評(píng)論
打印
Why, then, do I teach?
這樣說來，我為什么還要教書呢？
I teach because I like the pace of the academic calendar. June, July, and August offer an opportunity for reflection, research and writing.
我教書，是因?yàn)槲蚁矏坌v的步調(diào)。6月、7月和8月提供了一個(gè)供思考、研究和創(chuàng)作的機(jī)會(huì)。
I teach because teaching is a profession built on change. When the material is the same, I change — and, more important, my students change.
我教書，是因?yàn)榻虒W(xué)是建立在“變”這一基礎(chǔ)上的職業(yè)。教材還是原來的教材，但我自身卻變了-更重要的是，我的學(xué)生變了。
I teach because I like the freedom to make my own mistakes, to learn my own lessons, to stimulate myself and my students. As a teacher, I'm my own boss. If I want my freshmen to learn to write by creating their own textbook, who is to say I can' t? Such courses may be huge failures, but we can all learn from failures.
我教書，是因?yàn)槲蚁矚g有讓自己犯錯(cuò)誤的自由，有讓自己吸取教訓(xùn)的自由，有激勵(lì)自己和激勵(lì)學(xué)生的自由。作為教師，我可以自行做主。如果我想要求一年級(jí)學(xué)生通過自行編寫課本的辦法來學(xué)習(xí)寫作，誰能說我不可以那樣做呢？這樣的課程也許會(huì)徹底失敗，但我們都可以從失敗的嘗試中獲得教益。
I teach because I like to ask questions that students must struggle to answer. The world is full of right answers to bad questions. While teaching, I sometimes find good questions.
我教書，是因?yàn)槲蚁矚g向?qū)W生提出必須絞盡腦汁才能回答的問題。我們這個(gè)世界有無窮無盡的正確答案來對(duì)付拙劣的問題。何況我在教學(xué)過程中有時(shí)也會(huì)想到一些出色的問題。
I teach because I enjoy finding ways of getting myself and my students out of the ivory tower and into the real world. I once taught a course called “Self-Reliance in a Technological Society.” My 15 students read Emerson, Thoreau, and Huxley. They kept diaries. They wrote term papers.
我教書，是因?yàn)槲蚁矚g想方設(shè)法使自己和我的學(xué)生從象牙塔里走出來，步入現(xiàn)實(shí)世界。我曾經(jīng)開過一門叫做“在工業(yè)技術(shù)社會(huì)里如何自力更生”的課程。我教的15位學(xué)生讀了愛默生、梭洛和赫胥黎的作品，記了日記，還寫了學(xué)期論文。
But we also set up a corporation, borrowed money, purchased a run-down house and practiced self-reliance by renovating it. At the end of the semester, we sold the house, repaid our loan, paid our taxes, and distributed the profits among the group.
但除此而外，我們還辦起一個(gè)公司，借錢買下一所破舊的房屋，通過對(duì)這一建筑物的整修翻新，我們就自力更生這一課題進(jìn)行了一次實(shí)踐活動(dòng)。在期末我們把房子賣掉，還清貸款，繳了稅，余下的收益分給了參加實(shí)踐的學(xué)生。
So teaching gives me pace, and variety, and challenge, and the opportunity to keep on learning.
所以說，教學(xué)使我的工作進(jìn)程有了規(guī)律，使我的生活變得豐富多彩，教學(xué)向我提出了挑戰(zhàn)，也給了我不斷學(xué)習(xí)的機(jī)會(huì)。
