(单词翻译:单击)
英文原文
There's no doubt that American education does not meet high standards in such basic skills as mathematics and language. And we realize that our youngsters are ignorant of Latin, put Mussolini in the same category as Dostoevski, cannot recite the Periodic Table by heart. Would we, however, prefer to stuff the developing little heads of our children with hundreds of geometry problems, the names of rivers in Brazil and 50 lines from "the Canterbury Tales?" Do we really want to retard their impulses, frustrate their opportunities for self-expression?
When I was 18, I had to memorize Hamlet's "To be or not to be" speech flawlessly. In his English class, my son was assigned to write a love letter to Juliet, either in Shakespearean or modern language. (He picked the latter; his Romeo would take it Juliet to an arcade for video games).
Here in America a history student can take the role of Lyndon Johnson in an open debate against another student playing Ho Chi Minh. But it is unthinkable that a youngster in Japan would dare to do the same regarding the role of their Hirohito in World War II.
Critics of American education in this country cannot grasp one thing, something that they don't truly understand because they take it for granted: freedom. This most important measurement has been omitted in the studies of the quality of education in this century, the only one, I think, that extends even to children the license to freely speak, write and be creative. Our public education certainly is not perfect, but it does have its advantages.
参考译文
毫无疑问，美国教育在数学、语言等基本技能方面的培训水平不高，我们也意识到，美国青年不懂拉丁语，会把墨索里尼和陀斯妥耶夫斯基归为一类，也不会背诵元素周期表。但是无论怎样，我们真的要把数百道几何题和巴西河流的名字以及《坎特伯雷故事》中的５０行诗句一起都塞进孩子们的小脑袋里吗？我们真的要扼杀他们的冲动、欲望和自我表现的机会吗？
我１８岁时必须准确无误地记住哈姆雷特的“生存还是死亡”的独白，而我儿子上英语课时，则被要求给朱丽叶写一封情书，可以用莎士比亚风格的语言，也可以用现代语言。（他选择了后者；在他笔下，他的罗密欧把朱丽叶带到拱廊上打电脑游戏。）
在美国，历史系的学生可以扮演林德.约翰逊，同另一个扮演胡志明公开辩论。但是难以想像日本的年轻人敢于扮演二战中裕仁天皇的角色这么做。
美国教育的批评者不能忽视的一点是有些他们不能真正理解的东西，因为他们视之为理所当然，那就是自由。在教育质量的研究中，人们已经忽略了本世纪最重要的衡量标准，这个标准，我想就是给孩子自由讲话、书写、创造的权力。当然我们的公共教育并不完美，但确有自身的优势。
