# 01.前言 [TOC=3,5] ## 1 Introduction ## 前言 ### 1.1 Failure of schooling ### 学校教育的失败 Instead of educating, these days schools do a lot of damage to many children. The school was to be the tool of new Renaissance, or new Enlightenment. It has become a tool of oppression that deprives kids of freedom and the love of learning. 现在的学校没有教育孩子，反而对许多孩子造成了伤害。学校本应当成为新文艺复兴或新启蒙运动的工具。然而它已经成为一种压迫的工具，剥夺了孩子们的自由和对学习的热爱。 Education systems around the world follow the same wrong design that needs to be abolished. This book provides a suggestion how this might be done with minimum side effects. 世界各地的教育系统都遵循着同样的错误设计，需要被废除。本书提供了一个建议，可以在最小的副作用下达到这点。 While dreaming about the [Grand Education Reform](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform), I took an unusual approach: instead of talking to adults, I mostly talked to kids. Moreover, I hope to have teen folks as my main target audience. My texts are hard, but they are easier for a smart kid who already knows and feels exactly what I am talking about. 在梦想着[教育大改革](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform)时，我采取了一种不同寻常的方式：我主要和孩子们交谈，而不是和成年人交谈。我的文字很难理解，但对于一个聪明的，已经确切地知道并感受到我在说什么的孩子来说，它们更容易理解。 I do **not** believe I will convince many parents, educators or authorities. I primarily hope for kids to start the revolution from the bottom up. Kids are more open, and they understand their own problems better. Moreover, given a bit of love, they are more likely to convince their own parents than I am. See: [Why this book will fail](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_is_it_hard_to_explain_an_effective_education_system%3F) 我**不**相信我能说服许多家长、教育工作者或权威人士。我主要希望孩子们能从下而上开始革命。孩子们更开放，他们更了解自己的问题。而且, 考虑到亲情, 他们比我更有可能说服自己的父母。参见：[为什么这本书会失败](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_is_it_hard_to_explain_an_effective_education_system%3F) ### 1.2 Scrapping the school system ### 废除学校制度 I have spent over two decades in the school system, three decades working in the field of memory and learning, and my whole life learning on my own. The contrast between schools and [self-directed learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning) is so stark that I wake up daily in disbelief about the survival of the [old Prussian factory school model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system). The main thesis of this article is that schooling is the thing of the past. The future will be based on [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning). Before humanity is taken over by artificial intelligence, there is still a lot of room for progress. The human brain has an amazing potential. These days, most of that potential is wasted at school. There is no denying that schools have changed the world for the better. The same can be said about the combustion engine. However, these are the days for scrapping the old technologies and the old systems. It is time for a change. 我在学校里待了二十多年，在记忆和学习领域工作了三十年，我的整个人生都在自学。学校与[自我导向学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning)之间的反差如此之大，以至于我每天一觉醒来，都不敢相信[古老的普鲁士工厂学校模式](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prussian_education_system)的存在。这篇文章的主要论点是学校教育已经成为过去。未来将以[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)为基础。在人类被人工智能取代之前，还有很大的进步空间。人脑有着惊人的潜力。如今，大部分潜能都被浪费在了学校。不可否认，学校已经把世界变得更好，内燃机也是如此。然而，现在是抛弃旧技术和旧系统的时候了，是时候改变了。 ### 1.3 Brain-based reform ### 基于大脑的改革 Employing the principles of neuroscience, this [book](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling) explains from grounds up how learning occurs, how it can be made dramatically more effective, how schools counteract effective learning, and how this can be remedied with a universal school [reform](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform). [本书](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling)运用神经科学的原理，从基础上解释了学习是如何发生的，如何能显著提高学习效率，学校如何阻碍有效学习，以及如何通过全面的学校[改革](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform)来补救。 ### 1.4 Love for children ### 对孩子的爱 Most of my texts bring up old truths that have been reiterated by dozens of great educators and writers of the past and present. You will find echoes, in no particular order, of [Gray](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Peter_Gray), [Holt](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Holt), [Greenberg](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Danny_Greenberg), [Mitra](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Hole_in_the_wall), [Robinson](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ken_Robinson), [Locke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke), and dozens of others. I amplify the writings of giants with a bit of neuroscience and my own research into efficient learning. See: [My qualifications](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_schooling:_My_qualifications). 我的大部分文章都提到了过去和现在几十位伟大的教育家和作家一再强调的古老真理。你会发现[Gray](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Peter_Gray) [Holt](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Holt), [Greenberg](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Danny_Greenberg), [Mitra](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Hole_in_the_wall), [Robinson](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ken_Robinson),[Locke](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Locke)（顺序不分先后）和其他许多人都有类似的经历。我用一点神经科学知识和我自己对高效学习的研究，进一步充实一些伟人的著作。参见：[我的资历](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_schooling:_My_qualifications)。 True giants of educational thought had one thing in common: deep and unadulterated love of children. Many started their journey by setbacks in their own educational efforts as parents or teachers. They all based their thinking on detailed analysis and observation. They did not analyze test scores. They observed and consulted children. 真正的教育思想巨人有一个共同点:对孩子们深沉而纯粹的爱。许多人在他们作为父母或教师的教育努力中遭遇挫折而开始了他们的旅程。他们的思想都建立在详细的分析和观察的基础上。他们没有分析考试成绩。他们观察和询问孩子们。 > **What makes a great educator is love for children as opposed to the infatuation with what they might become** > > **是对孩子们的爱造就一个伟大的教育家，而不是痴心于他们可能成为什么。** Some of the concepts in this [book](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling) are unique and I credit those to my three decades involvement in [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) based on [spaced repetition](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition). The work of giants has been extended with a bit of research on memory, sleep, creativity, and problems solving. 这本[书](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling)中的一些概念是独特的，我把这些归功于我 30 年来在基于[间隔重复](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)的[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition)中的投入。伟人的工作已经扩展到一些关于记忆、睡眠、创造力和解决问题方面的研究。 I would like to believe that I care about kids no less than Gray or Holt, but I also bring an extra agenda that might be missing in their work: I am looking for a formula for mass-production of little Nobel Prize winners, researchers, engineers, and creative problem solvers. The good news is that this formula aligns perfectly with [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)philosophy for there is no true genius without true freedom. In other words, my departure from unadulterated love to the business of education is a minor one, and no kid shall ever be hurt by that deflection. Just the opposite, pure love that brings up a healthy and productive child is love fulfilled. 我愿意相信，我对孩子们的关心不亚于 Gray 或 Holt ，但我也带来了他们的工作中可能缺失的一个额外议程：我正在寻找一个方案，用于批量培养小诺贝尔奖得主、小研究人员、小工程师和小创造性问题解决者。好消息是，这个方案完全符合自由学习理念，因为没有真正的自由，就没有真正的天才。换句话说，我从纯粹的爱转向了教育事业，这是一个很小的转变，任何孩子都不会因为这种转变而受到伤害。恰恰相反，纯粹的爱能培养出一个健康而有成就的孩子，这就是爱的满足。 ### 1.5 Executive Summary ### 执行摘要 This book is too long. You can best consume it with [incremental reading](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Incremental_reading). If this is still too much, go to the [summary](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Summary) and follow the links to things you disagree with. The ultimate summary is that **schooling undermines the brain potential carried by the young generation**. We can do far better. Not 20% better, not 200% better, far more! I include some numbers in the text. 这本书太长了。您可以通过[渐进阅读](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Incremental_reading)来最好地阅读它。如果这还样是太多，到[摘要](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Summary)这一章，并遵循链接去阅读你不同意的东西。本书最终的结论是，**上学削弱了年轻一代的大脑潜能**。我们可以做得更好。不是 20% 更好，不是 200% 更好，而是更多！我在文章中涵盖了一些数字。 ### 1.6 Kids are not adults in miniature ### 孩子不是微型的成年人 An important thing to keep in mind when designing a perfect education ecosystem is that a child's brain works according to entirely different rules than an adult's brain. We need to set kids free and never forget that our brains differ, our memories distort the past, and that the kid knows his or her own brain better! 在设计完善的教育生态系统时，必须牢记的重要一点是，儿童大脑的工作原理与成年人的大脑完全不同。我们需要让孩子们自由，永远不要忘记我们的大脑是不同的，我们的记忆扭曲了过去，孩子们更了解自己的大脑！ The key to resolving the problem of adults being unable to empathize with kid's brains is the appreciation of the power of the [learn drive](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive) and the importance of the [fundamental law of learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Fundamental_law_of_learning). In simplest terms, it can be shown in strictly scientific terms that [pleasure is an inevitable outcome of efficient learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Pleasure_of_learning). 解决成年人不能理解孩子大脑问题的关键在于理解[学习内驱力](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive)的力量和[学习基本定律](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Fundamental_law_of_learning)的重要性。简单来说，它可以用严格的科学术语来说明[快乐是有效学习的必然结果](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Pleasure_of_learning)。 We need to provide kids with conditions for a flourishing [learn drive](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive) that underlies [self-directed learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning). [Free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) is based on learning skills. Learning at school is a passive process. This passivity stunts vital skills and habits used in efficient learning. Freedom is essential in decision-making, which is a starting point for developing the necessary skillset. 我们需要为孩子提供一个蓬勃发展[学习内驱力](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive)的条件，这是[自我导向学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning)的基础。[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)是以学习技能为基础的。在学校学习是一个被动的过程。这种被动阻碍了有效学习中使用的关键技能和习惯。自由在决策中是必不可少的，这是发展必要技能的起点。 ### 1.7 Fundamental law of learning ### 学习基本定律 Adults claim that kids hate school because they are ignorant of its benefits. They say: "_Children cannot see far enough_". As a result, old folks believe that learning should be imposed in the name of grand educational goals. This might be \#1 myth that underlies the concept of schooling. This is extremely dangerous because of the circular feedback between goals and knowledge valuations. As goal valuations are knowledge-based, they cannot be imposed extrinsically. At the same time, acquisition is knowledge-based. Consequently, all learning is incremental. This means that the opposite is true to what many adults believe: **kids are best evaluators of what knowledge fits their current knowledge model**. 成年人说孩子们讨厌学校是因为他们不知道学校的好处。他们说：「_孩子们目光不够长远。_」因此，大人们认为学习应该以宏大的教育目标的名义进行。这可能是潜存于学校教育概念的第一个错误观念。这是非常危险的，因为目标和知识评估之间存在循环反馈。由于目标估值是基于知识的，因此不能从外部强加。同时，习得是以知识为基础的。因此，所有的学习都是循序渐进的。这意味着，与许多成年人的看法恰恰相反：**孩子是最能评估哪些知识适合他们当前的知识模型的人**。 Metaphorically speaking, if we want kids to get to Mt Everest, we may hint of its existence, but [we cannot push the child in a straight line to the summit](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Mountain_climb_metaphor). Instead, the kid needs to incrementally find her way up by looking for the best options from her current position. We cannot scream instructions from the hills because it is the kid who can see best which stone is a threat and which path provides best opportunities. 打个比方，如果我们希望孩子们去珠穆朗玛峰，我们可能会暗示它的存在，但[我们不能以直线的方式将孩子推到顶峰](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Mountain_climb_metaphor)。相反，孩子们需要通过从当前位置寻找最佳选择来逐渐地找到自己的路。我们不能在山上大声发号施令，因为只有孩子才能最清楚地看到哪块石头是威胁，哪条路提供了最好的机会。 The new brain science tells us that there is a [detector of value in the brain](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Knowledge_valuation_network). This detector is vital for top quality learning. It accepts the valuable knowledge that fits into knowledge models and rejects everything else. Schooling around the world, with not a single country exception, largely ignores that detector! By remedying this massive global error, we can increase the value of learning and the quality of knowledge. Due to the compound interest, change in strategy can have hard-to-predict dimensions. This is a massive potential for mankind that lays unused and ready to explode. 新的大脑科学告诉我们大脑中有一个[价值检测器](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Knowledge_valuation_network)。这个检测器对于高质量的学习至关重要。它接受适合于知识模型的有价值的知识，拒绝其他任何东西。世界各地的学校，没有一个国家例外，在很大程度上忽略了这个检测器！通过纠正这个巨大的全球性错误，我们可以提高学习的价值和知识的质量。由于复利的存在，战略的变化具有难以预测的维度。对人类来说，这是一种巨大的潜力，尚未被利用，随时可能爆发。 ### 1.8 Message to our future selves ### 给我们未来的自己的信息 The biggest effect of schooling, instead of great learning, is the lifelong impact on the loss of interest in further learning. Instead of teaching kids how to learn, the school conditions children to hate school. However, the school ends, and a far worse side effect remains: hate of learning. Luckily, the human mind is inherently [hungry for learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive), and most people recover in a span of a decade. Upon recovery, the memory will whitewash the past, and adults will attribute their own successes to schooling. This perpetuates the vicious cycle. Adults do not understand kids. They do not even understand their own brains from years before when they were kids themselves. The memory has no way of sending an accurate message to the future. See: [Schools suppress the learn drive](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Schools_suppress_the_learn_drive) 教育的最大效果，不是伟大的学习，而是使人对进一步学习丧失兴趣的终生影响。学校没有教孩子如何学习，反而使孩子们讨厌学校。然而，学校结束了，一个更糟糕的副作用仍然存在：讨厌学习。幸运的是，人类的大脑天生[渴望学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive)，大多数人在十年内就能恢复。恢复后，记忆会掩饰过去，大人将自己的成功归功于教育。这使恶性循环长期存在。成年人不理解孩子。他们甚至不理解自己的大脑，从多年前他们自己还是孩子的时候。记忆无法向未来发送准确的信息。参见：[学校抑制学习内驱力](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Schools_suppress_the_learn_drive) ### 1.9 Dangers of early instruction ### 早期教育的危险 Early instruction is particularly dangerous. This [book](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling) introduces the concept of [toxic memory](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Toxic_memory), which is monumental for understanding the harm inflicted by schooling. I have seen toxic memories thrive under the impact of [SuperMemo](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo). I saw them grow like you see plants or pet animals grow in your household. The faster we send kids to school, the greater the chance of the damage. Many governments around the world are eager to reduce the school age. They have no clue! 早期教育尤其危险。[本书](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling)介绍了[毒性记忆](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Toxic_memory)的概念，这对于理解学校教育造成的危害是非常重要的。我曾见过在 [SuperMemo](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo) 的影响下，毒性记忆蓬勃发展。我看见它们生长，就像你看见植物或宠物在你家里成长一样。我们越早送孩子上学，受害的可能性就越大。世界上许多国家的政府都渴望降低学龄。他们对此一无所知！ ### 1.10 Futility of cramming ### 徒劳的死记硬背 Cram schools are particularly dangerous. Not only they damage the kids. They may also provide fantastic short-term returns that dazzle the educators with a lesser understanding of neuroscience. This is why many ambitious educators marvel about copying Korean or Singaporean success. Having corrected for cultural differences, I suggest they should look at the correlation between academic success and future creative achievement. For example, see Nobel Prize per capita rankings where "lazy" UK ranks high as opposed to the Asian giants. An even more convincing example should come from biographies of great geniuses of the past: scientists, inventors, and discoverers. We need to study their [unschooling](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Unschooling) to understand the principles that lead to growing giant creative brains! There is little or no [cramming](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming) on the path to genius. 死记硬背式学校尤其危险。他们不仅伤害孩子。他们也可能提供令人惊叹的短期回报，让对神经科学了解较少的教育工作者感到眼花缭乱。这就是为什么许多雄心勃勃的教育家对复制韩国或新加坡的成功感到惊讶。在纠正了文化差异之后，我建议他们应该看看学业成就和未来创造性成就之间的关系。例如，在诺贝尔奖人均排名中，「懒惰」的英国排名高于亚洲巨人。一个更有说服力的例子应该来自过去伟大天才的传记：科学家、发明家和发现者。我们需要研究他们的[非学校教育](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Unschooling)来理解那些导致巨大的创造性大脑成长的原理！通往天才的道路上几乎没有[死记硬背](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming)。 ### 1.11 Learning skill impotence ### 学习能力丧失 Limited reliance on [self-directed learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning) at school is like lack of exercise. It turns the intellect into a lazy slob. Many people hate to exercise because of years of neglect. When they resume at the middle age, at some point, exercise can be so pleasurable that it is rediscovered as truly addictive. The same is true of learning. 在学校里有限地依靠[自我导向学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Self-directed_learning)就像缺乏锻炼一样。它把智力变成懒惰的懒汉。许多人由于多年的忽视而讨厌运动。当他们在中年时重新开始锻炼时，在某种程度上，锻炼是如此令人愉悦，以至于人们重新发现它确实会让人上瘾。学习也是如此。 We have a boatload of evidence: behavioral, neurophysiological, cultural, anecdotal, etc. that **suppressing individual freedoms** at young age negatively affects creative powers later in life. What might be great for a conformist "harmonious" society of [North Korea](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/North_Korea), or rather helpful in a rural community of an impoverished country, may be highly unwelcome in a high-tech society with an appetite for Nobel-winning achievements in science. 我们有大量的证据：行为的、神经生理学的、文化的、轶事的等等，在年轻时**压抑个人自由**会对以后的生活产生负面影响。对于墨守成规的[朝鲜](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/North_Korea)「和谐」社会来说，或者更具体地说，对于一个贫穷国家的农村社区来说，这可能是件好事，但在一个渴望获得诺贝尔奖的科学成就的高科技社会，这可能是极不受欢迎的。 We can track a golden nugget of knowledge from its source to a big discovery. From the moment when the nugget meets the brain to the ultimate reward of a breakthrough. The travel of the knowledge through the brain is hindered by restrictions imposed by schooling at all stages. To see how this happens, read: [Why schools fail](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_schools_fail). 我们可以追踪一个宝贵的知识从它的源头到重大发现，从它与大脑相遇的那一刻到突破性进展的最终回报。知识在大脑中的传播受到各个阶段学校教育的限制。要了解这是如何发生的，请阅读：[为什么学校会失败](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_schools_fail)。 > **Freedom of learning is the key to developing high skills in knowledge acquisition and creative problem solving.** > > **学习的自由是培养在获取知识和创造性解决问题方面的高水平技能的关键。** ### 1.12 Grand Education Reform ### 教育大改革 Once we free our own kids to do [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) we need to free the entire education system. Let all types of schools and ideas thrive \(see: [Grand Education Reform](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform)\). The incremental and evolutionary school reform process should proceed with an important goal in mind: all brains on the planet should be set free to pursue [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning). After that, barring disaster, only the age of the machines can change the direction of mankind. 一旦我们让自己的孩子[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)，我们就需要解放整个教育体系。让所有类型的学校和思想蓬勃发展（参见：[教育大改革](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Reform)）。循序渐进的学校改革进程应该牢记一个重要目标：地球上所有的大脑都应该被解放出来，去追求[自由学习](01.introduction-qian-yan.md)。在那之后，除非发生灾难，只有机器时代才能改变人类的方向。 ### 1.13 When school is a blessing ### 何时学校是一种眷顾 Schools can be a blessing. In a small village in post-Ebola Liberia, in a Rio favela, in a 10-house village in Poland, in the Mathare slum, in post-Taliban Afghanistan, or in a poverty trap of immigrant banlieue, a school is a blessing. It may be an escape from poverty, violence, or abuse. It may be a path to an enlightened future. In my vicinity, kids do drugs when they do not go to school. In a village, 15 km away, their prime entertainment is drinking beer in front of the local shop. In that sense, school is shielding kids from the poisonous effects of inaction, inert community, or pathological family. 学校可以是一种眷顾。在后埃博拉时代的利比里亚，在里约热内卢贫民窟的一个小村庄，在波兰的一个 10 户人家的村庄，在后塔利班时代的阿富汗，在 Mathare 贫民窟，在贫穷的移民郊区，学校是一种眷顾。它可能是一种摆脱贫困、暴力或虐待的方式。这也许是一条通向光明未来的道路。在我附近，孩子们不上学就吸毒。在 15 公里外的一个村子里，他们的主要娱乐活动是在当地商店前喝啤酒。从这个意义上说，学校是在保护孩子免受不作为、迟钝的社区或病态家庭的有害影响。 However, schools are a blessing only early in those few tough circumstances, esp. early in the evolutionary process of a developing school system. After they are a blessing, schools become universal, and then compulsory. And then they evolve into a tool of oppression that optimizes in one direction only: more pressure for better scores. All that oppression comes with best intentions that are driven by ignorance. 然而，学校只有在少数困难的环境中，特别是在学校系统发展的早期阶段，才是一种眷顾。在他们成为眷顾之后，学校变得普及，然后是强制性的。然后他们演变成一种压迫的工具，只在一个方向上优化:更多的压力，以获得更好的成绩。所有这些压迫都是出于无知。 At that side of the spectrum, the school is a suppressant of the best qualities of human character. The gifted ones suffer most. 在这个范围的另一边，学校是人性中最优秀品质的抑制剂。有天赋的人受害最多。 ### 1.14 The Optimization Error ### 优化错误 Progress in schooling is measured by grades and test scores. [PISA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment) tests are the gold standard for international competition. As grading and test scores are largely based on short-term learning for short-term results, we optimize in a highly harmful direction. We optimize for [cramming](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming), not for learning. Much less attention is paid to how much kids actually bring out from school. Perfect knowledge of history on the test day may translate to [vestigial knowledge of history on the last day of school](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learning_history:_school_vs._self-directed_learning). 学校教育的进步是用分数和考试成绩来衡量的。[PISA](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Programme_for_International_Student_Assessment) 测试是国际竞争的黄金标准。由于评分和考试成绩在很大程度上是基于短期学习来获得短期结果的，所以我们的优化方向是非常有害的。我们优化的是[死记硬背](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming)，而不是学习。很少有人关注孩子们实际从学校里收获了多少。考试当天完善的历史知识很可能转化为[在学校最后一天残存的历史知识](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learning_history:_school_vs._self-directed_learning)。 If grades and test scores are used in optimization of learning, we arrive at absurd conclusions such as: learning all night is good, evening caffeine is good, [cramming](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming) is better than learning, [spaced repetition](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition) is ineffective, and other equally absurd propositions. 如果把分数和考试成绩用于优化学习，我们会得出一些荒谬的结论，例如：通宵学习很好，晚上喝咖啡很好，[死记硬背](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Cramming)比学习更好，[间隔重复](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition)无效，以及其他同样荒谬的结论。 To improve schooling we add more material and raise the bar. This pushes kids in the direction of short-term memory, more [homework](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Homework), less [sleep](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Science_of_sleep), less exercise, less [fun](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Pleasure_of_learning), harder suppression of the [learn drive](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive), greater risk of [depression and behavioral disorders](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learned_helplessness_vs._learn_drive). We drive ourselves into a corner! This is a corner of unhappy society! 为了改进学校教育，我们增加了更多的材料，提高了标准。这将孩子推向短期记忆、更多的[家庭作业](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Homework)、更少的[睡眠](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Science_of_sleep)、更少的锻炼、更少的[乐趣](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Pleasure_of_learning)、更努力抑制[学习内驱力](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learn_drive)、更大的[抑郁和行为障碍](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Learned_helplessness_vs._learn_drive)的风险的方向。我们把自己逼到一个角落里！这是不幸社会的一个角落！ Adding volume and speed to education to beat the scores is like hoping that adding speed to [speed-reading](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Speed-reading) will result in better learning. We improve scores at the cost of actual knowledge. Even worse, we improve scores while seriously undermining human creativity and problem-solving capacity. 给教育增加容量和速度来打败分数就像希望给[快速阅读](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Speed-reading)增速会带来更好的学习。我们以实际知识为代价提高分数。更糟糕的是，我们在提高分数的同时，也严重削弱了人类的创造力和解决问题的能力。 There is an optimum speed of reading or processing information or learning, and it is specific to each individual. Optimum speed can easily be reached in [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning), where it is subject to self-regulation. 阅读、处理信息或学习都有一个最佳速度，而且这个速度因人而异。在[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)中很容易达到最佳速度，因为自由学习中需要自我调节。 The problem with optimization of education is that, ideally, we should make incremental corrections today, and measure the outcomes 30-50 years from now. This is why effective optimization of education must rely on models derived from the learning theory. Luckily, those models produce a relatively simple picture. The brain has been equipped with all tools needed to easily achieve far more than what we today think is possible. 优化教育的问题在于，理想情况下，我们应该在今天进行渐进修正，并衡量 30 - 50 年后的结果。这就是为什么有效的优化教育必须依赖于从学习理论推导出来的模型。幸运的是，这些模型生成了一个相对简单的画面。大脑已经配备了所有的工具，可以轻松地完成我们今天认为不可能完成的事情。 ### 1.15 Fostering diversity ### 培养多样性 [Homeschooling](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Homeschooling) provides good grounds for [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning). A frequent complaint about homeschoolers and unschoolers is that they are weird or [poorly socialized](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Optimal_socialization). That complain ignores the fact that the opposite of weird is homogenized, faceless, and uninteresting. The opposite of society built on all colors of education and knowledge is North Korea. And for the sake of healthy variety, we need the example of North Korea too. At least to cherish our freedoms and learn a thing or two about what makes people and societies happy. [在家上学](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Homeschooling)为[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)提供了良好的基础。人们经常抱怨在家上学的人和不上学的人很奇怪，或者[社交能力差](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Optimal_socialization)。这种抱怨忽略了一个事实，即怪异的反义词是同质化的、没有面孔的、无趣的。建立在各种教育和知识基础上的社会的反面是朝鲜。为了健康的多样性，我们也需要朝鲜的例子。至少要珍惜我们的自由，学会一两件让人们和社会幸福的事情。 When I promote English as the unifying language for the world, a friend joked that I might as well promote one brand of beer for the world. I need to stress that we always need to balance standards vs. variety. One language for the world is an essential tool for global communication. Variegated education is essential for knowledge evolution. For an unconstrained growth of human knowledge, we need excellent access to knowledge, excellent communication, and a global language should serve that goal too. 当我提倡英语作为世界的统一语言时，一个朋友开玩笑说，我不如为世界推广一种品牌的啤酒。我需要强调的是，我们总是需要平衡标准与多样性。一种面向世界的语言是全球交流的重要工具。多样化的教育对知识的发展至关重要。为了人类知识不受限制地增长，我们需要良好的获取知识的途径，良好的交流，一种全球性的语言也应该为这一目标服务。 ### 1.16 Death of knowledge ### 知识的消亡 Great people have great visions. However, great visions often fail to materialize and die with their fathering visionaries. 伟人有伟大的理想。然而，伟大的梦想往往不能实现，而是与它们的父亲——梦想家一起死去。 Great ideas about great education have been invented and forgotten and then re-invented or re-discovered over and over again. This has been happening for no less than two millennia now. 伟大教育的伟大思想被发明出来，又被遗忘，然后被重新发明或重新发现，一遍又一遍。这一现象已经持续了两千多年。 Plato, Aristotle, and John Locke have been dead for centuries. [John Holt](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Holt) is dead. Ivan Illich is dead. Urie Bronfenbrenner is dead. So are Raymond Moore and Roland Meighan. They left great books that inspire new generations of educators. Their [golden aphorisms](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Gray:_What_genius_minds_think_of_schooling%3F) are great memes for the web, but they have little impact on education driven by short-term demands of the day. The idea of [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) meets with the resistance of short-term goals worshiped by the majority affected by age's old ailment: short-sightedness. 柏拉图、亚里士多德和 John Locke 已经去世好几个世纪了。[John Holt](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Holt) 死了。Ivan Illich 死了。Urie Bronfenbrenner 死了。Raymond Moore 和 Roland Meighan 也是如此。他们留下了激励新一代教育家的伟大著作。他们的[黄金格言](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Gray:_What_genius_minds_think_of_schooling%3F)对于网络来说是伟大的模因，但它们对当时短期需求驱动的教育影响甚微。[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)的理念遭到多数受老毛病（短视）影响的人所崇拜的短期目标的抵制。 [Danny Greenberg](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Danny_Greenberg) and [John Taylor Gatto](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto) are in their 80s. [Peter Gray](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Peter_Gray) is in his 70s. [Ken Robinson](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ken_Robinson) will be seventy soon. Even the new kid on the block, [Sugata Mitra](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Sugata_Mitra) is past his mid 60s. [Danny Greenberg](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Danny_Greenberg) 和[ John Taylor Gatto](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/John_Taylor_Gatto) 都 80 多岁了。[Peter Gray](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Peter_Gray) 70 多岁了。[Ken Robinson](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ken_Robinson) 快 70 岁了。即使是领域里新来的孩子，[Sugata Mitra](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Sugata_Mitra) 也已经 60 多岁了。 I have struggled now for 3 decades promoting [spaced repetition](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition) and [incremental reading](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Incremental_reading). Spaced repetition is now slowly gaining popularity among students of languages, and in medical sciences. Incremental reading is still in the starting block. Apart from [SuperMemo](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo), only two incremental reading plug-in attempts for Anki have been made. The road ahead is long and winding. 30 年来，我一直在努力推广[间隔重复](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Spaced_repetition)和[渐进阅读](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Incremental_reading)。间隔重复现在在语言和医学科学的学生中逐渐流行起来。渐进阅读仍然处于起始阶段。除了 [SuperMemo](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/SuperMemo) 之外，只有两个针对 Anki 的渐进阅读插件尝试。前面的路又长又曲折。 With all those wise brains dead or aging, we still give preference to a form of schooling that was praised and skillfully employed by Hitler or Stalin. We still accept the totalitarian solutions with a good-hearted conviction that they are [good for society](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ban_on_homeschooling#Fineman). 尽管所有这些聪明的大脑都离开了或衰老了，我们仍然偏爱一种被希特勒或斯大林赞扬和熟练运用的教育形式。我们仍然怀着一种善意的信念接受极权主义的解决办法，即它们[对社会是有益的](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Ban_on_homeschooling#Fineman)。 My [book](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling) will [fail](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_is_it_hard_to_explain_an_effective_education_system%3F). If Nobel-winning [Milton Friedman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman) still gets ignored or misunderstood in reference to [school choice](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/School_choice), what are my chances of breaking through the wall of indifference or ignorance? I see some chance in social media and in the power of collective wisdom of homeschoolers, unschoolers, democratic schools, and [free learners](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) across the globe. I see a chance in the rebellious nature of the enslaved youth. 我的[书](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Problem_of_Schooling)要[失败](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Why_is_it_hard_to_explain_an_effective_education_system%3F)了。如果诺贝尔奖得主 [Milton Friedman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman) 在[择校方面的选择](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/School_choice)仍被忽视或误解，我突破冷漠或无知之墙的机会有多大?我在社交媒体上看到了一些机会，也看到了世界各地的在家学习者、不上学者、民主学校和[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)者集体智慧的力量。我从被奴役的年轻人的叛逆本性中看到了机会。 ### 1.17 Prediction: Death of schooling ### 预言：学校教育的消亡 Radical dreams of Holt, Gatto, and Illich will come true soon. Not for whole societies though. One job of schooling will likely not end: schools will remain containers for storing kids while parents are at work. For this to change, we would need to take a collective breath, reprioritize, slow down, and take a more creative approach to life. I am not optimistic. The rush will continue. Holt 、Gatto 和 Illich 的激进梦想很快就会实现。但这并不适用于整个社会。学校教育的一项工作可能不会结束：当家长们在工作时，学校仍将是托管孩子的设施。为了改变这种状况，我们需要集体呼吸，调整优先顺序，放慢脚步，采取更有创造性的生活方式。我并不乐观。这股热潮将继续下去。 However, more kids will get homeschooled and fight for changes in the law, more [democratic schools](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Democratic_school) will crop up, more Montessori schools and other freedom-based solutions will become popular. The old-style public school will rule the roost, but freedoms will be expanded by law. Nationalism and national curriculum will be curbed. The explosion of [free learning](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning) is exponential. 然而，更多的孩子将在家上学，并为法律的改变而斗争，更多的[民主学校](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Democratic_school)将涌现，更多的蒙特梭利学校和其他基于自由的解决方案将变得流行。旧式的公立学校将统治一切，但自由将通过法律得到扩大。民族主义和国家课程将受到限制。[自由学习](https://supermemo.guru/wiki/Free_learning)的爆炸增长是指数式的。 I am glad I am not dead yet. Old Prussian school system will die soon. I wager I will see it happen! 我很高兴我还没死。旧的普鲁士学校制度将很快消亡。我打赌我会看到它的发生！