Why The Professor Can't Teach——几点说明

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左右互搏——老顽童关于人生、社会、世界的思考。尤其是组合数学、数学教育、思考问题的方法的讨论。 << Why The Professor Can't Teach——第十一章　一些强制的改革 | 首页 | 此间的少年——相逢：校园开学 >> Why The Professor Can't Teach——几点说明时间：2003-06-03 Why The Professor Can't Teach——第十一章　一些强制的改革 [continue] Occasionally, a fine researcher is honored for his contributions by election to the presidency of one of these organizations. But it is rare that such a person is deeply concerned about the problems of the mathematical community or, if he is, that he has the administrative capacity to be effective. In fact, most presidents are content to bask in the sunshine of the office and perform perfunctorily during the year or two that they serve. In their behalf one should add that they are not relieved of their normal duties at their universities and so cannot devote much time and energy to organizational work. However, thoughtful, sincere, and unusually energetic men can be found in the organizations we have just discussed; and if perchance they should come to the fore, they could get their respective agencies to grapple with the problems of research and teaching and certainly aid immeasurably in solving them. This does happen - but all too rarely. The above recommendations will not solve all the problems of mathematics education. We must know more about how children learn and what motivates young people at various ages, and we must devise and employ more pedagogical aids; however, these measures call for more study and, unlike the ones recommended, cannot be employed at once. Reforms are needed not only to improve mathematics education. Both the survival of mathematics in the curriculum and of research itself are at stake. The concentration on pure, esoteric studies will ultimately mean less support from society and, as Richard Courant once predicted, all significant mathematics will be created by physicists, engineers, social scientists, and schools of business administration. Poor education drives away students, and fewer students means fewer jobs for mathematicians. The demand for mathematics education was in sharp decline during the 1930s, and deservedly so. Only World War II revived it. One would hardly hope for a repetition of such a saving measure. Though reforms of various sorts have yet to be adopted, we need not be too despondent about our educational system. The defects are somewhat excusable in the light of the early handicaps. As the United States grew in technology, power, and world influence, we sought to match other powers in scientific strength. We were the nouveaux riches who wanted scientific status. And so we imitated the western European countries, which had produced the best research. In our zeal to equal them we lost sight of one of our principles that should truly have given us pride and gratification: Unlike the European countries, we pledged ourselves early in our history to universal education and to free or low-cost education at higher and higher levels. The tasks of building and improving the educational system and at the same time striving for equality or even leadership in research were beyond the country's resources. We have attained that leadership, at the expense of quality education for all students. It is now time for mathematicians to shed their narcissism, broaden their vision and interests, limit research to worthwhile papers, and thereby release time and energy to the many-sided needs and tasks of education. They must cater to the interests of all students, undergraduate and graduate alike. Only recognition of the interdependence of research, scholarship, and teaching can advance mathematics itself, improve teaching, and further the multitudinous valuable uses of mathematics in our society. [end] 《为什么教授不会教书》（Why The Professor Can’t Teach）一书的正文已经全部连载完了。虽然贴在BLOG上有些不适合，而且几乎每天一大章，似乎太猛，效果反而不佳。其实是因为我介绍此书的心切，急于早日让大家知道，而不要在我手中耽搁。我早早把此书的正文帖于此，一是希望大家有空时也能关注大学教育问题；二来也希望有关人员，如教育管理者、教育政策的制定者能注意到一些习以为常的事情的另一面，把我们的教育办的更好；三是希望找到更专业的人士，将此书翻译，甚至引进出版，让更多人受益。虽然大家手头可能有翻译软件，但毕竟仍是不方便。这就是我大力推荐此书的初衷，现在仍是不变。我本人并不想从中获取任何利益。因为此书本身就让我学到了很多。下面我将此书所在的链接再次公布于此，上面有此书的一些其它信息，如索引、版权等，还有许多其它好东东。 Why The Professor Can't Teach. C&O 发表于 2003-06-03 00:54 引用Trackback(1) | 编辑评论发表评论最后更新