英语听力原文(8到14)

8

Renovator of Lives

Sitting at her desk, Betty Hines ripped open a letter marked "personal" and started to read. "You may not remember me. I graduated in 1985," it began. Hines glanced at the signature, and her mind filled with memories of Mendez and her first days at a Detroit high school. She had battled with Mendez almost from the beginning, dogging the truant junior to shape up. It was the same challenge she had faced with so many students.

In 1984 Hines came to Southwestern High School as the new principal. The windows rattled in the wind. The roofs leaked. Every room seemed to need repair.

Worse, students roamed the halls, some wearing gang colors. Classrooms were often empty due to truancy and a 38-percent dropout rate. After first surveying the school, Hines returned to her office, pulled out a writing pad and began writing. "We can't teach them if they're not here. We can't get them here if we don't offer training they can use. Once here, we must provide a safe, clean, caring environment." Hines didn't just want to redecorate a school. She wanted to renovate the lives of her students. Hines first organized parent, student and teacher groups to improve the site. It took four years, but every window was eventually replaced, and repairs were made to the damaged areas.

She also tackled the attendance problem, marked by the regular absence of nearly 30 percent of the students. She initiated incentive programs, including internships with local businesses, and she guaranteed to teach useful skills to all those who maintained a certain grade level. Today, attendance is at 90 percent.

When Hines realized that the majority of students getting scholarship assistance were athletes, she started banging on corporate doors and applying for grants. Since 1988, scholarship awards totaling nearly $9 million have gone to her students for academic achievements.

In the earliest days, however, there were few incentives for kids to stick with school. To get them back, she sometimes drove through the community to find them.

She hounded a gang member in just this way. One afternoon she went to the boy's home to see if he was doing his schoolwork, only to find he wasn't there. Without a second thought, she drove through every street. When she spotted him "hanging" with his buddies, she pulled up. "Get in the car," she said calmly.

"No way," he said.

"Get in, or I'll drag you in," insisted Hines. Unwillingly, the boy complied, and Hines took him home to his mother where the three talked for more than an hour. Afterward, the boy slowly began to improve. He still needed constant supervision, but the principal never flinched.

The night he graduated, he caught Hines completely off guard. He took his diploma, then embraced her. He buried his head on her shoulder, sobbing without shame as his classmates erupted in cheers.

Now, Betty Hines has built a teaching staff that mirrors her beliefs about renovating the lives of students who have been worn down or broken. Hines explains, "There's