读《Why Attend College?》
我们为什么要上大学？
在中国，这个似乎是弱智问题。回答很多，而且基本语气都很不屑，鄙视问这个问题的人。但是，我想问：有多少个人认真的思考过这个问题？谁第一个想上大学的念头是发自内心而不是老师、父母灌输的？
Why Attend College? （此文已被恒星翻译成中文《为什么要上大学》）一文归纳了几条常见的答案：
- The conventional view is that education increases one’s earning potential, so attending college is a ticket to a high-paying job.
- A college education is a requirement of many professional jobs. A bachelor’s degree is a minimum credential for teachers, engineers, commissioned officers in the military, and many salaried jobs in large corporations with a formal hiring process. A bachelor’s degree is required for admission to law school or medical school, which – in turn – is a prerequisite to becoming an attorney or physician.
- Although it is not politically correct to say this aloud, many women attend college to find a husband with an above-average earning potential.
- Sending a recent high school graduate (i.e., 18 years of age) directly to college for four years, before he/she is employed full-time results in a more mature employee.
然后逐一加以分析批驳，最后得出一下观点：
Education is about learning to think — learning different ways
to analyze a problem and find a solution.
One of the traditional purposes of a university is to prepare students for a future career in the learned professions (e.g., law, medicine,engineering, science, scholarly research, and teaching).
The distinguishing feature of education for learned professions,as contrasted with mere vocational training, is that it is desirable thatlearned professionals:
- think from first principles (i.e., not by memorizing, not by quoting either dogma or authorities,
not by copying from handbooks),- be creative, and
- know more than one acceptable way to solve a particular problem.
I think the goals of education should be:
- to prepare students to learn on their own, by reading books and by doing experiments.
Anyone with a bachelor’s degree should be able to teach themselves whatever technical skill(s) they may need.
- to think critically:
- to decide which of two conflicting statements is correct.
- to recognize rubbish when one reads/hears it.
- to evaluate the credibility of information, without depending on peer review or endorsement by experts.
- to understand how to work with an expert (e.g., physician, attorney,scientist, engineer, ….), instead of being passive while the expert solves the problem.
That means the focus of education should be on fundamentals that will never go out of fashion and will prepare the graduates to teach themselves. By fundamentals, I mean:
- ability to read well
- ability to think critically, to reject propaganda
- ability to write concise, significant prose
- ability to think quantitatively: not only algebra, but also calculus and statistics too
- broad range of knowledge (facts + skills): mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, history, philosophy, …. so that, when confronted with a novel situation, one knows where to start to analyze the situation and find a solution or resolution.
In particular, I find that a class in either symbolic logic or computer programming (preferably both) teaches one to think logically, and to be precise. The experience gained in those classes can be a good influence on one’s rhetorical and writing skills.
The problem is that my suggestions of what education should contain (e.g., calculus, statistics with a calculus prerequisite,
physics with a calculus prerequisite, symbolic logic,computer programming) are intellectually demanding,not the easy route to a bachelor’s degree.
Because students select their major subject and many of their classes,the likely outcome is to select an easy path.In engineering colleges, and also in physics and chemistry departments,the curriculum is already crowded with required courses in narrow subjects,which effectively prevents students from obtaining the broad education that I advocate.
To avoid misunderstanding, permit to me to say that I strongly believe in using laboratory exercises and homework problems that illustrate contemporary practical situations. There are several advantages in using contemporary, or at least recent, situations in such assigned work:
- such situations are more interesting for students,hence increasing their motivation to do the homework or laboratory exercise with enthusiasm,
- shows the student how to apply fundamental concepts to practical situations,
- and assures the instructor that he/she is spending precious class time on concepts that continue to be important.
嗯嗯，自己的大学自己读；自己读自己用。
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