Race to the Top is the most meaningful reform of our public schools in a generation. For less than one percent of what we spend on education each year, it has led over 40 states to raise their standards for teaching and learning. These standards were developed, not by Washington, but by Republican and Democratic governors throughout the country. And Race to the Top should be the approach we follow this year as we replace No Child Left Behind with a law that is more flexible and focused on what’s best for our kids.
“沖頂賽跑”是我們公共學校在十年內所進行的最有意義的改革。它只使用了不到我們每年教育開支的1%的經費，但它已使40個州提高了教學和學習標準。這些標準不是由華盛頓所決定的，它是由美國各個州的共和黨和民主黨州長們所決定的。“沖頂賽跑”應當成為我們今年所采取的方法。我們今年將用一個更為靈活、專注于用給我們的孩子帶來最大益處的法律來取代《不讓一個兒童落后法》。

You see, we know what’s possible for our children when reform isn’t just a top-down mandate, but the work of local teachers and principals; school boards and communities.
你們應該知道，當改革不僅僅是從上到下的指示時，我們的孩子所能夠取得的成績有多大。改革措施將由當地的教師和校長、校董事會和社區來決定。

Take a school like Bruce Randolph in Denver. Three years ago, it was rated one of the worst schools in Colorado; located on turf between two rival gangs. But last May, 97% of the seniors received their diploma. Most will be the first in their family to go to college. And after the first year of the school’s transformation, the principal who made it possible wiped away tears when a student said “Thank you, Mrs. Waters, for showing… that we are smart and we can make it.”
以丹佛的布魯斯·蘭多夫學校為例，它在三年前被評為是科羅拉多州最差的學校之一，它位于兩個敵對黑幫爭奪的地盤內。但在去年五月，該校97%的高三學生獲得了畢業證，大多數人將是他們家庭中上大學的第一人。在學校實現轉變后的第一年，一位學生的話使這一切成為現實的校長流下了眼淚。這個學生說： “感謝你，威特斯女士，感謝你向我們表明，我們是聰明的，我們能夠成功。”

Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. And over the next ten years, with so many Baby Boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
讓我們也記住，除了父母之外，對一個孩子成功的最大影響來自于站在教室前的男女教師們。在韓國，教師們被稱作“國家建造者”。在美國，現是我們該以同樣程度的尊重對待那些教育我們孩子的人的時候了。我們應當獎勵好教師，停止為糟糕的教師找借口。在未來十年，由于非常多的嬰兒潮一代教師將退休，我們將需要準備10萬名科學、技術、工程和數學學科教師。

In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child – become a teacher. Your country needs you.
事實上，對于今晚收聽講演的、正在考慮職業選擇的年輕人，如果你想讓我們國家前途有所不同，如果你想讓一個孩子的生命有所不同，成為一位教師吧。你的國家需要你。

來源:可可英語 http://www.ccdyzl.cn/kouyi/124862.shtml