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  3. Why Go to College at All? Is college worth it? Recently some powerful ar

Why Go to College at All? Is college worth it? Recently some powerful ar

游客2024-01-02  8
问题     Why Go to College at All?
    Is college worth it? Recently some powerful arguments have been leveled against the value of a college degree. For example, Dale J. Stephens, 20, the founder of UnCollege, which urges students to find their own pathways to success. Mr. Stephens spent his middle and high school years "unschooling" , and then left college after a brief time there.
    Mr. Stephens envisions "a world where people make their own decisions" , where college is not a foregone conclusion and young people forge their own paths to fulfillment.
    We asked Mr. Stephens for his responses to the arguments most often given for going to college. Here’s what he had to say.
    Reason 1: Learning in a rigorous, supported educational environment
    " If you want to learn, college is the last place you should go," Mr. Stephens said. " A lot of learning isn’t happening on college campuses. "
    That may sound surprising, given that college is virtually defined as an institution devoted to nourishing learning and intellectualism.
    Not true, Mr. Stephens said. "What you learn in college is generally the same skill set that you learn in a traditional school environment," he said. " You learn how to follow directions, meet deadlines and memorize facts. "
    Although college provides structure and resources for learning, "I don’t know that structure is a good thing," he said. "When you go out into the world, there’s no structure like that. A job doesn’t give you a syllabus. " And he criticized the education system — and standardized testing in particular — for being " efficient but not effective. " His ideal is self-directed education on the principles of project-based learning, perhaps with the guidance of professors.
    Reason 2: Socializing and developing a network of friends and contacts
    Mr. Stephens said that many have advised him that he’s missing out by not going to college, where, the rationale goes, he could be meeting women and drinking beer. His retort: " I like guys and Champagne. "
    Underlying this frank answer is his conviction that the social world of college is a self-selecting, largely homogenous "bubble".
    " You might end up limiting yourself if you only socialize with people on your dorm floor and in your classes," he said. Campus population might be diverse, he said, but " people are still there for the same reason. " In contrast, he said, unschooling has allowed him to actively seek opportunities to meet people who travel different walks in life.
    As for the value of making connections in college to nurture a professional network, people are increasingly using social media resources like Linkedln3, Twitter and Facebook to make connections, Mr. Stephens said.
    Reason 3: Self-discovery
    Many college graduates believe that they discovered themselves in their years on campus. But Mr. Stephens said the typical student’s lack of real responsibility, coupled with an emphasis on rote memorization and test taking, hampers true personal growth.     Learners are better off spending early adulthood developing self-reliance, he said. Self-discovery might best be achieved doing something constructive, he argued, like creating a start-up.
    The idea of taking a gap year off from school to explore the world and find yourself angered him. "Why does it have to be a year off? Why can’t it be a year on? Why should you have to take time out of the system to engage?" he asked.
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答案     为什么非得上大学?
    上大学真的值得吗?近来，大学文凭的价值受到不少人有力的驳斥。比如戴尔-J-斯蒂芬斯，今年20岁，他是“不上大学”(UnCollege)组织的创办人，该组织敦促青年学生走自己的路去追求成功。斯蒂芬斯先生中学期间就拒绝学校教育，进入大学不久之后又选择辍学。
    斯蒂芬斯的理想世界是一个“人人都能自己做决定的世界”，在这个世界里，上大学不是一成不变的定局，年轻人自己努力构筑通向成就的道路。
    我们问斯蒂芬斯，对于大多数人主张的“读大学的理由”，有什么想法。他是这样说的：
    理由一：要在一个严肃、能获得支持的教育环境下学习
    斯蒂芬斯说：“如果你想学习，那么你最不该去的地方就是大学。很多东西在大学校园里是学不到的。”
    鉴于大学几乎被定义为一个提供知识养分、促进智力发展的专门机构，斯蒂芬斯的观点可谓惊世骇俗。
    斯蒂芬斯认为这个定义不正确。他说：“你在大学里学到的技能和在传统学校环境里学到的并无二致——无非就是遵守各项指令，应对时间节点，死记硬背种种常识。”
    尽管大学能为学生提供学习的框架和资源，斯蒂芬斯表示： “我不认为这种框架是好的。当你真的踏进社会，根本不存在这种框架。工作不会给你一份纲要。”他批评教育体制，尤其是标准化测试体系，效率虽高，但效果却不好。在他的理想中，学习应该是以自我指导为中心、基于一个个项目为形式的过程，教授或许可以从旁指点一二。
    理由二：参与社交活动、交朋友、建立人脉关系
    斯蒂芬斯说很多人都曾善意提醒他，不读大学会错过很多东西。他们的理由是读大学可以结识女人，畅饮啤酒。但他反驳道：“我喜欢男生，喜欢喝香槟。”
    这个坦诚的回答背后是斯蒂芬斯的信念：大学这个社会是个自我选择的、在很大程度上同质的“泡泡”。
    斯蒂芬斯表示：“如果你只和住在宿舍同一楼层的伙伴以及自己班上的同学交往，那么你可能反而限制了自己的发展。”大学里的人虽然各不相同，但他认为“读大学的理由是一样的。”反倒是因为不上学，才让他更积极地寻找机会去结识各个阶层的人们。
    至于在大学里建立人际关系以期今后能拥有一个专业的社交圈子，斯蒂芬斯说现在人们大可以利用比如“邻客音”、“推特”、“脸书”等社交媒介资源去建立人脉关系。
    理由三：发现自我
    很多大学毕业生都认为他们是在大学期间认清自己的。但是斯蒂芬斯认为，大学生缺失真正的责任感，加上只是侧重于死记硬背、应付考试，这种典型现象妨碍他们个人的真正成长。
    按斯蒂芬斯的想法，学习者最好利用成年初期培养自力更生的精神。他认为，要认清自我，最好通过做一些建设性的工作，如自主创业。
    “休学一年”去探索世界、发现自我，这想法让斯蒂芬斯心头冒火。他诘问：“为什么得‘休学一年’?为什么这一年不算上学?为什么要从教育制度中抽出一年的时间来探索世界、发现自我?”
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