Quigley)是公民教育中心的執(zhí)行董事。他說學(xué)生們要考的已經(jīng)夠多了。

Quigley's group developed "We the People," a nationwide civics education program. Some teachers at North Smithfield High School in Rhode Island are using the "We the People" curriculum to teach about the founding documents. The curriculum calls for students to take part in a national competition in which they must defend their ideas.

奎格利的組織開發(fā)了“我們?nèi)藗?rdquo;這項全國性的公民教育課程。羅德島州北史密斯菲爾德高中的一些教師正采用“我們?nèi)藗?rdquo;課程來教授這些開國文件。該課程要求學(xué)生們參加一項必須捍衛(wèi)自己想法的全國性比賽。

Recently, students debated whether police may search a suspect's smart phone without receiving permission from a judge. They talked about the Constitution's limits on searches. And they discussed the past opinions of Supreme Court justices about searches.

最近，學(xué)生們辯論了警方是否可以未經(jīng)法官允許搜查疑犯的智能手機。他們談到了憲法對搜查的限制，他們還討論了最高法院法官以前對搜查的意見。

Natalie O'Brien is the teacher. She tells her students to think about the more than 200 years of American history and legal thought.

娜塔莉·奧布萊恩(Natalie O'Brien)是他們的老師。她讓學(xué)生們思考一下美國200多年的歷史和法律思想。

Megan Skinner is a 15-year-old student at the school. She says she did not think about politics before she took O'Brien's class. But she says now she uses the founding documents when her family and friends talk about President Trump's administration.

梅根·斯金納(Megan Skinner)是該校一名15歲的學(xué)生。她說自己在上奧布萊恩的課之前從未想過政治。但她說，現(xiàn)在她在親朋好友談?wù)摯ㄆ照畷r用到了這些開國文件。

"It gives us an entirely new perspective on all the events that are going on," Skinner says. "You see all these things in the news, and especially about the election, and all the things that are going on with the executive orders he (signed), the travel bans. Before this class, we wouldn't have understood these things."

斯金納說：“它給了我們一種全新的觀點來看待正在發(fā)生的所有事情，你在新聞中能看到它們，尤其是選舉新聞，以及川普簽署旅行禁令發(fā)生的事情。在上這門課程之前，我們不會了解這些。”

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韋弗報道。