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1、Twelve Things I Wish They Taught at School1.I attended junior and senior high school, public institution in New York and New Jersey, just after the Second World War. It seems a long time ago. The facilities and skillsof the teachers were probably well above average for the United States at that time
2、. Since then, Ive learned a great deal. One of the most important thing Ive learned is how much there is to learn, and how much I dont yet know. Sometimes I think how grateful I would be today if I had learned more back then about what really matter. In some respects educations is terribly narrow; t
3、he only thing I ever learned in school about Napoleons was thatthe United States made a Louisiana Purchase from him (On a planet where some 95% of the inhabitants are not Americans, the only history that was thought worth teaching was American history.) In spelling, grammar, the fundamentals of math
4、, and other vital subjects, my teachers did a pretty good job. But theres no much else I wish theyd taught us.2.Perhaps all the deficiencies have since been rectified. It seems to me there are many things (often more a matter of attitude and perception than the simple memorization of facts) that the
5、 schools should teach things that truly would be useful in later life, useful in making a stronger country and a better world, but useful also in making people happier. Human beings enjoy learning. Thats one of the few things that we do better than the other species on our planet. Every student shou
6、ld regularly experience the Aha!when something you never understood, or something you never knew was mystery becomes clear.3.So heres my list:Pick a difficult thing and learn it well4.The Greek philosopher Socrates said this was one of the greatest of human joys, and it is. While you learn a little
7、bit about many subjects, make sure you learn a great deal about one or two. It hardly matters what the subject is, as long as it deeply interests you, and you place it in its broader human context. After you teach yourself one subject, you become much more confident about your ability to teach yours
8、elf another. You gradually find youve acquired a key skill. The world is changing so rapidly that you must continue to teach yourself throughout your life. But dont get trapped by the first subject that interests you, or the first thing you find yourself good at. The world is full of wonders, and so
9、me of them we dont discover until were all grow up. Most of them. sadly , we never discover.Dont be afraidto ask stupid questions.5.Many apparently naive inquiries like why grass is green, or why the Sun is round, or why we need 55.000 nuclear weapons in the world are really deep questions. The answ
10、ers can be a gateway to real insights. Its also important to know, as well as you can, what it is that you dont know, and asking questions is the way. To ask stupid questions requires courage on the part of the asker and knowledge and patience on the part of the answerer. And dont confine your learn
11、ing to schoolwork. Discuss ideas in depth with friends. Its much braver to ask questions even when theres a prospect of ridicule than to suppress your questions and become deadenedto the world around you. Listen carefully.6.Many conversations are a kind of competition that rarely leads to discovery
12、on either side. When people are talking, dont spend the time thinking about what youre going to say next. Instead, try to understand what theyre saying, what experience is behind their remarks, what you can learn from or about them. Older people have grown up in a world very different from yours, on
13、e you may not know very well. They. and people from other parts of the country and from other nations, have important perspectives that can enrich your life.Everybody makes mistakes 7.Everybodys understanding is incomplete. Be open to correction, and learn to correct your own mistakes. The only emba
14、rrassment is in not learning from your mistakes.Know your planet 8.Its the only one we have. Learn how it works. Were changing the atmosphere, the surface, the waters of the Earth, often for some short-term advantage when the long-term implications are unknown. The citizens of any country should hav
15、e at least something to say about the direction in which were going. If we dont understand the issues, we abandon the future.Science and technology.9.You cant know your planet unless you know something about science and technology. School science courses, I remember, concentrated on the unimportant
16、parts of science, leaving the major insights almost untouched. The great discoveries in modern science are also great discoveries of the human spirit. For example, Copernicus showed that far from being the center of the universe, about which the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars revolved in clockwise homagethe Earth is just one of many small worlds. This is a deflation of our pretensions, to be sure, but it is also the op
