如何选择大学.note¶

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如何选择大学 -- 英文原版

Oscar 按：

这么多年以来，一直在教英语，一直在帮学生申请理想的大学，有个问题越来越困扰我：那就是 - 你该

读一所什么样的大学 ? 当 US NEWS 成为板蓝根的时候，中国人集体服药的时候，我总在想，应该还有

别的标准。如果我们把自己的孩子看成自己的孩子，那么自然不会让他穿别人的鞋，用别人的牙刷；

如果我们把他看成孩子，自然知道他在成长，在寻找，在长大。可惜，我们要么没有把他当成孩子，

要么没有当成自己的孩子。

在 Oscar 无比困惑之际， Oscar 看到果壳网的这篇文章，拍案叫绝，和我的很多想法不谋而合。尤其是

最后一部分 “

真正的高等教育什么样？

那么，真正的高等教育是什么？

真正的高等教育，会教给你学习、分析和寻求事物本质的能力，而这种能力是可以用于处理任何事情

的。

真正的高等教育，会通过艺术、文学和科学的历史来带你领略真、善、美的本质，会指引你进行大胆

的实践，让你获得持续一生的友谊和幸福；真正的高等教育，会把你当作一个有灵魂、有智识、有人

格的人；真正的高等教育，会唤醒你内在的某种精神，这种精神的名字是自由。

最后请记得，不要屈从。 ”

How to Choose a College

Here are some tips for finding value in spite of the higher education bubble.

By Stephen Blackwood

Comments

February 19, 2013

Dear Prospective College Student,

I frequently get asked for advice about going to college.

This is partly because I helped my nine younger siblings through the college process, from

application to graduation, but also because I've spent much of my own life in various colleges and

universities, either as a student (I have a B.A., M.A., and a Ph.D.), a teacher, or as a "residential life"

administrator. So I know the university from the inside.

If you're the person I'm thinking of, you're intelligent, industrious, genuinely interested in learning, and

not in immediate need of a trade with which to support yourself: in short, you're an ideal candidate for

college. You've already visited a number of top schools, and, given your educational and economic

background, you're likely to have a choice of several well-regarded institutions.

http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_b2ef29050101if8b.html

It's an exciting time of life—you’re about to head out on your own, to a world of adventurous

independence, learning, and, later, employment.

But first, you need to choose a college. It's the biggest decision you've ever made, and among the

most consequential decisions you will ever make. So how do you choose a college?

Well, first some bad news: a college degree is not a guarantee either of an education or a job. In the

United States right now, about half of recent college graduates are either unemployed or

underemployed. Think about that.

A prominent venture capitalist told me recently that of the dozens of Ivy-league graduates he had

hired over the past twenty years, he judged only about half of them to be competent to complete

simple tasks, like conducting Internet research, or composing a well-written and proofread e-mail.

He's not alone: American businesses are spending billions of dollars per year on remedial learning

for their employees.

And so, despite what the glossy brochures and gorgeous websites and campus tours will tell you,

there's a very high risk that you won't get much in return for your investment of four years of your life

and a huge sum of money.

How can you prevent throwing away all that time and money? How can you tell in advance that

you're really going to get an education?

The first thing to notice about a college is how it markets itself.

I recently came across a billboard for a large public university, which depicted a shorts-and-t-shirt-

attired young man, carrying a surfboard that was emblazoned with the university’s initials; the caption

read, “Learn where the living is easy.”

Then, a few weeks later, on a tour for prospective students at an Ivy League university near New

York, I was shown a Glee-inspired music video that featured residence rooms and social life but

made no mention of classes or academics. It might as well have been describing a cruise vacation.

Similarly, some colleges offer “pet-friendly dormitories” or “apartment-style” accommodation.

If you find such marketing campaigns attractive, you might ask yourself what you’re looking for,

because it certainly isn’t an education.

Still, many universities and liberal arts colleges are smart enough in their marketing to show you

photos of beautiful books, bright classrooms, and smiling students, while they mention phrases like

“liberal arts education” and “critical thinking.” But would you make a quarter of a million dollar

investment in a business on the basis of its marketing materials alone? I doubt it, and likewise you’re

going to want to dig deeper than what a college says about itself to figure out what you’re actually

going to get if you enroll there.

But how can you dig deeper? It may come as a surprise to you, but the biggest single test of whether

a college is worth attending is not its ranking, its placement record, or the average salary of its

graduates.

It's whether it treats you like an adult. Don’t expect a college to help you become an intelligent adult

and a responsible citizen if it does not treat you like one.

Many colleges and universities will not treat you like an adult—someone who can think and act

independently—but instead they will treat you like a child in need of sermonizing and supervision

while they severely restrict what you are allowed to say and think.

To begin with, if a college is not unambiguously committed to freedom of thought, and its counterpart,

freedom of speech, how can you possibly expect to learn how to think critically—to examine opposing

positions and analyze the merits and deficiencies of each?

It is the nature of thought itself that it cannot be subordinated in advance to any ideological position.

The human faculty of reason is unfettered by allegiance to anything but the truth itself.

Accordingly, the mark of a true university is intellectual diversity—and yet most universities are

remarkable for mind-numbing conformity, for a student body that looks diverse but all believes the

same things, where dissenting voices are marginalized or ridiculed.

How are you going to learn to think if your university is opposed to thinking?

Think about that.

One good way to get a sense of a college's commitment to freedom of speech is to check its rating

on this website, which will give you detailed reasons for each "speech code rating" it assigns.

You can also tell a lot about a college by the courses it offers. Avoid colleges whose courses don’t

have students engage with original sources. Would you be reading Plato, Shakespeare, and Jane

Austen, or merely reading what other people have said about them? You want to encounter the

books and ideas that change lives directly, not through a pre-packaged conclusion.

If you're not sure what a course is about or what it would entail, then write to the professor and

politely request a syllabus. This kind of research is part of taking adult responsibility for the decision

you're about to make.

After your Internet research, you'll need to get off the computer and “test-drive” the college in person.

There's no better way to see what you're really going to get than going to campus and sitting in on

classes with several different professors.

How big are the classes? What's the atmosphere like? Does it seem that students are really thinking

and learning? Or are the students slumped in their chairs, surfing the net and texting? Above all,

does being in the classroom make you excited to come back for more? If not, don't go back! There's

no reason to think you'll like it better once you've paid your tuition—and don't even consider going to

a college if you haven't sat in on several classes.

Next, what do you think of the students you meet? Do they seem to have some intangible freedom

that you want to share? Are they caught up in the exhilaration of discovery, debate, and

independence? Or do they seem pretty much like your friends in high school, only with more

experience partying?

And that brings me to the best way to discern whether a college is worth your investment. Ask

yourself the following question: does this feel like high school? The more different from high school a

college feels, the less likely it is to police and patronize you, and the more likely it is to treat you like

an adult and offer you a real education.

Well, what is a real education?

A real education will give you transferable skills of learning, analysis, and seeking the heart of things.

A real education exposes you to the eternal realities of truth, goodness, and beauty, and will do this

primarily through the history of art, literature, and science, the daring investigation of which will lead

you to lifelong friendships and happiness.

A real education will treat you like a person of spirit, intelligence, and personality.

A real education will awaken something inside you, and that something is your freedom.

Don't settle for anything less.

你该读一所什么样的大学 ?

伏维阁主 2013-04-10 19:44

“ 上哪个大学 ” 可能是一生中最重要的决定之一。是什么让你做出最后的决定？大学排名、校园环境、毕

业生就业率可能都是会影响你的因素，但可能很少有人会去关心大学是否会培养一个独立思考的人和

让你学习、分析和寻求事物本质的能力。

编者按：面对高等教育泡沫，学生该如何选择？下面是哈佛大学、多伦多大学访问学者斯蒂夫 ? 布莱克

伍德（ Stephen Blackwood ）给出的建议，布莱克伍德同时还是一所新成立的人文科学学校罗尔斯顿大

学（ Ralston College ）的创办者。

常有人为了上大学的事情向我寻求建议。一部分原因是，我有九个兄弟姐妹，从他们申请大学直到毕

业，我都为他们提供了一些帮助；而另一部分原因是，我把半辈子时间都花在了大学里 —— 首先是作

为学生（我拿到了学士、硕士和博士学位），然后是作为老师以及校园管理者，所以我对大学可说是

非常了解。

如果我猜得没错的话，你 —— 我这篇文章的读者，是个聪明、勤奋的青年，你对学习有浓厚的兴趣，

并且不需要马上挣钱养活自己。简单来说，你是个念大学的绝佳人选。也许你已经参观了许多顶尖学

府，而且你很可能已经根据自己的教育背景和经济能力为自己择定了几所准备报考的知名院校。

现在的你面对着生命中一个激动人心的时刻 —— 你将要独自踏上人生之旅，去拥抱冒险和独立；你将

在大学里学习和生活，并且在不久的将来，走向职业生涯。

而你首先要做的，是选择一所大学。这将会是你到目前为止所做出的最重大的决定；不仅如此，这也

会是你一生中所做出的最重要的决定之一。那么，你准备怎样选大学呢？

我首先要告诉你一个坏消息：大学学位可并不是你获得高等教育和工作的保证。现在在美国，有半数

新毕业的大学生没有工作，或者没有全职工作。这是怎么回事？

最近有一位知名的风险投资家跟我说，在过去 20 年里，他曾聘用过几十名常青藤院校的毕业生，而其

中只有半数人能够完成一些简单的任务，比如进行网上调查，或者写一封措辞得体、校对正确的电子

邮件。这位投资家的抱怨绝非偶然 —— 美国商界每年都要花费数十亿美元让员工进行补救性学习，以

弥补之前大学学习的漏洞。

所以，不管宣传手册、大学网站和大学一日游告诉了你什么，你很可能在花费了四年青春，投资了大

笔金钱之后仍然收获寥寥。怎样才能阻止这种情况的发生呢？有什么方法可以让你在上大学之前，就

能判断出是否能在那所大学里获得你所期盼的高等教育？

别对花哨的宣传太动心

首先，你要注意观察各大学宣传自己的方式。

我在前不久曾撞见一块广告招生牌，是某大型公立大学设立的。它上面画着一个身着短裤和 T 恤衫的男

孩，而他正挟着一块冲浪板，上面印了该大学的名字。广告牌上的标语写道：在轻松的生活中学习。

几星期后，在纽约附近某常青藤院校为预备生举办的一次导览活动上，我观看了一个 Glee （欢乐合唱

团）风格的音乐短片。片中展示了大学宿舍和各种社交活动，但却没有丝毫提及课程和学业。这片子

与其说是展现了大学生活，不如说是一次度假巡礼。除此之外，还有些学校大力宣传它们提供了 “ 可以

养宠物的宿舍 ” ，或者 “ 公寓式的 ” 住宿条件。（编者吐槽：中国一些学校也以空调、暖气和校园环境作

为吸引学生的 “ 卖点 ” 。）

如果你被这些宣传手段所吸引，那么你也许就该扪心自问：我究竟想要从大学得到什么？很显然，上

面提到的这一切都不是高等教育。

确实，也有很多大学和文理学院采取了更为明智的宣传策略。它们会给你展示些漂亮的照片，上面有

精致的书本、明亮的教室和微笑的学生；它们还会提到如 “ 人文教育 ” 和 “ 辩证思维 ” 这样的漂亮词语。但

是你真的打算仅凭着大学宣传材料的一面之词，就投资四年光阴和 25 万美元吗？我对这一点表示怀

疑。到这时候，也许你就要抛开官方宣传，对大学本身进行更深入的了解了。

选择可以独立思考的学校

但是要怎样做发掘更多信息呢？我接下来的说法可能会让你惊讶：选择大学的标准，并不是它的排

名、就业统计、或者其毕业生的平均收入；唯一的一个判断标准是：它是否将你当作一个成年人来对

待。如果大学连这一点都做不到，你怎么能期盼它帮助你成为一个有智识的成年人，成为一个有责任

感的公民？

但是，很多高等学府并不将你看成是有独立思考和行为能力的成年人。恰恰相反，它们还把你当成一

个需要训导和督责的孩子。它们会严重地限制你的思想和言行。

如果一个大学对思想自由和与之相应的言论自由都支吾不清，你怎么能够期盼从它那里学到辩证思

维？要知道，所谓辩证思维，就是要仔细考量不同的观点，分析其各自的优缺点啊。

思考本身不应受限于任何既定的观念。人的逻辑推理能力也不应当为规则所束缚，而只应为追求真理

而存在。

所以，一所真正优秀的大学的标志是其思想上的兼容并蓄 —— 但是在大多数大学里，却只有对权威的

盲从。学生看似彼此不同，但是却都相信同样的东西；与众不同的观念则被边缘化了，甚至为人嘲

笑。

如果你的大学反对 “ 思考 ” ，你又怎么能学会思考？

课程设置如何？

除此之外，你还能通过大学提供的课程来了解它。比方说，要警惕那些不鼓励学生阅读原始文本的课

程 —— 在课上，你会直接阅读柏拉图、莎士比亚、简 ? 奥斯汀的著作，还是只能看其他人的评论分析？

要知道，你需要接触的，是那些可能会影响你一生的书籍，而不是别人得出的结论。

如果你不太清楚某一门课到底能教给你什么，就写封电邮问问这门课的教授吧。你可以恳切地向他要

一份教学大纲。这也是你作为成年人，对自己的决定负责的表现。

校园氛围还像高中？

在网上调查结束之后，你就需要放下电脑，亲赴大学去看看了。除了亲自步入校园、走进教室之外，

再也没有更好的办法能让你了解这所大学了。

课堂人数有多少？课堂氛围怎么样？学生看起来是真的在认真思考和学习吗？或者他们只是歪在椅子

上刷微博、发短信？而最重要的是，在一节课结束之后，你是否被深深吸引，还想要来？如果答案是

不，那么就别再来了。要知道，交了学费之后，你的态度也不会改变。在大学教室里听过几堂课之

前，你可以先不必考虑选大学的事。

接下来你需要自问的是，你觉得你在校园里遇到的学生怎么样？他们看起来是否拥有你一直盼望的思

考和学习的自由？他们是否因为新的发现、精彩的辩论和个人的独立而欢欣愉悦？又或者，他们看起

来就跟你高中的朋友们一个样，只不过是多了些派对经验？

接下来，就是选择大学的终极问题：这所大学给你的感觉像不像是高中？一所大学越不像高中，就越

不可能试图控制你，也就越有可能将你当作成年人来对待，为你提供真正的高等教育。