EC166_Guide.pdf

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 166

TOPICS

Brown v. Board of Education; yearbooks in American schools; indeed; none of

them is/are; down to the wire

_____________

GLOSSARY

case – a legal decision made by a court; a legal action brought before a judge to

decide if anyone has broken the law

* After hearing the case, the judge decided that the man would be put in prison

for two years for stealing money from his company.

party – a group of people who are doing the same activity; in law, people or

groups on each side of a court case

* The two parties involved in the court case finally decided to meet outside of

court and come to an agreement.

landmark decision – extremely important decision that changes history; a

decision that changes how things will be done in the future

* In 2008, the government made a landmark decision to protect the environment.

inferior – not as good as something else; weaker, less powerful, or less

important compared to another

* In the U.S. in the 1800s, women were considered inferior to men. Today, men

and women are often given the same rights and opportunities.

to rule – to make a legal decision about something; to say that something is right

or wrong according to the law

* The judge ruled that any employer who treats employees unequally based on

age would be punished.

to enroll – to register; to put one’s name on a list so that one can attend a school

or course of study

* Jessica wanted to learn how to fix cars, so she enrolled in a two-week course

on car mechanics.

to desegregate – to end separation between people of different races, social

status, or gender; to allow different kinds of people to be in the same group

* The coach forced the boys and girls to desegregate and to form sports team

that were made up of both boys and girls.

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these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 166

yearbook – a special book that is made at the end of each school year

containing photographs and information that help students remember what

happened during that year in school

* At our 10-year reunion, my friends and I took out our yearbooks and talked

about the old days.

keepsake – something that helps you remember a special person, event, or time

in your life; a special gift that reminds you of the person who gave it to you

* Every time I am sad, I take out all the special keepsakes from my boyfriend.

peers – other students; other people of about the same age

* Many teenagers like to be part of a group, wearing the same types of clothing

and doing the same types of things as their peers.

hairdos – hairstyles; the way a person wears his or her hair

* Hairdos change with time. Hairdos can be curly or straight, up or down, long or

short, all depending on what the fashion is at the time.

autograph – signature by a famous person, such as a sports star, singer, or

actor; a well known person’s signature or handwriting

* I’m excited about attending tonight’s basketball game because it gives me the

chance to get the autographs of my favorite players.

indeed – in fact; in truth; actually, often used to emphasize the truth

* Indeed, the newspaper was right: Today was the hottest day in 10 years!

none of them is/are – not one; not any

* None of the employees are willing to stay late in the office tonight.

down to the wire – a race or competition that has or will have a very close

result; not knowing the result of the race until the very end because the

competitors are very close

* The two swimmers raced down to the wire, with Jake winning by less than one

second.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 166

WHAT INSIDERS KNOW

To Kill a Mockingbird

The novel To Kill a Mockingbird was written by Harper Lee in 1960. Since then,

it has become an American “classic” (a book that is considered to be very well

written and that most people know about). Many school children in the United

States read this book because it talks about an important issue in America:

Racial differences and the need to be fair and kind to people no matter what their

race or “social class” (how rich or poor someone is).

The author Harper Lee was born in the southern state of Alabama in 1926. As

she grew up, she experienced the feelings of dislike between whites and blacks.

Many whites during this time did not treat blacks as equals. Blacks could not

attend the same schools as whites, and they had to sit separately on the bus. As

Harper Lee saw the way that whites treated blacks, she realized that people

needed to change their ideas and behavior and to treat all people equally.

In her award-winning novel, Harper Lee writes about a white family in Alabama

that is made up of a father named Atticus, and his two children: a six-year old girl

named Scout, and her older brother named Jem. Atticus, who is a lawyer, is

asked to defend a black man who is accused of “rape” (the crime of forcing a

sexual relationship). In this story, Atticus is an example of a white man who

realizes that everyone should be treated equally and with respect. He does his

best to help the black community, and he teaches his children the importance of

having courage and “compassion” (kindness) to all.

The novel became so popular that it was later turned into a movie in 1962. The

movie won three Academy Awards, and in 2007, it was named one of the

greatest American films of all time.

Even though it has been more than 50 years since it was published, the novel

continues to be very popular, not only in the United States but also around the

world.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 166

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

You’re listening to ESL Podcast’s English Café number 166.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast’s English Café episode 166. I’m

your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational

Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download this episode’s Learning Guide, an 8

to 10 page guide we provide for all of our current episodes that gives you some

additional help in improving your English. You can also take a look at our ESL

Podcast Store, with additional courses in daily and business English, as well as

our ESL Podcast Blog, where several times a week we provide even more help

in improving your English.

On this Café, we’re going to talk about a very famous legal decision in the United

States known as Brown vs. the Board of Education. It’s a legal decision by the

highest court, the Supreme Court in the United States that most Americans are

familiar with. We’ll talk about what it is and why it’s famous. Then we’ll continue

talking about schools, focusing on yearbooks and some of the things that go into

yearbooks. As always, we’ll answer a few of your questions as well. Let’s get

started.

In this Café, we’ll begin by talking about a famous court case called Brown vs.

the Board of Education. Sometimes people will just call it the Brown Decision or

Brown v. the Board of Education. A “case” is a legal decision made by a court, a

place where there is a judge or judges who decide whether people have done

things against the law. Court cases are usually referred to by the names of the

“parties,” or the people or organizations on each side of the case. We use the

word “versus,” which means “against” and is abbreviated as vs. between the two

names. Sometimes we just use a “v”: Brown v. the Board of Education or Brown

vs. the Board of Education. I’ve been saying “versus the Board of Education,”

usually when you see it written it will just say “Brown v.” or “Brown versus Board

of Education.” A “Board of Education” is a group of people, usually elected, who

are responsible for running the schools in a given city or area. So, the court case

Brown v. Board of Education was between a person whose last name was Brown

and a government organization called the Board of Education. In this case, the

Board of Education in the city of Topeka, which is in the state of Kansas, which is

in the central part of the United States.

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

English as a Second Language Podcast

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ENGLISH CAFÉ – 166

Brown vs. Board of Education was what we sometimes call a “landmark

decision,” or an extremely important decision of the Supreme Court, which, as I

mentioned earlier, is the highest or most powerful court in the United States.

Before Brown v. Board of Education, many states had separate schools for white

students and black students, or African American students. These states didn’t

want to have white and black students studying together in the same school.

This was an “extreme,” or very strong form of racism, but the states argued that

the schools were “equal,” or the same in every other way. The only difference

was the color of the skin of the students. In reality, in fact however, many of the

schools for black students were “inferior,” or not as good as the schools for white

students.

In 1954, however, all of this changed when the Supreme Court “ruled,” or made a

legal decision (we often sometimes just say “decided”) that “separate educational

facilities” – places where you have education taking place: schools – “separate

educational facilities are inherently (or by their very nature) unequal.” Something

that is “inherently” means that it’s the very definition of what this thing is; it could

not be any other way. The court said that separate but equal – separate schools

but equal in other ways was not possible. This decision was seen as an

important “victory,” or win for the civil rights movement in the United States. The

civil rights movement refers to the people and organizations that fought for

everyone to have equal rights, and continues to fight for those rights in the U.S.

The court case began when some black parents tried to enroll their children in a

white school. To “enroll” (enroll) means to register so that you can attend a

particular school or university. The parents lived in homes that were very close

to a white school, but their children were being forced to go to a black school that

was much further away. So they “filed,” or started a “lawsuit,” or a court case to

fight against the idea that there could be separate but equal schools.

Once the Supreme Court ruled in favor of or in agreement with the parents, it

was still very difficult to desegregate the schools. “Segregation,” means

separating things, in this case by race or skin color. In a segregated society,

whites and blacks rode in different parts of the bus, used different restrooms or

bathrooms, and went to different schools. To “desegregate,” then, means to end

segregation, to end the separation and let black and whites do the same things

and go to the same schools and places.

The desegregation of American schools was very difficult and there was a lot of

“resistance” (opposition) from people who didn’t want to cooperate because they

thought desegregation was wrong. The State of Virginia started to close schools

These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of

these materials on another website or distributing them in any way is prohibited.

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