时间:2018-12-28 作者:英语课 分类:英语语言学习


英语课
Good morning, boys and girls.
[Audience: (Murmur)]
That was terrible. You’ve learned how to do that from a young age. You’re supposed to say, “Good morning, Mr. Godin.” So let’s try again.
Good morning, boys and girls!
[Audience: Good morning, Mr. Godin!]
Have you thought about what that’s for? Have you thought about how, for a hundred or 150 years, that was ingrained into the process of public education? And have you thought at all as people on the cutting edge, as people who are interested in making school work again, about a very simple question: What is school for?
I don’t think we’re answering that question. I don’t even think we’re asking that question. Everyone seems to think they know what school is for, but we’re not going to make anything happen until we can all agree about how we got here and where we are going. So my goal today is to put that question into your head and help you think about it.
First, we have to understand what school used to be for. There was a woman named Mary Everest Boole and she came up with this notion — she was a mathematician 1 in the late 1800s — that you could use string and nails and wood and make decorations, those things with the string goes back and forth 2, and there is math built into that, and that a teacher on the cutting edge, of fifth graders, might decide to use that idea modulo nine and remainders and string going back and forth to teach an important lesson about math.
So that memo 3 went home to all the parents at my kids public school and said, “We need help with this. We need hammers.” So I am sort of unemployed 4. I showed up at school that day with a bag of hammers, a big bag of 18 hammers. Now, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard 18 kids hitting nails with 18 hammers in a little room for 20 minutes, but I have. I’m not going to do it for you because it’s really hard to listen to.
And what the teacher explained to the kids is they must arrange the brads in this certain pattern, hammering, hammering, hammering and make sure they’re in there nice and firm. And so these kids are hammering, hammering, hammering, 20 minutes of zero education. Just 20 minutes of hammering.
And then the teacher walks over and she says to a boy, “I told you to make sure the brads were all the way in.” And one by one she pulled them out and threw them on the floor every single one and put the board down and that is what she believed school was for. School was about teaching obedience 5.
“Good morning, boys and girls” starts the day with respect and obedience.
Now I have to move on to Frederick J. Kelly. Some of you have brought your own number 2 pencil for the quiz that’s going to be part of today. The number 2 pencil is famous because Frederick J. Kelly made it famous.
Back around World War I we had a problem, which was that there was this huge influx 6 of students because we had expanded the school day to include high school, and there was this huge need to sort them all out. So he invented the standardized 7 test and an abomination. And he gave it up ten years later when the emergency was over but because he gave it up, because he called it out, because he said the standardized test is too crude to be used, he was ostracized 8 and lost his job as the president of a university, because he dared to speak up against a system that was working.
So let’s try a little experiment here. I’d like everyone to go ahead and raise your right hand just as high as possibly you can. Now please raise it a little higher.
Hmm. What’s that about?! My instructions were pretty clear and yet you all held back. How come? You held back because you’ve been taught since you were 3 years old to hold a little bit back because if you do everything, if you put all out, then your parents or your teacher or your coach or your boss is going to ask for little bit more, aren’t they? And the reason they will is because we are products of the industrial age.
The industrial age made us all rich. The industrial age brought productivity to the table. Productivity allows human beings working together with a boss and a manager to make more than they could ever make alone. Productivity makes us a car for $700 instead of $700,000 in 1920.
But the thing about productivity and industrialism is this. The people who ran factories had two huge problems.
Problem number one: they looked around and they said, “We don’t have enough workers. We don’t have enough people who are willing to move off the farm and come to this dark building for 12 hours a day, 6 days a week and do what they are told. If we could get more workers, we could pay them less. And if we could pay them less, we’d make more money. We need more workers.”
And so, the KKK went to industrialists 9 and said, “You need to get those kids out of the factories, those people you’re paying $3 a day, because they’re taking our jobs.” And so a deal was made. And the deal was universal public education whose sole intent was not to train the scholars of tomorrow. We had plenty of scholars. It was to train people to be willing to work in the factory. It was to train people to behave, to comply, to fit in. We process you for a whole year. If you are defective 10, we hold you back and process you again. We sit you in straight rows just like they organize things in the factory. We build a system, all about interchangeable people because factories are based on interchangeable parts. If this piece is no good, put another piece in there. And org charts, those little boxes are all designed to say, “Oh, we can fit Bob in there because Rachel didn’t show to work today.” And so we built school. That’s what school was for.
And the second thing industrialists were really worried about was that we weren’t going to buy all the stuff they could make, that in 1880, 1890, people owned two pairs of shoes, one pair of jeans. That was it. You don’t know anyone who owns one pair of jeans anymore, ever. What they needed to train us to do was buy stuff. They needed to train us to fit in. They needed to train us to become consumers.
And so, Horace Mann, who meant well, built the public school as we know it. And then, he needed more teachers, right? Because you have more schools so he built a school for teachers. Do you know what it’s called? The normal school. He called it the normal school where they trained people to teach in the common school because he wanted you to be normal, and he wanted the class to be normal, and he wanted people to fit in.
And then we came up with this: the textbook. Now if you want to teach somebody, how to become passionate 11 about, I don’t know, American history, why would you give them this? Do people walk into Barnes & Noble and say, “I’m really interested in that latest gripping thing that’s going to get me all engaged about the Civil War. Do you have one of those textbooks in stock?”
If you wanted to teach someone how to be a baseball fan, would you start by having them understand the history of baseball, who Abner Doubleday was, what barnstorming was, the influences of cricket and capitalism 12 and the Negro leagues? Would you do that? Would you say, “OK, there’s a test tomorrow. I want you to memorize the top 50 batters 13 in order by batting average,” and then rank the people based on how they do on the test so the ones that do well get to memorize more baseball players? Is that how we would create baseball fans?
Here is the key distinction. What people do quite naturally is, if it’s work, they try to figure out how to do less. And if it’s art, we try to figure out how to do more. And when we put kids in the factory we call school, the thing we built to indoctrinate them into compliance 14, why are we surprised that the question is “Will this be on the test?” Someone who is making art doesn’t say, “Can I do one less canvas this month?” They don’t say, “Can I write one less song this month?” They don’t say, “Can I touch one fewer person this month?” It’s art. They want to do more of it.
But when it’s work, when it’s your job, when you’re seven, of course you want to do less of it. So one of the things that I’ve done as an avocation 15 is when I meet people, I take this out. There’s a great bargain online. And it’s filled with these blocks, right? You’ve probably seen blocks before. I’m going to dump them out of it. And I say, “Take four blocks and make them into something interesting.”
Now it’s an interesting question. Because you can use the letters and you can use the shapes, you can spell the word, you can put a profanity there. You can spell a word that means nothing. You can make the shape into a bridge. And people hate this. Because there’s no right answer and there’s a million wrong answers. They hate this because there’s no Dummies 16 Guide to how to make something interesting out of blocks when you are 30 years old.
And now, we are at a crossroads. We’re at a crossroads because as a culture we say the only thing we care about, the only place we are willing to cross the street to go, the only thing we are willing to buy, the only person we are willing to vote for, the only stuff we are willing to talk about is interesting, is art, is new, will touch us, is valuable. And then we spend all of our money and all of our time teaching people not to do that.
And so we’re now at this crossroads because technology is here too. And the technology says, you know what, for the first time in history, we do not need a human being to stand next to us to teach us to do square roots. For the first time in history, we do not need a human being to teach us how to sharpen an ax because the Internet connects us all.
And so I want to share with you 8 things that I think are going to change completely if we decide how we want to answer to this question, or maybe even if we don’t.
One, as Sal Khan has pointed 17 out, homework during the day, lectures at night. World-class lecturers lecturing on anything you want to learn to every single person in the world who’s got an Internet connection for free. And then all day go and sit with a human being, a teacher and ask your questions and do your work and explore face-to-face. It’s stupid to have the same lecture being given handmade 10,000 times a day across the country when we can get one person to do it great for the people who want to hear it.
Number two, open book, open note all the time. There is zero value in memorizing anything ever again. Anything that is worth memorizing is worth looking up. So we shouldn’t spend any time teaching people to memorize stuff.
Number three, access to any course anywhere in the world anytime you want to take it. So this notion that we have to do things in a certain order, which is based on physical location and chronology, makes no sense.
Number four, precise focused education instead of mass batch 18 stuff. That’s the way we make almost everything we buy now, right? It used to be you could have any color of car you wanted as long as it’s black. So we could keep the assembly line going. But now they make 10,000 kinds of cars because they can. So we should make 10,000 kinds of education.
No more multiple-choice exams. Those were invented to make them easy to score but computers are smarter than that. Measuring experience instead of test scores, because experience is what we really care about. The end of compliance as an outcome. The resume is proof that you have complied for years and years and years with famous brand names and it gets you your next job. It’s worthless now.
And cooperation instead of isolation 19. Why do we do anything where we ask people to do it all by themselves and then we put them in the real world and say, “Cooperate.”
Four more. Teacher’s role transforms into coach, lifelong learning with work happening earlier in your life, and really important the death of the famous college. Not good college. We don’t know what a good college is but we know what a famous college is because someone ranked them as famous or because they have a football team that is famous. Why on earth are we paying extra, why on earth are we working harder to comply and be obedient? Just so we can get a famous brand name that has no relevance 20 to success or happiness put after our name.
I want to show you one more device I have over here as I start — This is called an Arduino. It’s a little bit like Raspberry Pi. They’re both electronic devices that cost $20 to $30 each. Raspberry Pi, which you can buy for $25, has on it the complete Linux operating system, a USB port, audio out, and a monitor. So if we take that cable and that keyboard and that monitor we already have in front of almost every kid in this country and hand them one of these. We can then say to them, “Go build something interesting and ask if you need help.”
Why wouldn’t we want to teach our kids to go do something interesting? Why wouldn’t we want to teach our kids to figure it out? And yet, everyday we send kids to school and say, “Do not figure it out,” “Do not ask questions I do not know the answer to,” “Do not look it up,” “Do not vary from the curriculum,” and better better better better better comply, fit in, be like your peers, do what you’re told because I must process you, because everything in my evaluation 21 is based on whether or not I processed you properly.
So, there are two myths I want to close with. The first one and we got to be really honest with ourselves about this.
Myth one: great performance in school leads to happiness and success. If that’s not true, we should stop telling ourselves it is.
And two: great parents have kids who produce great performance in school. If that’s not true, we should stop telling ourselves it is.
Are we asking our kids to collect dots or connect dots? Because we’re really good at measuring how many dots they collect, how many facts they have memorized, how many boxes they have filled in, but we teach nothing about how to connect those dots. You cannot teach connecting dots in a Dummies manual. You cannot teach connecting dots in a textbook. You can only do it by putting kids into a situation where they can fail. Grades are an illusion. Passion and insight are reality.
Your work is more important than your congruence to an answer key. Persistence 22 in the face of a skeptical 23 authority figure is priceless. And yet we undermine it. Fitting in is a short-term strategy that gets you nowhere. Standing 24 out is a long-term strategy that takes guts 25 and produces results. If you care enough about your work to be willing to be criticized for it, then you have done a good day’s work.
So what now? What now? What should we do? Because we’ve been talking about it a whole lot. Only one thing. Ask the question, “What is school for?” When they say this is our new textbook, the question is, “Is that going to help us with getting what school is for?” When they say this is the new superintendent 26, we need to say, “Yes, but is this superintendent going to help us do what we think school is for?” And if you don’t know what school is for, then have a conversation about it. Because until we can agree what school is for, we’re not going to get what we need.
Thank you for the work you do. I appreciate it.

1 mathematician
n.数学家
  • The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
  • The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。
2 forth
adv.向前;向外,往外
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
3 memo
n.照会,备忘录;便笺;通知书;规章
  • Do you want me to send the memo out?您要我把这份备忘录分发出去吗?
  • Can you type a memo for me?您能帮我打一份备忘录吗?
4 unemployed
adj.失业的,没有工作的;未动用的,闲置的
  • There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
  • The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。
5 obedience
n.服从,顺从
  • Society has a right to expect obedience of the law.社会有权要求人人遵守法律。
  • Soldiers act in obedience to the orders of their superior officers.士兵们遵照上级军官的命令行动。
6 influx
n.流入,注入
  • The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
  • Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施,因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。
7 standardized
adj.标准化的
  • We use standardized tests to measure scholastic achievement. 我们用标准化考试来衡量学生的学业成绩。
  • The parts of an automobile are standardized. 汽车零件是标准化了的。
8 ostracized
v.放逐( ostracize的过去式和过去分词 );流放;摈弃;排斥
  • He was ostracized by his colleagues for refusing to support the strike. 他因拒绝支持罢工而受到同事的排斥。
  • The family were ostracized by the neighborhood. 邻居们都不理睬那一家人。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
9 industrialists
n.工业家,实业家( industrialist的名词复数 )
  • This deal will offer major benefits to industrialists and investors. 这笔交易将会让实业家和投资者受益匪浅。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The government has set up a committee of industrialists and academics to advise it. 政府已成立了一个实业家和学者的委员会来为其提供建议。 来自《简明英汉词典》
10 defective
adj.有毛病的,有问题的,有瑕疵的
  • The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
  • If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷, 顾客有权索赔。
11 passionate
adj.热情的,热烈的,激昂的,易动情的,易怒的,性情暴躁的
  • He is said to be the most passionate man.据说他是最有激情的人。
  • He is very passionate about the project.他对那个项目非常热心。
12 capitalism
n.资本主义
  • The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
  • Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。
13 batters
n.面糊(煎料)( batter的名词复数 );面糊(用于做糕饼);( 棒球) 正在击球的球员;击球员v.连续猛击( batter的第三人称单数 )
  • The pitcher has beaned as many as three batters in this game. 在这?热?投手投球竟打中了三个击手的头。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
  • A storm batters the ship. 一场风暴袭击了这条船。 来自辞典例句
14 compliance
n.顺从;服从;附和;屈从
  • I was surprised by his compliance with these terms.我对他竟然依从了这些条件而感到吃惊。
  • She gave up the idea in compliance with his desire.她顺从他的愿望而放弃自己的主意。
15 avocation
n.副业,业余爱好
  • He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation.他从事印刷业,同时是个博物学爱好者。
  • Learning foreign languages is just an avocation with me.学习外语只不过是我的一项业余爱好。
16 dummies
n.仿制品( dummy的名词复数 );橡皮奶头;笨蛋;假传球
  • If he dummies up, just try a little persuasion. 如果他不说话,稍微劝劝他就是了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • All the articles in the window are dummies. 橱窗里的全部物品都是仿制品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
17 pointed
adj.尖的,直截了当的
  • He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
  • She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。
18 batch
n.一批(组,群);一批生产量
  • The first batch of cakes was burnt.第一炉蛋糕烤焦了。
  • I have a batch of letters to answer.我有一批信要回复。
19 isolation
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
20 relevance
n.中肯,适当,关联,相关性
  • Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
  • Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。
21 evaluation
n.估价,评价;赋值
  • I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
  • The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。
22 persistence
n.坚持,持续,存留
  • The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
  • He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。
23 skeptical
adj.怀疑的,多疑的
  • Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
  • Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。
24 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
25 guts
v.狼吞虎咽,贪婪地吃,飞碟游戏(比赛双方每组5人,相距15码,互相掷接飞碟);毁坏(建筑物等)的内部( gut的第三人称单数 );取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 );内脏;消化道的下段;肠
  • I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净,我只需烧一下即可。
  • Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》
26 superintendent
n.监督人,主管,总监;(英国)警务长
  • He was soon promoted to the post of superintendent of Foreign Trade.他很快就被擢升为对外贸易总监。
  • He decided to call the superintendent of the building.他决定给楼房管理员打电话。
学英语单词
acceptedly
accompting
added value analysis
advertisement file
all cut
anti-adhesions
anticipatory subject
appropriate to oneself
astroite
asymmetrical P.D. modulation
Baltasar, Pta.
Ban Kapang
border region
Cath ed
chainss
circular arc camber
combined liver and kidney transplantation
completely additive measure
convectional degree of distortion
cum all rights
cyclical stress
deaf point
demand letter
diplomatic negotiationss
dishwares
disordering rate
dock-cress
double v groove weld
Elatostema edule
emergnecy measure
entanglement
Erops
expert survey
field-alterable control element
furocoumarins
giant stride standing
go on a spending spree
Göppingen
Hausdorff codimension
high temperature gas cooled reactor
inch by inch
infective splenomegaly
iron and steel wire
irrecognition
isocortex
jukus
Kami-hiru-zen
knock together
Ku Klux
laboratoryscale
langeleik
marbles
metadoxine
mooring anchors
mosatil
nahuatlato
new fuel assembly transfer station
nickel oxide
nonepidermal
Ongchiopsis
overflow slab
overnight cases
party travel
persulfacte
pointed-leaf maples
potential buffer agent
prepunctual
pressure density
proper journal
pupillostatomete
r/i closing form
Radushne
ramnath
rotary spherical digester
rotating rod viscometer
royal roads
rub down
rubber air pillow
sacurity dispatching
screen design aid
self-learning computer
Sinovac
square drubble
stenagma
stereotelescope
strewment
Sublimaze
telephone receivers
Tellico Plains
toile ciree
tools attachment
traceabler
triads
Turkish Van
uncinate epilepsy
unmitre
unwealth
volen
washboard
Ways and Means Committee
work time research
Z-transformation