龙应台：历史课

我其实很喜欢历史。因为历史有着警惕的作用。而且清楚但不完全真实地记载
我们人类如何一路走来。
但我对这里的历史课太失望了。内容可圈可点；但教学方式，教育系统与填鸭式考试只教了我们如何死背活用,并没用教我们如何“思考”，闷。Art of thinking才是最重要的教育。

这篇文章我在报纸几个月前读过了。现在想分享。因为是龙应台。因为有理。

教科书的地位只不过是一个基本的参考数据而已。它只是一个指引，不具任何一锤定音的权威

香港大学的国际招生愈做愈好，来自欧美的学生愈来愈多。有一天，和一群德国学生聊天，刚好是台湾的历史教科书问题正闹得沸沸扬扬的时候——民进党政府试图在教科书里进行所谓“去中国化”，反对者则抗议纷纷。我问这些德国学生：“你们高中的历史课是怎么上的？”
　　德国的教育权下放到各州自治，因此不同的州会有些差异。但是在七嘴八舌的争相发言里，我发现两个共同的特点：一是教科书并不重要，二是开放式。
　 　如果这一课是1870年的普法战争，那么老师会在上课前要求学生读很多第一手资料，譬如俾斯麦首相的演讲原文，要学生从演讲稿中探讨当时普鲁士的外交策 略，从而分析普法战争的真正原因。除了了解德国观点，学生必须知道法国观点，老师可能用电脑放映图片，反映当时法文报纸上的时事讽刺漫画、评论或者画家笔 下的巴黎街头。分析战争本身，老师可能出示一张1870年普鲁士的经济发展指标图，用来解释当时的“新科技”──譬如铁路的广泛使用和新制大炮的威力，如 何使普鲁士在战场上占了上风。
　　也就是说，在整个讲课的过程里，教科书非但不是惟一的教材，而且不是核心的教材，甚至可能根本没用到。
　 　第二个特征是开放式的教学。教学的主轴不是让学生去背诵任何已经写进某本书里的叙述或评价，而是要学生尽量从第一手资料里看出端倪，形成自己的判断。如 果这一堂课的主题是纳粹，学生可能必须去读当时的报纸、希特勒的演讲、工会的会议记录、专栏作家的评论、纪录片等等，然后在课堂里辩论——纳粹的兴起，究 竟是日耳曼的民族性所致，还是《凡尔赛合约》结下的恶果？或者是经济不景气的必然？各种因素都被提出来讨论。至于结论，学生要通过资料的分析和课堂的论辩 自己来下。
　　满头卷发的卢卡斯说：“我们那时就读了托马斯曼的哥哥亨利希曼的《臣仆》，因为他就认为德国人有惯性的服从性格。我们在课堂上就此辩论了很久。”
　 　如果主题是1848年的欧洲革命，学生必须从经济、社会和政治的不同层面分析革命的起因，然后还要试图去评价这场革命的后果——这究竟是一个失败的革 命，如法国的Alesis de Tocqueville所说，“社会顿时撕裂成两半：羡妒的无产阶级和恐惧的有产阶级”；或是一个成功的革命，因为20年后，德国和意大利都统一了，而法 国扩大了选举权，俄罗斯废除了农奴制？事情的是与非，人物的忠与奸，往往没有定论。学生必须自己从各种数据的阅读里学习爬梳出自己的看法。
　　“我们还常常要作报告，”刚刚来到香港的汉娜说，“一个人讲45分钟，等于教一堂课。”
　　“你记得讲过什么题目？”
　　“当然记得，”她说，“因为要做很多准备。我讲过英国的殖民主义。”
在这样的历史教学方式里，教科书的地位，只不过是一个基本的参考数据而已。在众多一手和二手的资料里，包括演讲、漫画、照片、统计图表、新闻报道和学者评论、人物日记、法庭记录等等，教科书只是一个指引，不具任何一锤定音的权威。
　　开放式的历史教学，着重在训练学生运用材料的能力，尤其是培养学生面对纷杂的史实做独立思考和独立判断。教科书充其量只是路边一个小小指路牌，不是烫了金的《圣经》。
　　至于考试，他们解释，也不会以教科书为本，而是开放式的题目，都是要你写文章回答的。譬如，“试分析俾斯麦的外交政策”或者“试分析魏玛共和国失败的原因”；测验的是一种融会贯通的见解，教科书根本没有答案，也不可依赖。
　　如果教科书根本不被看做一锤定音的权威，如果课堂中的历史老师有独立见解，又有旁征博引的学问，如果我们的考试制度不强迫老师和学生把教科书当《圣经》，我们需要那么担心教科书的问题吗？历史教学的真正问题所在恐怕不在教科书，而在教育的心态、制度和方法本身吧。
　　“可是美国的历史教育比较跟着教科书走，”来自奥地利的约翰在美国读过一年高中，他插进来，“而且他们的历史课教得很细，不像我们在欧洲，着重在大事件、大历史。”
　　克里斯说，“那没办法，他们只有两百五十年历史可以谈，所以连什么‘三十年代流行时尚’都可以在历史课里讨论一整节。”克里斯也去美国交换过一年。
　　话题转到美国去了。克里斯接着，“我发现美国人跟欧洲人真的很不一样。譬如说，有一次老师出题，要大家挑选20世纪本国某一重要人物来作报告，结果，你知道吗？有五个人，选的是蝙蝠侠！不可思议，是高三呢！”
　　大家轰一下笑开了。我忍住笑，说，“如果是你们德国班上做这个题目，大家可能选什么样的人物呢？”
　　克里斯回答：“阿登瑙尔、希特勒、布莱希特、托马斯曼或者舒马赫、贝肯鲍尔什么的，都可能。可绝对不会是米老鼠、蝙蝠侠或超人吧！”■

http://caijingzazhi.blog.sohu.com/64195361.html

A Wednesday night.

Writing diary was my habit. At least for the past 2 years.
But no longer now.

That's why sometimes blogging is important to me.

Aun Yee said he couldn't know how's my life getting on through my blog and basically he's right. I wrote down my thoughts and ideas but not diary-writing. It's more like articles. I admit. So this time I want to be slightly different.

On past Wednesday night, Piggie, Jien Boy, Cecil, Jin Wei and I went to M Box. An outlet similar to Red Box. It's opposite to the old cinema. At first I didn't think of going cause no transport.. but piggie came and fetched me so i went. It's 9pm when we reached there. We booked a middle size room for 5 persons and started our restless 3 hours. I'm quite satisfied with the cleanliness. But maybe the owner wants to save material costs.. the sound insulation system is just.. crap! utterly bad... what a suffer to my ears walking along the corridor...

We settled down and picked the songs. Tomorrow is Valentina and the 5 of us...all boys.. together singing 忘情水 and 分手快乐.. haha.. funny?!
i also dunno how to express

I chose mainly songs from 任贤齐 and jay chou. I always like their songs. When I was in primary school, I sang Richie songs continuously for 2 yeas and took the cakes..haha.. i think this's abt genetic .. members from my mother side got the talents to sing... but as i grow elder and elder.. my voice just..i can't really sing now.. i also can't fathom why.. maybe it's destined.. Haaih.....

Karaoke-singing is good... it lightens up our mood. we definitely become happier when stepping out the room. Just like that day, we just laughed... and piggie even screamed.. torturous! And when chin wei sang we just couldn't stand.. no choice.. we got to press the Next button. LOL.

In a blink of an eye it's 12 something.. We're going to be scolded if we stayed. tomorrow morning we're going to penang. A happy 3-hour singing section cost the 5 of us 70+ dollar.. but it's worth. It's really worth.

13.2.08.

Whiew! When I opened my eyes from my slumberland it’s 10.30am. What a shock it was to me. I seldom wake up in such a time. I mean it’s quite late. As usual, when I wake up late, I had my lunch as my breakfast without my favourite glass of milk.

Then I began my routine. Sit properly in front of office table, with hands flipping over SinChew daily and TheStar. I noticed today’s date printed on the right-upmost of the paper. 2008-2-13. Oh~ This proves again: Time flies like arrow, fruit flies like a banana. A proverb I always bear in mind.

Yeah.. It’s true that I have long never updated my blog. If you asked me what’s the most meaningful thing I’ve done over the past 2 weeks... erm.. I would say visit my grandpa and spent a ‘long’ time with him.

It was 29 of Jan have I not mistaken. I went to him. It’s 10’ something in the morning. Cause I already made an ‘appointment’ with him, once I arrived we started doing the
‘Genealogy’ thingy. Ha. Genealogizing is not my cup of tea. But as a grandchild or a part of this family, I think it’s right to know my family history.

My grandpa is 82-year-old. But he still can drive and goes to office. I went there along with him that day by his friend’s car. Back, he started story-telling… He spoke for 4 and a half hour continuously. Of course using TeoChew. He told me how his father, my great-grandfather, escaped from Kuomintang to Siam and then here Malaysia… how he survived in Shantou in the early life and went on board to Malaya in 1930s….
how great-grandfather started timber business in late 1930s…. how’s life in excruciating pain during Japanese era…and many of “how”, “what”, “when”, “who”…..

Of course, I didn’t really understand all what he said. Yes I am a Teo Chew, but I speak better penang Hokkien, sarcastically.

Who never learn from the past is doomed to repeat it… What I’ve gained are
having a broader view of the past age of turbulence, comprehend why I’m a Malaysian Chinese, man must have integrity, and of course, know a little bit more about grandpa life.

change

Hello. I just changed the setting to comment-available.

When I created this blog I just thought of writing down some of my ideas & thinking in somewhere that can last forever. And only the owner himself knows the existence of this blogspot.

But now I've changed up my mind.

Currently only Xuan Xuan, Aun Yee, Wenxu know about this blog. I think I will tell my friends about this blog very soon later.

Because this's what blogging all about.

今年大宝森节，我去了ICU一趟。

Cecil, Ilman, Meng Khai, Nian Wei和我搭Rapid Penang
到Jalan Residensi的General Hospital。
本来MK和NW是不去的，但为了去探望冠群，什么都不管了。

Swatch手表显示： 1.15pm； 我第一次踏入ICU。
里面的情景与我在电视上看到的无所不同;
先进的电脑萤幕显示心跳指数，一大堆医学仪器与
许多我看不懂的Scientific terms。

而冠群，就躺在1号病床上，一动也不动。他的病情严重，
是日本脑炎，但医生为他开的药似乎无效。
他已几天昏迷不醒，若情况继续没好转，他恐怕会有生命危险。

我们尝试叫他的名字;马冠群,Sohai..., 生日-8月2号，
谈谈童军的事情，还有说些鼓励性的话。
就在我们对他说话时，他的眼皮轻轻跳了跳,
似乎想张开眼睛说话。
此刻我们相信他是听得见。

在ICU里碰巧遇到华劲。他一个人从queensbay骑摩多到这里，
多天不见，他还是那么的独立，有着自己的想法。

其实很多朋友都很关心冠群。我犹记得，之前他沉迷与电脑时，
志平,shyun in 和有杰（若没记错）打电话模仿Mr.Gee给他妈妈；
Cecil 和 Jien Boy 在campfire时讽刺他；
Chumeng 健昌他们特地驾车到GH看他；
Emi 把新年愿望献给了在与病魔抗病的他；
form 3的 ahli 甚至想在短短时间搭巴士去探望他；
还有就是无数的message内容祈祷祝福他病愈。

或许以前他做了些错事，但人非圣贤孰能无过。
或许这是上天给他的一个重大考验，让他醒来病愈是人生又可重来。
正所谓过而能改，善莫大焉！
毕竟他只有18岁，要走的路还有很长。

我诚心祈祷希望冠群能以过人意志力战胜病魔，早日康复，
一家人快乐过新年。