評論
打印
Earlier this week Sir Elton John expressed anxieties about how his young son, Zachary, might be treated when he goes to school.
本周早些時候，艾爾頓·約翰爵士坦言自己對兒子扎卡里的擔心，
He fears he might face bullying because his parents are gay and Britain can still be homophobic.
害怕他會因為父母是同性戀在學校受到欺負，畢竟英國人依舊排斥同性戀。
He may be right, though in all the schools I know, children come now from every type of family circumstance, and don't think twice about it.
他的顧慮或許有道理，但據我所知，現在學校里的學生來自各種家庭背景，這是毫無疑問的。
Nevertheless, the playground can be cruel and adults need to be vigilant.
盡管如此，學校里也可能會發生惡性事件，家長們需要保持警惕。
But Elton John's anxiety made me think more generally about how our children experience childhood and what we want for them from it.
不過，艾爾頓·約翰的擔心讓我從更廣的層面思考孩子是如何度過童年的，我們又希望他們從中獲得什么。
Of course, childhood is not a stage in life determined by our biology but a human convention.
當然，童年不由遺傳決定，而是社會習俗決定。
This is why we can sometimes get in a muddle about it, especially about the point of transition to adulthood.
因此我們有時會感到茫然無措，這種情形在我們步入成年時更為尤甚。
We send mixed messages when we tell our children different stories about their level of maturity
給孩子講述成年人關心的不同話題時，
in relation to getting married, casting a vote, taking out a loan, fighting for their country, and so on.
我們常常對結婚、投票、貸款、保家衛國等話題褒貶不一。
I once had an argument with someone who passionately believed
我曾與某人就刑事責任年齡發生分歧，
that the age of criminal responsibility should be raised from ten to 16, even 18.
她堅信刑事責任年齡應從10歲升至16歲，甚至到18歲。
"We have to remember," she said, "that these young people are children."
“別忘了，”她說，“這些年輕人都還是小孩子。”
I was not unsympathetic, but all the time I kept hearing some words of my own teenage son,
我并非冷酷無情，但我總聽到兒子對我說：
words most parents hear at some time, "Dad, stop treating me like a child. "
“爸爸，別把我當作小孩子。”相信絕大部分父母都聽過這句話。
At one time getting a job was the rite of passage out of childhood.
步入職場一度是人們告別童年的成年儀式，
But now unemployment suspends many young people between childhood and the adult world
然而失業現況將許多年輕人置于童年和成年世界之間，
with few helpful precedents as to how to live well in this in-between existence.
卻鮮有先例告訴他們該如何面對這一尷尬境地。
In the gospels, there's just one reference to the childhood of Jesus, though a significant one.
在基督教信條中，僅有一則談到了基督的童年，卻十分意味深長。
It's the story of a 12-year-old who gets taken by his parents to Jerusalem
故事中，一個12歲的孩子被父母帶到耶路撒冷，
and inadvertently left behind when they and their extended family returned home.
他的父母卻不小心落下了他，和壯大了的族群回家。
Mary and Joseph go looking for Jesus and find him in the temple, listening to the teachers and asking them questions.
之后，瑪利亞和約瑟夫四處尋找耶穌，卻發現他在寺廟里聽老師講課，向他們請教問題。
I find it striking that in an age when children would be valued not so much for their own sakes
我覺得很有意思的是，當人們還沒有站在孩子的角度考慮他們將來的發展時
as for what they would become, productive workers and reproductive mothers,
或許成為勤勞的工人，或許成為幾個孩子的母親
that these busy and learned men take childhood seriously, make time for a young boy and pay him attention.
這些忙碌博學的老師竟然如此認真地對待這個小男孩，專門為他騰出時間，對他給以關注。
And the child, we are told, grew in wisdom.
如我們所知，這個孩子在智慧中成長。
The story takes us to the heart of what makes for a good childhood.
這一故事為我們道破了一個理想的童年需要什么。
The challenge is about how far we can offer our children this kind of interaction.
問題是我們能給孩子多大的影響。
For parents it's not easy.
當父母并不容易，
If both have to work and work means long journeys, it's not surprising that in our exhaustion we fall back on the television and computer.
如果兩個人一整天都要工作，不難想像精疲力盡的我們會讓孩子用電視或電腦來學習。
But keeping children occupied is not the same as giving them our attention."
但不停給孩子布置任務并不等同于對他們給予關注。
