Quality Education a 'New Civil Right,' Says Riley in State of Education Address
教育部長萊利的例行性年度演講：每一位孩子「21世紀新民權」的教育品質
A NEW GENERATION OF PRINCIPALS
新生代校長傳承
All the work that we do to improve teacher quality will fall by the wayside if we don't make an equal commitment to preparing the next generation of principals. Just as we have a growing shortage of teachers in specific fields, we have a growing shortage of principals who know how to move standards into every classroom -- principals who can motivate families and communities to be engaged in their children's schools.
如果我們沒有同樣地為培養新生代校長做出承諾，那麼我們為改善教師素質所做的一切努力將會白費。就好像我們在某些特定領域逐漸面臨教師短缺的問題，我們同樣逐漸面臨知道如何將標準帶入教室的校長短缺---也就是能夠激勵家庭和社區投入他們子女學校的那群校長。
A good principal is first and foremost an education leader. A good principal sets a tone, eliminates the petty rules that sap morale, and creates a set of working conditions that clearly tell teachers that they are respected as first-class professionals.
首先，一個好校長要是一位教育領導者。一個好校長會設定一種風氣（校風），消除雍閉道德的瑣碎陋規，並且創造一個清楚讓老師們感到他們的專業受到尊重的工作環境。
We are fortunate that there are many good principals in our schools but we need many more of them. This is why we will be holding a Principals Leadership Summit this summer, and why we have proposed a new $40 million program to assist states in helping prepare the next generation of principals.
我們很幸運，目前有這麼多好的校長在我們的學校裡，但我們還需要更多。這也是為什麼今年夏天我們將舉辦校長領導高峰會，以及為什麼我們為了協助各州培育新一代的校長，提出了一個4000萬美元的新方案。
KEEPING OUR CHILDREN AND GIVING THEM A MORAL COMPASS
守護我們的孩子並給他們一把道德量尺(一座道德指南針)
Helping our children to learn more always begins with a commitment to keeping our children safe in school. Columbine still shocks us. Staying connected with our teenagers is something we simply have to do. This is why I am such a strong advocate of having smaller high schools.
讓我們小孩能學得更多的前提是要保障我們的孩子在校園裡安全無虞。科倫拜校園槍擊事件始終令我們心有餘悸。和我們的青少年保持交集是我們本來就該做的。這就是為什麼我一直強烈地倡導中學小校化的原因。
Young people need to have a sense of connection. I urge parents to slow down their lives and listen hard to what their children are saying. Even in their silences, teenagers are telling us a story about their lives. Our schools need to give our children a well-rounded education. But the most important thing we can give young people is a deep, abiding sense of hope.
孩子需要有被關懷的感覺。我極力主張家長應該放慢手邊工作去好好聽聽他們的孩子說甚麼。即使青少年們沉默不語，也是在向我們表達一種他們生活點滴的方式。我們的學校需要給我們的孩子一個面面俱到的教育。但是最重要的是我們可以給予我們的孩子一個深長的希望感。
And our schools have a role to play in helping young people develop a moral compass. Character education is a growing field that deserves our attention. Congressman Bob, who is here with us today, has taken a strong leadership role in promoting character education and I am pleased to support his new legislation.
而且我們的學校必須扮演著幫助我們的孩子發展他們那一把道德量尺的角色。品格教育是一個值得我們注意的新興領域。今天也在場的美國國會議員Etheridge，在提倡品格教育上首執牛耳而且我很樂意去支持他的新法例。
Religion also has a proper place in our public schools. Our children do not give up their religious freedom when they enter through the schoolhouse door. Young people can voluntarily say grace, meet at the flagpole, or join a Bible Club. The rule of thumb is very simple. Public schools can teach about religion but they cannot preach about religion.
宗教也在我們的公立學校裡占有一席之地。當我們的孩子踏入校門的那一刻起，他們並沒有放棄他們所擁有的宗教自由。孩子可以發於自願地作禱告，做旗杆禱告，或加入一個聖經社團。經驗法則非常簡單。公立學校可以教導學生宗教，但是不能向學生鼓吹宗教。
I urge all Americans to be faithful to the deep expression of religious freedom and freedom of conscience embodied in the First Amendment. We have issued guidelines based on Supreme Court decisions to every public school principal in this nation. In this election year, I urge all political candidates to retreat from the temptation to make religion in our public schools a political issue.
我極力主張所有美國人都必須忠實地體現美國憲法第一修正案中所述的宗教自由和良心自由。我們已經依據聯邦最高法院的決議，核發指導手冊給國內每一所公立學校的校長。在今年大選前夕，我呼籲所有想在我們公立學校藉由政治操弄宗教手段的參選人打消你的念頭吧。
There are many things we can do to help our children but sometimes everything we do is not enough. When a student brings a gun to school we must remove that child from the school immediately. There is no other option. But we do have an option to keep guns out of the hands of children and keep our children out of harms way. Sensible gun control policies can save the lives of many children and still protect the rights of law-abiding sportsmen.
我們可以幫助孩子的事情很多但是有時候我們做的每一件事還是不夠。當一個學生帶槍來上學時我們必須立即將其他學生撤離。沒有其他選擇可言。但我們絕對有讓槍遠離孩子並讓我們的孩子遠離危險的選擇方式。明智的槍枝控管政策可以拯救許多孩子的生命而且同時可以保障守法的狩獵者的權利。
Fortunately, the vast number of America's schools are free of serious violence. The issue that really dominates a principal's time is discipline. Just as students have to be responsible for their actions, school officials need to have sensible, sound, and equitable discipline policies in place.
幸運的是，大多數的美國學校沒有發生嚴重的暴力行為。真正支配校長時間的就是紀律問題。只要學生肯為他們自己的行為負責，校方需要適切地提出明智的、健全的，以及公平的獎懲方法。
A sound discipline policy is one that ensures school safety, promotes student responsibility, and furthers the education of every student. And when a student is suspended, that idle teenager should not be tempted to get into more trouble because of having been put on the street. Just the opposite should take place -- the student should be buried in books and counseled to help turn his life around before it is too late. No student should be punished by being denied an education. An equitable discipline policy treats all students fairly regardless of their race or gender. School districts need to carefully review their discipline policies to make sure that they are clear, firm, and just.
一套健全的獎懲辦法內容就是確保校園安全，提升學生責任心以及增進每位學生的教育品質。當一位學生被學校處以在家管教，這個無所事事的青少年應該不會想要去惹上更多麻煩因為他已經被丟到街上了。相反的，---學生應該終日埋首書中並在時猶未晚之前，被勸告去幫助他自己從壞變好---也應該會發生。沒有學生應該受到剝奪受教育的處罰。一套公平的獎懲辦法是對所有學生一視同仁，不管他們的種族和性別為何。學區應該仔細地檢視他們的校規以確定其清楚、穩固和公平。
OVERCOMING THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP AND THE DIGITAL DIVIDE
克服成就差距和數位落差
Equity is also at the very heart of our challenge to overcome the minority achievement gap. This gap is real, deep, and persistent. I also worry that our efforts to close the achievement gap will be negated or even stymied by the growing digital divide. This is why we have worked so hard to wire our schools. The E-rate has been an enormous success. Yet, despite this success the digital divide is quickly resetting for the 21st century the divide between the "haves" and the "have-nots" along racial, ethnic, and income lines.
公平性也是我們克服弱勢族群成就差距的一個非常主要的挑戰。這個差距是真實、深層而且持久的。我也擔心我們想終結成就差距的努力會被逐漸擴大的數位落差所阻礙。這也是我們為什麼必須這麼努力去拯救我們的學校。公平性的速度已經獲致很大的成功。然而，儘管公平性獲得成功，但數位落差仍快速地在21世紀再生，這在“富人”和“窮人”間的落差呈現在種族、民族和收入上。
The African American historian, Henry Louis Gates, recently wrote that unless there is a "revolution in our people's attitude toward education," African Americans will face a "devastating" form of "cyber-segregation in the coming century." This is very strong and honest language. And surely it applies just as much to Hispanic Americans, who are so determined to lower the dropout rate for their children. So what is to be done?
非裔美國歷史學家Henry Louis Gates最近寫到“除非有一個“人們對教育態度的革命”，“非裔美人在即將來臨的下一個世紀將會遭遇稱做”網絡隔離”形式的”滅絕”。這是極度有力且坦率的肺腑之言。同樣地，對那些已經下定決心去降低他們孩子輟學率的西裔美人也一樣。因此，我們該怎麼辦呢？
Here I make a modest suggestion. We live in a time of great prosperity and many entrepreneurs have amassed great wealth in the emerging dot.com world. They are young men and women in there 20s and 30s, who have great talent and are full of energy. I intend to meet with many of them this year to ask for their direct help -- to help turn this digital divide into a digital opportunity.
我在這裡做一個中肯的建議。我們活在一個偉大繁榮的時代，也是一個許多企業家累積了龐大財富的新興網路世界。他們大多是20~30歲出頭、天資聰穎且精力充沛的青年男女。我今年試圖和他們見面並直接請求他們援助—幫這個數位落差的時代翻身，轉變成一個數位機會的時代。
NOTE：數位鴻溝（即指不同社會經濟水準的個人、家庭、企業和地區在接觸資訊通訊技術和利用網際網路進行各種活動的機會的差距）。
HIGHER EDUCATION IN THE 21ST CENTURY
21世紀的高等教育
America is fortunate to have the finest system of higher education in the world -- a model of quality, diversity, and opportunity. From our great research universities to the smallest community college, we have attempted to give all Americans the opportunity to get a college education.
美國很幸運擁有世界上最棒的高等教育系統--一個具有品質、多樣性和機會的模範系統。不管是我們最大的研究型大學或最小的社區學院，我們試圖讓所有的美國人都有上大學的機會。
This will be more than a challenge in the years ahead -- it will be a "crush," and I use that word precisely. Today, more Americans are attending college than ever before -- 14.9 million -- and millions of young people are now coming of age and preparing to go on to college. And millions of older Americans, who know that they have got to keep on learning, are filling up our community colleges, which are one of the great untold success stories of American education.
這將比以前那幾年更具挑戰性—它將會是”入學人數爆炸潮”，容我很精準的用了這個字眼。今日，許多美國人比以前--1490萬人--讀大學的人數還要多，而且數以百萬計、正值就學年齡的年輕人正準備去上大學。而且數以百萬計的美國老人，天知道他們是否真的有持續(認真地)在學習，仍然塞滿了我們的社區學院，這就是美國教育不為人道的偉大成功故事之一。
This crush of new students comes at a time when many of our nation's colleges and universities are already full and becoming more selective in their admissions process. This will mean increasing pressure for high school seniors to get into the college of their choice.
新生入學人數爆炸潮的出現恰好是我們國家的學院和大學都已經飽和，而且招生過程變得比較”挑”的時候。這就表示想進理想大學的高中生們，壓力逐漸在增加。
This is why I continue to encourage America's higher education community to enter into a sustained dialogue with education reformers at the middle and secondary school levels. The old paradigm of two distinct systems of education going their own way does not fit our modern times.
這也是為什麼我持續鼓勵美國高等教育界和中等學校層級的教改者進行持續性的對話。這兩種截然不同系統的教育模式如果各行其是，將不見容於今時今日。
It is clear that high school courses linked to high standards are the foundation for college going and success and especially for minority students. This is why I encourage higher education accreditation agencies to make collaboration with our middle and secondary schools a factor in the accreditation process.
很顯然的，高標準的中學課程，特別是對弱勢學生來說，是上大學和成功的基礎。這也是為什麼我一直鼓勵在認證過程的部分，高教認證機構要和中等學校合作的原因。
I also encourage higher education leaders to thoroughly examine the current structure of their admissions standards and send a clear signal to those who are putting standards into place.
我也鼓勵高教領導者針對他們入學標準的現行結構做全面性的檢視，並且清楚將檢視結果交給那些執行人員去執行。
And to reach out to parents and students as well. Dennis Smith, the president of the University of Nebraska, recently set a wonderful example. President Smith sent a letter to the parents of every eighth-grader in Nebraska outlining what courses their children need to take to get ready for college.
同時，也要考量到家長和學生，內布拉斯州的大學校長Dennis Smith近來建立了一套很棒的示範，他寄給內布拉斯州的每一位八年級的家長一封信，信中大致敘述他們的孩子應該修畢哪些課程，以做好進大學的準備。
THE TRANSITION TO COLLEGE: A CRITICAL TIME
大學過渡期：關鍵時刻
One of the most immediate and promising areas of mutuality should be a close examination of the senior year of high school. This is an important time of transition for young people. Surely we can offer our young people some exciting and meaningful challenges between midterms and the Senior Prom.
中學最後一年的測驗應該是和上大學最有直接和保證的關係之一。這對年輕人來說是一個最重要的過渡時期。當然在期中考和畢業舞會之間，我們可以提供給我們的年輕人一些具有刺激性和有意義的挑戰。
This is why I am announcing a new initiative we call the "Senior Year Transition" project. We intend to work with the Woodrow Wilson and Mott Foundations to bring together university leaders, educators, parents, and -- yes -- students too, to take a new and close look at the senior year of high school.
這也是為什麼我宣布我們稱之為”高年級過渡期”方案的一項新措施。我們試圖和Woodrow Wilson and Mott基金會一起合作，讓大學領導者、教育者、家長以及包含學生在內的這些人去重新檢視高中的最後一年。
We know that the transition between high school and college is a very critical time and can determine whether a student's college experience will be successful. This is why I am so encouraged by the many efforts to create and expand new pathways to college through mentoring programs like TRIO and GEAR-UP.
我們知道在高中和大學這段過渡期是非常關鍵的，而且可以決定一個學生的大學求學過程是否成功。這也是為什麼我受到鼓勵，透過像「三人行必有我師」和「做好準備」這些導師方案，創造和拓展進入大學新途徑付出許多努力。
Many colleges and universities are making a committed effort in this regard, and I thank them for their effort. Early intervention strategies can go a long way to reducing the cost of remedial education, which now stands at a half-billion dollars a year.
許多學院和大學正以此為考量而努力，而且我也為他們的努力表達謝意。實施早期介入策略的時間越早，每年高達5億美元的補救教育的花費就越少。
Yet, for all of our success in creating new pathways to college we are not, in my opinion, doing the best job possible in retaining students. This is particularly so for our minority students. Nearly half of all low-income students will drop out of our nation's four-year colleges by the end of their sophomore year. This is a great waste of talent. A strong emphasis on quality requires us to make a much more concerted effort to give these young people the support they need as they make the critical transition to college.
然而，在創造進入大學的新途徑完全成功的同時，在我看來，我們並沒有同樣地做好留住學生的工作。到目前為止，特別是我們的弱勢族群學生。以我國四年制大學而言，近乎一半的低收入戶學生在他們讀到大二的時後就輟學了。這實在太浪費天賦資源了。既然大力強調品質，我們就更應該為我們這些年輕學子付出更多的努力，以及去協助他們渡過這段關鍵的大學過渡期。
HELPING FAMILIES PAY FOR COLLEGE
協助家庭負擔大學學費
Paying for college is always a paramount issue to students and parents and we all have to be concerned with rising student debt burden. This is why we have worked so hard to double federal student aid to over $50 billion a year. I am particularly pleased by our effort to increase Pell Grants for our neediest students. We are working hard to increase Pell Grants to $3,500 a year and to support other important student financial assistance programs.
大學學費對學生和家長來說，一直都是一個最重要的議題，而且我們所有人都必須關切學生就學貸款負擔不斷上升這問題。這也是為什麼我們必須辛辛辛苦苦地工作，以支付增加一倍的助學金去幫助本國學子，每年超過500億美元。我感到欣慰的是我們為頒給我們最需要的學生的佩爾助學金所做的一切努力。我們正努力將配額助學金增加到一年3500美元並支援其他重要的學生經濟援助方案。
States will have to increase their efforts as well and take a fresh look at their policies. For most of the last decade, the state share of support for higher education has declined even as tuition and fees at public four-year institutions have increased by over 50 percent. Yet, even with these increases, the return on investment is enormous for the successful college graduate.
相對的，國家也不得不多加把勁，重新檢視他們的政策。對過去十年內，國家給予高等教育的援助部分已經下降。國家對高等教育的經費援助已經下降，即使公立四年制機構的學雜費已經增加到超過50%。然而，即使這些學雜費增加，對成功從大學畢業的學生來說，其投資報酬率更高。
I now bring to your attention a very important proposal that can help millions of families pay for college. President Clinton has proposed a new $30 billion dollar College Opportunity Tax Cut, spread over the next ten years. Listen hard now. This targeted tax cut would provide up to $1,400 in 2001 and up to $2,800 in 2003, in tax relief for many, many working and middle-income families.
請各位注意聽，我現在所要做的報告非常重要，這能夠幫助數以百萬計的家庭負擔大學學費。柯林頓總統已經提出一個300億美元的大學機會減稅法案，這筆錢會用在未來的十年間，所以請用心聽。這有目標性的減稅將從2001年提供的1400美元，增加到2003年提供的2800美元，可說是讓許多勞工和中低收入家庭寬減了許多稅務。
That, my friends, is real help for students and their parents who are worried about rising student debt. This proposal is a wise, targeted tax cut that deserves the full attention of parents and students in every working and middle class family in America. This tax cut is designed for striving Americans. Congress should do the right thing and pass it this year.
我的朋友啊，那對擔心學生就學貸款的學生們和他們的家長來說不啻是一種實質的幫助。這個提案很明智，特定目標減稅值得美國所有勞工和中低收入家庭學生和其家長的關注。這種減稅是為了努力奮鬥的美國人所設計。今年美國國會應該做對的事，就是通過這項減稅提案。
A strong focus on access to college, success in staying in college and paying for college will always be important issues for American higher education in the coming decade. But we must also recognize that higher education is breaking out of old boundaries.
在接下來的十年內，美國高等教育最重要的議題將會一直聚焦在如何進大學、好好讀完大學和支付大學學費。但是我們必須承認高等教育已經打破了舊藩籬。
E-learning is rapidly taking hold on our nation's college campuses. On-line course taking has nearly tripled and 60 percent of all colleges are now offering such courses. Clearly, we must address the issue of quality and how financial aid can be provided to on-line students more effectively.
E化學習正迅速在我們國家的大學校園裡紮根。線上課程已經增加近三倍，而且近60%的大學目前都有提供這些課程。顯然地，我們必須解決課程的品質問題以及如何能更有效地提供線上學習的學生一些經濟援助。
The reshaping of education through e-learning leads me to observe that international course taking is on the horizon. Imagine students at UCLA taking courses at Oxford and students in Tokyo learning physics from a professor at Duke. We should welcome this emerging opportunity just as we welcome a half-million foreign students to our college campuses each year.
透過E化學習的教育重塑讓我觀察到修習國際性課程已經無遠弗屆。想像一下UCLA的學生修習牛津的課程，以及東京的某學生師承Duke大學的某教授。我們應該歡迎這突現的機會，正如同每年我們歡迎50萬外國學生到我們國內的學校就讀一樣。
I believe that America always benefits when we learn more about different cultures and different people. This is why I will shortly be sending a recommendation to the president that he issue a directive to encourage a new focus on international education opportunities.
我相信當我們從不同種類的文化和不同族裔的民族身上學到更多時，美國總是會獲益非淺。這也是為什麼我會在短期內建議總統他發佈一道指令，焦點集中在鼓勵國際化教育機會上。
CONCLUSION
結論
Seven years ago, when I began the tradition of giving this speech, I reflected to my audience at Georgetown University that our love of learning -- and our capacity to use knowledge wisely -- would be the defining forces that would shape the 21st century.
七年前，當我開始作例行性演說，我在喬治城大學對我的聽眾表示我們的學習愛—以及我們明智地使用知識的能力---將是形塑21世紀的關鍵性力量。
Well, now we are here and in this new, dynamic education era. I believe we can meet the many challenges of our times if we set new expectations for our children, our schools, and our nation. We can do this together and surely we must.
那麼，現在我們正處在這個嶄新、生氣勃勃的教育時代。假如我們為我們的孩子、我們的學校、我們的國家設定新的期待，我相信我們能夠應付我們這個時代的許多挑戰。我們可以也必須同心協力做到這一點。
I hope that, 50 years from now, Americans will look back and say that yes, in our time, we transformed education in America -- that we did the hard work, stuck with it, and lifted up all of our children. This is our great task. With optimism and determination let us go forward together to create a "democracy of excellence" in this new century.
我希望，50年後，當美國人在回首往事時能說：「是的，在我們當時，我們將美國的教育轉型了—我們胼手胝足，承擔重任並且把我們的孩子帶上來。這是我們偉大的任務。」讓我們在這個新世紀，秉持樂觀和決心，將美國創造成為一個”卓越的民主國家”。
Thank you and God bless you.
謝謝您，願主保佑您。
本譯文僅做課堂上學術交流討論使用，特此聲明。
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