陳蕙雅思教材 - 雅思閱讀精選 (Changing Roles of Public Education)

Changing Roles of Public Education

One of the  most important social developments thathelped to  make

possible a shift  in thinking about the role of   public education was the

effect of the baby boomof the 1950's and

1960's on the schools. Inthe 1920's, but especially in theDepression

conditions of the 1930's,the United States experienced a declining birth

rate -- every thousand women aged fifteen to forty-fourgave birth to about

118 live children in 1920，89.2 in 1930，75.8           in 1936, and 80 in

1940. With the growingprosperity brought on by the Second World War and

the economic boom that     followed it young people married  andestablished  

households earlier andbegan  to raise larger families than had        their  

predecessors during  the Depression. Birth rates rose  to 102 per thousand

in 1946, 106.2 in 1950,and 118 in         1955. Althougheconomics was probably

the most importantdeterminant,  it  is not the only explanation for the

baby   boom. The increased value placed on the ideaof the family also helps

to explain this rise inbirth rates. The baby boomers began streaming into

the first grade by themid 1940's and became a flood by 1950. The public

school system suddenlyfound itself overtaxed. While the number of

schoolchildren rosebecause of wartime and postwar conditions, these same

conditions made theschools even less prepared to cope with the flood. The

wartime economy meantthat        few new schools were builtbetween 1940 and  

1945. Moreover, duringthe war and in  the  boom times that followed,  large

numbers of teachers lefttheir profession for better-paying jobs elsewhere

in the economy.

Therefore in the 1950'sand 1960's, the baby boom hit an antiquated and

inadequate school system.Consequently, the "custodial rhetoric"of the

1930's and early 1940'sno longer made sense that is, keeping youths aged

sixteen and    older out of the labor market by keepingthem in school could

no  longer be a  high priority for  an institution           unable  to find space

and staff  to teach younger children aged five tosixteen. With the baby

boom, the focus of  educators and of laymen interested  in education  

inevitably turnedtoward  the lower grades and back to  basic       academic

skills and discipline.The system no longer had much interest in offering

nontraditional, new, andextra    services to older youths.

公共教育的角色變化 一項重要的、有可能促使人們對公共教育的角色的看法發生轉變的社會發展是本世紀五

六十年代的生育高峰對學校的影響。  在 20 年代，尤其是在 30 年代後的大蕭條中，美國經 曆了一次出生率的下降--1920年每千名年齡在 15

歲至 45 歲的婦女生下大約 118 個存活嬰兒，

1930 年 89.2 個，1936 年 75.8 個，1940 年 80 個。  隨著二戰帶來的持續繁榮以及隨之而來

的經濟增長，年輕人比大蕭條中的同齡人更早地結婚成家，而且比前輩養育更大的家庭。

1946 年出生率上升到 102%，1950 年達 106%，1955 年達 118%。  對於生育高峰，經濟有可

能是最重要的決定因素，但它並不是唯一的解釋。  不斷受到重視的家庭觀念也有助於解釋 出生率的上升。 到 40

年代中期為止，這些生育高峰出生的孩子們開始源源不斷地進入小學 一年級。  到了 1950 年，就形成了一股洪流。  公共教育系統突然感到不堪重負了。  

由於戰 時和戰後的狀況，使得學齡兒童人數增加，這些狀況使得學校面對這股洪流更加措手不及。 戰時經濟意味著在 1940 年到 1950

年間幾乎沒有建立新學校。  而且，在戰時和隨後的經濟 增長時期，大量的教師離開崗位去別處從事報酬更為優厚的工作。  因此，在五六十年代，

生育高峰衝擊著陳舊而不完備的學校體系。  這樣一來，30 年代以及 40 年代早期，"監護理 論"就不再有意義了。  也就是說，通過使 16

歲以上的年輕人留在學校不進入勞動力市場的 做法再也不是教育機構的優先考慮了。  因為教育機構不再能找到場地和教師來教育那些更 小的 5-16

歲的孩子。  隨著生育高峰，教育者和圈外人士對教育的興趣和焦點，不可避免地 轉向了更低的年級和基礎的學術技能和學科上。  

這個系統不再有濃厚的興趣給較年長的年 輕人提供非傳統的新式的和額外的服務。