美国出现了严重的教师短缺(下)

America faces a “catastrophic” teacher shortage, according to the Washington Post; schools “across the US” are facing shortages, declared a Fox News banner; it’s “like dog-eat-dog” when scrambling to hire teachers, claimed the Wall Street Journal.

据《华盛顿邮报》报道，美国正面临严重的教师短缺问题；福克斯新闻的一条标语称，美国各地的学校正面临教师短缺；《华尔街日报》称，在争抢教师的时候“就像狗咬狗”一样。

Some of the hysteria might stem from teacher surveys.

这样的一些乱象可能是源于一份教师调查

74% of educators were dissatisfied with their jobs in June, according to a survey by the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers’ union.

该调查显示了一个更普遍的问题：根据美国第二大教师联盟美国教师联合会的一项调查，在6月份，74%的教师对自己的工作不满意。

In February, a survey by the National Education Association, America’s largest labour union, estimated that 55% of teachers were considering leaving.

2月份，美国最大的工会全国教育协会的一项调查估计，55%的教师正在考虑离职。

But there is a difference between intending to leave and actually doing so.

但打算离开和实际去做是有区别的。

Nor national consensus on how to define a teacher shortage.

对于如何定义教师短缺，目前还没有全国性的共识。

A school may have enough teachers for each pupil, but is it experiencing a teacher shortage if it cannot find one for a new music course?

一所学校可能给每个学生都配有足够的教师数量，但如果新的音乐课找不到教师，这算作教师短缺吗？

If an administrator is teaching one class, is that a shortage or is the administrator simply doing her job?

如果管理员在任教，这算教师短缺，还是说这是管理员分内的事？

Is a district in trouble if it is unable to staff 3% of its positions? How about 1%?

如果一个学区有3%的岗位没有人做，那么这里是否算陷入了短缺？如果是1%呢？

The narrative of shortage is politically expedient for education activists on both sides.

对于两党的教育活动人士来说，短缺的说法在政治上都是权宜之计。

Democrats, whose supporters favour spending more on public schools than Republicans, point to massive teaching shortages as proof that public schools are underfunded.

与共和党相比，民主党的支持者更倾向于在公立学校投入更多资金，他们指出，大规模的教师短缺是公立学校资金不足的证据。

“The problem is that we don’t invest in our workforce,” says Cecily Myart-Cruz, the president of United Teachers Los Angeles, a labour union.

“问题是我们没有对我们的劳动力进行投资，”洛杉矶联合教师工会主席塞西莉·米亚特-克鲁兹说。

“You have the most educated workforce in the nation.

你们拥有全国受教育程度最高的劳动力。

Educators have the most advanced degree, but they cannot have a liveable wage.”

教育工作者拥有最高的学历，但他们的工资却无法维持生活。”

This week, teachers in Columbus, Ohio, went on strike for better working conditions.

本周，俄亥俄州哥伦布市的教师举行罢工，要求改善工作条件。

School workers in Philadelphia may strike next week.

费城的学校工作人员下周可能罢工。

But conservatives use the nationwide narrative for their own purposes, too.

但保守派也会利用这种全国性的叙事来达到自己的目的。

Their point to the supposed shortage is proof that the entire state-school system is failing.

他们指出，所谓的短缺是整个公立学校系统正在走向失败的证据。

They push for lowering teaching-certification standards and removing teachers’ unions.

他们推动降低教师资格认证标准，取消教师工会。

And they say privatisation provides an answer.

他们说，私有化提供了一个答案。

“We need to stop throwing good money after bad and rethink K-12 education,” says Keri Ingraham and Christos Makridis of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, in a commentary for the Washington Times.

保守派智库曼哈顿研究所的克里·英格拉汉姆和克里斯托斯·马克里迪斯在为《华盛顿时报》撰写的一篇评论文章中表示：“我们需要停止在糟糕的事情上砸钱，重新思考K-12教育。”

“With the teacher shortage crisis at hand, there is a timely opportunity to adjust the system.”

“随着教师短缺危机的来临，这是一个及时调整制度的机会。”

In truth, the schools that are currently struggling to hire teachers are the usual suspects.

事实上，那些目前招不到老师的都是一些司空见惯的学校了。

Nationwide, public schools are doing quite well: most pupils will have a teacher, and overall family satisfaction with their child’s school will probably stay high this year as in past years.

在全国范围内，公立学校的表现相当不错：大多数学生将有老师，家庭对孩子学校的总体满意度今年可能会像往年一样保持高水平。

The problems remain where the problems tend to exist -- in the underfunded schools serving the neediest pupils.

有问题的还是老地方--为最贫困的学生服务，且资金不足的学校。