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 (2019·º¼ÖÝÕï¶Ï)In American countryside, the message we hear is this: Go and get an education. Leave your small town and make something of yourself. Success and opportunity are found elsewhere.

After graduating from a high school in Helena, Arkansas, I did go.

I went to Colby College in Maine. I had visited the school ahead of time, so I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew about the difference in weather. I understood the difference in social atmosphere. But I wanted to stretch myself and get out of my comfort zone. And you know what? I absolutely loved my time there. But one thing took me by surprise—the lack of countryside representation. Most of the other students at Colby were from big cities: New York, Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco...And when I had conversations with these students—in or outside of class—we almost always focused on topics facing large American cities. In my education classes, it was always “urban this” and “urban that”£®

It was like small town America didn’t exist.

And this urban interest doesn’t just happen in college. I went to an education conference a couple of years ago, and a professor—someone who had been at the forefront of educational reform—was there to deliver a keynote. I was chosen to be part of a small group that got to meet with him. So there we were, five or six of us sitting in a room, and I asked him, “What are your thoughts on the state of education in the countryside£¿” And this man was speechless.

I’ll never forget that moment. It speaks to a larger truth. Towns like mine are forgotten.

This trend of exporting talent and resources to our big cities—this mindset of leaving small towns and never coming back—I don’t want to add to that movement. I want to reverse that movement.

Now it’s my turn to help people younger than me. And you know what? I’m a sixth grade teacher in Helena now.

1£®What do people in American countryside think of the future of the youth at home?

A£®Secure.¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡                       B£®Fragile.

C£®Promising.                                D£®Bright.

2£®How would the author feel about the professor’s reaction?

A£®It’s emotional.                          B£®It’s natural.

C£®It’s positive.                           D£®It’s disappointing.

3£®What is the author doing now?

A£®Teaching in a college.

B£®Fighting for the movement.

C£®Working with the professor.

D£®Devoting himself to his hometown.

-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black'>£®Discovering a Continent