在高中修大學(xué)課程 美國(guó)理想主義教育實(shí)驗(yàn)

ALONG his block in Newark’s West Ward, where drugs are endemic and the young residents talk about shootings with alarming nonchalance, Najee Little is known as the smart kid. He got all A’s his sophomore year, breezing through math and awing his English teachers. His mother, a day care worker, and father, who does odd jobs to make ends meet, have high aspirations for him. They want him to earn a college degree.

在紐瓦克市西區(qū)的一片社區(qū)，毒品肆虐，年輕人漠然地聊著槍擊事件，而納吉·利特爾(Najee Little)卻是公認(rèn)的聰明孩子。在高中二年級(jí)的時(shí)候，他是一名全優(yōu)生，數(shù)學(xué)考試手到擒來(lái)，英語(yǔ)水平讓老師稱贊不已。他母親在日托所工作，父親打著零工，只能勉強(qiáng)度日。全家人對(duì)他期望很高，希望他能拿到大學(xué)學(xué)歷。

 

 

So last year, when Bard College opened an early college high school in Newark for disadvantaged students with dreams of a bachelor’s degree, he was sure he’d do well there. He wrote his first long paper on Plato’s “Republic,” expecting a top grade. He got a D minus. “Honestly,” he recalled, “I was kind of discouraged.”

所以，當(dāng)巴德學(xué)院(Bard College)去年為夢(mèng)想拿到學(xué)士學(xué)位的家庭條件不佳的學(xué)生在紐瓦克開(kāi)設(shè)大學(xué)先修高中時(shí)，他確信自己能在那里表現(xiàn)出色。他寫(xiě)了生平第一篇長(zhǎng)論文，討論柏拉圖的《理想國(guó)》(Republic)，期望能拿到高分。可是，他卻只得到了D-。“老實(shí)說(shuō)，”他回憶道，“我有點(diǎn)灰心。”

That paper marked the beginning of a trying academic path that would both excite and disillusion him. The past two years have been peppered with some promising grades — an A in environmental science — and some doozies. He failed “Africa in World History” and squeaked by in calculus. Mostly, he came to realize that getting into college and staying there would be a herculean task. There was tricky grammar, hard math and tons of homework. There was the neighborhood cacophony to tune out and the call of his Xbox. And there was the fact that no one in his house could help him.

那篇論文標(biāo)志著他從此踏上了時(shí)而激動(dòng)時(shí)而幻滅的艱難學(xué)術(shù)之路。過(guò)去兩年的學(xué)習(xí)里，點(diǎn)綴著一些不錯(cuò)的成績(jī)——環(huán)境科學(xué)得了A——還有一些非凡的經(jīng)歷。但他的非洲史不及格，微積分也只是勉強(qiáng)通過(guò)。最主要的是，他漸漸意識(shí)到，上大學(xué)并堅(jiān)持到畢業(yè)將是一項(xiàng)極為艱巨的任務(wù)：語(yǔ)法復(fù)雜、數(shù)學(xué)艱深、作業(yè)無(wú)數(shù);要忽略鄰居制造的刺耳噪音，還要抵擋游戲機(jī)的誘惑;家人卻幫不上任何忙。

“My work is more advanced than anyone at home has experienced,” he said. And that, it turns out, is why the school had accepted him.

“我的學(xué)業(yè)比家里所有人經(jīng)歷過(guò)的都復(fù)雜，”他說(shuō)。而這一點(diǎn)，正是學(xué)校接收他的原因。

Across the country in communities like Newark, the early college high school model is being lauded as a way to provide low-income students with a road map to and through college. According to the most recent figures from the National Center for Education Statistics, 68 percent of all high school graduates make it to a two- or four-year institution, but only 52 percent of low-income students do the same. Of poor students in four-year institutions, only 47 percent graduate within six years, compared with 58 percent of the general population.

在全美像紐瓦克這樣的社區(qū)里，大學(xué)先修高中的模式廣受贊譽(yù)，因?yàn)樗虻褪杖爰彝サ膶W(xué)生提供了一條進(jìn)入并讀完大學(xué)的途徑。根據(jù)國(guó)家教育統(tǒng)計(jì)中心(National Center for Education Statistics)的最新數(shù)據(jù)，在美國(guó)所有的高中畢業(yè)生中，能升學(xué)到兩年或四年制院校的比例為68%，但在低收入家庭的學(xué)生中，這一比例僅有52%。就讀四年制高校的貧困生里，只有47%能在六年內(nèi)畢業(yè)，與之相比，全體學(xué)生中的比例為58%。

Not surprisingly, the challenges are greatest for students whose parents did not attend any college: their graduation rate hovers around 40 percent. Early college high schools seek to rectify that, by merging high school and some college. Students can earn both a high school diploma and an associate degree, and some are set on the path to a four-year degree.

不出意料，對(duì)那些父母沒(méi)有上過(guò)大學(xué)的學(xué)生而言，挑戰(zhàn)是最大的：他們的畢業(yè)率在40%上下徘徊。為了改善這一點(diǎn)，大學(xué)先修高中將一些大學(xué)課程和高中課程歸并。學(xué)生既可以取得高中文憑，也將同時(shí)獲得副學(xué)士學(xué)位，其中一些學(xué)生還可以踏上四年制學(xué)位之路。

Educators and big-ticket donors have praised the schools for saving students money and time — most schools compress the academic experience into four years. Since 2002, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has provided more than $40 million toward initiatives. The Ford Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York have also chipped in. President Obama is a proponent, giving a shout-out in his State of the Union address to P-Tech, a public-private partnership that pairs the New York City public school system and the City University of New York with I.B.M., which promises graduates a shot at a well-paying job.

教育界人士和大額捐贈(zèng)者對(duì)此類學(xué)校稱贊有加，稱它們?yōu)閷W(xué)生節(jié)省了費(fèi)用和時(shí)間——大多數(shù)先修學(xué)校將學(xué)業(yè)壓縮到四年完成。自2002年以來(lái)，比爾和梅琳達(dá)·蓋茨基金會(huì)(Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation)已經(jīng)向此類計(jì)劃提供了逾4000萬(wàn)美元(約合2.5億元人民幣)的資助，福特基金會(huì)(Ford Foundation)和紐約卡耐基基金會(huì)(Carnegie Corporation of New York)亦出資捐助。奧巴馬總統(tǒng)也是支持者，曾在國(guó)情咨文演說(shuō)中為P-Tech叫好。P-tech是一個(gè)公立和私營(yíng)機(jī)構(gòu)合作的項(xiàng)目，為紐約公立學(xué)校系統(tǒng)、紐約城市大學(xué)(City University of New York)與I.B.M.牽線搭橋，從而讓畢業(yè)生有望取得高薪的就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。

There are now more than 400 early college high schools across the country — North Carolina has 76 of them — educating an estimated 100,000 students.

目前，全美的大學(xué)先修高中超過(guò)400所，惠及約10萬(wàn)名學(xué)生，其中，北卡羅來(lái)納州有76所。

Bard, a liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, N.Y., is at the vanguard of the movement, with a president, Leon Botstein, who has long chastised the American high school system for its inefficiencies. More than 30 years ago, Bard took over Simon’s Rock, a private college for 11th graders and up in Great Barrington, Mass. In 2001, it opened an early college high school in Lower Manhattan, enormously popular with hyper-motivated New Yorkers, and in 2008 it started one in Queens that has become a magnet for the high-achieving offspring of Chinese, Polish and Bengali immigrants. Until now, Bard’s model has largely focused on elite students.

地處紐約州哈德遜河畔安嫩代爾的文理學(xué)院巴德正是該運(yùn)動(dòng)的先鋒，其校長(zhǎng)利昂·波特斯坦(Leon Botstein)對(duì)美國(guó)高中體系的效率低下責(zé)備已久。30多年前，巴德接管了設(shè)在馬薩諸塞州大巴靈頓的西蒙洛克學(xué)院(Simon’s Rock)。后者是所私立學(xué)院，接收11年級(jí)及以上的學(xué)生。2001年，巴德在曼哈頓下城開(kāi)設(shè)了一所大學(xué)先修高中，在有著強(qiáng)烈積極性的紐約人中極受歡迎。到2008年時(shí)，它在皇后區(qū)又開(kāi)設(shè)了一所這樣的學(xué)校，像磁鐵一樣吸引著成績(jī)優(yōu)秀的中國(guó)、波蘭和孟加拉移民后代。到目前為止，巴德模型主要針對(duì)精英學(xué)生。

In Newark, Bard moved into a school building across from a tire shop and a bail bond business. Hanging outside is a cheerful red banner with the Bard name etched in white, as if to signal that new life is being breathed into the neighborhood.

在紐瓦克，巴德進(jìn)駐的那棟教學(xué)樓位于一家輪胎店和一個(gè)保釋中介公司對(duì)面。歡樂(lè)的紅色橫幅掛在樓外，刻著白色的巴德名號(hào)，就像在說(shuō)，學(xué)校向街坊里吹進(jìn)了新的生機(jī)。

Administrators admitted 87 eighth graders as freshmen in fall 2011, and 36 sophomores as juniors who could expect to start college-level work immediately. This year, there are students in all four grades.

該校錄取了87名8年級(jí)學(xué)生作為2011年秋季的新生，另招了36名高二學(xué)生進(jìn)入這里的三年級(jí)，可以立即開(kāi)始大學(xué)水平的學(xué)業(yè)。今年，四個(gè)年級(jí)都有學(xué)生就讀。

Najee seemed like a perfect fit. He had been pulling in top marks as a high school sophomore, but was bored by a math class that rarely progressed past the basics and never required homework. Essays for other classes were usually half a page long. Only once did a teacher assign a full-length book to read — “Fahrenheit 451.” And that was over the summer. Najee was also eager to create some distance between himself and his rough-and-tumble neighborhood, where a good friend had been stabbed to death “over an incident with a girl.”

這對(duì)納吉來(lái)說(shuō)就像量身定做一樣。高中二年級(jí)的時(shí)候，他總是得最高分，但數(shù)學(xué)課很無(wú)聊，內(nèi)容基本不會(huì)超越基礎(chǔ)知識(shí)，還從不要求家庭作業(yè)。其它課程的論文通常只要求寫(xiě)半頁(yè)的內(nèi)容。僅有一次，有位老師布置了一項(xiàng)要求讀完一整本書(shū)的作業(yè)——《華氏451度》(Fahrenheit 451)——但給了他們整個(gè)暑假來(lái)完成。納吉也急切想在自己和混亂的社區(qū)間劃清界限。他的一位好朋友“因?yàn)橐粋€(gè)女孩”在那里被人捅死。

His new classmates at Bard were similarly seeking to cocoon themselves somewhere safe and supportive. Miles Scott lives with his grandmother after his mother and father died within two years of each other. Billy Caraballo has been in and out of half a dozen schools. He calls Bard “a second chance.” Marvin Pinkrah transferred from a low-performing high school but had strong early preparation in Ghana. Friends call him “the human dictionary” and turn to him for help.

他在巴德的新同學(xué)也同樣希望找到安全且能受到支持的地方待著。邁爾斯·斯科特(Miles Scott)的父母在兩年內(nèi)相繼去世，他現(xiàn)在和祖母住在一起。比利·卡拉巴羅(Billy Caraballo)換了6所學(xué)校。他稱巴德是“第二次機(jī)會(huì)”。馬文·平卡羅(Marvin Pinkrah) 是從較差的高中轉(zhuǎn)校過(guò)來(lái)的，但他在加納的早期基礎(chǔ)很扎實(shí)。朋友們稱他為“活字典”，經(jīng)常找他幫忙。

Bard’s goals are unapologetically ambitious, mimicking those at its other schools. Most teachers have doctorates, and some of its curriculum is borrowed from the college itself. Freshmen and sophomores cram yearlong high school math, social studies and science classes into one-semester chunks. Juniors and seniors — they’re called first years and second years — take 60 credits’ worth of college-level courses, on Caribbean literature, multimedia studies and Shakespeare. A series of classes known in Bard parlance as “seminar,” a replica of the series taught on the college campus, explores ancient philosophers and great American and European thinkers.

巴德并不避諱其雄心勃勃的目標(biāo)，效仿在它旗下的其它學(xué)校。大多數(shù)教師有博士學(xué)位，其中一些課程就是從大學(xué)里借用的。一、二年級(jí)學(xué)生要在一個(gè)學(xué)期內(nèi)學(xué)完一整年的高中數(shù)學(xué)、社會(huì)學(xué)和科學(xué)課程。更高的兩個(gè)年級(jí)的學(xué)生被稱為大一和大二生，要修完60個(gè)學(xué)分的大學(xué)等級(jí)課程：加勒比文學(xué)、多媒體研究和莎士比亞等。巴德提供一系列的“研討課”，復(fù)制了大學(xué)校園里所教的同類課程，探索研究古哲學(xué)家和美歐的偉大思想家。

The ethos of early college high schools: catch students up, not by relegating them to the kind of remedial classes required at community colleges but by bombarding them with challenging work. At the Bard school, that means works by Dante, Locke and W.E.B. Du Bois that have populated and enriched the lives of their more affluent peers.

大學(xué)先修高中的精神是：不讓學(xué)生掉隊(duì)，不是把標(biāo)準(zhǔn)降低到社區(qū)大學(xué)里要求的那類補(bǔ)習(xí)課程，而是用充滿挑戰(zhàn)的功課激發(fā)他們的潛力。在巴德，這意味著學(xué)生們將去研讀但丁(Dante)、洛克(Locke)和W·E·B·杜波依斯(W.E.B. Du Bois)的著作，而這些書(shū)通常是他們追求豐富人生的富裕同齡人才會(huì)研讀的。

Students say the transition has been tough. Al-Nisa Amin, now a sophomore, remembers slumping over a math problem that first year, crying out of sheer frustration. But she has stuck it out, partly because she is scared of being sent back to her old high school.

學(xué)生們說(shuō)，過(guò)渡階段非常艱難。目前讀二年級(jí)的妮薩·阿敏(Al-Nisa Amin)記得在第一年的時(shí)候，做一道數(shù)學(xué)題做到崩潰，沮喪地哭嚎。但她堅(jiān)持了下去，一部分原因是擔(dān)心被送回原來(lái)的中學(xué)。

For those who parachuted into college-level classes, the climb has been steep, and often eye-opening.

對(duì)于那些猛然面對(duì)大學(xué)程度的課程的學(xué)生，學(xué)業(yè)的山峰陡峭而壯麗。

On a recent afternoon, Najee and his classmates, some in the optional uniform of khaki pants and rust-colored sweatshirts, settled into steel-framed desk chairs for a Shakespeare class.

在最近的一天下午，納吉和他的同學(xué)坐在鋼架桌椅上聽(tīng)莎士比亞文學(xué)課，其中一些學(xué)生身穿自愿穿著的卡其色褲子和赭色運(yùn)動(dòng)衫校服。

Flipping through their Signet Classic paperbacks and scribbling notes, they reviewed the first act of “Twelfth Night,” intuitively understanding that Orsino, Duke of Illyria, had become obsessed with Olivia. When their professor, David Cutts, asked what was going on in Orsino’s heart, several called out matter-of-factly: “Love.” The class then discussed the vagaries of love at first sight, and voted on whether they believed in it. Most didn’t.

他們翻閱著Signet Classic出版社的平裝版《第十二夜》(Twelfth Night)緊張地記著筆記。復(fù)習(xí)第一幕時(shí)，他們自然而然地明白了，伊利里亞公爵奧西諾(Orsino)著迷于奧麗維婭(Olivia)。當(dāng)教授戴維·卡茨(David Cutts)問(wèn)他們奧西諾的內(nèi)心活動(dòng)時(shí)，幾名學(xué)生斬釘截鐵地喊道：“愛(ài)情”。接著全班討論起了奇妙的一見(jiàn)鐘情，并就是否相信一見(jiàn)鐘情進(jìn)行了投票。大多數(shù)學(xué)生并不相信。

Some were confused by the shipwrecked noblewoman Viola and her motives in disguising herself as a servant. “He’s rich, so why is she trying to hide?” one student asked, befuddled. Another hypothesized: “I think she’s interested in him.”

一些人對(duì)遭遇海難的貴婦薇奧拉(Viola)，以及她為什么把自己偽裝成仆人而感到困惑。“他很有錢(qián)，那她還有什么好隱瞞的?”一名學(xué)生不解地問(wèn)。另一名學(xué)生則猜測(cè)：“我覺(jué)得她對(duì)他有好感。”

When Dr. Cutts reviewed a plot point toward the end, one girl scolded him: “spoiler alert.”

當(dāng)卡茨教授點(diǎn)出結(jié)尾時(shí)的一段情節(jié)時(shí)，一名女生責(zé)備說(shuō)：“不要?jiǎng)⊥浮?rdquo;

Less lighthearted was seminar, which on this day involved mulling over a densely written essay by the Marxist political theorist Fredric Jameson on the meaning of self in a postmodern world. Reading aloud a 2006 article in The Economist titled “Post-Modernism Is the New Black,” one student stumbled over “facade,” “anachronistic” and “grandeur” — words that would seem fair game for late high school.

研討課則沒(méi)那么多歡樂(lè)，這一天要研讀馬克思主義政治理論家詹明信(Fredric Jameson)撰寫(xiě)的一篇信息量極大的論文，主題是自我在這個(gè)后現(xiàn)代世界里的意義。在朗讀2006年《經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人》(The Economist)上題為《后現(xiàn)代主義成為新時(shí)尚》(Post-Modernism Is the New Black)的文章時(shí)，一名學(xué)生被“立面”(facade)、“時(shí)代錯(cuò)誤的”(anachronistic)，以及“壯麗”(grandeur)這樣的詞難住了——它們本該屬于高中高年級(jí)的理解范圍。

Another student wanted to know: “What’s a phenomenon?” One inquired about the meaning of “sinister.”

另一個(gè)學(xué)生問(wèn)：“什么是‘現(xiàn)象’(phenomenon)?”另一個(gè)則想知道“險(xiǎn)惡的”(sinister)的含義。

The article cited Auschwitz as an example of how the Enlightenment had “given birth” to totalitarianism. Not one of the 10 students knew what Auschwitz was. Debate ensued over whether it was a city in Switzerland, Russia or Poland. Their professor finally interjected: “It’s usually used as the big example of the Holocaust.”

文章將奧斯維辛(Auschwitz)作為例子，描述啟蒙運(yùn)動(dòng)(Enlightenment)是怎樣孕育出極權(quán)主義的。10個(gè)學(xué)生中沒(méi)有一個(gè)人知道奧斯維辛是什么。接著他們開(kāi)始辯論它是不是瑞士、俄羅斯或波蘭的一座城市。教授終于插嘴解釋：“人們常常把它當(dāng)作猶太人大屠殺的一個(gè)主要例子。”

In similar classes in Bard’s New York schools, students’ vocabulary, communication skills and historical knowledge appear noticeably more advanced. During a recent discussion in the Manhattan school on punishments doled out in the ninth and tenth pouches of Dante’s Inferno, one student said she thought the physical torture was “consistent with the logic of the story.”

巴德學(xué)院在紐約開(kāi)辦的學(xué)校里類似的課堂上，學(xué)生們的詞匯量、溝通能力和歷史知識(shí)明顯更為好。曼哈頓學(xué)校最近關(guān)于但丁的《地獄》(Inferno)一書(shū)中，第9和第10囊里做出的懲罰進(jìn)行了一場(chǎng)討論。討論過(guò)程中，一名學(xué)生說(shuō)她認(rèn)為身體折磨是“與故事邏輯相符合的”。

“Their souls do inhabit a form,” she mused. “They do have an underworld body. He even describes the shape of their tear glands.”

“他們的靈魂的確棲息于一種形式，”她思忖道。“他們的確有一副地獄之身。但丁甚至描述了他們淚腺的形狀。”

Another student disagreed, pointing to the way the sinners who had split with the Catholic Church were being split open with swords. “I think this is really about metaphorical pain,” she said confidently. “It’s not literal.”

另一名同學(xué)不同意這個(gè)說(shuō)法，指出與天主教會(huì)切斷關(guān)系的罪人，后來(lái)身體被劍劈斷了。“我覺(jué)得這里講的是隱喻性的痛苦，”她自信地說(shuō)。“并不能從字面上理解。”

The disparity raises an uncomfortable question. Can students who are so behind be brought up to college level in a few efficient years, even with good teachers and good intentions?

學(xué)生水平的差距，又引出了一個(gè)令人不安的問(wèn)題：即使有出色的老師、良好的意圖，如此落后的學(xué)生是否能夠通過(guò)幾年的高效學(xué)習(xí)，就提升到大學(xué)水平?

Meandering through the bustling hallways of the Newark school one day this winter, waving at students as they passed, Lori Ween, dean of studies and faculty in English, was hopeful but frank: “We tell our students whatever happened before this, this is where you are now.” Still, she acknowledges, it has turned out to be harder than many of the students expected. This is in part because Newark’s most promising high school students flee for better districts, although officials say that as Bard’s reputation grows, they expect more will stay.

今年冬天的一天，漫步在紐瓦克校園人來(lái)人往的走廊里，教務(wù)主任兼英語(yǔ)教學(xué)主任洛里·維恩(Lori Ween)向經(jīng)過(guò)的學(xué)生們招手，她滿懷希望但也很坦白：“我們告訴學(xué)生們，無(wú)論在這之前發(fā)生過(guò)什么，這里都是你們現(xiàn)在的學(xué)校。”但她承認(rèn)，實(shí)際情況比許多學(xué)生想象的要困難得多。部分原因在于，紐瓦克最有潛力的高中生轉(zhuǎn)學(xué)去了更好的學(xué)區(qū)，不過(guò)官員表示，隨著巴德的聲譽(yù)不斷增長(zhǎng)，他們預(yù)計(jì)會(huì)有更多人留下來(lái)。

So far, the school has lost 7 of the 36 students who entered in 2011 as first-year college students and 20 of the 87 who entered as high school freshmen.

到目前為止，在2011年進(jìn)入該校就讀大學(xué)一年級(jí)的36名學(xué)生中，已經(jīng)流失了七名;而87名作為高中新生入學(xué)的學(xué)生，則流失了20名。

Najee has repeated one class. Both Miles and Billy have repeated several. More than half the class had to repeat one of the required seminars in a monthlong intensive at the end of the last school year. A “free” period that had always been used as a study period at the other Bard high schools needed to be renamed “enrichment period” to signal it was intended for work.

納吉已經(jīng)重修了一門(mén)課。邁爾斯和比利都重修了幾門(mén)課。超過(guò)一半的學(xué)生必須要在學(xué)年結(jié)束時(shí)的一個(gè)月高強(qiáng)度地重修所要求的研討班。在其它巴德高中一直被用作學(xué)習(xí)期的“自由”階段，在這里需要更名為“擴(kuò)充期”，表示這一階段是用來(lái)完成課業(yè)的。

Dr. Ween says students come to school with problems that can easily derail them. One sophomore, after a few days off, announced that her father had been murdered, shot seven times. Another complained that she had been in a hospital room all weekend. When Dr. Ween asked if she was sick, she responded, “No, my boyfriend was shot.” Another is his younger brother’s primary caretaker, making him dinner and getting him ready for school.

維恩博士說(shuō)，來(lái)這里上學(xué)的學(xué)生有著各種會(huì)讓他們分心的問(wèn)題。一名二年級(jí)學(xué)生請(qǐng)了幾天假后，回來(lái)說(shuō)她父親被謀殺了，身中七槍。另一位抱怨她整個(gè)周末都在醫(yī)院病房，當(dāng)維恩博士問(wèn)她是不是生病時(shí)，她回答說(shuō)，“不是，我男朋友被槍擊了。”另一位則擔(dān)當(dāng)著弟弟的主要監(jiān)護(hù)人，給他做晚飯，安頓他上學(xué)。

“When you hear these stories, it’s really easy to say, ‘Take a break,’ ” Dr. Ween said. But she resists. Her students, she said, need to be supported, but not let off the hook from schoolwork.

“當(dāng)聽(tīng)到這些故事時(shí)，很容易會(huì)有一種讓他們休息一下的想法，”維恩博士說(shuō)。但她堅(jiān)持不這么做。她說(shuō)，她的學(xué)生需要支持，但不能不完成課業(yè)。

Taken as a group, early college high schools place a premium on teaching rudimentary study skills — how to take notes, how to interact with professors, where the best spot is to sit in a classroom. But the greatest emphasis is on thinking. Students are encouraged to see themselves as participants in an academic world, and as interested in gaining knowledge as in getting good grades. Dr. Ween calls it “joining the debate.”

整體來(lái)說(shuō)，大學(xué)先修高中非常重視傳授基本的學(xué)習(xí)技能：怎樣記筆記，怎樣和教授互動(dòng)，教室里最佳的座位在哪里。然而最強(qiáng)調(diào)的是思考。學(xué)校鼓勵(lì)學(xué)生們將自己看成是學(xué)術(shù)界的參與者，不僅要取得好的成績(jī)，更要有求知欲。維恩博士稱之為“參與討論”。

The students at Duplin Early College High School in eastern North Carolina take an applied math class in which they learn about velocity and graphing by building roller coasters out of wire, piping and masking tape. Then they are asked to defend the project. At the Dayton Early College Academy in Ohio, students learn about constitutional law in mock trials. And at Bard, in an environmental science class, students read articles about the effect biofuel is having on corn prices and debate the merits of renewable energy.

在北卡羅來(lái)納州東部的杜普林大學(xué)先修高中(Duplin Early College High School)，學(xué)生們上了一門(mén)應(yīng)用數(shù)學(xué)課程，通過(guò)用電線、管道和遮蔽膠帶做一個(gè)過(guò)山車(chē)，研習(xí)速率和繪圖。然后，他們被要求就這個(gè)項(xiàng)目作答辯。在俄亥俄州代頓早期大學(xué)學(xué)院(Dayton Early College Academy)，學(xué)生們?cè)谀M審判中學(xué)習(xí)憲法。在巴德的一堂環(huán)境科學(xué)課上，學(xué)生們閱讀有關(guān)生物燃料如何影響玉米價(jià)格的文章，就可再生能源的優(yōu)點(diǎn)展開(kāi)辯論。

“You cannot pull off an early college high school successfully without fundamentally changing pedagogy,” said Joel Vargas, vice president of Jobs for the Future, a nonprofit organization based in Boston that develops early college high schools. He calls it the opposite of “chalk and talk.”

“如果不從根本上改變教學(xué)法，大學(xué)先修高中不可能成功，”未來(lái)工作(Jobs for the Future)副總裁喬爾·瓦格斯(Joel Vargas)說(shuō)。未來(lái)工作是總部設(shè)在波士頓的一家非盈利性組織地處，旨在發(fā)展大學(xué)先修高中。他稱大學(xué)先修高中為填鴨式教學(xué)法的對(duì)立面。

The model reverses ideas about how to best serve students whose parents haven’t gone to college. Gone is knee-jerk vocational tracking. Gone is the thinking that students must master all the basics before taking on more challenging work.

對(duì)于父母沒(méi)有上過(guò)大學(xué)的學(xué)生，怎樣向他們提供最好的服務(wù)?這種模式帶來(lái)了截然不同的觀點(diǎn)。不假思索的職教分班不再適宜，認(rèn)為學(xué)生必須掌握所有基礎(chǔ)后才能研習(xí)更具艱深課程的觀點(diǎn)也不再適用。

“Traditionally, what has happened is that kids who come in below standards are put in a remedial track and they do addition and subtraction over and over again,” said Cecilia Cunningham, executive director of the Middle College National Consortium, a network of more than 30 early college high schools. “They’re bored out of their minds and the message is: ‘You really can’t do this.’ ”

“傳統(tǒng)的做法是，把不達(dá)標(biāo)的學(xué)生集中到補(bǔ)習(xí)班，讓他們一遍又一遍地做著加減法，”有著超過(guò)30所大學(xué)先修高中成員的全美大學(xué)先修高中聯(lián)盟(Middle College National Consortium)執(zhí)行主任塞西莉亞·坎寧安(Cecilia Cunningham)說(shuō)。“他們覺(jué)得非常煩，向自己傳達(dá)了這樣一個(gè)信息：‘你真的做不來(lái)。’”

Studies show that high school students who take classes in which they get both college and high school credit — often referred to as dual-credit courses — fare better academically.

研究表明，上能夠同時(shí)拿到高中和大學(xué)學(xué)分課程(通常稱為雙學(xué)分課程)的高中生，在學(xué)業(yè)上的表現(xiàn)要好得多。

According to Jobs for the Future, which is behind 246 early college high schools, 76 percent of its 2011-12 graduates have enrolled in college. A study last year of more than 30,000 Texas high school graduates found that those who took college-level classes in high school were more likely to have finished college after six years. Studies showing such attainment, however, aren’t able to determine if it is the type of students drawn to college-level coursework that makes the difference. And no long-term studies have been conducted about early college high school students and college graduation.

根據(jù)未來(lái)工作組織對(duì)246所大學(xué)先修高中的統(tǒng)計(jì)，76%的2011-2012學(xué)年畢業(yè)生考上了大學(xué)。去年，一項(xiàng)對(duì)3萬(wàn)多名德克薩斯高中畢業(yè)生的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，在高中學(xué)過(guò)大學(xué)水平課程的學(xué)生，更有希望在六年后從大學(xué)畢業(yè)。但是，這些研究不足以確定該差異是不是由于參加大學(xué)水平課程的學(xué)生的類型所造成的。并且，還沒(méi)有人針對(duì)大學(xué)先修高中學(xué)生和大學(xué)畢業(yè)率進(jìn)行過(guò)長(zhǎng)期研究。

This concerns Sandra Stotsky, a professor emerita in the University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform, who notes that there is not any substantial evidence that the model being tried out in Newark will help at-risk students get through four years of college. Dr. Stotsky finds the idea that students should have to go to college to get a good high school education counterintuitive, and has called on educators to refocus their efforts on making high school coursework more challenging.

這讓阿肯色大學(xué)教育改革部(University of Arkansas’s Department of Education Reform)榮休教授桑德拉·司托茨基(Sandra Stotsky)很擔(dān)心，她注意到，沒(méi)有任何實(shí)質(zhì)性證據(jù)能表明，在紐瓦克嘗試的這一教學(xué)模式，能夠幫助處在危險(xiǎn)中的學(xué)生完成四年大學(xué)的學(xué)習(xí)。司托茨基博士覺(jué)得，學(xué)生必須到大學(xué)里去得到好的高中教育，這樣的觀念違反直覺(jué)，并且她呼吁教育家將功夫重新放在提高高中功課的挑戰(zhàn)性上面。

Critics also worry about rushing students through the material and pushing them prematurely onto college campuses, thus dumbing down classes for the other students. Many colleges have resisted the pressure to promote 18-year-olds to sophomore or junior status. In 2009, New York University stopped accepting dual-enrollment credits, saying it was impossible to determine the rigor of the classes.

批評(píng)者也擔(dān)心向?qū)W生們填塞內(nèi)容，把他們過(guò)早地推進(jìn)大學(xué)校園，會(huì)使其他學(xué)生的課程難度相形見(jiàn)絀。 許多大學(xué)在抵抗讓18歲的學(xué)生跳級(jí)到大學(xué)二年級(jí)或三年級(jí)的壓力。從2009年起，紐約大學(xué)(New York University)不再接收雙學(xué)分學(xué)生，稱其無(wú)法確定課程的難度。

Bard officials say public colleges are generally more open to accepting credit earned in high school. They estimate that more than half of last year’s 143 Manhattan graduates were able to transfer two years of credit.

巴德行政管理人員說(shuō)，公立大學(xué)一般對(duì)接受高中獲得的學(xué)分持更為開(kāi)放的態(tài)度。他們估測(cè)，去年曼哈頓的143位畢業(yè)生中，超過(guò)半數(shù)的人能夠轉(zhuǎn)到兩年的學(xué)分。

Ray Peterson, who has helped start all three of Bard’s public high schools, says that given the Newark students’ struggles, he is pleased with where they are: of the remaining 29 second-year students, 21 have been accepted to a four-year college. It’s promising news, but no guarantee of a bachelor’s degree. While some of the colleges have impressive graduation rates, many do not.

參與了巴德所有三所公立高中的創(chuàng)辦的雷·彼得森(Ray Peterson)說(shuō)，鑒于紐瓦克學(xué)生所處的困境，對(duì)目前所取得的成績(jī)，他感到很欣慰。在現(xiàn)有的29名二年級(jí)學(xué)生中，有21位已經(jīng)被四年制大學(xué)接收。這個(gè)消息展現(xiàn)了美好前景，但并不是拿到學(xué)士學(xué)位的保證。雖然一些大學(xué)的畢業(yè)率非常高，但還有許多大學(xué)不樂(lè)觀。

Najee has been accepted to Bloomfield College and Felician College, both in New Jersey, and is awaiting word about scholarship money. His parents cannot afford to assist him financially, so he hopes to gain junior status. Marvin has been accepted by St. John’s University in Queens and, with a partial scholarship, D’Youville College in Buffalo.

納吉已經(jīng)被布盧姆菲爾德學(xué)院(Bloomfield College)和佛里森學(xué)院(Felician College)錄取，這兩所學(xué)校都在新澤西州，目前他正在等待關(guān)于獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金的消息。他父母在經(jīng)濟(jì)上負(fù)擔(dān)不起，所以他希望能獲得讀大三的資格。馬文已經(jīng)被皇后區(qū)的圣約翰大學(xué)(St. John’s University)和布法羅的德尤維爾大學(xué)(D’Youville College) (提供部分獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金)錄取。

The school’s star pupil, Katrina Anderson, who attended a well-regarded charter school before Bard, has been accepted on a four-year scholarship to Oberlin. But Billy has failed most of his college-level classes and is working toward a high school diploma.

在進(jìn)入巴德之前曾在一所備受重視的特許學(xué)校就讀的明星學(xué)生卡特里娜·安德森(Katrina Anderson)被奧伯林(Oberlin)錄取，并獲得了四年的獎(jiǎng)學(xué)金。但比利的大多數(shù)大學(xué)水平課程都沒(méi)有通過(guò)，他正在為高中文憑努力。

“My prediction after the first year was that a lot more kids would drop out and go somewhere where they had less stress,” Dr. Peterson said. “But most came back. They really appreciated the faculty holding onto its standards.”

“第一年后，我的預(yù)測(cè)是許多孩子將退出，轉(zhuǎn)到壓力更小的學(xué)校，”彼得森博士說(shuō)。“但很多人回來(lái)了。他們非常感激教師們能夠堅(jiān)持其標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。”

Leon Botstein says there has to be room for fits and starts. He is planning to take the model to Baltimore and Cleveland, two cities with ailing public schools, and to Harlem.

利昂·波特斯坦說(shuō)，必須有讓學(xué)生有忽斷忽續(xù)的余地。他計(jì)劃把這一模式推廣到巴爾的摩和克利夫蘭這兩所公立學(xué)校境況不佳的城市，以及非裔美國(guó)人聚居的哈萊姆。

“With idealism comes tolerance for failure,” said Dr. Botstein, chatting from behind his desk at his office at Bard’s campus upstate. “We need to think about these efforts the way we think about hospitals. Mortality rates can be zero if you don’t take any patients who are really sick.”

“要理想主義，就要有對(duì)失敗的寬容，”波特斯坦博士坐在州北的巴德校園辦公室桌子前說(shuō)。“我們應(yīng)該像看待醫(yī)院一樣看待這些努力。如果你不接收任何重病患者，死亡率可以是零。”

For Najee, failure would come at a disheartening price. The people he knows without a college degree have low-paying jobs or no jobs, or deal drugs.

對(duì)納吉而言，失敗的代價(jià)太令人痛心。他認(rèn)識(shí)的那些沒(méi)有大學(xué)學(xué)位的人們，有的拿著很低的薪水，有的沒(méi)有工作，還有的成了毒販。

So, when he is feeling overwhelmed or simply in need of a pep talk, he sometimes calls on Dr. Ween. One afternoon, they sat together in her office discussing strategies. Najee had a paper due and calculus to study for. Dr. Ween told him to plan out what he was going to do step by step. “Find a place where you are capable of doing work,” she said. “If it’s the library go to the library. If it’s my office, come here.”

因此，當(dāng)覺(jué)得不堪重負(fù)或需要有人打氣時(shí)，他偶爾會(huì)打電話給維恩博士。一天下午，他們?cè)谒霓k公室里坐下來(lái)，討論策略。納吉有一篇到期未交的論文，還要學(xué)微積分。維恩博士讓他一步一步計(jì)劃將要做的事。“找一個(gè)你能夠?qū)懽鳂I(yè)的地方，”她說(shuō)。“如果是圖書(shū)館，就去圖書(shū)館。如果是我的辦公室，就過(guò)來(lái)。”

And so he saddled up in a chair in the library recently. For an essay on postmodernism and music, he browsed the review of a book by a University of Louisiana jazz professor and an excerpt from a book by two music professors at Stony Brook University.

因此，最近他坐到了圖書(shū)館的椅子上。為了寫(xiě)一篇關(guān)于后現(xiàn)代主義和音樂(lè)的論文，他瀏覽了路易斯安那大學(xué)(University of Louisiana)一位爵士樂(lè)教授的一本書(shū)的書(shū)評(píng)，以及由石溪大學(xué)(Stony Brook University)兩名音樂(lè)教授所著書(shū)籍的摘錄。

“I realize that a lot of people really want me to succeed,” he said. Even the neighborhood drug dealers. “That,” he added, “is my motivation.”

“我意識(shí)到許多人真心希望我能成功，”他說(shuō)，甚至包括周?chē)亩矩湣?ldquo;那就是我的動(dòng)力，”他說(shuō)。