[ti:How Are the Children? Schooling During an Outbreak] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]The United Nations Children's Fund, UNICEF, [00:03.64]says school closings have affected the education of more than 80 percent of students worldwide. [00:12.48]Robert Jenkins is the organization's Global Chief of Education. [00:18.44]He said, "Based on lessons learned with the school closures in response to Ebola, [00:24.64]the longer children stay away from school, the less likely they are to ever return." [00:31.76]Ebola is a highly infectious virus that has affected areas in Africa periodically over more than 40 years. [00:42.24]The coronavirus crisis has spread to at least 175 countries affecting children around the world. [00:52.24]UNICEF says it is aiding 145 low- and middle-income countries [00:59.00]with tools and money to help children continue their learning. [01:05.12]In the United States, most of the schools that closed their doors [01:10.00]because of the COVID-19 outbreak said the closings would be temporary. [01:16.28]But health officials warned that Americans may need to keep schools closed for many months. [01:24.16]Jon Pederson is dean of the University of South Carolina College of Education. [01:30.88]He answered some questions about how this might affect [01:34.44]the education of millions of children on the website The Conversation. [01:41.00]Educators will have to find ways to help students want to learn. [01:46.72]If a lesson plan does not excite students at school, then the lesson plan really will not work at home. [01:55.64]Teachers will have to be more creative and resourceful while classes are suspended. [02:02.76]For example, in the U.S., they can take students on virtual classroom field trips [02:09.56]to places like the National Aquarium in Baltimore. [02:14.80]They can see everything from wild bears in Alaska [02:19.00]to classical music concerts through the Virtual School Activities website. [02:25.68]Students can learn how to carry out science experiments at Fun Learning for Kids. [02:32.88]In addition, the New York Public Library has more than 300,000 books that students can download for free. [02:43.16]Students with special needs can use Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. [02:50.60]We do not know how long this crisis will last. [02:54.84]The federal government has permitted states to cancel required standardized tests for the school year. [03:03.16]States and schools will have to decide if students should move on to the next grade or graduate. [03:11.28]Not sending students to the next grade or not graduating seniors [03:16.56]would affect all public schools, colleges and universities. [03:21.68]It would also affect families and the workforce. [03:27.48]There are measures that states and schools could take. [03:32.16]For example, some schools could move to year-round schooling, [03:37.20]extend their current or upcoming academic year, or lengthen school days and cancel some holidays. [03:46.40]In places like El Paso, Texas; Romeoville, Illinois; and Bardstown, Kentucky, [03:53.08]some schools already operate all year or had longer school years after hurricanes, floods or other disasters. [04:04.00]Whatever school leaders decide to do, it is going to cost more money. [04:10.24]And it is not clear how officials will be able to pay for the new measures. [04:17.00]Pederson believes that states, schools and teachers have to deal with problems quickly. [04:24.60]Their action has reduced the possibility that extreme measures will be needed [04:30.12]and that the education system will not fall behind. [04:34.80]He noted the example of one of the teachers he works with. [04:39.84]He said professor Gloria Boutte always starts meetings [04:44.24]with a traditional Masai greeting: "How are the children?" [04:49.60]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM