2022年10月23日 VOA慢速英语：有机化学应该有多难？

 

Maitland Jones, a well-known organic chemistry professor at New York University (N.Y.U.), was fired over the summer.
纽约大学 (NYU) 著名有机化学教授梅特兰·琼斯 (Maitland Jones)在夏天被解雇。
 
The 84-year-old professor wrote a famous book: "Organic Chemistry" which is still used in many college classes. He taught the class for many years at Princeton University before retiring in 2007. Since then, he taught the subject at N.Y.U. on a series of one-year contracts.
这位 84 岁的教授写了一本名著：《有机化学》，许多大学课堂仍在使用。在 2007 年退休之前，他在普林斯顿大学任教多年。从那时起，他以一系列为期一年的合同在纽约大学教授该课程。
 
The New York Times reported recently that N.Y.U. students started an appeal against Jones. Eighty-two students, out of 350 taking his class last spring, signed the document saying they believed he was not fairly considering their work. They were unhappy with their low grades and they felt his teaching method made a difficult subject harder for them to learn. They also told N.Y.U. that bad grades hurt their chances of getting into medical school.
《纽约时报》最近报道说，纽约大学的学生开始对琼斯提出上诉。去年春天参加他的课程的 350 名学生中有 82 名学生在文件上签名，称他们认为他没有公平地考虑他们的工作。他们对自己的低成绩感到不满，他们觉得他的教学方法让他们更难学习一门难学的科目。他们还告诉纽约大学，糟糕的成绩会影响他们进入医学院的机会。
 
The Times said that Jones defended his teaching method. In fact, he is known for starting a new teaching method that centers on problem-solving rather than remembering without thinking. He said some students were not coming to class or watching videos from the class. Jones said grades fell even as he made tests easier. He said, coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, the students not only did not study, but they also did not seem to know how to study.
泰晤士报称琼斯为他的教学方法辩护。事实上，他以开创一种以解决问题而不是不假思索地记忆为中心的新教学方法而闻名。他说，一些学生没有来上课，也没有观看课堂上的视频。琼斯说，即使他让考试变得更容易，成绩也会下降。他说，从 COVID-19 大流行中走出来，学生们不仅没有学习，而且似乎也不知道如何学习。
 
Just before the start of classes in autumn, N.Y.U. decided to end Jones' contract. A spokesman said the university was evaluating all classes, including organic chemistry, in which a high percentage of students receive low grades. The school also offered to reconsider the students' low grades in Jones' class.
就在秋季开课前，纽约大学决定终止琼斯的合同。一位发言人说，该大学正在评估所有课程，包括有机化学，其中很大一部分学生的成绩较低。学校还提出重新考虑琼斯班上学生的低成绩。
 
Closing the gap
缩小差距
 
The firing of Jones brought thousands of comments from students, former students, and professors. Some felt that Jones should have made the class easier and changed his ways of dealing with or grading students. Others supported keeping the class's demanding instruction and grading systems.
琼斯的解雇带来了数千条来自学生、以前的学生和教授的评论。有些人认为琼斯应该让课堂变得更轻松，并改变他与学生打交道或评分的方式。其他人则支持保留班级苛刻的教学和评分系统。
 
Renee Link is a chemistry professor at the University of California, Irvine. She told VOA: "When you see these things, and we see these issues come up, it's easy to put it on students or on faculty, but really, it's a systemic problem and it's not any individual's fault. Like, everybody's got to share in the blame here."
Renee Link是加州大学欧文分校的化学教授。她告诉美国之音：“当你看到这些事情，我们看到这些问题出现时，很容易把它放在学生或教师身上，但实际上，这是一个系统性问题，不是任何个人的错。就像，每个人都必须分享在这里责备。”
 
Link said she uses a system known as specifications grading. The idea, she said, is to start the study term by showing students how they can prove their abilities. If they can meet the highest goals, they can get a good grade at the end of the term. Some college professors think they should limit the number of top grades given out to students. But Link said there is no limit to the number of top grades she would give out.
林克说她使用了一种称为规格分级的系统。她说，这个想法是通过向学生展示他们如何证明自己的能力来开始学习学期。如果他们能达到最高目标，他们可以在学期末取得好成绩。一些大学教授认为他们应该限制给予学生最高分的数量。但林克表示，她给出的最高分的数量没有限制。
 
Link said specifications grading permits students to learn at their own speed. Link said, students can progress at a slower speed and still show what they learned.
林克说，规格分级允许学生以自己的速度学习。林克说，学生可以以较慢的速度进步，但仍能展示他们学到的东西。
 
"We can give students multiple attempts over time to demonstrate that they've learned something, without necessarily penalizing them for not having learned it when we thought they should have," Link said.
“随着时间的推移，我们可以让学生多次尝试以证明他们已经学到了一些东西，而不必因为在我们认为他们应该学习的时候没有学习而惩罚他们，”林克说。
 
One of the concerns about Jones' class at N.Y.U. was that students felt they did not have enough chances to prove themselves. If they did poorly on a test, they argued, it would sharply affect their overall grade.
琼斯在纽约大学上课的担忧之一是学生们觉得他们没有足够的机会证明自己。他们认为，如果他们在考试中表现不佳，将会严重影响他们的整体成绩。
 
Geri Kerstiens is a chemistry professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Kerstiens wants to change the idea that some classes, called "weeded-out" classes, are set up to prevent students from moving forward.
Geri Kerstiens是加州大学圣克鲁兹分校的化学教授。Kerstiens 想要改变这样的观念，即设立一些被称为“淘汰”类的课程是为了阻止学生继续前进。
 
Medical schools in the U.S. require organic chemistry. So, if a student does poorly in class, they might not have a chance to study to become a doctor.
美国的医学院需要有机化学。因此，如果学生在课堂上表现不佳，他们可能没有机会学习成为一名医生。
 
Kerstiens told VOA there are two ways to think about grades. She said people understand that an "A" grade shows a medical school or employer that a student is prepared to work or study at a high level.
Kerstiens 告诉美国之音，有两种考虑成绩的方法。她说，人们明白，“A”级向医学院或雇主表明学生准备好在高水平上工作或学习。
 
Kersteins added, "But on the flip side, grades are terrible. They are not truly representative of what students can do in many cases."
Kersteins 补充说：“但另一方面，成绩很糟糕。在很多情况下，它们并不能真正代表学生的能力。”
 
She proposed that there should be a way to "meet in the middle" and permit students to demonstrate their abilities in a way that is "fair and equitable." She also suggested having students work together on projects and having several tests during the study term so that no single test is more important.
她提出应该有一种“相见恨晚”的方式，让学生以“公平公正”的方式展示自己的能力。她还建议让学生在项目上一起工作，并在学习期间进行多次测试，这样没有一个测试更重要。
 
Changes ahead?
未来的变化？
 
Link said she is worried that people who are not close to the teaching of chemistry may find faults with the younger generation of students. However, she is now seeing thoughtful conversations among people who teach the subject.
林克说，她担心不亲近化学教学的人可能会对年轻一代的学生挑毛病。然而，她现在看到教授这门学科的人之间进行了深思熟虑的对话。
 
Kerstiens said she hopes the story about Jones at N.Y.U. leads people who guide chemistry departments at universities to think about making changes. They should think about chemistry education, she said, and why they do things "the way they've always been done, because that only works for some people."
Kerstiens 说，她希望关于琼斯在纽约大学的故事能够引导那些指导大学化学系的人们思考做出改变。她说，他们应该考虑化学教育，以及为什么要“以他们一直以来的方式做事，因为这只对某些人有效”。