Untitled Document非典輕松了清華學(xué)子
《北京青年報(bào)》2003年06月01日
?。ū疚淖髡攥F(xiàn)在清華大學(xué)任教）
在清華大學(xué)，為了保護(hù)我們的學(xué)生不受非典的感染,，我們重新制定了課程表,，停了一些課，并且禁止學(xué)生進(jìn)出校園,。當(dāng)然,，為了保證學(xué)生的健康，我們付出的代價(jià)是非常值得的,，但這樣做打亂了教學(xué)進(jìn)度,，極大地削減了學(xué)生的作業(yè)量。這對(duì)像我這樣的一些教授就有了問題———要想完成預(yù)想的教學(xué)內(nèi)容是件困難的事情了,。
但另一方面，在過去的幾周中,，我有時(shí)間瀏覽了清華園里美麗的湖景,、公園和歷史遺跡。在大好春光中能有這么一個(gè)意想不到的休息自然是件樂事，但令我更高興的是看到了很多很多的學(xué)生也利用起了這一不得已的閑暇,。 大樹下,，三五成群的學(xué)生在打撲克，聽音樂,，或是聊天,；島塔下的長凳上，一個(gè)女生躺在那兒沉浸在閱讀中;荷塘邊,，兩個(gè)男生正在聊天,，他們的話音被瀑布聲蓋住了；在宿舍,，學(xué)生們看電視,，在電腦上打游戲，爭(zhēng)論有關(guān)科學(xué),、政治,、哲學(xué)的話題，當(dāng)然,，還有愛情,。每一個(gè)運(yùn)動(dòng)場(chǎng)都滿是學(xué)生，當(dāng)你走近文科樓,，就能聽到學(xué)生們?cè)趶椬鄻菲鳌?/p>
這是我在清華大學(xué)兩年來第一次看到校園里的學(xué)習(xí)如此輕松,，我真是再高興不過了。我一直在想,，就像大多數(shù)中國最好的大學(xué)里的學(xué)生一樣,，清華的學(xué)生學(xué)得太累，也學(xué)得太多,，而這樣做反而會(huì)妨礙他們成長,，不能做出本應(yīng)對(duì)中國和世界所作出的貢獻(xiàn)。
在當(dāng)今迅速變化的世界中,，教育中最重要的內(nèi)容是學(xué)會(huì)如何批判地思考,，如何創(chuàng)新，如何提出有價(jià)值的問題,。與之相比,，學(xué)會(huì)如何對(duì)知識(shí)分類以及如何回答陳舊的問題就很不重要了。但是,，從中學(xué)到大學(xué)畢業(yè),，很多中國最優(yōu)秀的青年男女將一生中最有創(chuàng)造性的年華去記憶那些陳舊知識(shí)的僵硬體系。我的清華學(xué)生已經(jīng)知道了要思考什么,，但常常不知道如何去思考,；他們學(xué)會(huì)了復(fù)述教授所告訴他們的,，但卻不會(huì)向教授提出質(zhì)疑；對(duì)于他們來說,，掌握知識(shí)就意味著抱書本,，抱書本就意味著刻苦。
但是,，與我們的父母和老師一直教導(dǎo)我們的相反,，刻苦不會(huì)使我們更聰明。在美國的優(yōu)秀大學(xué),，要求學(xué)生所做的功課比中國學(xué)生的一半還要少,，有時(shí)甚至更少，但這些大學(xué)是世界發(fā)明與進(jìn)步的中心,，而中國優(yōu)秀大學(xué)要迎頭趕上還有很長的一段路要走,。這并非是因?yàn)槊绹膶W(xué)生更聰明。我在中美兩國最優(yōu)秀的大學(xué)都教過書,，我確信,，清華的學(xué)生是世界上最聰明的學(xué)生，其區(qū)別肯定是在于學(xué)習(xí)的方式,。
對(duì)于很聰明的年輕人,，有證據(jù)顯示，最有效的學(xué)習(xí)來自“玩”,。只有當(dāng)通過我們自己思考而建立起我們的思想,，并且“玩”這些思想，與我們的老師和同學(xué)爭(zhēng)論這些思想的時(shí)候,，創(chuàng)造性思考的能力,、從根本上理解的能力以及提出問題的能力才能得以發(fā)展。然而,，對(duì)于最聰明的學(xué)生來說,，他們?cè)谟洃浗炭茣钠D澀內(nèi)容或是記憶一位教授云山霧罩的演講上花了時(shí)間，往往就沒時(shí)間去消化,，去理解,，而最糟糕的，是沒有時(shí)間提出有價(jià)值的問題,。當(dāng)然,，他們需要從有學(xué)識(shí)的人那里得到某些框架和指導(dǎo)，但是,，放開他們的手腳,，聰明的學(xué)生就會(huì)做出聰明的事情。
這就是為什么當(dāng)我看到我的學(xué)生在不得已的“閑逛”中度過一個(gè)多月時(shí)那么高興的原因,。他們終于有時(shí)間去追尋自己的興趣,。我看到我的學(xué)生不再把自己埋在圖書館里,，拼命地追趕第一,，而是輕松下來,，有爭(zhēng)論，有比賽,，有思考,，有社交，有夢(mèng)想,，以很多很多其他有用的方式“浪費(fèi)”著時(shí)間,。這么做對(duì)他們通過考試也許沒有幫助，但我希望這可以從某種程度上使他們的學(xué)術(shù)思維更加活躍,、理解水平更高,，有一天中國和世界都會(huì)得益于這些創(chuàng)造性的思想和科學(xué)發(fā)明，而它們的種子是播撒在非典猖獗時(shí)期,。盡管非典造成了眾多損害,，說不定也有好的一面———對(duì)于中國最優(yōu)秀的學(xué)生來說，今年或許是最富有成果的一年,。
At Tsinghua University, in order to protect our students from SARS, we have rescheduled classes, interrupted studies, and prohibited people from coming onto or leaving the campus. Of course the price of keeping our students safe is one well worth paying, but these actions have disrupted the university schedule and sharply reduced the amount of schoolwork the students can complete. This creates problems for professors like me, who find it difficult to cover all we had wanted to teach in our classes.
On the other hand, during the past few weeks I have been able to spend time visiting Tsinghua's beautiful lakes, parks and historic buildings. It is of course a pleasure to be able to enjoy this unexpected break during the fine spring weather, but what makes me happier is to see so many students also taking advantage of this enforced leisure.
Under old trees small groups of students play cards, listen to music or just talk. On a bench under the island tower a young lady lies lost in her book. At the edge of the lotus pond two young men are engaged in a conversation whose words are muffled by the waterfall. In their dormitories students watch movies, play computer games and debate science, politics, philosophy and, of course, love. Every sports field is filled, and as you walk near the arts building you can hear the sound of students practicing their musical instruments.
This is the first time in my two years here that I have seen so little studying on campus, and I couldn't be more pleased. I have always thought that Tsinghua students, like students at most of China's best universities, work so hard at their classes and study so much that it may actually hamper their education and prevent them from contributing all they should to China and the world.
In a quickly changing world the most important part of education is to learn how to think critically, how to create and how to ask interesting questions. It is much less important to learn how to categorize knowledge and how to answer old questions. But from middle school until they finally leave university many of China's brightest young men and women spend the most creative years of their lives imposing upon their minds a rigid hierarchy of frozen knowledge. My students have learned what to think, but often not how to think. They've learned to repeat what their professors tell them, but not to question those professors. Learning, for them, means studying,①and studying is hard work.
But contrary to what our parents and teachers have always told us, hard work doesn't make us smarter. The great American universities, where students are required to put in less than half the work of their Chinese counterparts, and in some cases much less, are the world's leading centers of innovation and progress, while the great Chinese universities still have a long ways to catch up. It cannot be because American students are smarter. I have taught at the best universities in both countries and I am convinced Tsinghua students are the smartest in the world. The difference must be in the way they learn.
For very bright young people, the evidence suggests that the most efficient learning comes from playing.②The ability to think creatively, to understand fundamentally, to ask questions, is developed when we build our ideas ourselves, play with them and debate them with our teachers and our peers. But for the brightest students, time spent memorizing the difficult lessons of a textbook or the confusing lectures of a professor is too often time not spent③learning, understanding or, most importantly, asking interesting questions. Of course they need some structure and guidance from those who know more, but left to themselves, brilliant students will do brilliant things.
That is why I am so happy to see that my students have spent the past months in enforced idleness. They finally have the time to pursue their own interests. Instead of seeing them buried in the library, trying desperately to keep up, I see my students fooling around, arguing, competing, thinking, socializing, dreaming and wasting their time in so many other useful ways. This may not help them pass exams, but I hope that in a small way④it leads to greater intellectual playfulness and higher levels of understanding, and that one day China and the world will benefit from all the creative ideas and scientific innovations whose seeds were planted during the terrible SARS crisis. For all the damage SARS has done, maybe there is a silver lining:⑤Maybe it has made this a more productive year for China's best students. (聽英文51116,文章注釋511161,作者簡(jiǎn)介511162)
