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Lesson 3 Teachers My Teacher Graham Lawrence, 29, science author who gives presentations on TV, went to Overton School, 1981-1989. I haven't seen Mr Jenkins since I left school but I often think about him. I wasn't very good at most school subjects. I suppose I was a bit lazy and now I wish I'd done more work, especially in maths. The only thing I can remember from school maths is that the angles of a triangle add up to 180 degrees! But when I was 15 and went into Mr Jenkins' class, I really became interested in a subject for the first time. Before Mr Jenkins, science had simply been a subject full of strange words to me. I had no idea what an atom was and I didn't really want to know either! I found it all so boring and difficult. But Mr Jenkins made everything interesting. He used to explain things with lots of practical examples and simplified things that seemed difficult. One day, he took us outside and we built a rocket! I remember that he let me pour some powder into the rocket and then another student lit a flame to set it off. It was great fun. I know that I wasn't a willing student and I shouldn't have been so difficult at school, but it was probably because I lacked confidence in myself. Mr Jenkins made me feel that I could do things. I was interested in astronomy and he asked me to give a presentation to the class. That was really the first time I ever tried to explain science to an audience and now it's my job! Often when I'm preparing a programme, I think about how Mr Jenkins would have done it. Sometimes I wish I could phone him and ask for his opinion! My Student Brian Jenkins, science teacher at Overton School. Before Graham came into my class, he was very difficult. I had heard stories about his bad behaviour. Once I caught him and a friend seeing who could spit the furthest off the school stage! But when he got interested, he changed. The first day he walked into my class, he was dragging his school bag behind him and looking bored, but as soon as I set up an experiment to show how the human stomach works using acid and an onion, he gave me his full attention. He loved science! He was very bright and should have done much better in all his other subjects. I've read a couple of his books and seen him on TV. I always say to my wife, “Oh look, I used to teach him!” I wish I was as successful with all my students as I was with Graham. It's difficult teaching nowadays. There are lots of problems and not enough money. The government should have put more money towards science education. And I wish they would decrease the size of classes — it's not easy doing lessons in laboratories with big groups and it must be even worse in the poorer schools! At least with schools like ours, we have laboratories! My wife often wishes that I had chosen a job with less stress but I love what I do. The thing about being a teacher is that you have access to children's minds when they are open and eager to learn. And if what I do as a teacher can help turn a child like Graham into such a successful adult, then I know what I'm doing is worthwhile. 第三课 老师 我的老师 29岁的格雷厄姆o劳伦斯是一名科学作家和电视主持人，他于1981年到1989年在欧威顿学校上学。 自从我离开学校后我就没有见过詹金斯老师，但是我经常想起他。 我对学校里大多数的科目都不太擅长。 我想我当时有点懒，现在我真希望当时能多加努力，特别是在数学方面。 数学我唯一能记得的就是三角形的内角之和为180度。 但是当我15岁走进詹金斯老师的课堂时，我第一次着实对一门学科感兴趣了。 在詹金斯老师教我之前，科学课对我而言只是一门充满怪异词汇的科目。 我不知道原子是什么，而且我也确实不想知道！ 我觉得所有的科学都那么枯燥和困难。 但是詹金斯老师让一切都变得有趣。 他常常用很多实例来解释事件，把那些看起来很难的事情简单化。 有一天，他把我们带到户外，我们做了一个火箭！ 我记得他让我把一些粉末灌进火箭里，然后另一个学生点火将它发射。真的非常有趣。 我知道我不是一个听话的学生，我在学校也不应该这么难管教，但这可能是因为我缺乏自信。 詹金斯老师让我觉得我能做很多事情。 我对天文感兴趣，他让我给全班同学作一次讲述。 那真的是我第一次试着向一群听众解释科学，而现在它成了我的工作！ 当我在准备一个项目的时候，我经常会想詹金斯老师会怎么做。 有时候我真希望能打电话给他，请他给我意见。 我的学生 布赖恩o詹金斯，欧威顿学校的科学老师。 格雷厄姆来上我的课之前很难管教。我听过他的那些坏行为。 有一次我抓到他和一个朋友在学校的舞台上比谁的唾液吐得最远。 但是当他感兴趣之后，他就改变了。 他走进我课堂的第一天，书包拖在身后，看样子很无聊；但是当我用酸和一个洋葱做实验，演示人的胃是如何运作时，他马上就全神贯注了。 他喜欢科学！他非常聪明，而且本应该所有的科目都能学得比当时要好得多。 我读过他的几本书，在电视上看到过他。 我总是对我妻子说，“哦，看看，我以前教过他！” 我希望我教的所有学生都能像教格雷厄姆那样成功。 现在教书很难。问题有很多，资金也不够。政府应该在科学教育方面投入更多的资金。 我也希望他们能减少班级的规模，—在实验室里带着一大群学生上课不容易，要是在更穷的学校里情况一定会更糟糕。至少要有像我们这样的学校，我们有实验室。 我妻子常常希望我选一份压力小点的工作，但是我喜欢我现在做的工作。 作为一名老师，你能在孩子们敞开心扉渴望学习的时候走进他们的心里。 而且，如果我作为老师所作的事情能够帮助像格雷厄姆这样的孩子变成成功人士的话，那我知道我所做的事情是值得的。 |
