特别广播英语第 214 课：Changes to Come in U. S. Education 美国教育将要发生的变化-1

The biggest "infrastructure" challenge for the United States in the next decade is not the billions needed for railroads, highways and energy. 下一个十年美国所面临的最大的"基础设施"的挑战并不是铁路、公路和能源所需的几十亿美元，

It is the American school system, from kindergarten through the Ph.D. program and the postgraduate education of adults. And it requires something far scarcer than money - thinking and risk-taking. 而是美国的教育体制，从幼儿园到哲学博士的培养项目，到成人的研究教育。而且它需要的是比金钱更难得的东西--思考和冒险。

The challenge is not one of expansion. On the contrary, the rapid growth in enrollment over the last 40 years has come to an end. 这种挑战并不在于推广。相反，近40年来，招生人数的迅速增长已经结束。

By 1978, more than 93 percent of young people entering the labor force had at least an eighth-grade education. 到1978年，加入劳动大军的93%以上的年轻人至少受过8年教育。

So even if the birthrate should rise somewhat, little expansion is possible for elementary and secondary school enrollments. 因此，即使出生率有所上升，中小学入学人数不可能有大的增长。

The last 30 years social upheaval are also over. Busing will continue to be highly emotional issue in a good many large cities. 过去30年的社会动荡也要结束了。在许多大城市校车接送学生仍将是个极富感情色彩的问题。

And there will still be efforts to use schools to bring women into fields such as engineering that have traditionally been considered "male." 还需要继续作努力，利用学校让妇女们进入一些传统上被认为是"男性"的领域，诸如工程之类。

But this shift has already been accomplished in many fields: half or more of the accounting students in graduate schools of business, for example, are now women. 但这种转换在许多领域已经完成了。例如，现在在商业研究生院半数或半数以上的会计专业的学生都是女性。

As for most other social issues, the country will no longer try to use schools to bring about social reform. 至于大多数其他的社会问题，国家将不同志利用学校引起社会变革。

It's becoming increasingly clear to policy makers that schools cannot solve all the problems of the larger community. 决策者们越来越清楚地认识到学校不可能解决较大社会范围内的全部问题。