Speeding Up the Race to the Top(2)
文章来源:未知 文章作者:meng 发布时间:2010-01-25 00:54 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  You guys look really cute in those chairs.  (Laughter.)

I am pleased to be joined today by my outstanding Education Secretary, Arne Duncan, at Graham Road Elementary School, one of Virginia's finest schools.  And here at Graham Road, they're using innovative1 approaches to provide effective teaching to all their students, and that's something that all of America's schools have to do.

As I said before, there are any number of actions we can take as a nation to enhance our competitiveness and secure a better future for our people, but few of them will make as much of a difference as improving the way we educate our sons and daughters.  Offering our children an outstanding education is one of our most fundamental -- perhaps our most fundamental obligation as a country.  And whether we meet that obligation not only reflects who we are as Americans, it will shape our future as a nation.  Countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow, and I refuse to let that happen on my watch. 

Now, it's clear that doing the same old things will not get the job done for our kids -- or for America, or for our future.  So when I took office, I asked Arne Duncan to work with states and local school districts to take on business as usual in our education system, and that's how the Race to the Top competition was born last July.  It's a national competition among states to improve our schools.

Over the past few months, we've seen such a positive response that today I'm announcing our intention to make a major new investment -- more than $1.3 billion -- in this year's budget to continue the Race to the Top.  And this support will not only reaffirm our commitment to states engaged in serious reform, it will also expand the Race to the Top competition to include local school districts that are also committed to change.  So innovative districts like the one in Texas whose reform efforts are being stymied2妨碍,从中作乱 by state decision-makers will soon have the chance to earn funding to help them pursue those reforms.

After months of planning and preparation, the first round of Race to the Top applications is coming due today.  And it's a sign of how much states and schools believe this initiative will benefit them that we're expecting significantly more states to apply than will actually receive a grant.

And here's how Race to the Top works.  Last year, we set aside more than $4 billion to improve our schools -- one of the largest investments in reform in our nation's history.  But we didn't just hand this money out to states that wanted it; we challenged them to compete for it.  And it's the competitive nature of this initiative that we believe helps make it so effective.  We laid out a few key criteria条件,标准 and said if you meet these tests, we'll reward you by helping4 you reform your schools. 
First, we encouraged states to adopt more challenging standards that will actually prepare our kids for college and their careers.  We also encouraged schools to adopt better assessments5 -- not just one-size-fits-all approaches -- to measure what our kids know and what they're able to do.

Second, we urged schools and school districts to make sure we have excellent principals leading our schools and great teachers leading our classes by promoting rigorous严格的,严厉的 plans to develop and evaluate teachers and principals and by rewarding their success.

Third, we urged states to use cutting-edge data systems to track a child's progress throughout their academic career, and to link that child's progress to their teachers so we know what's working and what's not working in the classroom.  Fourth, we encouraged states to show a stronger commitment to turning around some of their lowest-performing schools.

And even before states have received a single dime6 of taxpayer7 money, many of them have committed to instituting important reforms to better position themselves for a Race to the Top grant.  Forty-eight states have now joined a nationwide partnership8 to develop a common set of rigorous, career-ready standards in reading and math.  Wisconsin has enacted9 legislation permitting schools to link student achievement to the performance of teachers and principals校长,负责人.  In Illinois, Louisiana, Tennessee, California, we've seen changes in laws or policies to let public charter schools expand and succeed.  These are public schools with more independence that are formed by teachers, parents, and community members.

So by rewarding some of these states submitting applications today, by extending the Race to the Top for states, by launching a Race to the Top among school districts, and by applying the principles of Race to the Top to other federal programs, we'll build on this success.  We're going to raise the bar for all our students and take bigger steps towards closing the achievement gap that denies so many students, especially black and Latino students, a fair shot at their dreams. #p#分页标题#e#

We'll open up opportunity -- evenly and equitably10公正地 -- across our education system.  We'll develop a culture of innovation and excellence11 in our public schools.  And we'll reward success, and replicate12 it across the country.  These are some of the principles that drive Race to the Top.  These are some of the principles that will drive my forthcoming即将来临的 budget.

These steps won't transform our education system overnight  -- not every school is going to be a Graham immediately.  But they will help put us on a path to raise the quality of American education, to prepare our children to succeed in their lives and their careers, and to secure America's success in the 21st century.  That's a goal my administration will be focused on achieving in the months and years to come.

Thanks very much, everybody.

END
10:31 A.M. EST



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 innovative D6Vxq     
adj.革新的,新颖的,富有革新精神的
参考例句:
  • Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
  • He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。
2 stymied 63fe672f90de7441b83f6a139c130d06     
n.被侵袭的v.妨碍,阻挠( stymie的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Relief efforts have been stymied in recent weeks by armed gunmen. 最近几周的救援工作一直受到武装分子的阻挠。 来自辞典例句
  • I was completely stymied by her refusal to help. 由于她拒不相助, 我完全陷入了困境。 来自互联网
3 criteria vafyC     
n.标准
参考例句:
  • The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
  • There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。
4 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
5 assessments 7d0657785d6e5832f8576c61c78262ef     
n.评估( assessment的名词复数 );评价;(应偿付金额的)估定;(为征税对财产所作的)估价
参考例句:
  • He was shrewd in his personal assessments. 他总能对人作出精明的评价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Surveys show about two-thirds use such assessments, while half employ personality tests. 调查表明,约有三分之二的公司采用了这种测评;而一半的公司则采用工作人员个人品质测试。 来自百科语句
6 dime SuQxv     
n.(指美国、加拿大的钱币)一角
参考例句:
  • A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
  • The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。
7 taxpayer ig5zjJ     
n.纳税人
参考例句:
  • The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
  • The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。
8 partnership NmfzPy     
n.合作关系,伙伴关系
参考例句:
  • The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
  • Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。
9 enacted b0a10ad8fca50ba4217bccb35bc0f2a1     
制定(法律),通过(法案)( enact的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
  • Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
10 equitably Ut7zg1     
公平地
参考例句:
  • We should equitably assess historical figures. 我们应该公正地评价历史人物。
  • Land was more equitably distributed. 土地得到更公平合理的分配。
11 excellence ZnhxM     
n.优秀,杰出,(pl.)优点,美德
参考例句:
  • His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
  • My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。
12 replicate PVAxN     
v.折叠,复制,模写;n.同样的样品;adj.转折的
参考例句:
  • The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
  • It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样,它还可以被轻易的复制。
TAG标签: job education president
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片