数说评论 | 在线学习让少数族裔学生遭遇教育不公

On November 19, all students in New York City bid farewell to schools as the second wave of COVID-19 cases approached. No more yellow school buses running on the street, no more face-to-face interactions with teachers and people around, the city with the largest number of students in the country seems to be missing its vibrant energy of youth.

11月19日，因为新冠肺炎疫情再度袭来，纽约市的学生们只得暂别学校。不再有黄色校园巴士在街道上穿梭，也不再能与老师或者身边人面对面交流。这个有着全美最多学生的城市仿佛少了一些年轻人的朝气。

NYC is not alone. In past months, most schools across the U.S. have replaced in-person teaching with online learning. While many students have adapted, there are a large number from minority families in the U.S. who are unable to access the internet or digital devices and are therefore being left behind.

不过纽约市也并非特例。在过去的几个月中，美国大多数学校都已用网课代替了线下授课。虽然很多学生已然适应，但美国仍有大量的少数族裔学生因为缺乏网络和电子设备而掉队。

The Pulse Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that only 60.9 percent of Black families and 63.6 percent of Hispanic families have internet available at all times for educational purposes, whereas 78.9 percent of white households have constant access.

美国人口统计局的调查数据显示，仅有60.9%的黑人家庭和63.6%的拉丁裔家庭有供孩子学习的稳定且不间断的网络，然而78.9%的白人家庭具备这样的条件。

The underlying reason is the financial strain on minority families, who often have lower earnings. In 2019, Hispanic and Black homes comprised 49.2 percent of total low-income households, making them the least advantaged racial groups in terms of socioeconomic status.

其根本原因是，收入较少的少数族裔家庭往往面临着经济压力。2019年，美国拉丁裔和黑人家庭在低收入家庭中占比49.2%，这使得他们成为社会经济地位最低的族裔。

The COVID-19 pandemic has made that situation even worse. It has contributed to job losses among 57.3 percent of Black families and 56.8 percent of Hispanic families. Another wave of layoffs could follow as a surge in cases may lead to more business closures, and 38.4 percent of Hispanic households have foreseen at least one family member being unemployed, almost two times the rate of white homes.

新冠肺炎疫情加剧了这一境况。疫情中，有57.3%的黑人和56.8%的拉丁裔家庭中有成员失业。由于病例飙升造成更多企业倒闭，第二波裁员潮可能随之而来。有38.4%的拉丁裔家庭预测家中至少将有一人失业 ，这一比例也几近白人家庭的两倍。

Besides digital access, low-income Hispanic and Black students may also have poorer learning outcomes due to factors that downgrade the education quality, including unstable internet connections, lack of study spaces and insufficient quiet time.

除了缺乏电子设备和网络，低收入的拉丁裔和黑人学生学习成绩可能也会更差。因为一些会导致教育质量下降的因素，包括网络不稳定、缺乏适合学习的空间、环境嘈杂等。

Lower-quality education translates to greater learning loss. McKinsey reports that only 14 percent of low-income Black students received average and above-average online education, the lowest of all races, and 40 percent had none, the highest among all.

教育质量的降低会影响学习成绩。麦肯锡报告称，仅有14%的低收入黑人家庭学生接受了不低于平均水平的网课教育，在所有族裔中占比最小。而四成黑人学生没有接受任何网课教育，在所有族裔中比例最高。

When studying at home without a teacher’s supervision, students may need parents’ help. In a national educator’s survey conducted online in May, among instructors who teach classes with more than two-thirds of low-income students, 39 percent said that students’ class participation and engagement was worse in virtual classrooms than physical ones. Also, 30 percent noted that only a few of the students have guardians or family members to assist with learning as needed.

在没有老师监督的情况下在家自学的学生，可能会需要家长的帮助。美国五月进行了一项全国教育者网上调查，在对教授班级超过2/3学生来自低收入家庭的老师的调查中，有39%的老师称学生在网上的课堂参与活跃度比线下差。同时，还有30%的老师强调仅有一小部分学生在需要帮助时能获得来自监护人或家庭成员的协助。

Potential solutions, such as hiring a tutor, are out of reach for most families. And for low-income parents, finding time to teach their children by themselves may be too difficult a task.

请家教这类的解决方案是大多数家庭负担不起的。并且对于低收入父母来说，腾出时间辅导孩子学习是一项难度极大的工作。

No one can guarantee when it will be the time to transition back to normal school settings. But as underprivileged students continue to struggle with the online education system, it is predictable that once they return safely to schools, the starting line will be repainted, and some students of color will have to wait at the end of the queue again.

没有人能确定何时可以返校读书。但随着贫困学生继续受挫于网课教育体系，可以预料到的是，一旦学生安全返校，他们可能已不处于同一起跑线，一些少数族裔学生可能将不得不再次排在队末。

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