新視野大學英語讀寫教程第三冊unit3-a Where Principles Come First

Section (A)

Where Principles Come First

The Hyde School operates on the principle that if you teach students the merit of such values as truth, courage, integrity, leadership, curiosity and concern, then academic achievement naturally follows. Hyde School founder Joseph Gauld claims success with the program at the $18,000-a-year high school in Bath, Maine, which has received considerable publicity for its work with troubled youngsters. "We don't see ourselves as a school for a type of kid," says Malcolm Gauld, Joseph's son, who graduated from Hyde and is now headmaster. "We see ourselves as preparing kids for a way of life — by cultivating a comprehensive set of principles that can affect all kids."

Now, Joe Gauld is trying to spread his controversial Character First idea to public, inner-city schools willing to use the tax dollars spent on the traditional program for the new approach. The first Hyde public school program opened in September 1992. Within months the program was suspended. Teachers protested the program's demands and the strain associated with more intense work. This fall, the Hyde Foundation is scheduled to begin a preliminary public school program in Baltimore. Teachers will be trained to later work throughout the entire Baltimore system. Other US school managers are eyeing the program, too. Last fall, the Hyde Foundation opened a magnet program within a public high school in the suburbs of New Haven, Connecticut, over parents' protests. The community feared the school would attract inner-city minority and troubled students.

As in Maine the quest for truth is also widespread at the school in Connecticut. In one English class, the 11 students spend the last five minutes in an energetic exchange evaluating their class performance for the day on a 1-10 scale. "I get a 10." "I challenge that. You didn't do either your grammar or your spelling homework." "OK, a seven."
"You ought to get a six." "Wait, I put my best effort forth here." "Yeah, but you didn't ask questions today." Explaining his approach to education, Joe Gauld says the conventional education system cannot be reformed. He notes "no amount of change" with the horse and carriage "will produce an automobile".

The Hyde School assumes "every human being has a unique potential" that is based on character, not intelligence or wealth. Conscience and hard work are valued. Success is measured by growth, not academic achievement. Students are required to take responsibility for each other. To avoid the controversy of other character programs used in US schools, Gauld says the concept of doing your best has nothing to do with forcing the students to accept a particular set of morals or religious values. The Hyde curriculum is similar to conventional schools that provide preparation for college, complete with English, history, math and science. But all students are required to take performing arts and
sports, and provide a community service. For each course, students get a grade for academic achievement and for "best effort". At Bath, 97% of the graduates attend four-year colleges. Commitment among parents is a key ingredient in the Hyde mixture. For the student to gain admission, parents also must agree to accept and demonstrate the school's philosophies and outlook.

The parents agree in writing to meet monthly in one of 20 regional groups, go to a yearly three-day regional retreat, and spend at least three times a year in workshops, discussion groups and seminars at Bath. Parents of Maine students have an attendance rate of 95% in the many sessions. Joe and Malcolm Gauld both say children tend to do their utmost when they see their parents making similar efforts. The biggest obstacle for many parents, they say, is to realize their own weaknesses. The process for public school parents is still being worked out, with a lot more difficulty because it is difficult to convince parents that it is worthwhile for them to participate. Of the 100 students enrolled in New Haven, about 30% of the parents attend special meetings. The low attendance is in spite of commitments they made at the outset of the program when Hyde officials interviewed 300 families.

Once the problems are worked out, Hyde should work well in public schools, says a teacher at Bath who taught for 14 years in public schools. He is optimistic that once parents make a commitment to the program, they will be daily role models for their children, unlike parents whose children are in boarding schools. One former inner-city high school teacher who now works in the New Haven program, says teachers also benefit. "Here we really begin to focus on having a fruitful relationship with each student. Our focus is really about teacher to student and then we together deal with the…academics. In the traditional high school setting, it's teacher to the material and then to the student." The teacher-student relationship is taken even further at Hyde. Faculty evaluations are conducted by the students.

Jimmy DiBattista, 19, is amazed he will graduate this May from the Bath campus and plans to attend a university. Years ago, he had seen his future as "jail, not college".
DiBattista remembers his first days at Hyde. "When I came here, I insulted and cursed everybody. Every other school was, 'Get out, we don't want to deal with you. 'I came here and they said, 'We kind of like that spirit. We don't like it with the negative attitudes. We want to turn that spirit positive.'"
Words: 903

New Words
　publicity n. 1.公眾的注意；名聲 2.（商業(yè)）廣告，宣傳，宣揚
　cultivate vt. 1.培養(yǎng)，陶冶，發(fā)展 2.耕種，耕作
　comprehensive a. 綜合的，全面的，廣泛的
　controversial a. 有爭議的，引起爭議的
　suspend vt. 1.暫停，中止 2.懸掛
　strain n. 1.（對精力、體力、能力的）苛求，壓力 2.拉緊，繃緊 vt. 1.扭傷，損傷 2.拉緊，繃緊 3.盡力使用，使緊張 vi. 竭力，盡全力
　preliminary a. 預備的，初步的 n. 初步做法，準備工作
　magnet n. 1.有強大吸引力的人或物 2.磁鐵，磁體
　minority n. 1.少數(shù)民族 2.少數(shù)，少數(shù)派
▲quest n. 探尋，尋求，研究
▲energetic a. 精力充沛的，充滿活力的
　grammar n. 語法，語法規(guī)則
　conventional a. 常規(guī)的，慣例的，傳統(tǒng)的
　reform v. 改革，改進，改良 n. 改革，改造
　controversy n. 爭議，爭論
　moral n. 1.行為標準，道德規(guī)范；品行 2.寓意 a. 道德的
▲curriculum n. 課程
　preparation n. 1.準備，預備 2.準備工作，準備措施
　mixture n. 1.混合物 2.混合
　admission n. 1.允許進入，準許加入 2.承認，供認
　outlook n. 1.觀點，看法 2.前景
　monthly ad. 每月地；每月一次地 a. 每月的；每月一次的 n. 月刊
　workshop n. 1.研討會，講習班 2.車間，工場，作坊
▲seminar n. 研討會
▲attendance n. 1.出席人數(shù) 2.到場，出席，參加 3.護理，照料
　session n. 1.(從事某項活動的) 一段時間 2.學年；學期；上課時間
　utmost n. 極限，最大限度 a. 最大的，極度的
　worthwhile a. 值得（做）的
　outset n. 開端，開始
　optimistic a. 樂觀的，有信心的
　fruitful n. 有成果的，成功的
　faculty n. 1.全體教員 2.能力，才能，資質(zhì)
　campus n. 校區(qū)，校園
　jail n. 監(jiān)獄；監(jiān)禁 vt. 監(jiān)禁，拘留
　insult vt. 侮辱，辱罵 n. 侮辱，辱罵
　curse v. 詛咒，咒罵 n. 詛咒，咒罵

Phrases and Expressions

　see sb./sth. as 認為某人或某物是……
　prepare sb. for sth. 使做好準備
　spread (sth.) to （使）傳播
　be willing to do 愿意做某事，不反對做某事
　spend sth. on sth. / (in) doing sth. 在……上花費時間或金錢
　be scheduled to do 被安排，定于
　over protest 在有異議的情況下
　take responsibility for 對... ...負責任
　complete with 包括，備有
　do one's utmost 竭盡全力
　work out 計劃，設(shè)計，想出 解決難題，找到... ...的方法
　focus (sth.) on （使）集中于
　kind of 有點，有幾分

Proper Names

　Hyde School 海德中學
　Joseph Gauld 約瑟夫·高爾德
　Bath, Maine 緬因州巴思市
　Malcolm Gauld 馬爾科姆·高爾德
　Joe 喬 (Joseph的昵稱)
　Hyde Foundation 海德基金會
　Baltimore 巴爾的摩（美國馬里蘭州中北部港市）
　New Haven,Connecticut 康涅狄格州紐黑文市
　Jimmy DiBattista 吉米·迪巴蒂斯塔