雙語：實踐營里的新收獲
來源：
小編： 151TEACHERS LEARN NEW THINGS AT CAMP, TOO
The highlight of each school year for the fifth-graders I teach is a week-long science camp. They get to dissect squid, observe elephant seals, hike in the woods, learn about varied environments, and live in cabins.
It starts with a nearly 300-mile bus trip to the camp in San Luis Obispo, Calif., a verdant, hilly place that's a far cry from the violence and despair that are the norm in the small agricultural town my predominantly Latino kids grow up in.
Most kids go. I have to convince a few parents their kiddos will be safe. Then there are the one or two that I'd like to stay home, like Rufus.
Kids that I don't want to go are usually the ones who need to come the most. Over the years they've tended to be the most desperate, the neediest, the ones who, sorry to say, are statistically most inclined to end up where their parents are ? behind bars. Fifty percent of my kids visit family members in prison or jail. That is a staggering number.
Rufus missed an unbelievable 40 days of school this year and was tardy another 18. His dad is incarcerated and his mom, who sometimes seems barely functional, drives Rufus and his older brother to school when she can or feels like it.
In class, Rufus is inattentive, angry, and unresponsive. He lies, steals, and talks back.
He's not the only one. But he easily stands head and shoulders above the other challenged kids.
I didn't want him to come because over the years I've seen it all at camp. Kids have dialed 911, stolen food, smashed lights, and worse. And the perpetrators are always the troubled boys, like Rufus.
But ... camp is also a chance to see another side of the kids. And it's an opportunity for them to see nature and get a glimpse of how it works. It's a time when there will be no homework. And a time for a child to be successful in many nonacademic ways.
It's also a nonschool environment in which a kid like Rufus can maybe have a positive interaction with his teacher.
So Rufus was allowed to go, on the condition that he stay in my cabin, where I could
watch him like a hawk. Sometimes he annoyed me. And he messed up now and then. But mostly we laughed and we played.
At meals, he sat on my left. And then we'd talk. "Rufus." I asked, "what's the best thing about camp?"
When I asked this question of other kids, they might mention a meal, an animal they'd seen, a nature hike, or a mistake a teacher had made.
Not Rufus. "The shower," he said.
"Shower?" I asked.
"Yup." He beamed, "All the hot water you want, as long as you want."
I shook my head in wonderment. I've been teaching for more than 20 years, and there are still times I don't understand these kids, I thought.
Soon after that, all the kids except José left the table.
"José," I said, "I can't believe Rufus likes showers better than all the things we're doing in camp."
Big, wide eyes looked up at me. "He don't have no shower in his mom's car," José informed me. "They live in the car."
So 2 and 2 added up to 4 in the end. It finally all made sense: Rufus's absences, the tardies, and now his love for hot showers. I wish I could say Rufus and I got along a lot better after that or that his grades improved or that he came to school more often.
Although I tried, none of it would be true.
But one thing was reconfirmed: There is a lot to be learned at science camp every year ? and not just by the kids.
科學營里的新收獲
我們學校五年級學生長達一周的科學實踐營活動是每個學年的最重要的一項課外活動。在此期間，學生們將會解剖魷魚，觀察大象的形跡，在林間遠足，學習各種環境生態并在木屋中居住。
全體營員首先要經過將近300英里的車程最終到達位于加利福尼亞州圣路易奧比斯波的實踐營地。那是一個林木茂密的山區遠離我們學校大部分拉美裔學生生活的那個充滿著暴力與絕望的農業小鎮。
絕大多數學生樂于前往。不過我還得盡力說服極少數家長讓他們放心，他們的孩子會很安全的。但有
一兩名學生我卻寧愿他們呆在家里，其中包括魯弗斯。
而事實上我不想年經驗，他們大多出身貧寒，整日游手好閑，胡作非為，令人失望，最終往往會像他們的父母一樣走上犯罪道路。在我們班就有約一半的學生有去監獄探望親屬的經歷。這是多么令人吃驚的數字啊。
魯弗斯在這一學年竟令人不可思議地曠課40多天，遲到也有18次之多。魯弗斯的爸爸正在獄中服刑，而他的媽媽也很不稱職。只有在她閑暇或高興的時候才會開車送魯弗斯和他的哥哥上學。
在班里，魯弗斯總是漫不經心，暴躁易怒，或是反應遲鈍。他有時還頂嘴、撒謊甚至小偷小摸。
像這樣的學生，魯弗斯并非惟一。但他很容易便能戰勝其它那些向他挑釁的“問題”學生。
從心里說我不希望魯弗斯前往實踐營。因為根據我多年來的帶隊經驗，活動期間，有的學生惡意撥打911報警電話取樂，偷盜他人食品，砸碎電燈，以及做出其它更糟糕的事情。而這些肇事者往往就是那些像魯弗斯那樣的“問題”學生。
不過實踐營活動也提供了一個能發現學生另一面的好時機。與此同時，也給學生們提供了一個沒有課業負擔，親近自然，了解自然以及展示學生學業之外的各種才能的機會。
這同時也為像魯弗斯這樣的“問題”學生創造了一個與老師良性互動的校外環境。
因此，經過慎重考慮，魯弗斯最終被批準隨同前往。但條件是他必須與我同住一個木屋，以便我隨時監督。活動期間，他有時令我很討厭。因為他小麻煩不斷。但是多數時候，我們一起做游戲，一起開懷大笑。
一次就餐時，魯弗斯坐在我的左邊，我問他：“實踐營里你覺得最棒的事是什么？”
如果我問其它學生同樣問題，他們可能會提及吃過的一頓美餐，見過的某種動物，一次盡享自然的遠足甚至是老師所犯的一個錯誤。
但魯弗斯的回答卻與眾不同。“淋浴。”他說。
“淋浴？”我不解地問。
“對呀。”他笑著答道，“只要有需要，隨時都有熱水。”
我驚訝地搖了搖頭。我已經從教20多年了，但想來有時我還是不太了解這些學生。
很快，除了喬賽，其他學生都吃完飯，離開了餐桌。
“喬賽。”我說，“我真的不敢相信，和實踐營里這么多有趣的活動比起來，魯弗斯竟然更喜歡淋浴。”
喬賽睜大眼睛抬頭看了看我說：“他媽媽的車里沒有淋浴。他家住在車里。”原來如此。就像2加2等于4一樣，一切疑團都迎刃而解。包括魯弗斯的曠課、遲到以及眼下他對洗熱水澡的熱愛。我多么希望從此以后，我能與魯弗斯更融洽地相處，而且他能更少曠課，成績有所提高。雖然我努力嘗試，終未奏效。
但有一點卻可以得到再次證實：我們在每年的實踐營活動中可以學到很多東西――不僅是學生，也包括我。
