【博士专栏】比最好的还出色,这是什么概念?

Michael K. Meyerhoff，教育学博士

美国悦宝园（Romp n' Roll）咨询委员会成员

哥伦比亚大学心理学学士学位

哈佛大学教育研究生院人类发展硕士、博士学位

曾担任哈佛学前项目研究员

比最好的还出色，这是什么概念？

Someparents become a little uncomfortable when a Romp n’ Roll class ceases“instruction” and transitions into “independent play.”  They seem to feel that allowing theirchildren to just “fool around” on their own has no real value.  Well, if your goal is to help your child bejust like the best in the world then you definitely want to enroll her in aprogram that features nothing but constant, rigid instruction.  But if you want her to be better than thebest you need to recognize the value of independent play.

Iremember back in the late 1970’s tennis star Bjorn Borg won five straightWimbledon titles with a style that featured a lot of baseline play and adevastating two-fisted backhand.  Andsubsequently, everywhere from neighborhood courts to prestigious academies, yousaw children being rigorously and extensively instructed to imitate his style.

Butwho eventually beat Borg and ended his reign? It was John McEnroe whose style featured charging the net with aone-handed slash.  While he obviouslyreceived instruction in the basics of the sport, he also was given plenty ofopportunity to experiment on his own and create a unique approach thatmaximized his particular abilities, suited his individual preferences, andultimately enabled him to be better than the best.

And helping children to be even better than the best is what Romp n’ Roll is allabout.

译文：

当悦宝园的课堂上停止指令并过渡到让孩子们独立探索时，有一些家长变得有些不舒服。他们似乎认为，让孩子自己“疯玩”并没有意义。好吧，如果你的目标是让自己的孩子成为世界上最好的，那你确实需要给他安排一些冗长、严格的指导课程。但如果你希望他比最好更出色，那你需要正确认识让孩子独立探索的价值。

我记得在1970年代末，网球明星比约·博格已凭借其底线打法与强劲的反手球连续赢得了五个温网冠军。随后，，任何地方你都能看到孩子们普遍被要求严格模仿博格的风格。

但，谁最终击败了博格，结束了他的统治呢？是以发球上网为主的约翰·麦肯罗。约翰在学习基本的运动知识的同时，也会有大量的机会自我尝试。然后，他找到了独特的方法，使得他的特殊能力得以最大限度地发挥，并适合他的个人喜好。最终，他变得比最好更出色。

帮助孩子做到比最好更出色，悦宝园一直在坚持。

Educators should always keep a heart 

full of love and responsibility

教育者要永远保持一颗充满爱与责任的心