【雅思课外精读】英国公学的真相：改革正在进行，新规正在制定

　　【雅思课外精读】英国公学的真相：改革正在进行，新规正在制定原文译文

　　*注：本文选自12月12日《经济学人》

　　New school rules

　　学校新规

　　Black Lives Matter in Britain’s top public schools

　　在英国的顶级公立学校，BLM运动正在进行

　　Pupils and teachers drive changes, though some parents need convincing

　　学生和老师推动变革，但有的家长并不支持

图片来源网络

　　1. JOSEPH SPENCE is everything one might expect from the master of Dulwich College. His doctoral thesis delved into 19th-century Irish Toryism, and his CV is a tour of Britain’s most illustrious schools. But he is no traditionalist. Under his leadership, Dulwich offers pupils unconscious bias training and a history curriculum which aims “to amplify the voices of the colonised as much as the coloniser”. The hope, says Dr Spence, is to look beyond the conventional canon, although that “doesn’t mean it has to disappear”, he reassures.

　　约瑟夫·斯宾塞是德威士学院院长的最佳人选。他的博士论文深入研究了19世纪的爱尔兰保守主义，他自己也曾在英国最著名的学校求学。但他不是传统主义者。在他的领导下，德威士学院为学生开设了无意识偏见培训和旨在“强化殖民者和被殖民者声音”的历史课程。斯宾塞博士说，此举意在超越传统，但他也再三申明，这不是要“消灭传统。”

　　2. Britain’s public schools were once proud bastions of tradition—now they are trying to move with the times. Marlborough focuses on black history, filling its curriculum with “as many diverse texts, guests and experiences as possible”. Harrow’s summer reading list includes voguish titles like “White Fragility” by Robin DiAngelo. Eton faces criticism for sacking a teacher who made a video arguing against “radical feminism” (the school insists the problem was the refusal to take it off YouTube).

　　英国公学曾一度是英国的骄傲，是英国传统的活化石，如今，这些学校也在与时俱进。马尔伯勒学校开始关注黑人历史，在课程中加入了“尽可能多的文本，人物和历史。”哈罗公学的暑期阅读书目中加入了如罗宾·迪安吉洛的《脆弱的白人》等一些时下正火的书。伊顿公学因解雇了一名拍摄反对“激进女性主义”视频的教师而备受批判（学校坚称，解雇主要是因为该教师拒绝在YouTube上删除视频）。

　　3. Some of this reflects the schools’ intakes. More than a third of pupils at independent schools now come from ethnic minorities, up from a quarter a decade ago. Many are aware that they could be more welcoming. A survey by the African Caribbean Education Network, a group of black parents whose children attend private and grammar schools, found that 76% of their children have experienced racial bias.

　　这在一定程度上反映了学校的招生情况。现在私立学校超过三分之一的学生是少数族裔，而十年前少数族裔仅占四分之一。许多人意识到他们应该被接受。非洲加勒比教育网络组织的一项调查发现，76%的孩子遭遇过种族歧视。非洲加勒比教育网络组织由一群孩子就读私立学校和文法学校的黑人家长组成。

　　4. Change is pushed by pupils. Following George Floyd’s death in May, many petitioned for diverse curriculums. At Charterhouse, pupils formed the Unity Society, a safe space where they could discuss current affairs. Most teachers are happy to support these efforts, says Will Orr-Ewing of Keystone Tutors: “These schools are run by liberals, for liberals.”

　　改革主要是由学生推动的。今年5月，乔治·弗洛伊德之死事件之后，很多人要求开设多样化课程。在切特豪斯公学，学生们组成联合社团，讨论时事。私教机构私教机构Keystone Tutors的威尔·尤因说，很多老师都乐意支持学生们的这些活动：“这些学校是由自由主义者管理的，就该宣扬自由主义。”

　　5. Opponents think schools are frightened of censure. A recently departed Eton teacher says the Charities Commission, which requires schools to prove they provide a public good to enjoy tax advantages, has had a significant impact on their behaviour, as has growing political opposition to their charitable status. According to the teacher: “Suddenly every leading private school had an outreach officer whose jobit was to say, ‘Look how much we care, look how liberal and inclusive we are! Please like us! Please don’t beat us up!’”

　　反对者认为学校害怕谴责。一位最近离职的伊顿公学教师称，英国慈善委员要求学校证明自己提供公共服务以享受税收优惠，这对学校的行为产生了重大影响，而政治方面针对学校的慈善地位的反对声音也越来越多。这位老师说：“突然之间，每一所私立学校都有了一个外联工作人员，他的工作就是告诉人们：‘看！我们多么在乎公共事业，我们多么自由，多么包容！请不要责怪我们！’”

　　6. Parents are not entirely on board. When pupils at Benenden complained in October that their headmistress used a racial slur in a speech about diversity, parents backed the head. Yet even some sceptics may recognise the appeal. Top public schools offer good grades, and the opportunity to pick up knowledge that helps you get ahead in the world. Is knowing the lingo of much of society’s elite part of that nowadays? “You bet,” affirms one head teacher.

　　家长们并不完全支持改革。去年10月，博耐顿女校的学生抨击校长在一次有关种族多元化的演讲中使用了种族歧视的字眼，家长们对校长表示支持。然而，就连一些持怀疑态度的人可能也意识到了改革的吸引力。这些顶级公学会帮助人们取得好成绩，还提供了获取世界顶级资源的机会。了解当今世界精英的文化是这其中的一部分吗？一位校长肯定地答道“当然。”