美國的優秀教師

American Model Teacher

Karen Adkins and Roy Adkins drew 31 special education， regular education and gifted students throughout the county to their classroom， where they keep students four or even five years. \"We have kids with IQs from 44 to 144， some with physical disabilities，\" Roy says， \"but no labels are used with children.\" Eloped¹ when Karen was 16 and Roy was 20， working low-wage jobs for 12 years before going back to school.Believe their past gives them empathy² and purpose in this insular³ Appalachian coal county with a per capita income of $14，005. Started collaborative⁴ classroom 10 years ago after finding Roy's special education and Karen's multi-age students both benefited from inclusion. Base classroom on John Dewey and Fox-fire philosophies⁵， which say education should re- flect society.Scale down⁶ Mini-Society economics curriculum⁷， in which students devise⁸ currency， get paid for showing up and working， buy and sell wares on Market Days. Sort students into groups for tiered⁹ instruction; have three aides and one sign-language interpreter help with groups in hands-on¹⁰ learning centers. Test students individually to pinpoint¹¹ what they know and how they learn:\"I have a mental IEP (Individual Education Plan) for every child，\" Karen says. Write grants to subsidize annual out-of-state overnight field trip. Send postcards from summer travels to all students to expose them to the outside world. Eat lunch with students. Incorporate sign-language into reading instruction. Their love for all children makes it work. There's such a special aura¹² about them. You see them and they're genuine. It goes much further than academics.

注釋：

1．elope vi. 私奔

2．empathy n．同情，同感

3．insular adj. 超然物外的，與世隔絕的

4．collaborative adj.合作的，協作的，協力完成的

5．philosophy n．見解，觀點

6．scale down按比例縮減，相應縮減

7．curriculum n．課程

8．devise vt．設計，發明，策劃，想出

9．tiered adj. 分層的，成排的

10．hands-on親自實踐的，參與實踐活動的

11．pinpoint vt．準確描述，確認，確定

12．aura n.氣氛，氛圍

卡倫·阿德金和羅伊·阿德金在全縣招收31個接受特殊教育、常規教育和有天才的學生，連續學習4至5年。羅伊說：“我們這里的孩子的智商從44到144不等，有些是殘疾人，但孩子們沒被加任何標記稱號。”卡倫16歲時和20歲的羅伊私奔了，在做了12年低薪工作后又回到了學校。他們認為是他們的過去讓他們有了同情心和奮斗目標，要在這個人均收入僅為14005美元的阿巴拉契亞山偏遠山區產煤縣干一番事業。10年前，他們發現羅伊的接受特殊教育的學生和卡倫的不同年齡段的學生們都從混合班學習中獲益匪淺，便開始創辦聯合教室。班級教學是以約翰·杜威和福克斯法爾的教育觀念為基礎的，他們認為教育應該反映社會。他們微縮出微觀社會的經濟學課程，讓學生自己設計貨幣，根據表現和工作獲得報酬，在“集市日”買賣商品。給學生分組，進行分層教學。有3個助教和一個啞語翻譯在實習中心幫工。他們對學生進行單獨測試，以準確了解他們掌握了什么知識，是如何學習的。卡倫說：“我為每個孩子設計了智力上的單獨教育計劃。”他們還資助每年一度的州外野地宿營。夏季去旅游時給所有學生寄明信片，讓他們接觸外部世界。每天與學生共進午餐，把手勢語言與閱讀指導結合起來。……