Chapter 35 - Some People Hate Homer / 第35章 - 有些人讨厌荷马

Classical古典的/ˈklæsɪkl/ education's fine for the college-bound准备上大学的/ˈkɒlɪdʒ baʊnd/. Homer荷马/ˈhəʊmə/ and Plato柏拉图/ˈpleɪtəʊ/ might be fun for intellectuals知识分子/ˌɪntəˈlektʃuəlz/. But what about the student学生/ˈstjuːdnt/ who isn't interested in college? What about the student who doesn't really care about scholarship学术研究/ˈskɒləʃɪp/? What about the student who wants to finish high school, get out, and work?

A classical education is valuable有价值的/ˈvæljuəbl/ even for people who hate Homer. At a recent conference会议/ˈkɒnfərəns/ on education in Richmond, Virginia, a top executive高级管理人员/ɪɡˈzekjʊtɪv/ from a car manufacturer制造商/ˌmænjʊˈfæktʃərə/ let fly in frustration挫折/frʌˈstreɪʃn/: Why are you asking me how to prepare准备/prɪˈpeə/ students for the job market?

Most of the high-school graduates毕业生/ˈɡrædjuəts/ who apply申请/əˈplaɪ/ for jobs with us can't write, don't read well, can't think through a problem问题/ˈprɒbləm/. We spend an unbelievable难以置信的/ˌʌnbɪˈliːvəbl/ amount of money retraining重新培训/ˌriːˈtreɪnɪŋ/ these graduates in basic academic学术的/ˌækəˈdemɪk/ skills before we can teach them how to do their jobs. Don't bring more vocational training into the high-school curriculum课程/kəˈrɪkjələm/. Teach them how to read, to write, to do math, and to think. We'll train them in the specific job skills they need."

A well-trained mind is a necessity必需品/nəˈsesəti/ for any job—from car repair person to university大学/ˌjuːnɪˈvɜːsəti/ teacher. The mechanic机械师/məˈkænɪk/ with a classical education will be more successful成功的/səkˈsesfl/ than her untrained counterparts对应的人/ˈkaʊntəpɑːts/; she'll know how to plan her business生意/ˈbɪznəs/, how to relate to her customers顾客/ˈkʌstəməz/, how to organize her responsibilities责任/rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlətiz/, how to think. A classical education is the best possible preparation for the job market.

Throughout this book, we've maintained坚持认为/meɪnˈteɪnd/ that the classical education is not intended to teach all subjects comprehensively全面地/ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪvli/—history, science, math, language. The classical education is designed设计的/dɪˈzaɪnd/ to teach the student how to learn. In its constant demand要求/dɪˈmɑːnd/ that the student read and then analyze分析/ˈænəlaɪz/ and write about what she's read, the classical education trains the mind to gather收集/ˈɡæðə/, organize, and use information信息/ˌɪnfəˈmeɪʃn/. And the student who knows how to learn—and has had practice练习/ˈpræktɪs/ in independent独立的/ˌɪndɪˈpendənt/ learning—can successfully do any job.

In their book Teaching the New Basic Skills: Principles for Educating Children to Thrive in a Changing Economy, authors Richard J. Murnane and Frank Levy analyze分析/ˈænəlaɪz/ the hiring招聘/ˈhaɪərɪŋ/ practices of several large companies公司/ˈkʌmpəniz/. They conclude得出结论/kənˈkluːd/ that while employers雇主/ɪmˈplɔɪəz/ look for certain basic skills—the ability to do math, to read well, to communicate交流/kəˈmjuːnɪkeɪt/ effectively in writing and in speech, to use computers for simple tasks—the primary quality that makes students employable可雇用的/ɪmˈplɔɪəbl/ is the ability to "raise performance表现/pəˈfɔːməns/ continually" by learning on the job.

Such ability follows the Platonic柏拉图式的/pləˈtɒnɪk/ definition of knowledge知识/ˈnɒlɪdʒ/—an activity, a continual process of learning, not some sort of static静止的/ˈstætɪk/ body of information. Gene Edward Veith points out that the Greeks would have viewed with suspicion怀疑/səˈspɪʃn/ education that trains the student for a highly specific job. Such training creates "a slave奴隶/sleɪv/ mentality, making the learner an obedient顺从的/əˈbiːdiənt/ worker utterly dependent依赖的/dɪˈpendənt/ upon his masters." In an economy where the average worker has held five different jobs over the space of a career, only the flexible can survive (and be free).

A classical education is useful. But to a certain extent程度/ɪkˈstent/, to ask "What's the use?" is itself antithetical对立的/ˌæntɪˈθetɪkl/ to the goals of the classical education. "The practical life," writes David Hicks, in a paraphrase释义/ˈpærəfreɪz/ of Plato, "falls short of completeness完整性/kəmˈpliːtnəs/. The wealth财富/welθ/ one acquires in business is a useful thing, but as such, it exists for the sake of something else." The classically educated student aims for more than a life of comfort; she aims for a "life that knows and reveres尊敬/rɪˈvɪəz/, speculates思考/ˈspekjuleɪts/ and acts upon the Good, that loves and re-produces the Beautiful美丽的/ˈbjuːtɪfl/, and that pursues excellence卓越/ˈeksələns/ and moderation节制/ˌmɒdəˈreɪʃn/ in all things."

The classical education, with its emphasis重点/ˈemfəsɪs/ on the life of the mind, on reading and writing about ideas, is aimed at producing a student who pursues excellence and moderation in all things. This is Plato's "virtuous有德行的/ˈvɜːtʃuəs/ man" (who, parenthetically, is generally highly employable—a side effect). There's yet another reason for classical education, which has to do with the nature of a democracy民主/dɪˈmɒkrəsi/. From ancient古代的/ˈeɪnʃənt/ times through recent centuries, only a small, elite精英/ɪˈliːt/ segment of the population received the kind of education we've outlined in these chapters.

Because only a fraction一小部分/ˈfrækʃn/ of society was equipped to think through ideas and their consequences后果/ˈkɒnsɪkwənsɪz/, only that fraction was qualified to govern统治/ˈɡʌvən/—an act that demands that the governing members of society look past the immediate, the popular, and the simplistic in order to evaluate long-range consequences and complex cause and effect. But in a democracy, all citizens公民/ˈsɪtɪzənz/ have a part in government. They should be able to look past immediate gratification满足感/ˌɡrætɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/, rhetorical修辞的/rɪˈtɒrɪkl/ flourishes, and simplistic solutions in order to understand which course of action is the right one to take.

In a healthy democracy, the casting of a vote is the act of a well-trained mind. Every citizen in a democracy takes on the responsibilities责任/rɪˌspɒnsəˈbɪlətiz/ that were once reserved for the well-educated aristocratic贵族的/ˌærɪstəˈkrætɪk/ segment of society. And so every citizen, college-bound or not, should receive the type of education that will develop the life of the mind.

What happens if this is neglected忽视/nɪˈɡlektɪd/? "The average citizen," David Hicks writes, "will begin to doubt the soundness合理性/ˈsaʊndnəs/ of his own judgments判断/ˈdʒʌdʒmənts/. He will surrender his fundamental democratic right to ideas and to decision making to a few experts专家/ˈekspɜːts/. [...] [He will] grow lazy in his demand for a high quality of public thought and information. He will doubt his ability to decide the issues shaping his life, and he will take another step beyond representative代议制的/ˌreprɪˈzentətɪv/ government in relinquishing the privilege特权/ˈprɪvəlɪdʒ/ of self-government by putting himself at the mercy of a few experts. At last, abandoning his Western classical heritage遗产/ˈherɪtɪdʒ/, he will resign himself and his children to... a democracy in name only."

It's a chilling令人恐惧的/ˈtʃɪlɪŋ/ scenario, but already these tendencies趋势/ˈtendənsiz/ are visible in America in the beginning of the twenty-first century. The classical education—for all students, not just for some college-bound "elite"—is the best preventive预防措施/prɪˈventɪv/. And you don't have to wait for your local school to come to this conclusion. You can train your child's mind yourself.