美国总统奥巴马在全美年度教师颁奖典礼上的讲话 718

美国总统奥巴马在全美年度教师颁奖典礼上的讲话

2009年4月30日，新上任的美国总统奥巴马在白宫的玫瑰园举行了全美年度教师颁奖典礼，在这个典礼上，新任总统与新任年度教师的两段致词感动了许多人。

总统先生说：“我和米歇尔都没有令人羡慕的家庭背景，我们能够来到这里的唯一原因，就是在人生的关键时刻，有像托尼，马伦这样的老师将我们引入了正确的方向”。而托尼老师说在得知自己获奖的消息之后，很多记者都问他一个问题，那就是他心目中的好教师究竟是什么样的？

托尼想了三个词汇，激情，专业和毅力。激情是夺目的光芒，无法让人视而不见，专业是技术保障，毅力是个性品质。但除了这些，托尼认为一定还有一些更重要的东西，所以才有了那段著名的颁奖感言：“真正优秀的教师具有一个重要的品质，那就是能够读懂故事，他知道每一个来到自己跟前的孩子，都有一个独一无二的故事。好老师不仅能够读懂故事，还能够把信心和成功写入孩子的故事，他帮助孩子编辑错误，和孩子一起创作更美的故事”。

以下是原文:

奥巴马总统在文中提到：

You know, we've got a lot of teachers here today and I'm a big fan of teachers because every single day in classrooms all across America, you are making a difference. You don't always get the recognition that you deserve. We don't always value the teaching profession like we should.

But every once in a while, I think people start to understand not just in their own lives but in the lives of the nation how important the teaching profession is and how we've got to do a better job of lifting it up. In a global economy where the greatest job qualification isn't what you can do but what you know, our teachers are the key to our nation's success; to whether America will lead the world in the discoveries and the innovations and economic prosperity of this new century.

And that's why as President I'm committed to doing everything I can to support the work of teachers. That's why we're working to create better standards and assessments that teachers can use in their classroom. That's why we're promoting innovation in teaching and learning, making critical investments in early childhood education, and helping more Americans walk through the door of higher education.

And it's why we're taking ground-breaking steps to recruit, prepare, support and reward outstanding teachers -- to encourage our best and brightest young people to follow in the footsteps of folks just like you. This is especially critical right now, as so many teachers from the baby boom generation are preparing to retire -- although they all look pretty young back here -- (laughter) -- we're not worried about that. And recent evaluations of student performance show that while we're making progress, we still have a long way to go.

I know personally, Michelle knows that what teachers do is not easy. My sister, Maya, is a

teacher; Jill Biden, a teacher. We know how hard teachers work. And I know what all of you do by staying past that last bell; staying up late grading those papers; putting together lesson plans; spending your own money on books and supplies; and going beyond the call of duty. You do it because you know that's what will make a difference, because you believe that there's no such thing as a child that can't learn; that every child has their own gifts, and it's up to us to discover them -- and it's up to us to see in our children what they can't yet see in themselves.（看来总统还是清楚教师这一职业并给与认可和高度评价的！）

And for you, those teachers who are in attendance today and for so many of your colleagues across this country, teaching is not just about a paycheck -- it's a passion and it's a calling.

下面是托尼老师的部分获奖感言：

When I was named Connecticut State Teacher of the Year, a local reporter approached me and asked me what makes a good teacher. I told him that passion, professionalism, and perseverance are three main traits a good teacher must display in the classroom -- and they are. But as I drove home that day, the reporter's question began to nag at me because I knew good teachers possess some other special quality that make them able to connect to students, to make students feel important and wanted.

I pondered the question because, although he may not have realized at the time -- the reporter got a 10-second sound bite and I was handed a Rubik's Cube -- the question did not seem to have an easy answer, because good teachers use a variety of teaching techniques to help children learn well. But the investigator in me was looking for a common thread that linked all good teachers. And I finally came to realize that the very best teachers have one common quality: They know how to read a story. They know that each and every child arrives at their classroom door with a unique and intriguing, yet incomplete story.

The really good teachers are able to read a child's story, and recognize the remarkable opportunity to help author that story. The really good teachers know how to script confidence and success onto the blank pages. They know how to edit the mistakes. And they want to help write a happy ending. Really good teachers know they have the ability to make a child happy or sad, to make a child feel confident or unsure, to make a child feel wanted or discarded. And students know when we care, when we care enough to read their stories.（此话很有道理，为人师者应从之！）