AS PUPILS file into their classroom at KippRenaissance, a high school in a battered corner of north-east New Orleans, each one stops toshake the hand of a history teacher. “Changes”, a rap song by Tupac about the struggles ofbeing poor and black in America, plays quietly in the background. Within a minute or two, thedozen teenagers—all black—are busily filling in test papers. Soon afterwards, Mr Kullman, theteacher, begins rapping himself—hopping around the room demanding quick-fire answers toquestions about the civil war. Pupils shout back answers in chorus.
知力復(fù)興(Kipp Renaissance)高中座落在新奧爾良東北角的一個(gè)破舊的角落里，那兒小學(xué)生們排隊(duì)進(jìn)入他們的教室，每個(gè)人還要停下來(lái)和歷史老師握手。“改變”，是一首來(lái)自Tupac的饒舌歌曲，悄然地播放在校園中，講述關(guān)于在美國(guó)窮困的黑人如何生存。幾分鐘內(nèi)，那群黑人青少年就忙于填寫(xiě)測(cè)試答卷。很快，考爾曼老師開(kāi)始開(kāi)始唱起Rap，在教室里小幅跳動(dòng)著，要求學(xué)生快速回答關(guān)于內(nèi)戰(zhàn)的問(wèn)題。學(xué)生們則不整齊地回答出來(lái)。
Kipp Renaissance is one of New Orleans's newer high schools. Since Hurricane Katrina hit in2005, only six traditional public schools, directly run by the city, remain. Instead 94% of pupilsnow attend charter schools, which are publicly funded but run by independent non-profitorganisations such as Kipp (in full, the “Knowledge is Power Programme”).
知力復(fù)興高中是新奧爾良市一所歷史較短的高中。自從2005年卡特里娜颶風(fēng)襲擊后，直屬市轄的高中僅剩下六所傳統(tǒng)的公立學(xué)校。取而代之的是94%的小學(xué)生現(xiàn)在都報(bào)名特許學(xué)校，這些學(xué)校是由公眾資助，但由獨(dú)立非盈利性組織例如知力經(jīng)營(yíng)(全稱(chēng)是，“知識(shí)就是力量項(xiàng)目”)。
Change began in 2003, when Louisiana created a Recovery School District (RSD) to take overand turn around failing schools across the state. Katrina dramatically accelerated the process:the RSD now controls most schools in New Orleans. Since 2008 alone, it has closed about 50and presided over the opening of an equal number of charters. The district organisesadmissions and expulsions, and helps allocate school buildings. But staffing, teacher training,transport, catering and much else are left in the hands of schools and the charter chainswhich run them.
改變從2003年開(kāi)始了，那時(shí)路易斯安那州創(chuàng)辦了一個(gè)叫復(fù)原學(xué)校街區(qū)(RSD)組織，目的是取代并扭轉(zhuǎn)整個(gè)州立失敗的教育�？ㄌ乩锬蕊Z風(fēng)戲劇性地加速了這一進(jìn)程：RSD現(xiàn)在經(jīng)營(yíng)新奧爾良市大部分學(xué)校。從2008年一年來(lái)說(shuō)，它關(guān)閉了將近50所學(xué)校并主持開(kāi)班了同樣數(shù)量的特許學(xué)校。街區(qū)制定了準(zhǔn)入令和驅(qū)逐令，幫助分配學(xué)校建筑。但是員工雇傭，教師培訓(xùn)，交通，飲食提供和很多其他的事情都被下放到學(xué)校掌管，連鎖的特許學(xué)校經(jīng)營(yíng)它們。
A decade ago, teachers in New Orleans were demoralised. The city's school district had eightdifferent superintendents in the decade to 2005, none of whom managed to curb corruptionor control waste. Affluent whites had fled the system: before Katrina New Orleans was roughly67% black and 28% white, yet only 6% of public-school pupils were not black.
十年前，新奧爾良市的老師士氣低沉。市里學(xué)校街區(qū)竟在2005年之前十年有八個(gè)主管，沒(méi)有人遏制腐敗或是控制浪費(fèi)。富裕的白人則逃離這一系統(tǒng)：在卡特里娜颶風(fēng)來(lái)臨之前新奧爾良市有大概67%的黑人和28%的白人，然而只有6%的公公學(xué)校的學(xué)生不是黑人。
Under the new regime, schools have sharply improved. In 2004 just 16.5% of pupils in NewOrleans's schools beat Louisiana's state performance score; by the end of the most recentschool year, 31.1% did, according to the Cowen Institute at Tulane University. High-schoolgraduation rates have risen from 55% before Katrina to 73% now; drop-out rates have fallenby half.
在新策略下，學(xué)校則大幅改觀。2004年，新奧爾良市只有16.5%的小學(xué)生達(dá)到了路易斯安那州成績(jī)考核;在最新的學(xué)年里，根據(jù)杜蘭大學(xué)科文中心數(shù)據(jù)，31.1%的學(xué)生做到了。高中畢業(yè)生比例從卡特里娜前的55%增至現(xiàn)在73%;輟學(xué)人數(shù)則下降了一半。
After Katrina, most of New Orleans's 7,500 unionised teachers were, in effect, fired. Charterschools have hired some back—but they have also hired plenty of new, young ambitiousteachers, often straight out of college, who work the long days and extra hours withoutcomplaint.
在卡特里娜之后，新奧爾良市7,500名教師中大部分實(shí)際上被解雇。特許學(xué)校返聘了一部分回來(lái)——但他們也雇傭了很多新的、年輕有志的老師們，通常是剛從大學(xué)畢業(yè)，可以工作很久、加班沒(méi)有怨言。
The ability to choose a school matters less than you might expect. Autonomy and centralscrutiny matter more. New Orleans's charter schools are probably more closely watched thanpublic schools ever were, and those that fail to meet targets do not get their charters renewed.With academic targets set centrally, schools tend to agree on what works best.
擇校能力僅僅和你可能預(yù)想中的部分相關(guān)。自治權(quán)和中央審核關(guān)聯(lián)更大。新奧爾良市的特許學(xué)�？赡軙�(huì)比以前的公公學(xué)校受更緊的監(jiān)察，那些無(wú)法達(dá)標(biāo)的學(xué)校無(wú)法更新特許證件。將完成學(xué)術(shù)目標(biāo)設(shè)立為中心，學(xué)校傾向于許可工作最好的部分。
The challenge now is whether improvement can be sustained. On national tests, Louisianastill comes last or nearly last on a range of measures. What the state deems “mastery” of asubject barely passes for acceptable in other states: by the standards of Massachusetts orMaine, schools in New Orleans remain terrible. Middle-class whites still mostly send their childrento private schools.
現(xiàn)在面臨的困難是進(jìn)步能否被保持住。在國(guó)家性考試中，路易斯安那州仍然墊底或是在一定范圍檢測(cè)里將近墊底。這個(gè)州里被認(rèn)為是高級(jí)學(xué)科的課程在其他州僅僅被認(rèn)為是可以接受的課程：通過(guò)對(duì)比馬薩諸塞州和緬因州，新奧爾良的學(xué)校仍然很渣。中產(chǎn)階級(jí)白人們?nèi)匀豢赡軐⑺麄兊暮⒆铀屯搅W(xué)校。
One worry is money. Before Katrina, spending per pupil in New Orleans was 7,900 per year,about the same as in Louisiana at large. Last year the figure was 12,797—much more than thestate average. Federal money, doled out to help rebuild after the hurricane, now pays forrepairing almost all the city's school buildings. But it will not last for ever.
另一擔(dān)心則是錢(qián)的問(wèn)題�？ㄌ乩锬戎�，每個(gè)小學(xué)生身上每年花銷(xiāo)7,900刀，路易斯安那州每個(gè)小學(xué)生基本相同。去年這個(gè)數(shù)字是12,797刀—遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超出其他州平均水準(zhǔn)。用于救助災(zāi)后重建的聯(lián)邦撥款現(xiàn)在正應(yīng)付著修建城里的學(xué)校建筑。但是這不會(huì)持續(xù)到永遠(yuǎn)。
At some point, the city's overworked teachers may begin to struggle. Some critics say reformhas been imposed paternalistically by white reformers on black communities, and so has onlylimited support. Yet in a vote on December 6th a new tax for school maintenance was easilyapproved by the city's voters. They, and their children, seem to like what they are getting.
某些觀點(diǎn)上，城里過(guò)度勞累的老師們可能開(kāi)始抗議。一些批評(píng)家認(rèn)為改革是白人改革者家長(zhǎng)式作風(fēng)，強(qiáng)加于黑人社區(qū)，而且支持效果有限。然而在11月6日的城市投票中，針對(duì)學(xué)校維修的新稅法投票中被輕易審核批準(zhǔn)。他們以及他們的子女看來(lái)是喜歡正享受的東西。