The Recess Revolt

The Recess Revolt. Written by Keith and Sarah Corte -Martin. Illustrated by Stephen P. Hughes. Focus Question. What effect does the lesson Elias and Ada learn in class have on the outcome of the

《课间大反抗》 基思·科特-马丁、萨拉·科特-马丁 著 斯蒂芬·P·休斯 绘 思考问题 伊莱亚斯与艾达在课上学到的知识，会给这件事的结果带来什么影响

Elias walked into social studies class, complaining to his friend Ada about the new school recess rules. It's so dumb, he said. Isn't recess supposed to be about free time and having fun? All right now, settle down, Mr. Sterling called from the front of the room. I know it's only the first day, but we already have a lot to do." Elias sank into his chair, still upset. He had spent the whole summer looking forward to playing chess again with Ada during recess. When they got to the playground, though, they'd found a new set of recess rules in place. Instead of playing on their own, students now had to do activities run by the teachers. Elias and Ada had been sent over to the soccer field right away, with no chance to argue.

伊莱亚斯走进社会课教室，一边走一边跟好友艾达吐槽学校新出的课间规则。 “这规则太蠢了，”他说。 “课间本来不就是用来自由活动、开心玩耍的吗？” “好了好了，大家安静，”斯特林老师在讲台前喊。 “我知道今天才第一天，可我们要做的事已经很多啦。” 伊莱亚斯瘫坐在椅子上，一肚子气还没消。 他整个夏天都盼着开学后，课间能跟艾达一起下国际象棋。 可等他们到了操场，才发现新的课间规则已经开始实施了。 现在学生不能自由玩耍了，必须参加老师安排的活动。 伊莱亚斯和艾达根本没机会争辩，就直接被安排去了足球场。

It's so unfair, Elias thought. All right, class, said Mr. Sterling. We're starting with the civil rights movement of the 1960s. What do you already know about it? Rosa Parks, someone said. Someone else called out peaceful protests. Right, said Mr. Sterling, the civil rights protesters resisted unfair laws, but they did it in peaceful ways. One way they did was called a sit -in. The class settled in to take notes. Sit -ins started in restaurants, which were often open only to white customers, Mr. Sterling went on. African Americans would go to a whites -only restaurant and order food. When they were refused, they'd simply sit and wait to be served. Sometimes, people would yell at them or throw food or threaten them, but they just sat quietly.

太不公平了，伊莱亚斯心想。 “好了，同学们，”斯特林老师说。 “我们今天先来学习20世纪60年代的民权运动。” “关于它，你们已经知道些什么呢？” “罗莎·帕克斯，”有同学说。 另一个同学大声喊出了“和平抗议”。 “没错，”斯特林老师说，“民权运动抗议者反对不公平的法律，但他们是用和平的方式抗争。” 其中一种抗争方式叫做“静坐抗议”。 全班坐好，准备开始记笔记。 斯特林老师继续讲：“静坐抗议最早起源于餐馆，那时候很多餐馆只对白人顾客开放。” 黑人会去只允许白人进入的餐馆点餐。 被拒绝服务后，他们就只是静静地坐着，等候上菜。 有时候，旁人会冲他们大喊、扔食物、威胁他们，但他们只是静静地坐着。

did it work? asked Elias. It worked very well, Mr. Sterling said. The restaurants couldn't make money with protesters sitting at their counters. Meanwhile, the whole country was watching the protesters' peaceful actions. Slowly, the whole system of separating races in public spaces began to fall apart. They talked about peaceful protests for the rest of the class. Elias followed everything carefully, and when class ended, he turned to Ada. I've got an idea about how we might get our free time back, he said. Meet me on the soccer field at recess tomorrow. The next day, Ada joined Elias on the soccer field, and he told her about his plan. We're going to sit down right in the middle of the field, he said. Ada looked at him as though she thought he was crazy. It's a sit -in, Elias explained, like we learned about in class yesterday. We're going to sit here quietly and refuse to play to protest the new recess rules.

“这办法管用吗？” 伊莱亚斯问道。 “非常管用，”斯特林老师说。 抗议者坐在柜台前，餐馆就没法赚钱。 与此同时，整个国家都在关注抗议者们的和平行动。 慢慢地，公共场所的整套种族隔离制度开始瓦解了。 整节课剩下的时间，他们都在讨论和平抗议。 伊莱亚斯听得非常认真，下课后，他转身对向艾达。 “我想到一个办法，能把我们的自由课间夺回来，”他说。 “明天课间，到足球场找我。” 第二天，艾达到足球场找到了伊莱亚斯，伊莱亚斯把计划告诉了她。 “我们就坐在球场正中间，”他说。 艾达看着他，好像觉得他疯了。 “这就是静坐抗议呀，”伊莱亚斯解释，“就像我们昨天课上学的那样。” 我们就安安静静坐在这儿，不参加活动，以此抗议新的课间规则。

Do you really think that will work? Ada asked. I think it's worth a try, Elias said. It worked for the civil rights protesters, so why not us? Ada looked unsure, but sat down next to him. At first, nothing much happened. Then, Ms. Fremont, the teacher in charge of the soccer game, jogged up to them. Ada and Elias, what are you doing here? I need you over on this team, please, she said. They looked at each other nervously, but didn't move.

“你真觉得这办法有用吗？” 艾达问道。 “我觉得值得一试，”伊莱亚斯说。 民权抗议者都成功了，为什么我们不行？ 艾达看起来还是不太放心，但还是在他身边坐下了。 一开始，没发生什么特别的事。 接着，负责足球活动的弗里蒙特老师慢跑着来到他们身边。 “艾达、伊莱亚斯，你们待在这儿做什么呢？” “我需要你们去那支球队，请过来吧，”她说。 他们紧张地对视一眼，但是没动。

Don't you want to play today?" she asked. They shook their heads silently. Ms. Fremont looked at them for a moment. A couple of other kids came over, trying to see what was holding up the game. Well, you can take a break today, Ms. Fremont said, but you can't do it here. I need you to move to the sidelines so you don't get hurt. And I'm going to need you back in the game tomorrow, okay?" Reluctantly, Elias and Ada rose and shuffled off the field. Walk really slowly, Elias whispered to Ada. We want people to notice what we're doing. These protests only work if lots of people join in. His plan worked. As kids moved in and out of the game, several of them asked Elias and Ada what they were doing. When Elias explained, people got excited. Clearly, many other kids were unhappy with the new rules, too. By the end of recess, several more students had joined them on the sidelines, watching the game quietly. When the whistle blew, they all stood and returned to class.

“你们今天不想踢球吗？” 她问道。 他们默默地摇了摇头。 弗里蒙特老师看着他们，看了好一会儿。 几个别的孩子走了过来，想看看是什么耽误了比赛。 “好吧，你们今天可以休息，”弗里蒙特老师说，“但你们不能待在这儿。” “你们得移到边上去，这样才不会受伤。” “而且明天你们得回来参加活动，好吗？” 伊莱亚斯和艾达不情愿地站起身，慢慢挪出了球场。 “走慢点儿，”伊莱亚斯悄悄对艾达说。 “我们得让大家注意到我们在做什么。” “只有很多人加入，抗议才会成功。” 他的计划真的起效了。 孩子们换着上场下场，有好几个孩子都来问伊莱亚斯和艾达他们在做什么。 伊莱亚斯解释完，大家都兴奋了起来。 很明显，很多别的孩子也对新规则不满。 到课间结束的时候，又有好几个学生加入他们，一起在边线安静地看比赛。 哨声吹响后，他们都站起来，返回了教室。