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Benjamin Steinweaves atale tobring home to youngAmericans theneed tochange theway theythinkabout education.Read it and seewhether youthink itholds anylessons forus as well.本杰明•斯坦编了一个故事,以使美国青年彻底认识他们必须改变对教育的态度读一读这个故事,看看你是否认为它对我们大家同样也有教育意义Fable of the LazyTeenagerBenjamin Stein1One daylast fall,I ranout offile foldersand wentto thedrugstore tobuy more.I puta handfuloffolders on the counterand askeda teenagesalesgirl howmuch theycost.I dontknow/she answered.*But its12cents each.”关于懒散少年的寓言故事本杰明•斯坦去年一个秋日,我文件夹用完了,便去杂货店买我拿了一大把文件夹搁在柜台上,问一个十几岁的售货员多少钱“不知道,”她回答说,“反正单价12美分J2I countedthe folders.Twenty-three at12cents each,that makes$
2.76before tax,nI said.我数了数文件夹“二十三个,单价12美分,总共
2.76美金,不含税,”我说3You didthat inyour head*she askedin amazement.HHow canyou dothat”“你心算的?”她惊奇地问道,“你怎么会算出来的?”4Its magic,n Isaid.“靠魔力J我说5,,Reallyn sheasked.“真的?”她问6No modestlyeducated adultcan failto beupset bysuch anexperience.While ourchildren seembetter-natured thanever,they areso ignorant—and soignorant oftheir ignorance—that theyfrightenme.In aclass of60seniors ata privatecollege whereI recentlytaught,not onestudent couldwrite ashortpaper withoutmisspellings.Not one.略受教育的成年人没有谁不会为这样的经历难过虽然我们的孩子似乎比以往任何时候都要温厚和气,他们却如此无知一一对自己的无知状况也如此无知一一以至使我感到可怕在我最近任教的一所私立大学,一个六十人的四年级班上,没有一个学生写短文时不犯拼写错误没有一个学生例外7But thisis justa tinyslice ofthe problem.The abilityto performeven the simplest calculationsisonly amemory amongmany studentsI see,and theirknowledge ofworld historyor geographyisnonexistent.但这只是问题的一小部分在我所见过的许多学生中,再也没有过去学生都有的哪怕是进行最简单的计算的能力,他们对世界历史和地理都一无所知8Moreover,there is a chillingindifference about all thisignorance.The attitudewas summedupby a friends bright,lazy16-year-old son,who explainedwhy hepreferred notto goto U.C.L.A.“I dontwantto have to compete with Asians/he said.HThey workhard andknow everything.M更有甚者,他们对这种种的无知却毫不在乎,实在令人不寒而栗一位朋友的聪明但却很懒散的十六岁儿子在解释他为什么不想上加州洛杉矶分校时说的话是对这种态度的高度概括“我不想去那儿跟亚洲人竞争,”他说,“他们用功,什么都知道9In fact,this youngman willhavetocompetewithAsians whetherhe wantsto ornot.He cannotliveforever on the financial,material andhuman capitalaccumulated byhis ancestors.At somepointsoon,his intellectuallaziness willseriously affecthis wayof life.It willalso affectthe restof us.Amodern industrialstate cannotfunction with an idle,ignorant laborforce.Planes willcrash.Computerswill jam.Cars willbreak down.其实,无论他是否愿意,这位年轻人都将不得不去跟亚洲人竞争他不能永远躺在先辈积累的经济、物质与人力资本上用不了多久,他懒于用脑的结果将严重影响他的生活方式,也将影响我们其他所有的人一个现代工业化国家无法靠一支懒散、无知的劳动大军运行飞机会坠落计算机会出故障汽车会抛锚10To drivethis messagehometosuch youngAmericans,I have a humblesuggestion:a movie,orTV series,dramatizing justhow difficultit wasfor thecountry toget whereit is-and howeasily itcouldall belost.I offerthe followingfable.为使这样的美国青年彻底认识到这一点,我的愚见是拍一部电影,或电视连续剧,生动地描述我们国家的今天如何来之不易一一而要丧失这一切又何其容易下面我奉献一篇寓言故事11As thestory opens,our hero,Kevin Hanley1990,a17-year-old high school senior,is sittinginhis room,feeling bitter.His parentsinsist hestudy for his Europeanhistory test.He wantsto goshoppingfor headphonesforhisportable CDplayer.The bookhe isforced to read-The Wealth of Nations-putshim tosleep.故事开始时,我们的主人公凯文•汉利1990,一名十七岁的高三学生,正坐在自己房间里,心情痛苦他父母一定要他准备欧洲史考试而他则想去买一副激光唱片随身听的耳机他被迫要读的书一一《各国的财富》一一让他打瞌睡12Kevin dreamsit is1835,and he is his own great-great-great-grandfather at17,a peasantinCounty Kerry,Ireland.He livesin asmall hutand sleepsnext to a pig.He is always hungryand mustsearchfor food.His greatestwish isto learn toread and writeso hemight geta jobas aclerk.With steadywages,he would be able to feedhimself and help hisfamily.But Hanleyspoverty allowsno leisureforsuch luxuriesas goingto school.Without educationand money,he ispowerless.His onlyhope liesin hischildren.If they are educated,they willhaveabetter life.凯文进入梦乡,时值1835年,他是他本人的曾太祖父,十七岁,是爱尔兰克雷郡的一个农民他住在小小的陋室里,睡在一头猪旁他老是挨饿,总是要找吃的他最大的心愿是学会读书写字,以便找一个职员的工作有了固定的工资,他就能养活自己,贴补家用但汉利的贫穷使他无从享受上学这样的奢侈没有教育,没有钱,他无能为力他惟一的希望寄托在孩子身上如果他们能接受教育,他们就会生活得好一些13Our fablefast-forwards andKevin Hanley1990is nowhis owngreat-grandfather,Kevin Hanley,
1928.He,too,is17years old,andheworks in a steelmill inPittsburgh.His fathercame toAmerica fromIreland and helpedbuild theNew YorkCity subway.Kevin Hanley1928is farbetter offthan eitherhisfather orhis grandfather.He canreadandwrite.His wagesare farbetter thananything hisancestors hadinIreland.我们的寓言故事快速展开现在凯文•汉利1990成了他自己的曾祖父,凯文•汉利1928他也是十七岁,在匹兹堡一家钢铁厂工作他的父亲从爱尔兰来到美国,参加过纽约地铁的修建凯文♦汉利1928比自己的父亲和祖父境遇好多了他能读书写字他的工资比先辈在爱尔兰时的收入高多了14Next Kevin Hanley1990dreams thathe isKevin Hanley1945,his owngrandfather,fighting onIwo Jima againsta mostdetermined foe,the Japanesearmy.He isalways hot,always hungry,alwaysscared.One nightin afoxhole,he tellsafriendwhy heis there:So myson andhis soncan livein peaceandsecurity.When Iget back,Ell workhard andsend myboy tocollege sohe canlive byhis brainsinsteadof hisback.”接下来凯文•汉利1990梦见自己成了他自己的祖父凯文•汉利1945o他正在硫黄岛与死敌日本军队作战他总是又热又饿又害怕一天晚上他在散兵坑里与一个朋友讲自己为什么在那儿作战“这样我的儿子、孙子就能生活在和平安全的环境里等我回国了,我要勤奋工作,让儿子上大学,这样他就可以干脑力活儿,而不是靠卖苦力生活J15Then Kevin Hanley1990is hisown father,Kevin Hanley1966,who studiesall the time sohecan getinto collegeand lawschool.He livesin afine house.He hasnever seenanything butpeace andplenty.He tellshis girlfriend that when hehas ason,he wontmake himstudy allthetime,as his fathermakes him.接着凯文•汉利1990成了他自己的父亲凯文•汉利1966他终日用功,这样就可以上大学,进法学院他住在漂亮的房子里他一生在和平环境中过着富裕的生活他对女朋友说,等他有了儿子,他不会像他父亲逼他那样逼自己的儿子整天读书16At thatpoint,Kevin Hanley1990wakes up,shaken byhis dream.He isrelieved to be awayfromIrelandandthe steelmill andIwoJima.He goesback tosleep.就在这时,凯文•汉利1990被自己的梦惊醒了他离开了爱尔兰,离开了那家钢铁厂,离开了硫黄岛,不由松了口气他又睡着了17When hedreams again,heis hisownson,Kevin Hanley
2020.There isgunfire allday andall night.His wholegeneration forgotwhy thereeven waslaw,so thereis none.People payno attentionto politics,and governmentoffers noservices tothe workingclass.他接着做梦,这次成了他自己的儿子凯文•汉利2020o枪声日夜不停他那整个一代人忘却了过去为什么要有法律,因此现在没有法律了人们丝毫不关心政治,政府不为工人阶级提供服务18Kevin2020sfather,who isof courseKevin1990himself,works as a cleanerin afactory ownedbythe Japanese.Kevin2020isaporter ina hotelfor wealthyEuropeans andAsians.Public educationstopsat thesixth grade.Americans havelong sincestopped demandinggood educationfor theirchildren.凯文2020的父亲,自然就是凯文1990本人,在日本人开的一家工厂当清洁工凯文2020在一家专为有钱的欧洲人和亚洲人开的酒店里当行李工公共教育到六年级为止美国人早就不再要求自己的孩子接受良好的教育19The lastperson Kevin1990sees in his dreamishisown grandson.Kevin2050has nouseful skills.Machines builtin Japando allthe complexwork,and thereis littlemanual worktobedone.Withouteducation,without discipline,he cannotearn anadequate livingwage.He livesinaslum where there isnoheat,no plumbing,no privacyand survivesby searchingthrough trashpiles.凯文1990最后梦见的是他自己的孙子凯文2050没有有用的技能日本制造的机器包揽了所有复杂的工作,没有什么体力活可做没有受过教育,没有受过训练,他挣不到足够的钱养活自己他住在贫民窟,没有暖气,没有卫生设备,无法不受四邻干扰,靠搜捡破烂度日20In a word,he livesmuch asKevinHanley1835did inIreland.But oneday,KevinHanley2050isbefriended bya visitingJapanese anthropologiststudying thedecline ofAmerica.The manexplains toKevinthatwhena manhas nomoney,education cansupply thehuman capitalnecessary tostart toacquirefinancial capital.Hard work,education,saving anddiscipline cando anything.nThis ishow werosefrom theashes afteryou defeatedus ina waraboutahundred yearsago.”总之,他的生活就像凯文•汉利1835在爱尔兰时一模一样可是有一天,凯文•汉利2050与一位研究美国衰亡史的来访日本人类学家交上了朋友那人跟凯文解释说,如果一个人没有钱,教育能提供积累金融资本所必需的人力资本勤奋、教育、节俭、纪律能成就一切“我们就是这样从一百多年前你们打败我们的战争废墟中站起来的”21America beatJapan inwar”asks Kevin
2050.He isastonished.It seemsas impossibleas Brazildefeatingthe UnitedStates wouldsound in
1990.Kevin2050swears thatif heever haschildren,he willmakesure theywork andstudy andlearn anddiscipline themselves.nTo be abletomake aliving byonesmind insteadof bystealing/he says.That wouldbeamiracle.n“美国在战争中打败日本?”凯文2050问道他惊讶之极这听起来就像说巴西在1990年打败美国一样不可思议凯文2050发誓,如果他有孩子的话,他一定要让他们工作、上学、学习并约束自己“能凭自己的脑力,而不是靠偷窃为生,”他说,“那将会是个奇迹”22When Kevin1990wakes up,next tohim ishis copyof TheWealthofNations.He opensitandthefirst sentenceto catchhis eyeis this:nA manwithout theproper use oftheintellectual facultiesof amanis,if possible,more contemptiblethan evena coward.n凯文1990醒了过来,身旁放着他的那本《各国的财富》他打开书,跳入眼帘的第一句话就是“一个不能恰当运用人类智力的人极可能比懦夫更可鄙JKevins fatherwalks in.nAll right,son,”he says.nLefs golook atthose headphones.凯文的父亲走23了进来“好了,儿子,”他说,“咱们去看耳机吧J24nSorry,Pop/Kevin1990says.nI haveto study.1“抱歉了,爸爸,”凯文1990说,“我得看书学习了JDo youthink theuse of calculators inlearning mathisagood ideaIf youdo,perhaps thisarticle willchangeyour mind.你认为学数学时使用计算器好吗?如果你认为好,也许这篇文章会改变你的看法Ditch theCalculatorDiane Hunsaker1I sighinwardly asI watchyet anotherstudent,this onea ninthgrader,struggle withan advancedmath problem thatrequires simplemultiplication.He mentallybattles with5x6,looks longinglyat theoff-limits calculatoronthecorner ofmy deskand finallyguesses the answer:”
35.”扔了计算器黛安•亨萨克看着又一个学生,这次是个九年级学生,费劲地解一道需要运用简单的乘法运算的高级数学题,我暗自叹气他苦苦地心算着5X6,眼巴巴地望着我桌头那个可望不可及的计算器,最后凭空猜测了一个答案35o2The growthin theuse ofcalculators inthe classroomamazes me.The studentsI tutortell meregularlythat theirteachers allowunlimited accessto thistool.The NationalCouncil ofTeachers ofMathematicsactively encouragesits use.Recently Iattended amath seminarwheretheinstructorcasually statedthat teacherswere nolonger reluctantto permitcalculators inthe classroom.Noweveryone”agrees ontheir importance,she said.lThe moreI hearfrom theeducation establishmentaboutthe benefitsof thesedevices inschools,the lesssurprised Iam whenmiddle-and high-schoolstudents whohave difficultywith arithmeticcall fortutoring inalgebra andgeometry.Having workedsixyears asan electricalengineer beforeswitching toteaching,I oftensuggest tomy studentsthat theyconsidertechnical andscientific careers,but Imdiscouraged whenI seean increasingnumber ofkidswho lacksimple mathskills.课堂上使用计算器越来越多,这令我惊讶我辅导的学生常常告诉我,他们的老师允许无限制地使用这一工具全国数学教师协会积极鼓励使用计算器最近我参加了一个数学研讨会,会上一位教师随口说,教师已不再不愿意让学生在课堂上使用计算器了目前“人人”都认识到了计算器的重要性,她说1我听到教育机构谈论学校里使用这些工具的好处,听到越多,对于算术有困难的初、高中生需要家庭教师辅导几何、代数一事,我就越觉得不足为怪了由于改行教书前我曾当过六年电气工程师,因此常常建议学生将来从事技术或科学工作,但看到越来越多的孩子缺乏基本的数学运算技能,我不由深感失望3Educators havemany argumentsin defenseofcalculators,but eachone ignoresthe reasonthatwe teachmath inthe firstplace.Math trainsthe mind.By thisI meanthat studentslearntothink logicallyandrationally,to proceedfrom knowninformation todesired informationand tobecome competentwithboth numbersand ideas.These skillsare somethingthat mathand scienceteach andare essentialforadolescents tobecome thinking,intelligent membersof society.教育工作者有诸多理由为使用计算器辩解,但每每都忽略了我们教数学的首要理由数学能培养智力我是说,学生能学会逻辑地、理性地思维,学会根据已知信息找到所需信息,进而变得既会运算又善于思维这类技能是通过数学和科学课程传授的,对青少年成长为善于思考的、有才智的社会成员有着重要意义4Some teachersargue that calculators letstudents concentrateon how to solveproblems insteadofgetting tiedup withtedious computations.2Having a calculator doesntmake itany easierfor astudentto decidehowto attack amathproblem.Rather,it onlyencourages himto tryevery combinationofaddition,subtraction,multiplication ordivision without any thoughtabout whichwouldbemoreappropriate.Some ofmy elementary-school childrenlook atawordproblem andinstantly guessthatadding isthe correctapproach.When Isuggest thatthey solve the problemthis waywithouta calculator,they usuallypause andthink beforecontinuing.A studentis muchmore likelyto cut down hiswork byreflectingontheproblem firstif hedoesnt haveacalculatorinhishand.Learning effectivemethods forapproachingconfusing problemsis essential,not justfor mathbut forlife.有教师争辩道,计算器使学生集中精力解题,而不为繁琐的运算拖累2计算器并不能方便学生确定解数学题的方法相反,计算器只会鼓励他乱试加减乘除的各种组合,而不去考虑哪种组合更加适当我的一些小学生一看某道应用题立刻就猜测加法是正确的运算方法当我建议他们不依赖计算器用加法解题时,他们往往在继续运算前先思考一番如果手里没有计算器,学生更有可能停下来先对问题思考一番,以减少运算工作学会用有效的方法解决复杂的问题是必要的,不仅学数学如此,在生活中也一样5A middle-school teacheronce saidto me,So whatif astudent can*tdolong divisionGive himacalculator,and hellbe fine.I doubtit.I dontknow whenlearning byheart andrepetitious problemsolvingfell tosuch alow priorityin educationcircles.How couldwe possiblycommunicate witheachother,much lesscreate newideas,without theimmense storeof informationin ourbrains一位中学教师曾对我说“学生不会运算长除法又怎么样?给他个计算器,他就有办法了我不敢苟同我不知道,从什么时候起,背诵和反复解题在教育界变得如此不受重视没有大脑中储存的大量信息,我们如何相互交流?更不用说创新出主意了6Math isas muchabout knowingwhy therules workas knowingwhat therules are.A studentwhocannot dolong divisionobviously doesnot comprehendthe principleson whichit isbased.A trueunderstandingof whyoften makeslearning byrote unnecessary,because thestudent canfigure outtherules himself.My studentswho viewthe multiplicationtables asa listof unrelatednumbers havemuchmore difficultyin maththan thosewho knowthat multiplicationis simplyrepeated addition.Calculatorsprevent studentsfrom seeingthis kindof naturalstructure andbeauty inmath.数学要讲有哪些规则,更要讲这些规则为什么成立不会做长除法的学生显然不理解长除法所依据的原理真正理解了所以然常常使得死记硬背毫无必要,因为学生自己就能算出这些规则我的那些把乘法表看作一串不相关数字的学生在数学上的困难远比那些懂得乘法只是连加的学生多得多计算器妨碍学生认识数学中这类自然结构和美7A studentwho learnsto handlenumbers mentallycan focuson howtoattacka problemand thencompletethe actualcalculations easily.He willalso havea muchbetter ideaof whattheanswershould be,since experiencehas taughthim numbersense,M orthe relationshipbetween numbers.学会心算的学生能把注意力集中到如何解题上,然后轻而易举地完成实际运算他对答案该是个什么样儿心里也更有数,因为经验使他把握了“数字感”,或者说数字间的关系8A studentwho hasgrown upwithacalculator willstruggle withboth strategiesand computations.When youngstersused acalculator tosolve9x4in thirdgrade,they arestill usingone tosolvethesameproblem inhighschool.By thenthey arealso battlingwith algebra.3Because theynever feltcomfortableworking withnumbers aschildren,theyareseriously disadvantagedwhen theyattempt thegeneralizedmath of algebra.Permitting extensiveuseofcalculators invitesa childsmind tostand still.Ifwe dontrequire studentsto do thesimpleproblems thatcalculators cando,how canwe expectthem tosolvethe morecomplex problemsthatcalculatorscannot do一个伴着计算器长大的学生既要对付解题策略又要对付实际运算三年级时借助计算器算出9X4的孩子到了高中仍在借助计算器做同样的运算届时他们还得应付代数3因为他们在孩提时代对数字计算从未感到过轻松,当他们试图攻读代数这一广义数学时就会处于极其不利的地位允许广泛使用计算器会使孩子的智力发展停滞不前如果我们不让学生做那些计算器能代劳的简单的运算,又怎么能期待他们去解决计算器解决不了的更为复杂的问题呢?9Students learnfar morewhen theydothemath themselves.Ive tutoredyoungsters onpracticeSAT examswhere theyimmediately reachfor theircalculators.If theydtake afew secondstounderstand theproblem athand,they mostlikely wouldfind asimpler solutionwithout needinga sticktolean on.I havealso watchedstudents incorrectlyenter aproblem like12+32into theircalculators as112+32and notbat aneye atthe obviouslyincorrect answer.After all,they usedacalculator,so itmust beright.学生自己进行数学运算所获得的收益远比依赖计算器多我辅导过孩子做学业能力倾向测试的模拟试题,他们一坐下就拿计算器算如果他们对手头的题目略加思考,就很可能不需要倚靠拐杖就能找到一种更简单的解题方法我还观察到学生错把12+32当作112+32输入计算器,对算出的明显错误的答案连眼都不眨一下毕竟,他们用的是计算器,所以,一定没错10Educators alsoclaim thatcalculators areso inexpensiveand commonplacethat studentsmustbecome competentin usingthem.New mathtexts containwhole sectionson solvingproblems withacalculator.Most people,including youngchildren,can learnits basicfunctions inabout fiveminutes.Calculators dohave theirplace inthe worldoutside schooland,toalimited extent,in higher-level mathclasses,but theyare hardlyeducation tools.教育家们还声称,计算器如此便宜而又普遍,学生必须学会熟练使用新的数学教材有整节整节关于用计算器解题的内容大多数人,包括年幼的孩子们,用大约五分钟就能掌握计算器的基本功能计算器在学校之外的社会中的确有其地位,在高等数学课堂上也有一定的作用,但它们很难算得上是教育工具11Many teachersaswellas studentsinsist,Why shouldntwe usecalculators Theywill alwaysbearound,and wellnever dolong divisionin reallife.This maybe true.Its trueof mostmath.Not manyofus needto figurethe circumferenceofacircle orfactor aquadratic equationfor anypractical reason.But thafsnot thesole purposeof teachingmath.4We teachit forthinking anddiscipline,both ofwhichexpand themind andincrease thestudents abilityto functionasacontributing individualin society:theultimate goalsof education.不少老师以及学生坚持认为,“我们为什么不能用计算器?计算器永远就在身边,我们在实际生活中根本不会做长除法运算”这或许是事实大多数数学运算也都如此我们当中没有多少人会出于实际需要而计算圆的周长或求解一项二次方程的因子但那并非数学教学的惟一目的4我们为培养思维和训练而教数学,这两者都能扩展思维,增强学生为社会作贡献的能力这是教育的终极目的。