VOA慢速英语：给美国学生教美国的开国文件

Teaching American Students About US Founding Documents

给美国学生教美国的开国文件

Should American high school students know at least as much about their country's historic documents as immigrants seeking citizenship? Many states and schools are asking that question.

美国高中毕业生是否应该像申请入籍的移民一样了解该国的历史文件?很多州和学校都开始这样要求。

People who want to become American citizens must know about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Federalist papers. These documents were written in the late 1700s by some of the founders of the country.

希望成为美国公民的人们必须了解《独立宣言》、《宪法》以及《联邦论》。这些文件都是由美国的一些开国元勋在18世纪末期编写的。

But, some experts say American students generally know little about these founding documents. They say if students do not understand the documents, they cannot know how the American system of government operates.

但是，有些专家认为，美国学生通常对这些开国文件知之甚少。他们说如果学生们不了解这些文件，他们就不知道美国政府是如何运作的。

So, an increasing number of American schools are requiring students learn about these documents before they can graduate. Individual states are using different methods for teaching the subject.

因此，越来越多的美国学校开始要求学生们在毕业前学习这些文件。个别州开始就此采用不同的教学方法。

Since 2012, Kentucky, Arkansas and at least 12 other states put into effect such requirements. Students in those states learn about the founding documents as part of their social studies classes.

自从2012年以来，肯塔基州、阿肯色州以及其它至少12个州实施了这样的要求。这些州的学生把学习开国文件作为他们社会研究课程的一部分。

But lawmakers in other states -- including Minnesota -- want to give students a greater understanding of the documents. They want schools to teach a separate course about them.

但是包括明尼苏达州在内的其他州的议员希望学生们更加了解这些文件。他们希望学校就此开设单独的课程。

Maida Buckley is a retired history and government teacher in Fairbanks, Alaska. Last year, she spoke at a meeting of state legislators studying the issue of civics education. She supports expanded study of the founding documents.

梅达·巴克利(Maida Buckley)是阿拉斯加州费尔班克斯市一位教授历史和政府的退休教师。去年，她在一次研究公民教育问题的州议员会议上作了发言。她支持加大对开国文件的学习。

Buckley says, "when you have a system of government that is based on ideas -- espoused in the Declaration of Independence and carried out with a working document in the Constitution -- those ideas need to be taught."

巴克利说：“我们政府体系是基于《独立宣言》主张的理念，并遵照《宪法》的工作文件实施。这些理念需要教导给人们。”

In many states, Republicans and Democrats support the teaching of the documents, although their reasons may differ. Some are concerned about the lack of public involvement in school boards and town halls. Others are worried about the way Republican President Donald Trump and his supporters use their power.

在很多州，共和党和民主党都支持教授这些文件，尽管他们的理由可能有所不同。有人担心在校董会和市政厅中缺乏公众参与，还有人担心共和党总统川普及其支持者的用权之道。

Gregg Amore is a member of the Rhode Island House of Representatives. He also has taught history classes in high schools for many years. He supports a bill that says the "survival of the republic" depends on Americans understanding their country's principles and history.

格雷戈·阿莫尔(Gregg Amore)是罗德岛州众议院的议员。他还在高中教过很多年的历史课程。他支持一项声称“共和制存亡”取决于美国人对该国原则和历史的了解的法案。

He says "we clearly have seen there is a serious civics deficiency in this country, all the way up to the top -- the very top."

他说：“我们清楚地看到，这个国家存在严重的公民缺陷，一直延伸到最顶层。”

The Joe Foss Institute is a non-profit civics education group based in Arizona. It is campaigning to persuade states to pass laws requiring their students to know the answers to the questions on the citizenship test.

乔福斯学院是一家总部位于亚利桑那州的非盈利性公民教育组织。它正在争取说服各州通过法律，要求该州的学生们知晓入籍考试相关问题的答案。

But some supporters of civics education do not support such laws.

但是一些公民教育的支持者却不支持这样的法律。

Charles Quigley is the executive director of the Center for Civic Education. He says students take too many tests already.

查尔斯·奎格利(Charles Quigley)是公民教育中心的执行董事。他说学生们要考的已经够多了。

Quigley's group developed "We the People," a nationwide civics education program. Some teachers at North Smithfield High School in Rhode Island are using the "We the People" curriculum to teach about the founding documents. The curriculum calls for students to take part in a national competition in which they must defend their ideas.

奎格利的组织开发了“我们人们”这项全国性的公民教育课程。罗德岛州北史密斯菲尔德高中的一些教师正采用“我们人们”课程来教授这些开国文件。该课程要求学生们参加一项必须捍卫自己想法的全国性比赛。

Recently, students debated whether police may search a suspect's smart phone without receiving permission from a judge. They talked about the Constitution's limits on searches. And they discussed the past opinions of Supreme Court justices about searches.

最近，学生们辩论了警方是否可以未经法官允许搜查疑犯的智能手机。他们谈到了宪法对搜查的限制，他们还讨论了最高法院法官以前对搜查的意见。

Natalie O'Brien is the teacher. She tells her students to think about the more than 200 years of American history and legal thought.

娜塔莉·奥布莱恩(Natalie O'Brien)是他们的老师。她让学生们思考一下美国200多年的历史和法律思想。

Megan Skinner is a 15-year-old student at the school. She says she did not think about politics before she took O'Brien's class. But she says now she uses the founding documents when her family and friends talk about President Trump's administration.

梅根·斯金纳(Megan Skinner)是该校一名15岁的学生。她说自己在上奥布莱恩的课之前从未想过政治。但她说，现在她在亲朋好友谈论川普政府时用到了这些开国文件。

"It gives us an entirely new perspective on all the events that are going on," Skinner says. "You see all these things in the news, and especially about the election, and all the things that are going on with the executive orders he (signed), the travel bans. Before this class, we wouldn't have understood these things."

斯金纳说：“它给了我们一种全新的观点来看待正在发生的所有事情，你在新闻中能看到它们，尤其是选举新闻，以及川普签署旅行禁令发生的事情。在上这门课程之前，我们不会了解这些。”

I'm Caty Weaver.

卡蒂·韦弗报道。