In the US we have free compulsory public education for all children from grade 1 to grade 12. Children must stay in school through grade 12, or at least until they are 16. Public schooling is truly free: no book fees, no music fees, no athletic fees. Books are handed out at the beginning of the school year and must be returned at the end. Most schools supply paper, pencils, erasers, calculators, computers, art supplies and musical instruments.
I have been a primary-school teacher for over 30 years. I teach English in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pupils who are members of racial minorities. Currently I work with Haitian immigrant children who do not speak English when they enter school. Their families come from a country where violence is all too common. Haitian schools are often closed; indeed, in the past ten years, there has not been a single complete school year. Grinding poverty results in a very low level of literacy. Parents seldom have funds for books, paper or pencils. When the children of such families arrive in the US, they are woefully unprepared to compete with their middle-class agemates.
美國(guó)對(duì)小學(xué)一年級(jí)到12年級(jí)的孩子實(shí)行強(qiáng)制性義務(wù)教育，孩子們必須在學(xué)校里讀完12年，或者至少要到16歲。公立學(xué)校的的確確是免費(fèi)的：不收書本費(fèi)，不收音樂課費(fèi)用，不收體育課費(fèi)用。每一學(xué)年開始時(shí)書會(huì)發(fā)到孩子手里，期末則必須交回去。大多數(shù)學(xué)校還提供紙張、鉛筆、橡皮、計(jì)算器、計(jì)算機(jī)、美術(shù)課用具和樂器。
我在小學(xué)工作了30多年，在馬薩諸塞州劍橋市教小學(xué)生英文，這些學(xué)生屬于美國(guó)的少數(shù)民族。目前，我正在教從海地移民過來的孩子，他們?cè)谔みM(jìn)校門時(shí)一句英語都不會(huì)說。他們的家庭來自一個(gè)到處都是暴力的國(guó)家，學(xué)校常常是關(guān)閉著的，說實(shí)在的，在過去10年中，海地連一個(gè)完整的學(xué)年都沒有過。貧窮的煎熬使得海地國(guó)民中的識(shí)字水平極低，父母難得有錢為孩子們買書、紙張和鉛筆。當(dāng)這樣家庭的孩子到了美國(guó)后，要想與來自中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的同齡人競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，其基礎(chǔ)極為薄弱。
I have been a primary-school teacher for over 30 years. I teach English in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to pupils who are members of racial minorities. Currently I work with Haitian immigrant children who do not speak English when they enter school. Their families come from a country where violence is all too common. Haitian schools are often closed; indeed, in the past ten years, there has not been a single complete school year. Grinding poverty results in a very low level of literacy. Parents seldom have funds for books, paper or pencils. When the children of such families arrive in the US, they are woefully unprepared to compete with their middle-class agemates.
美國(guó)對(duì)小學(xué)一年級(jí)到12年級(jí)的孩子實(shí)行強(qiáng)制性義務(wù)教育，孩子們必須在學(xué)校里讀完12年，或者至少要到16歲。公立學(xué)校的的確確是免費(fèi)的：不收書本費(fèi)，不收音樂課費(fèi)用，不收體育課費(fèi)用。每一學(xué)年開始時(shí)書會(huì)發(fā)到孩子手里，期末則必須交回去。大多數(shù)學(xué)校還提供紙張、鉛筆、橡皮、計(jì)算器、計(jì)算機(jī)、美術(shù)課用具和樂器。
我在小學(xué)工作了30多年，在馬薩諸塞州劍橋市教小學(xué)生英文，這些學(xué)生屬于美國(guó)的少數(shù)民族。目前，我正在教從海地移民過來的孩子，他們?cè)谔みM(jìn)校門時(shí)一句英語都不會(huì)說。他們的家庭來自一個(gè)到處都是暴力的國(guó)家，學(xué)校常常是關(guān)閉著的，說實(shí)在的，在過去10年中，海地連一個(gè)完整的學(xué)年都沒有過。貧窮的煎熬使得海地國(guó)民中的識(shí)字水平極低，父母難得有錢為孩子們買書、紙張和鉛筆。當(dāng)這樣家庭的孩子到了美國(guó)后，要想與來自中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的同齡人競(jìng)爭(zhēng)，其基礎(chǔ)極為薄弱。