I moved to America 12 years ago

我12年前搬到美國

with my wife Terry and our two kids.

與我的妻子泰瑞和兩個孩子

Actually, truthfully, we moved to Los Angeles -- (Laughter) --

其實我們是搬到洛杉磯 （笑聲）

thinking we were moving to America,

還以為我們搬到了美國

but anyway, it's a short plane ride from Los Angeles

反正，從洛杉磯到美國

to America.

坐飛機也用不了多久

I got here 12 years ago,

我 12 年前來到這裡

and when I got here, I was told various things,

剛到的時候，聽過各種說法

like, "Americans don't get irony."

例如「美國人聽不懂諷刺」

Have you come across this idea?

你們聽說過這個說法嗎？

It's not true. I've traveled the whole length and breadth of this country.

但這不是真的，我旅行全美各地

I have found no evidence that Americans don't get irony.

完全不認為美國人聽不懂諷刺

It's one of those cultural myths,

這就是所謂的文化迷思

like, "The British are reserved."

還有人說「英國人很保守」

I don't know why people think this.

我不知為何有人這麼想

We've invaded every country we've encountered.

我們侵略每個遇到的國家

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But it's not true Americans don't get irony,

說美國人聽不懂諷刺，絕對是假的

but I just want you to know that that's what people

我只想讓你們知道

are saying about you behind your back.

別人在背後怎麼說你們

You know, so when you leave living rooms in Europe,

當美國人在歐洲起身離開客廳

people say, thankfully, nobody was ironic in your presence.

大家會說，還好沒人當你的面諷刺

But I knew that Americans get irony

我知道美國人完全了解諷刺

when I came across that legislation No Child Left Behind.

就在我聽到「沒有孩子落後」時(有教無類法案 No Child Left Behind)

Because whoever thought of that title gets irony,

命名者一定了解什麼叫諷刺

don't they, because --

不是嗎，因為…

(Laughter) (Applause) —

（笑聲）（掌聲）

because it's leaving millions of children behind.

因為幾百萬孩子落後了

Now I can see that's not a very attractive name for legislation:

如果法案叫做「百萬孩子落後」

Millions of Children Left Behind. I can see that.

也不合適，這我明白

What's the plan? Well, we propose

我們打算怎麼做呢？我們建議

to leave millions of children behind,

讓百萬孩子落後

and here's how it's going to work.

我們這麼做

And it's working beautifully.

而且成效顯著

In some parts of the country,

美國的某些地區

60 percent of kids drop out of high school.

60% 的孩子從高中輟學

In the Native American communities,

美國原住民社區

it's 80 percent of kids.

輟學率更高達 80%

If we halved that number, one estimate is

若能把數字減半，預計

it would create a net gain to the U.S. economy

會對美國經濟

over 10 years of nearly a trillion dollars.

十年內貢獻淨值近一兆美元

From an economic point of view,

從經濟角度來看

this is good math, isn't it, that we should do this?

非常划算，對吧？那是不是該做呢？

It actually costs an enormous amount

要花極高成本

to mop up the damage from the dropout crisis.

才能解決輟學危機的傷害

But the dropout crisis is just the tip of an iceberg.

但輟學危機只是冰山一角

What it doesn't count are all the kids who are in school

還沒包括人在學校

but being disengaged from it, who don't enjoy it,

但心不在學校的孩子他們不喜歡上學

who don't get any real benefit from it.

也沒從學校獲益

And the reason is

根本原因

not that we're not spending enough money.

不是經費不足

America spends more money on education

美國花在教育的投資

than most other countries.

比世界上大多數國家都多

Class sizes are smaller than in many countries.

班級人數也較少

And there are hundreds of initiatives every year

每年有幾百件方案

to try and improve education.

嘗試改善教育

The trouble is, it's all going in the wrong direction.

問題是，這些嘗試都走錯了方向

There are three principles

有三大法則

on which human life flourishes,

讓人活得精彩

and they are contradicted by the culture of education

現有教育文化卻背道而馳，因此

under which most teachers have to labor

老師教得辛苦

and most students have to endure.

學生學得痛苦

The first is this, that human beings

第一項法則是：

are naturally different and diverse.

人類天生就各不相同

Can I ask you, how many of you

請問一下

have got children of your own?

在座多少人有子女？

Okay. Or grandchildren.

有孫子或孫女嗎？

How about two children or more? Right.

有兩位以上子女的？好

And the rest of you have seen such children.

其他人應該也看過小孩吧

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Small people wandering about.

不管哪裡都有小孩

I will make you a bet,

我跟各位打賭

and I am confident that I will win the bet.

我一定會贏

If you've got two children or more,

如果你有兩位以上子女

I bet you they are completely different from each other.

我打賭他們一定截然不同

Aren't they? Aren't they? (Applause)

對吧？對吧？（掌聲）

You would never confuse them, would you?

你永遠不會搞混，對吧？

Like, "Which one are you? Remind me.

你不會說「提醒我誰是哥哥？

Your mother and I are going to introduce

你媽和我打算用顏色區別，

some color-coding system, so we don't get confused."

免得把你們搞混了。」

Education under No Child Left Behind

「有教無類法案」所倡導的教育

is based on not diversity but conformity.

並非基於多樣性，而是要統一

What schools are encouraged to do is to find out

學校只被要求

what kids can do across a very narrow spectrum of achievement.

在狹窄範圍內探索學生潛力

One of the effects of No Child Left Behind

「有教無類法案」的影響之一是

has been to narrow the focus

只重視數理主科

onto the so-called STEM disciplines. They're very important.

這些學科很重要

I'm not here to argue against science and math.

我不是要說，科學及數學不重要

On the contrary, they're necessary but they're not sufficient.

它們很重要，只是還不夠

A real education has to give equal weight

真正的教育應同樣重視

to the arts, the humanities, to physical education.

藝術、人文、體育

An awful lot of kids, sorry, thank you — (Applause) —

許多孩子，抱歉，謝謝…（掌聲）

One estimate in America currently is that

據估計目前在美國

something like 10 percent of kids, getting on that way,

約有 10% 的孩子

are being diagnosed with various conditions

被診斷出各種症狀

under the broad title of attention deficit disorder.

結果一律被稱為注意力不足障礙 (ADD)

ADHD. I'm not saying there's no such thing.

或 注意力不足過動症 (ADHD)我不是說這種病不存在

I just don't believe it's an epidemic like this.

但我不相信會如此盛行

If you sit kids down, hour after hour,

如果讓孩子坐好幾小時

doing low-grade clerical work,

不用頭腦，只是機械性抄寫

don't be surprised if they start to fidget, you know?

坐不住是很正常的

(Laughter) (Applause)

（笑聲）（掌聲）

Children are not, for the most part,

大多數的孩子

suffering from a psychological condition.

並沒有心理問題

They're suffering from childhood. (Laughter)

只是因為童年而受煎熬 （笑聲）

And I know this because I spent my early life

我知道，因為我也經歷過童年

as a child. I went through the whole thing.

而且是完整經歷過

Kids prosper best with a broad curriculum

孩子要茁壯，該有廣泛課程

that celebrates their various talents,

開發他們不同的天分

not just a small range of them.

而不是只有其中幾科

And by the way, the arts aren't just important

順帶一提，藝術的重要性

because they improve math scores.

不是數學可以考高分

They're important because they speak to parts

而在於可和孩子一些

of children's being which are otherwise untouched.

本來碰觸不到的部分對話

The second, thank you — (Applause)

第二項…謝謝… （掌聲）

The second principle that drives human life flourishing

要活得精彩，第二項法則是：

is curiosity.

好奇心

If you can light the spark of curiosity in a child,

如果你能激發孩子的好奇心

they will learn without any further assistance, very often.

通常不用幫忙，他就會主動學習

Children are natural learners.

孩子天生就會學習

It's a real achievement to put that particular ability out,

無論是激發或扼殺這項能力

or to stifle it.

都會產生巨大影響

Curiosity is the engine of achievement.

好奇心是成就的火車頭

Now the reason I say this is because

我會這麼說是因為

one of the effects of the current culture here, if I can say so,

我大膽的說，當前文化的影響之一

has been to de-professionalize teachers.

是剝奪了教師的專業性

There is no system in the world

世界上沒有哪個教育體系的品質、

or any school in the country

沒有哪個學校的品質，

that is better than its teachers.

能超過其教師的品質

Teachers are the lifeblood of the success of schools.

教師是學校成功的關鍵

But teaching is a creative profession.

教書是需要創造力的職業

Teaching, properly conceived, is not a delivery system.

好的老師不只是傳遞知識

You know, you're not there just to pass on received information.

不只是把收到的資訊傳下去

Great teachers do that,

好的老師不但傳授知識

but what great teachers also do is mentor,

更是良師益友

stimulate, provoke, engage.

刺激、誘導、吸引

You see, in the end, education is about learning.

歸根究柢，教育的核心是學生主動學習

If there's no learning going on,

沒有學習

there's no education going on.

就沒有教育

And people can spend an awful lot of time

人們花了太多時間

discussing education without ever discussing learning.

只談教育、不談學習

The whole point of education is to get people to learn.

教育的目的就是讓人主動學習

A friend of mine, an old friend -- actually very old,

我有個朋友，老朋友－真的很老

he's dead. (Laughter)

已經死了 （笑聲）

That's as old as it gets, I'm afraid.

人最老也不過如此

But a wonderful guy he was, wonderful philosopher.

他是個了不起的人是個偉大的哲學家

He used to talk about the difference between the task

他曾談到，「進行」一件事

and achievement senses of verbs.

和「完成」一件事，意義大不相同

You know, you can be engaged in the activity of something,

你可以進行著某件事

but not really be achieving it,

但沒有成果

like dieting. It's a very good example, you know.

像節食就是個很好的例子

There he is. He's dieting. Is he losing any weight? Not really.

他一直節食，體重有減輕嗎？沒有

Teaching is a word like that.

教學也是這樣

You can say, "There's Deborah, she's in room 34, she's teaching."

你可以說，「戴老師在教室教書」

But if nobody's learning anything,

但如果沒人學到東西

she may be engaged in the task of teaching

他就只是在「進行」教學

but not actually fulfilling it.

但沒有真正「完成」教學任務

The role of a teacher is to facilitate learning. That's it.

教師的角色是促進學習，這是重點

And part of the problem is, I think,

我認為部分問題在於

that the dominant culture of education has come to focus

教育的主流文化重視的

on not teaching and learning, but testing.

不是教與學，而是考試

Now, testing is important. Standardized tests have a place.

考試很重要的，標準化測驗有必要

But they should not be the dominant culture of education.

但不該主導教育文化

They should be diagnostic. They should help.

考試應該是診斷、是輔助

(Applause)

（掌聲）

If I go for a medical examination,

如果我參加體檢

I want some standardized tests. I do.

我當然也要做常規檢驗

You know, I want to know what my cholesterol level is

我想知道我的膽固醇指數

compared to everybody else's on a standard scale.

在標準尺度下和他人的比較

I don't want to be told on some scale

我不想參考

my doctor invented in the car.

我醫生發明的標準：

"Your cholesterol is what I call Level Orange."

「你的膽固醇指數為橘色。」

"Really? Is that good?""We don't know."

「是嗎？是好消息嗎？」「不知道。」

But all that should support learning. It shouldn't obstruct it,

測驗應該是輔助、而非妨礙學習

which of course it often does.

可惜目前經常是妨礙

So in place of curiosity, what we have

就好奇心而言

is a culture of compliance.

我們的教育文化要求服從

Our children and teachers are encouraged

鼓勵孩子和老師

to follow routine algorithms

遵守固定規則

rather than to excite that power of imagination and curiosity.

而不是激發想像力和好奇心

And the third principle is this:

第三項法則是：

that human life is inherently creative.

人生的本質就是創造性

It's why we all have different résumés.

我們的經歷各不相同

We create our lives,

我們創造自己的命運

and we can recreate them as we go through them.

我們經歷的同時，也在重新創造

It's the common currency of being a human being.

這是人類的共同價值

It's why human culture is so interesting and diverse

人類文化也因此多采多姿、

and dynamic.

充滿活力

I mean, other animals may well have imaginations

其他動物可能也有想像力

and creativity, but it's not so much in evidence,

與創造力，但和人類相比

is it, as ours?

就沒那麼明顯

I mean, you may have a dog.

比方說你有隻狗

And your dog may get depressed.

得了憂鬱症

You know, but it doesn't listen to Radiohead, does it?

但牠不會因此開始聽電台司令的歌吧？(Radiohead 樂團)

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And sit staring out the window with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

牠不會喝傑克丹尼威士忌，對窗外發呆 (Jack Daniels)

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And you say, "Would you like to come for a walk?"

你如果說，「想出去走走嗎？」

He says, "No, I'm fine.

牠不會說，「不，我沒事，

You go. I'll wait. But take pictures."

去吧，我要靜一靜，記得拍點照片。」

We all create our own lives through this restless process

我們經由不斷變化的過程創造人生

of imagining alternatives and possibilities,

不斷想像有哪些選擇、哪些可能

and what one of the roles of education

教育目的之一

is to awaken and develop these powers of creativity.

就是喚醒並發展創造力

Instead, what we have is a culture of standardization.

但現在教育反而走向標準化

Now, it doesn't have to be that way. It really doesn't.

不該是這樣，真的不應該

Finland regularly comes out on top

芬蘭學生在全球名列前茅

in math, science and reading.

不論數學、科學、或閱讀

Now, we only know that's what they do well at

我們只知道他們擅長這些科目

because that's all that's being tested currently.

因為現在只考了這幾科

That's one of the problems of the test.

這就是測驗的問題之一

They don't look for other things that matter just as much.

你無法找出同樣重要的其他因素

The thing about work in Finland is this:

芬蘭所作的努力是這樣的：

they don't obsess about those disciplines.

他們不只重視這幾科

They have a very broad approach to education

他們的教育範圍很廣

which includes humanities, physical education, the arts.

包括人文、體育、藝術

Second, there is no standardized testing in Finland.

其次，芬蘭沒有標準化考試

I mean, there's a bit,

當然有些考試

but it's not what gets people up in the morning.

但用意不是要學生早起晨讀

It's not what keeps them at their desks.

不是要把學生綁在書桌前

And the third thing, and I was at a meeting recently

第三，最近我參加了一個會議

with some people from Finland, actual Finnish people,

有邀請芬蘭人、真正芬蘭來的人

and somebody from the American system

有位美國教育體系的人

was saying to the people in Finland,

問芬蘭人：

"What do you do about the dropout rate in Finland?"

「芬蘭的輟學率多高？」

And they all looked a bit bemused, and said,

芬蘭人呆住了，說：

"Well, we don't have one.

「我們一個輟學生都沒有。

Why would you drop out?

為什麼要輟學呢？

If people are in trouble, we get to them quite quickly

學生有困難，我們很快會發現，

and help them and we support them."

並幫助他們、支持他們。」

Now people always say, "Well, you know,

有人會說：

you can't compare Finland to America."

「不能拿芬蘭和美國比。」

No. I think there's a population

不，芬蘭人口

of around five million in Finland.

大約只有 500 萬

But you can compare it to a state in America.

但你可拿芬蘭和美國一州相比

Many states in America have fewer people in them than that.

美國許多州人口還沒芬蘭多

I mean, I've been to some states in America

我去過美國的一些州

and I was the only person there. (Laughter)

就只有我一個人（笑聲）

Really. Really. I was asked to lock up when I left.

真的，真的還有人叫我走的時候要鎖門

(Laughter)

（笑聲）