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Early education expert Dan Gartrell says the most important civics lesson that preschools can teach is “social democracy.”
早期教育专家丹·加特雷尔表示，幼儿园可以教授的最重要的公民课程是“社会民主”。
Gartrell wrote a book about teaching democracy to preschoolers. It is called Education for a Civil Society.
加特雷尔写了一本关于向学龄前儿童教授民主的书。书名是《公民社会教育》。
The book is used by the ACCA Child Development Center near Washington, D.C. in Northern Virginia.
位于华盛顿特区附近北弗吉尼亚州的ACCA儿童发展中心使用了这本书。
Gartrell said this teaching “starts with appreciating each member of the group as a worthy member and worthy of expressing thoughts and ideas.”
加特雷尔说，这种教学“一开始要欣赏团队中的每一位成员，认可他们的价值，他们值得去表达自己的想法和观点。”
He said after that, children can learn to treat others with kindness to solve conflicts and negotiate difficult situations by using words that do not hurt other people’s feelings.
之后，他说孩子们可以学会善待他人，在解决冲突和协商困境的时候，也能使用不伤害他人感情的语言。
Rachel Robertson is chief academic officer for Bright Horizons.
瑞秋·罗伯逊是“光明地平线”的首席学术官。
The company operates preschool centers around the world. It uses democratic ideas in its education.
该公司在世界各地经营学前教育中心。它把民主思想用到了教育中。
Robertson said that a child starts to be a “real community member” at around age three or four.
罗伯逊说，孩子在大约三四岁时开始成为“真正的社区成员”。
She said the child starts “contributing to the classroom community and thinking a little bit broader about the world.”
她说，孩子开始“为课堂做出贡献，并对世界有了更广泛的思考”。
At ACCA in Virginia, children are given a lot of autonomy.
在弗吉尼亚州的ACCA，孩子们被给予了很大的自主权。
There are hours spent doing free play. Children vote on what they study and eat.
他们可以自由玩耍。可以投票决定他们的学习内容以及吃什么。
On a recent day, one classroom had just finished studying sand because the children wanted to know about it after they visited beaches over the summer.
近来，一个班刚结束了对沙子的学习，因为孩子们夏天去过海滩后，就想了解一下沙子。
The children also tried different apples and voted on which apples the school should order.
孩子们还品尝了不同的苹果，并投票决定学校应该订购哪些苹果。
The ACCA said the decision-making process is meant to affirm to children that their thoughts and the thoughts of their classmates are valuable.
ACCA表示，决策过程是为了让孩子们知道，他们的想法和同学的想法都是有价值的。
Reporters with the Associated Press recently visited an ACCA classroom.
记者们与美联社最近参观了一个ACCA教室。
The reporters found the children taking a vote on who the best character was on Paw Patrol, an animated TV series.
记者们发现孩子们正在投票选出《汪汪队立大功》这部动画电视剧中最好的角色。
The three- and four-year-old children were choosing between two finalists: a German shepherd named Chase who wears a police uniform, and Skye, who wears a pink “pup pack.”
三岁和四岁的孩子们要在两位决赛选手中做出选择：一位是穿着警服的德国牧羊犬阿奇，另一位是背着粉色“小狗背包”的天天。
Educators at ACCA say they are teaching ideas of civics to students early.
ACCA的教育工作者表示，他们正在尽早向学生传达公民意识的理念。
Their goal, they say, is to raise good citizens and strengthen democracy.
他们说，他们的目标是培养优秀的公民，加强民主。
The students are not learning about the structure and rules of government.
学生们并没有学习政府的结构和规则。
But teachers say they are working with students on how to solve problems with classmates, how to deal with anger or disappointment and how to think of the needs of others.
但老师们表示，他们正在与学生们合作，解决如何与同学相处、如何处理愤怒或失望情绪，以及如何考虑他人需求等问题。
Mary Folks is a teacher at ACCA.
玛丽·福克斯是ACCA的一名教师。
She said, “We’re all here to help develop these children to become better citizens…to be better problem-solvers and to be better equipped socially, emotionally…”
她说：“我们是为了帮助这些孩子成长为更好的公民……成为更好的问题解决者，并且在社交和情感方面做好准备……”
María-Isabel Ballivian is the preschool’s executive director. She said she looks for ways to remind students that they are American.
玛丽亚-伊莎贝尔·巴利维安是这所幼儿园的执行主任。她说她会想办法提醒学生他们是美国人。
For example, she holds a large Fourth of July gathering.
例如，她举办了一场盛大的七月四日聚会。
Ballivian said, “If we give them now a sense of belonging, that’s going to be a tool that they will have to become resilient once they face discrimination.”
巴利维安说：“如果现在让他们产生归属感，那他们在面临歧视时，就会更有韧性。”
Ballivian added, “I don’t see how we can change the adults…But I do know, if we work hard, we can prepare our children for a better future.”
巴利维安补充说：“我不知道该如何改变成年人……但我知道，如果我们努力工作，就可以为孩子们创造一个更美好的未来。”
As for the class vote at ACCA, they narrowly supported Skye in their vote for best Paw Patrol character.
在ACCA的班级投票中，他们以微弱优势支持天天成为了汪汪队的最佳角色。
I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.
我是小马里奥·里特。
