Parents are a child’s first teachers. But some parents never learned from good examples. In New York City, Covenant House tries to help homeless young mothers become good parents.
The twelve or so teenagers who live at the shelter attend parenting classes four days a week. The class is called Mommy and Me.
Teacher Delores Clemens is a mother of five and a grandmother. She teaches basic skills, like how to give a baby a bath and how to dress a baby in different seasons.
She remembers one student who learned from her mother not to pick up a crying baby. The mother said that would only make the child needy.
“I said ‘That’s not true. You have to hold your baby! He is crying for a reason. If you never pick him up, he’s going to keep crying. Pick your baby up. Hug(擁抱)him! And she started to do that. They just want a little hugging and a little love. And it works!” Delores Clemens said.
Delores Clemens says her students also learn how to be good mothers by letting themselves be mothered. “I’m doing something for them that never has been done for them before.”
In class, with her baby son, is Natasha. She lived on the streets. She is glad not only for the warmth and shelter of Covenant House. As she told reporter Adam Phillips, she is also glad for the help they offer in looking for a safer life.
“Did you go to high school?”
“Yes.”
“Did you graduate?”
“No, I didn’t. I was in my last year and then, I got pregnant(懷孕)and I got lazy.”
“You look like you are willing to accept responsibility(責任)for that.”
“Yes, I am, and I would like to finish.”
Some teenage mothers wish they themselves could be children again. 18-year-old Placida knows that feeling. “Because you have to get up every two hours in the middle of the night, and you can’t go out and say ‘I am going to buy this for myself.’ No. I have to buy pampers, clothes and food. So now it’s two. So it’s very hard.” Placida said.
小題1:What did Natasha want to finish high school for?
| A．To bring her high school life to an end. |
| B．To accept the responsibility to look after her baby. |
| C．To stop the chatting with Adam. |
| D．To end the relationship with her boyfriend. |
小題2:From what Placida said, we know that she thinks _______.
| A．looking after a baby needs love |
| B．having a baby costs more |
| C．being a mom is hard |
| D．loving comes from responsibility |
小題3:The passage is mainly about _______.
| A．a class where teen parents are looked after |
| B．a class where parents are teaching their children |
| C．a class where homeless mothers learn to find a job |
| D．a class where teens learn mothering and are mothered |
