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Unit 8
Creativity
After-Class Reading
PASSAGE I A Long March to Creativity(I)
Proper Names
Benjamin
(男子名)本杰明
Ellen
(女子名)埃伦
Jinling Hotel
金陵饭店(南京)
Nanjing
南京
Taiwan
台湾
New Words
agenda *
n. purpose or plan 意图，计划
e.g. She came to my house with a hidden agenda.
appoint *
v. 指定，确定
e.g. We shall appoint 8 o'clock as the hour to begin.
attendant *
n. 服务员
awkwardly *
adv. lacking grace or skill when moving 笨拙地
e.g. Her uncomfortable shoes made her walk awkwardly.
container *
n. 容器
dexterity
n. 灵巧
encounter *
1) v. meet; be faced with 遇到
e.g. When did you first encounter these problems?
2) n. 相见；相遇
e.g. This meeting will be the first encounter between the party leaders since the election.
firmly *
adv. 强有力地；牢牢地
e.g. Fix the post firmly in the ground.
hesitation *
n. 犹豫
e.g. After some hesitation he went back to the house.
intervene *
v. 干预
e.g. I didn't feel I could intervene in a family dispute.
intervention *
n. 干预
e.g. The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.
intrusive
adj. 打搅的；侵扰的
e.g. an intrusive neighbor 一个打扰人的邻居
kindergarten
n. 幼儿园
manual *
adj. of the hands 手的
e.g. manual skill
mere *
adj. nothing more than 仅仅
e.g. She's a mere child.
passer-by
n. 过路人
rear *
v. care for until fully grown 养育
e.g. The mother was very careful in rearing her children.
rectangular *
adj. 长方形的
reorient *
v. guide in another direction 重定......的方向(或方位)
shirttail
n. bottom part of a shirt 衬衣下摆
socialization *
n. 适应社会生活
stroller *
n. (折叠式) 婴儿车
tease *
v. laugh at, joke about or intentionally annoy 逗弄
vicinity *
n. the immediately surrounding area 附近
westerner *
n. 西方人
withdraw * (withdrew, withdrawn)
v. take away or take back 收回，取回
e.g. The child quickly withdrew his hand from the hot stove.
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 son, 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 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 also 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"[2], he would usually fail. Benjamin was not bothered 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.[3]
Now both Ellen and I were perfectly happy to allow Benjamin to bang the key near the key slot. We were usually not in a hurry, he was having a good time, and this "exploratory behavior" [4] seemed harmless enough. But I soon observed an interesting phenomenon. Any Chinese attendant nearby—and sometimes even a mere Chinese passer-by—would come over to watch Benjamin. 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 help Benjamin to insert the key. She would then smile somewhat expectantly at Ellen or me, as if awaiting a thank you—and 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 intervention.[5] 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 children and the proper role of adults in their socialization.[6]
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 approach Benjamin, sometimes just to say "Hello" or to play with him (actions encountered the world over), but often with a particular agenda in mind[7]. Sometimes adults would tease Benjamin, pretending to give or to show him something, but then withdrawing the promised reward. More often, these adults would aid Benjamin with some task—retrieving 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 Chinese, babies are "fair game"[8]. Some adults (and even adolescents) feel little hesitation about intervening in the child-rearing process. Now it might be thought that Benjamin's appearance—he is Chinese, and we adopted him in Taiwan—encouraged this intervention; but similar intrusive interventions 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.
Phrases and Expressions
find one's way
arrive or get (there) after some time
e.g. Only one of her inventions has found its way into the shops.
for the sake of
in order to help or bring advantage to
e.g. John and Mary only stayed together for the sake of the children.
not in the least
not in any way; absolutely not 绝对不；一点也不
e.g. It doesn't matter in the least.
on occasion
now and then 有时
e.g. He has, on occasion, made small mistakes.
time and again
over and over, many times 一次又一次
e.g. I've told her time and again not to bring that dog in here.
PASSAGE II A Long March to Creativity(II)
Proper Names
Philip Jackson
(男子名)菲利普.杰克逊
New Words
anecdote
n. short, interesting or amusing story about a real person or event 逸闻
audience *
n. 听众
e.g. There was a large audience at the pop concert.
broadly *
adv. 广泛地
e.g. The question must be considered broadly.
cultivation *
n. 培养?
e.g. the cultivation of good manners
desirable *
adj. 称心的；想望的
e.g. It is most desirable that they should both come.
discern *
v. see clearly, especially with an effort 识别；辨认
e.g. It was difficult to discern which of them was to blame.
dominant *
adj. most noticeable or important 占统治地位的
e.g. The dominant influence in her life was her father.
enhance *
v. improve 增加；加强
e.g. Self-confidence should enhance your chances of getting a job.
expressive *
adj. 表达的
e.g. the expressive function of language
flail
v. 乱摇或乱摆
fledgling
adj. 无经验的
illuminate *
v. (formal) make something clear; help to explain 阐明，解释
e.g. The results of the recent research will illuminate the mystery of the creation of the universe.
incident *
n. event 事件
e.g. That was one of the strangest incidents in my life.
mimetic
adj. 模仿的
misdeed *
n. 不端行为
opposed *
adj. 相对的；相反的
e.g. "Art", when it is opposed to "Science", is often romantic.
primary *
adj. most important 最重要的，首要的
e.g. Your safety is my primary concern.
principal *
adj. chief; main 主要的
e.g. The principal food of the Chinese is rice.
relevant *
adj. connected with what is happening or being discussed 有关的
e.g. That point is highly relevant to the discussion.
reliance *
n. dependence 依靠
e.g. The region's reliance on tourism is not wise.
retrospect *
n. 回顾
rooster
n. 公鸡
stimulation *
n. 鼓励，刺激
e.g. Lazy people need stimulation to make them work.
subsequent *
adj. happening after something else 随后的
e.g. We made plans for a visit, but subsequent difficulties with the car prevented it.
toddler
n. 初学走路的孩子
ultimate *
adj. last or final 最终的
underlie
v. 构成......的基础
unquestioned *
adj. 无可争议的
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 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. 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 [1] is achieved by having the child flail about? He may well get frustrated and angry—certainly not a desirable outcome. [2] 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. [3]
We listened to such explanations sympathetically. [4] 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 describe 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. [5] But the critical point 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 something—whether it be placing a key in a key slot, drawing a rooster, or apologizing for a misdeed—he is less likely to figure out himself how to accomplish such a task. [6] And, more generally, he is less likely to view life—as many Americans do—as a series of situations in which one has to learn to think by oneself, to solve problems on one's own, and even to discover new problems for which creative solutions are wanted. [7]
In retrospect, it became clear to me that this incident was indeed key[8]-and 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, 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 approach 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 qualities in her students. The teacher engages the student actively in the learning process, asking questions and directing attention to new phenomena, in the hope that the student's understanding will be enhanced. One might say that in the "mimetic" tradition, the cultivation of basic skills is primary; whereas in the "transformative" approach, the stimulation of the child's expressive, creative, and knowing powers is most prized.
Phrases and Expressions
date back to
可追溯到
e.g. This church dates back to the 13th century.
feed back
反馈；反应
e.g. The information is fed back to the government department.
in retrospect
事后看来
e.g. In retrospect, it was the wrong time to set up a new company.
in the hope that
希望能
e.g. We will be analyzing all the evidence in the hope that we can find the person responsible.
proceed to
go to a further or the next stage 往下进行(另一件事)
e.g. Let's proceed to the next item on the agenda.
to the point
切题
e.g. His argument was short and to the point.
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