Unit4Creativity新編大學(xué)英語第二版文翻譯

1、Unit 4 CreativityThe Case for CreativityEncouraging Children to ThinkCreativity is the key to a brighter future, say education and business experts. Here is how schools and parents can encourage this vital skill in children. If Dick Drew had listened to his boss in 1925, we might not have a product

2、that we now think of as practically essential: masking tape. Drew worked for the Minnesota Manufacturing and Mining Company, better known as 3M. At work he developed a sticky-side substance strong enough to hold things together. But his boss told him not to pursue the idea. Finally, using his own ti

3、me, Drew perfected the tape, which now is used everywhere by many people. And his former company learned from its mistake: Now 3M encourages people to spend 15 percent of their work time just thinking and developing new ideas. It is a strategy that more and more companies are employing and one that

4、experts around the country say we ought to be following with our children, both at home and at school. The feeling is that if we teach them to think creatively, they will be better able to function in tomorrow's society. Creativity's benefits reach beyond music and art. Successful students a

5、nd adults are the ones who discover a number of ways to approach problems. Creativity is not something one is just born with, nor is it necessarily a characteristic of high intelligence. Just because a person is highly intelligent does not mean that he uses it creatively. Creativity is the matter of

6、 using the resources one has to produce original ideas that are good for something. Unfortunately, schools have not tended to promote creativity. With strong emphasis on test scores and the development of reading, writing and mathematical skills, many educators sacrifice creativity for correct answe

7、rs. The result is that children can give back information but can't recognize ways to apply it to new situations. They may know their multiplication tables, for example, but they are unable to apply them to story problems. In some schools, however, educators are recognizing the problem and are d

8、eveloping new approaches to teaching which should encourage creativity in their students. Some teachers are combining the basics with activities where the students must use their imagination. For example, instead of simply asking WHEN Columbus discovered the New World, teachers might ask students to

9、 think about what would have happened if his trip had taken him to New York first instead of to the Caribbean area. With that question, students would have to use what they know about Columbus, what they know about New York, and what they know about the Caribbean. Teachers feel that even if the answ

10、ers seem silly, it's OK, that sometimes being silly is an essential step toward creativity. In the classroom as well as at home, children must have the right to have crazy thoughts, experts say. Then it is up to parents and teachers to work with the children to develop those thoughts into workab

11、le ideas. The best strategy is to encourage children by asking them questions, meanwhile praising their ideas and new thoughts. Experts say that it is important to create an atmosphere in which there is no risk in being creativea place where wild ideas are honored and valued, never scorned or dismis

12、sed. There are things that parents can do at home to encourage creativity. They can involve children in decision-making if the problem is appropriate, asking the child for suggestions. Parents can help their children to understand the consequences of various decisions. Parents should also encourage

13、their children to talk out loud about things they are doing. Thinking and language skills are closely related. Talking out loud improves language skills and thinking skills. Having a sense of humor is also important in helping to develop creativity in a child. When parents show a sense of humor, chi

14、ldren can see creativity in its purest form. By its nature, humor crosses conventional boundaries and breaks patterns. Creativity often does the same. It is important to give children choices. From the earliest age, children should be allowed to make decisions and understand their consequences. Even

15、 if it's choosing between two food items for lunch, decision-making helps thinking skills. As children grow older, parents should let their children decide how to use their time or spend their money, but not automatically help them too much if they make the wrong decision. This may be confusing

16、for the child, but that is all right. This is because one of the most important traits of creative people is a very strong motivation to make order out of confusion. 關(guān)于創(chuàng)造力的培養(yǎng)鼓勵(lì)孩子思考1 教育界和商業(yè)界的專家們說, 具有創(chuàng)造性是通向光明前程的關(guān)鍵。本文將介紹一下學(xué)校和家長如何才能鼓勵(lì)孩子發(fā)展這一至關(guān)重要的能力。2 如果1925年迪克德魯聽從了他老板的意見，也許我們就不會(huì)有遮護(hù)膠帶這種用品了?，F(xiàn)在我們幾乎離不開它。德魯當(dāng)時(shí)

17、就職于“明尼蘇達(dá)制造和礦業(yè)公司”，通常稱為3M公司。在工作中，他研制了一種用于膠帶有黏性那面的物質(zhì)，黏性很強(qiáng)，能使物體粘在一起。但是老板卻不讓他做進(jìn)一步的研究。最后德魯只好利用自己的時(shí)間改進(jìn)了這種膠帶。這種膠帶現(xiàn)已被人們廣泛使用。而他原來工作過的3M公司也從自己的失誤中吸取了教訓(xùn)：現(xiàn)在該公司鼓勵(lì)員工抽出15%的工作時(shí)間專門用來開動(dòng)腦筋搞創(chuàng)新。3 現(xiàn)在這種策略已被越來越多的公司所采用，而且全國各地的專家認(rèn)為，對待孩子也應(yīng)仿效這種做法，無論是在家里還是在學(xué)校。他們認(rèn)為，如果我們教育孩子進(jìn)行創(chuàng)造性思維，他們就能在明天的社會(huì)中更好地發(fā)揮作用。4 受益于創(chuàng)造性的不只限于音樂和藝術(shù)領(lǐng)域。能取得成功的學(xué)生和

18、成人都是那些會(huì)尋求各種辦法解決問題的人。5 創(chuàng)造性并非與生俱來，也不一定就是高智慧的特征。一個(gè)人智力高并不意味著他必然能創(chuàng)造性地發(fā)揮才智。創(chuàng)造性是指能利用已有的資源想出新點(diǎn)子，而這些點(diǎn)子有助于解決某方面的問題。6 遺憾的是，學(xué)校還沒有想到要促使學(xué)生發(fā)揮創(chuàng)造性。許多教育者十分看重考試分?jǐn)?shù)，強(qiáng)調(diào)閱讀、寫作和數(shù)學(xué)能力，往往因追求正確的答案而犧牲了對創(chuàng)造性的培養(yǎng)。其結(jié)果是，孩子們能夠反饋所學(xué)的知識，卻不知道如何靈活地應(yīng)用知識。比如，他們可能熟記乘法表，卻不會(huì)用它來解決數(shù)學(xué)應(yīng)用題。7 然而，在有些學(xué)校里，教育者們正逐漸認(rèn)識到這一問題，并致力于研究能啟發(fā)學(xué)生創(chuàng)造性的新的教學(xué)方法。一些教師把基礎(chǔ)知識和要求學(xué)

19、生發(fā)揮想象力的活動(dòng)結(jié)合起來。比如，教師不再簡單地問學(xué)生哥倫布何時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)了新大陸，他們可能讓學(xué)生思考如果哥倫布首先到達(dá)的不是加勒比地區(qū)而是紐約，情況會(huì)是如何。要回答這一問題，學(xué)生必須應(yīng)用自己掌握的關(guān)于哥倫布、紐約和加勒比地區(qū)的知識。教師們認(rèn)為即便學(xué)生的回答會(huì)很可笑，也毫無關(guān)系，這也許是通向創(chuàng)造性的重要一步。專家認(rèn)為，在課堂以及在家里，必須允許孩子們有些荒唐的念頭。家長和教師們則有責(zé)任和孩子共同努力，使那些念頭成為切實(shí)可行的建議。最好的辦法是通過提問來鼓勵(lì)孩子，同時(shí)對他們的想法和新點(diǎn)子表示贊賞。專家認(rèn)為必須創(chuàng)造一個(gè)可以自由發(fā)揮創(chuàng)造力的氛圍，一個(gè)尊重和贊賞而不是鄙視或不理會(huì)荒誕想法的環(huán)境。8 在家里，

20、家長可以做一些鼓勵(lì)孩子發(fā)揮創(chuàng)造力的事情。如果遇到合適的問題，家長可以就該問題征求孩子的意見，讓他們參與決策。家長可以幫助孩子了解不同的決策將會(huì)帶來的各種后果。家長還應(yīng)鼓勵(lì)孩子大聲談?wù)撍麄冋谧龅氖虑椤Ｋ季S能力和語言能力是緊密相關(guān)的。大聲地談?wù)撚兄谔岣哒Z言能力和思維能力。9 具有幽默感對于開發(fā)孩子的創(chuàng)造力也非常重要。當(dāng)家長表現(xiàn)出幽默時(shí)，孩子們就看到了最地道的創(chuàng)造性。從本質(zhì)上看，幽默跨越了常規(guī)界限，打破了固有模式。要?jiǎng)?chuàng)造往往也得如此。10給孩子一些選擇的余地也很重要。應(yīng)該允許孩子自己做決定并清楚其后果，要讓孩子從盡可能早的年齡開始這樣做。做決定有助于培養(yǎng)思維能力，即便只是在午餐的兩種食物的選擇上

21、做決定也行。隨著孩子慢慢長大，家長應(yīng)讓孩子自己做主支配時(shí)間或金錢；當(dāng)他們作出錯(cuò)誤的決定時(shí)，不要不假思索地給予過多的幫助。這種做法可能會(huì)使孩子迷惑不解，但這沒有關(guān)系。因?yàn)楦挥袆?chuàng)造力的人有很強(qiáng)的動(dòng)力，使他們能夠從混亂中創(chuàng)造秩序。這是他們的一個(gè)最重要的特點(diǎn)。A Long March to Creativity (I)The Jinling Hotel is a comfortable, modern hotel in the heart of Nanjing, a big city in eastern China. My wife Ellen, our year-and-a-half-old so

22、n, Benjamin, and I lived there for a month in the spring of 1987 while we were studying arts education in Chinese kindergartens and elementary schools. The key to our room was attached to a large plastic block with the room number printed on it. When leaving the hotel, a guest was encouraged to turn

23、 in the key, either by handing it to an attendant or by dropping it through a slot into a container. 1 Because the key slot was narrow and rectangular, the key and the block had to be inserted carefully so as to fit into the slot. Benjamin loved to carry the key around, shaking it vigorously. He als

24、o liked to try to place it into the slot. He would move the key to the vicinity of the slot and then try to push it in. Because of his young age, lack of manual dexterity, and incomplete understanding of the need to orient the key "just so", he would usually fail. Benjamin was not bothered

25、 in the least. He loved to bang the key on the slot and probably got as much pleasure out of the sounds it made, and the physical feelings it gave him, as he did those few times when the key actually found its way into the slot. Now both Ellen and I were perfectly happy to allow Benjamin to bang the

26、 key near the key slot. We were usually not in a hurry, he was having a good time, and this "exploratory behavior" seemed harmless enough. But I soon observed an interesting phenomenon. Any Chinese attendant nearbyand sometimes even a mere Chinese passer-bywould come over to watch Benjamin

27、. As soon as the observer saw what our child was doing, and noticed his lack of initial success at the appointed task, she (or, less often, he) attempted to intervene. In general, she would hold onto his hand and, gently but firmly, guide it directly toward the slot, reorient it as necessary, and he

28、lp Benjamin to insert the key. She would then smile somewhat expectantly at Ellen or me, as if awaiting a thank youand on occasion, would frown slightly, as if to criticize us as parents. Unfortunately, even for the sake of Chinese-American friendship, we were not particularly grateful for this inte

29、rvention. After all, it was not as if Benjamin were running around wildly or without supervision; clearly we were aware of what he was doing and had not ourselves intervened. But it also became clear to us that we were dealing with totally different attitudes about the preferred behavior for childre

30、n and the proper role of adults in their socialization. Spending a good deal of time with a baby in China, we had plenty of opportunity to compare Benjamin with Chinese babies and to observe the relationship that generally occurs between adults and young children. Time and again, adults would approa

31、ch Benjamin, sometimes just to say "Hello" or to play with him (actions encountered the world over), but often with a particular agenda in mind. Sometimes adults would tease Benjamin, pretending to give or to show him something, but then withdrawing the promised reward. More often, these a

32、dults would aid Benjamin with some taskretrieving a ball with which he was playing, helping him to sit straight in his seat, fixing his shirttail or his shoes, directing him away from a dangerous spot, or guiding the stroller he was awkwardly pushing around. It became obvious to us that for some Chi

33、nese, babies are "fair game". Some adults (and even adolescents) feel little hesitation about intervening in the child-rearing process. Now it might be thought that Benjamin's appearancehe is Chinese, and we adopted him in Taiwanencouraged this intervention; but similar intrusive inter

34、ventions are reported by Westerners whose children do not look the least bit Chinese. It was equally clear that these Chinese agree on what is right or wrong in child rearing; in casual encounters with Benjamin and other Western children, they were exhibiting their shared beliefs. 培養(yǎng)創(chuàng)造性任重道遠(yuǎn)（一）1金陵飯店是

35、一座舒適、現(xiàn)代化的賓館，位于中國東部大城市南京市的中心。1987年春天我和妻子埃倫及我們一歲半的兒子本杰明曾在那里住了一個(gè)月，當(dāng)時(shí)我們在研究中國幼兒園和小學(xué)的藝術(shù)教育。我們房間的鑰匙系在一塊大塑料牌上，牌上印有房間號。飯店希望客人在外出時(shí)交還鑰匙，可以交給服務(wù)員或通過一個(gè)窄孔把鑰匙投進(jìn)一個(gè)盒子里。因?yàn)殍€匙孔很窄，又是長方形的，所以塞鑰匙和鑰匙牌時(shí)得很小心才能對準(zhǔn)那個(gè)孔。2本杰明喜歡拿著鑰匙，邊走邊使勁搖。他也很喜歡把鑰匙往鑰匙孔里塞。他總是把鑰匙拿到鑰匙孔附近，就要把它塞進(jìn)去?？墒且?yàn)樗。植混`活，又不完全理解鑰匙要放在“正好”的位置才能插進(jìn)鑰匙孔里，所以，他往往放不進(jìn)去。但是本杰明一點(diǎn)兒

36、都不煩惱。他喜歡用鑰匙砰砰敲打窄孔，也許他從鑰匙的撞擊聲以及敲敲打打給他帶來的肢體感受中得到的樂趣，不亞于偶爾有幾次把鑰匙真的插入窄孔時(shí)所給予他的樂趣。3埃倫和我都很樂意讓本杰明拿著鑰匙在鑰匙孔周圍折騰。我們通常都不趕時(shí)間，他也玩得很高興，這種“探索行為”好像也沒有什么不好。但是很快我就發(fā)現(xiàn)了一個(gè)很有趣的現(xiàn)象：任何一位中國服務(wù)員有時(shí)甚至只是個(gè)過路的中國人只要是在附近，都會(huì)走過來注視著本杰明。一旦這個(gè)觀察者明白了我們的孩子正在做什么，并注意到他對既定要做的事最初沒有成功，她(少數(shù)幾次是他)就會(huì)設(shè)法干預(yù)。一般來說，她會(huì)抓住本杰明的手，輕輕地但又是堅(jiān)定地引導(dǎo)他的手直接去找鑰匙孔，必要時(shí)重新調(diào)整方向，

37、幫助本杰明把鑰匙塞進(jìn)去。然后她會(huì)有所期待地對埃倫或者我微笑，好像在等著我們感謝她或者有時(shí)也會(huì)微微地皺起眉頭，好像是在批評我們做父母的沒有盡到責(zé)任。4遺憾的是，即使是為了中美友誼，我們也并不特別感激這種干預(yù)。畢竟，這又不是本杰明在到處亂跑或者沒人看管；很明顯，我們知道他在做什么，而且我們自己都沒有干預(yù)他。然而，同樣明顯的是，在希望孩子怎樣行事，在孩子融入社會(huì)生活時(shí)大人應(yīng)起的作用方面，我們遇到了兩種截然不同的態(tài)度。5帶著一個(gè)小孩在中國呆了很長時(shí)間，就有很多機(jī)會(huì)拿本杰明和中國小孩相比較，并觀察大人與小孩之間通常存在的關(guān)系。很多次大人們會(huì)走近本杰明，有時(shí)只是說句“你好”或者只是為了和他玩玩(這種情況全

38、世界都有)，但(大人)常常是想好了做什么。有時(shí)大人們會(huì)逗本杰明，假裝要給他或給他看什么東西，然后又把答應(yīng)給的獎(jiǎng)賞收回去。更多的情況是，這些大人會(huì)幫著本杰明，例如找回他在玩的球，幫他在座位上坐直，給他理理襯衣下擺或者整整鞋子，引導(dǎo)他遠(yuǎn)離不安全的地方，或者當(dāng)他笨拙地到處亂推嬰兒車時(shí)指引他一下。6在我們看來，對某些中國人來說小孩子顯然是“該糾錯(cuò)的對象”。大人(甚至青少年)幾乎毫不猶豫地干涉小孩成長的過程?？赡軙?huì)有人認(rèn)為本杰明的外貌容易讓人這樣做，因?yàn)樗侵袊?，我們在臺灣收養(yǎng)的他；但是其他西方人也報(bào)道過類似的干預(yù)，他們的孩子可是一點(diǎn)兒都不像中國人。另外一點(diǎn)也很清楚，在多數(shù)情況下，在撫養(yǎng)小孩過程中什么

39、是對的，什么是不對的，這些中國人都有一致的看法。這些看法就反映在他們和本杰明及其他西方小孩的隨意交往中。A Long March to Creativity (II)I soon realized that this incident was directly relevant to our assigned tasks in China: to investigate the ways of early childhood education (especially in the arts) and, more broadly, to illuminate Chinese attitudes

40、 toward creativity. And so before long I began to include this "key-slot" anecdote into my talks to Chinese educators. I would tell audiences about what had happened and seek their reactions. Some of my Chinese colleagues displayed the same attitude as the attendants at the Jinling Hotel.

41、Since adults know how to place the key in the key slot (they would say), since that is the ultimate purpose of approaching the slot, and since the toddler is neither old nor clever enough to realize the desired action on his own, what possible gain is achieved by having the child flail about? He may

42、 well get frustrated and angrycertainly not a desirable outcome. Why not show him what to do? He will be happy (those around will be happier), he will learn how to accomplish the task sooner, and then he can proceed to more complex activities, like opening the door or asking for the key. We listened

43、 to such explanations sympathetically. We agreed that sometimes it is important to show a child what to do, and that we certainly did not want to frustrate Benjamin. But, as I have said, he was rarely frustrated by his fledgling attempts: "delighted" would be a more appropriate word to des

44、cribe him. We went on to suggest that many Americans held quite different views about such matters. First of all, we did not much care whether Benjamin succeeded in inserting the key into the slot. He was having a good time and exploring, two activities that did matter to us. But the critical point

45、was that in the process, we were trying to teach Benjamin something: that one can solve a problem effectively by oneself. Such self-reliance is a principal value of child rearing in middle-class America. So long as the child is shown exactly how to do somethingwhether it be placing a key in a key sl

46、ot, drawing a rooster, or apologizing for a misdeedhe is less likely to figure out himself how to accomplish such a task. And, more generally, he is less likely to view lifeas many Americans doas a series of situations in which one has to learn to think by oneself, to solve problems on one's own

47、, and even to discover new problems for which creative solutions are wanted. In retrospect, it became clear to me that this incident was indeed keyand key in more than one sense. It indicated important differences in the educational and artistic practices in our two countries. Even more to the point

48、, this apparently little episode revealed important issues about education, creativity, and art that have interested thinkers around the world. Dating back to the time of the Greeks, as Philip Jackson has pointed out, one can discern two contrasting approaches to educational issues. One dominant app

49、roach is the "mimetic" one, in which the teacher (and "the text") are seen as the unquestioned sources of knowledge. Students are expected to memorize information and then, on subsequent occasions, feed back the information that has been presented to or modeled for them. Opposed to this tradition is a "transformative" approach, in which the teacher is more of a coach, attempting to elicit certain qual