浙江省江苏大学伦理学研究生LV Tiantian花了几年的时间阅读《亚里士多德》和《柏拉图》。
LV Tiantian, a graduate student majoring in
ethics at Jiangsu University in Zhenjiang, has spent years reading Aristotle and Plato.
她经常和同学辩论"快乐"的意义,还曾写过关于道德在社会中所扮演的角色的文章。
She has debated with classmates about the meaning of "happiness" and in written papers about the role of
morality in society.
然而,正当Lv准备迈入专业领域时,她却发现自己的(学术)背景并没有给她带来很多的面试机会。
But as Lv prepares to enter the professional world, she's
finding that her background isn't getting her a lot of job interviews.
今年24岁的Lv表示:"招聘单位似乎并不看重我们这些文科生所学的理论和哲理。"
"Employers do not seem to value the theories and philosophy that we liberal arts majors have learned," said Lv, 24.
"与那些实用专业的学生相比,我得到的面试机会要少很多。"
"I earned far fewer interview chances than those majoring in more practical subjects."
事实确实如此。目前,工作市场对人文学科的学生很不利。
Indeed, the current job market has been hard on students from the humanities.
更多的招聘者更倾向于雇用科学技术专业的学生,而不是精通语言、文学、历史的毕业生。
Instead of graduates versed in languages, literature and history, more employers want grads with backgrounds in science and technology.
2009年,由中青世嘉专业测评网和《中国企业报》共同实施的一项调查显示,无论在就业比率还是在薪酬待遇方面,理科生都比文科生高。
According to a 2009 survey conducted by Zhongqing Shijia Survey Net and China Enterprise News, science graduates enjoy higher employment rates and salaries than do liberal arts students.
在国外,形势也很相似。
Things aren't much different
overseas.
据《纽约时报》报道,2008至09学年度,英语、文学、外国语领域的专家的工作清单下降了21%,是34年来下滑最大的一次。
The New York Times reports that job listings for professors in English, literature and foreign languages dropped 21 percent for the 2008-09
academic year - the biggest decline in 34 years.
因此,一些美国的教育者们呼吁大学放弃"老式的象牙塔般的文科教育观点"。
As a result, some American educators are
calling for universities to abandon the "old Ivory Tower view of liberal education".
相对的,他们想更多地强调教育实用、经济的一面。
They want to put more
emphasis on the practical and economic aspects of education.
在某种程度上,中国的教育学专家们趋于同意。
Chinese
educational experts tend to agree - up to a point.
然而,他们也表示,完全不再强调人文学科会引来风险。
But abandoning
emphasis on the humanities altogether, they say, brings great risk.
北京师范大学的教育专家牛志奎表示:"虽然,人文科学并不会在社会上产生任何有形的物质财富,但是它传达了社会的价值,将精神遗产代代相传。"
"The liberal arts does not
generate any tangible material wealth, but it does convey social values. And it passes spiritual
heritage from one generation to another," said Niu Dakui, an expert on education at Beijing Normal University.
"如果(人文科学)被取消,我们的孩子将失去方向。"
"If [the humanities] are discarded, our youngsters will lose their way."
耶鲁大学法学教授,Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life的作者柯隆曼给出了更多解释。
Anthony T. Kronman, a professor of law at Yale and the author of Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life, goes even further.
他认为,贪婪、不负责任和欺诈比比皆是,那才是导致经济崩溃的原因。也正是因此,人文教育比任何时候都显得更为迫切。
He argues that the greed, irresponsibility and fraud that put the world in the current financial mess will only get worse without a new
emphasis on the humanities.
在他看来,我们确实该重新审视"什么才是我们值得关心的、什么才是我们应该珍惜的",人文学科确实需要讨论一番了。
In his view, this is the time to re-examine "what we care about and what we value" - something that the humanities "are extremely well-equipped to address".
这场辩论的最终结果很可能决定中国高中教育的未来。
How this debate plays out may very well determine the future of Chinese high school education.
一些人希望高中生能在高中阶段便专修理科。
Some people want high school students to be able to
specialize in science during their high school years.
而另外一些人则认为,他们应该得到更全面的教育,花更多的时间在人文学科上。
Others think they should get a more rounded education with a
substantial number of hours in the arts and humanities.
上海电视大学知名历史学教授、CCTV百家讲坛主讲人鲍鹏山则认为这场辩论太过复杂。
Bao Pengshan, a well-known history professor at Shanghai TV University and a speaker at CCTV's Lecture Room, believes the debate is a complicated one.
毕竟,年轻人并不能称为"万能博士"。
Young people, after all, cannot become jacks-of-all-trades.
但是,不管他们在大学选择哪个专业,良好的文科基础可能对他们将来走向成功有所帮助。
But a liberal arts foundation might be essential for their future success - no matter what field they choose to focus on in university.
鲍还说:"我们社会已经有很多的技术人员,他们拥有专业技术和知识,但却缺乏适当的文化敏感性。"
"Our society has produced plenty of technicians who possess both professional skills and knowledge, but who lack a proper cultural sensitivity" said Bao.
厦门大学哲学系大二学生胡小锐(音译)表示,她不会对未来感到不安。
Hu Xiaorui, a sophomore philosophy major at Xiamen University, says she has no qualms about her future.
她相信,她的专业帮助她更深入地审视世界。
She believes her study has helped her see the world through a more
thoughtful lens.
19岁的胡还说,"不管将来做什么,我都会比其他人更聪明,更具忍耐力。"
No matter what she ends up doing after
graduation, says the 19-year-old, "I will be able to live more
wisely and tolerantly and
wisely than others."
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