Unit-11-On-Becoming-a-Better-Student课文翻译综合教程三
Unit 11
On Becoming a Better Student
(abridged)
Donna Farhi Schuster
1 As students we expect a great deal from our teachers. We expect them to be enthusiastic. We expect them reliable. We may even have expectations that they be endless repositories of skill and knowledge from which we may partake at will.
2 As a teacher I have come to feel weighted by these expectations and have begun to see that it is really not possible to teach. All the words and theories and techniques are of no use to students who have yet to open themselves with receptivity and to take it upon themselves to practice. So in a sense I have given up trying to “teach,”for I’ve come to believe that the greatest thing I can offer my students is to help them learn how to find themselves through their own investigation.
3 Many factors come together to make a fine student. Find someone you think is extraordinary, and you will find many, if not all, of the following qualities. People who learn a great deal in what seems like a very short time embody these qualities.
4 Curiosity Such people are tremendously curious. The whole world is of interest to them, and they observe what others do not. Nobel Prize-winner physician Albert-Gyorgyi put it well when he said, “Discovery consists of looking at the same thing as everyone else and thinking something different.”With this curiosity comes an “investigative spirit”; the learning is not so much the acquisition of information as it is an investigation—a questioning, a turning over of the object of study to see all sides and facets. It is not knowing in the sense of having a rigid opinion, but the ability to look again at another time, in a different light, as Gyorgyi suggests, and to form a new understanding based on that observation.
5 Discipline Any discipline — but especially those with great subtlety and complexity, like yoga or t’ai chi —can be a lifelong pursuit. Persistence, consistency, and discipline are required. Without these, our learning is but forth without substance. There are no shortcuts. The fruit of these seemingly dry qualities (which we prefer to admire in others) is the satisfaction of having tasted the fullness of completion, or the thrill of meeting a difficult challenge with success. Perhaps, though, our culture is in need of redefining what it means to study. If we can look at our chosen discipline or craft as an ongoing process rather than as a discrete accomplishment, the potential for learning can be infinite. With this
attitude we may find ourselves treating even the most mundane discovery with wide-eyed wonder and joy.
6 Risk-Taking Why is it, then, that so few people live up to their true potential? Beyond the well-paved roads and secure structures we usually build for ourselves lie demons, unsure footing —and unfelt pleasures. To be a student is to take risks. Yet most education discourages people from venturing far enough to take risks to make mistakes. “Children enter school as question marks and leave as periods,”observes educator Neil Postman. What kind of punctuation mark do you represent? Do you find yourself looking for tidy answers that give you a feeling of security? By learning to find the one right answer, we may have relinquished our ability to find other answers and solutions. We learn, then, not to put ourselves into situations where we might fail, because failure has tremendous social stigma. When we try different approaches and do things that have no precedence in our experience, we will surely make mistakes. A creative person uses these “failure”as stepping stones.
7 Initiative Can we begin, then, to see that our teachers are guides on our journey, but that the journey itself is our own responsibility? There is nothing quite so satisfying as undergoing a difficult process and after long hard work discovering the true nature of that process. It could be as simple as throwing a perfect pot, or as complex as formulating a new theory of physics. The satisfaction we feel will be directly proportional to amount of work we do by ourselves to achieve our goal. Successful students do not expect to be spoon-fed, but take their own initiative. Wanting answers from my teacher has often been a way for me to avoid taking the initiative to discover my own answers through my own practice.
8 Enthusiasm To learn, then, is to open oneself. Jim Spira, director of the Institute for Educational Therapy in Berkeley, California, asks his students to prepare themselves to learn in this way: “Drop your prior knowledge …[and] attempt to grasp the new framework in its own context. The student complains, ‘But I know what is important.’ If what you know is important, then it should be there when you finish the course. If you continually ‘hold onto it,’ then you’ll only see what is presented in terms of the old knowledge/framework and never really grow in new ways.”
9 Finally, as we each advance on our own unique journey, let us live each day as beginners. Being “advanced” has its own pitfalls — among them complacency and pushing or forcing. To go deeper may mean to be still, to progress more patiently, or to devote more time to other areas of our lives as yet green and immature. As F.M. Alexander, of the Alexander technique, once said to his students as they
strained and labored, “Give up trying too hard, but never give up.”
10 TIPS FOR THE ASPIRING STUDENT
The information that follows is designed as a guide. The author welcomes correspondence from those who can add to it.
●Be attentive. Teachers will usually go out of their way to help a self-motivated
and interested student.
●Be seen. If you want the teacher to know that you are serious, sit or stand
in the front of the class. Make eye contact and introduce yourself, either before or after class.
●Be on time. Consistent lateness is a sign of disrespect. If you take your
teacher’s skill so lightly, why should he or she take you seriously? Missing the beginning of class can also be physically dangerous if you have missed explanations and work meant to prepare you for more difficult movements.
●Be consistent. The quality of any class improves when there is a collective
commitment to regular attendance. In this way you can gain a cumulative knowledge and progress at a more rapid pace. On a more practical level, your attendance may be your teacher’s livelihood.
●Listen with your whole body. We have come to treat words like the background
noise of a radio. Plant words in the pertinent area of your body so that information can be “embodied”.
●Appreciate constructive criticism. Remember why you’re there—to break through
restrictive habit patterns and to change. Teachers usually reserve the most scathing criticism for their most promising students!
●Questions can help clarify and enrich both teacher and student if the student’s
questions are pertinent. If, on the contrary, the student is asking questions because he or she is late or inattentive, the student is being disrespectful to the teacher and fellow classmates and is consequently lowering the quality of the class. Highly personal questions with little relevance to the subject at hand are best asked after class.
●You have the right to disagree —but you do not always have the right to express
it. Sometimes it is appropriate to challenge a teacher. It is unethical, however, to argue with a teacher or badger a teacher in public. If you thoroughly object to what is being taught, you are free to leave and learn elsewhere.
●Let your teacher know how much you appreciate him or her. Teachers need
encouragement like everyone else. Giving them feedback when something has proved particularly beneficial or injurious to you can help them improve the quality of their teaching.
优秀学生是怎么炼成的
（节选）
唐娜·法伊·舒斯特
1. 作为学生我们对老师期望甚高。我们希望老师热情洋溢。我们希望老师笃实可靠。我们甚至希望老师才识卓绝，取之不竭，用之不尽。
2. 作为老师我渐渐觉得这些期望让我压力重重，我开始明白不太可能“教会”学生什么东西。如果学生不愿意打开心扉去接受并且自己主动练习，老师解释的所有理论啊技巧啊都将变成耳旁风。所以，从某种意义上说，我已经放弃“教”的努力了，因为我慢慢相信我能给学生最好的东西是帮他们学会如何通过自己的调查去发现。
3. 很多要素组合在一起才能造就一名优秀的学生。观察一个你心目中出类拔萃的人，你就会发现以下的很多特点，甚至是全部。那些能在看来极短时间内学到很多东西的人们都具备这些特点。
4. 好奇心这样的人好奇心极强。整个世界都是他们的兴趣所在，他们能见人所未见。诺贝尔奖得主、物理学家艾伯特·圣捷尔吉说得好，“发现乃见众人之所见而思众人所未思。”与好奇之心相伴而来的是一种“探索精神”；学习过程与其说是获得信息的过程，不如说是一种探索，一种质疑，将要学习的东西翻来覆去方方面面层层次次看个明白。这不是有僵化意见的“知”，而是如圣捷尔吉所说，在这一观察的基础上，在另一个时间用另一个角度获得全新理解的能力。
5. 自律任何学科——尤以那些极其微妙和复杂的学科为最，如瑜伽或太极——都可成为终生追求的目标，而坚持不懈、持之以恒、节制自律是必不可少的。没有这些，我们的学习就不过是没有实质的泡沫。没有捷径可言。这些看似枯燥的品质(我们更愿意羡慕别人拥有它们)，给我们带来的是圆满完成某事后的满足感，或成功面对挑战的兴奋。不过，我们的文化也许需要给学习重新下个定义。如果我们将所选择的学科或手艺看作是一个正在持续的进程，而不是一个单独的成就，那么学习的潜力就可能无穷无尽。带着这样的态度，我们面对哪怕最平淡无奇的发现时也能在不知不觉之中充满好奇与喜悦。
6. 冒险那究竟为什么能充分挖掘出自身潜力的人少之又少呢？在铺好的坦途和我们通常为自己建造的坚固房屋之外，有潜伏的恶魔、不确定的落脚之处——当然也有从未感受过的快乐。当学生就意味着要冒险。但教育一般不会鼓励人们大胆走出太远去冒险、去犯错。“孩子们入学时是问号，毕业时是句号”教育家内尔·波斯特曼如是说。你代表的是哪种标点符号呢？你觉得自己是在寻找能给你安全感的明确答案吗？我们学会了寻找唯一的正确答案，可能就放弃了寻找别的答案和解决办法的能力。我们还学会了避失败而远之，因为失败
会招致耻辱。如果我们尝试不同的方法，做以前未尝经历过的事情，我们就肯定会犯错误，而有创意的人会把这些“失败”当作踏脚石。
7. 主动进取这样的话，我们就能将老师视为我们旅程中的导游，而旅程本身则是自己的责任所在了吧？在经历了艰难的过程、长期辛苦的工作之后发现那个过程的真正本质，是最令人满足的。这工作可能很简单，比如在陶轮上制出一个完整的陶罐；也可能很复杂，如提出一套物理学理论。为达到目标所付出的努力越多，所体会到的满足感也就会越强。成功的学生不希望填鸭式教育，而是会主动进取。希望从老师那里得到答案是我常用的逃避伎俩，这样我就不必主动通过练习为自己找到答案。
8. 热忱这么说来，学习其实就是打开心扉。加州伯克莱教育治疗学院院长吉姆·斯皮拉要求学生用这种方式学习：“忘记你们已有的知识……尝试去领会新环境中的观点。学生抱怨说，‘但我知道什么是重要的啊。’要是你已经掌握的知识很重要，那么课程结束时它应该还在那。要是你一直‘抓住它不放’，那么只会看到已有知识/观点的表述，而永远不会在新的方面有所长进。
9. 最后，既然我们每个人的旅程都独一无二，就让我们每天像新手上路一样活着吧。处于“先进高级”阶段有它自己的陷阱——其中包括自得自满、一意孤行或咄咄逼人。继续深入可能意味着停滞不前，意味着更加耐心地向前走，或者意味着往我们人生中青涩和尚不成熟的其他领域投入更多的时间。正如创立了亚历山大技法的 F. M. 亚历山大曾对过分努力的学生所说，“放弃过分努力，但永远不要放弃。”
10. 优秀学生秘笈
以下信息旨在抛砖引玉，若能来函补充，作者无任欢迎。
●专心。老师总是会不遗余力地帮助那些自我激励和兴致勃勃的学生。
●关注。如果你想让老师知道你很认真，那就在教室前排就座或站立，可在课前或课后与
老师进行眼神交流并做自我介绍。
●准时。接二连三的迟到是不尊重老师的表现。如果你这么轻视老师的工作，他(或她)
凭什么要认真地对待你呢？错过课程的开头部分，错过那些为以后更艰深的内容做准备的解释或练习，有时也可能危及人身安全。
●坚持不懈。当全班坚持出席时，授课质量会有提高。这样你就可以逐步积累知识，并且
进步也会更快。从实用的层面来说，你的出勤可能关系到老师的生计。
●全身心地聆听。我们已经习惯把语言当作无线电背景噪音一般来对待。切记把老师的讲
述深深地植根于身体里的相关部位，以便信息能够收录下来。
●感谢建设性的批评。牢记你为什么在那里——是为了打破束缚你的习惯思维方式，并
且改变自己。老师通常给那些最有前途的学生以最为严厉的批评。
●如果学生提出的问题中肯贴切，提问有助于澄清疑团，对老师和学生都是一种丰富和深
化。相反，如果学生提问是因为自己迟到或不专心，那这个学生就是不尊重老师和同学，因而也降低了教学质量。跟教学内容关系不大的私人问题最好等课后再提。
●你有权不同意——但并不是总有权表达异议。有时，质疑老师是合适的。然而，当众与
老师争论或纠缠是不道德的。如果你完全反对教学内容，你尽可以离开去别的地方学习。
●让老师知道你有多么欣赏他或她。老师像所有人一样也需要鼓励，如果有些东西对你特
别有用或有害，及时给予老师反馈，可以帮助老师提高教学质量。