又到一年一度毕业季。

各位对高等教育的看法(今年最好的毕业演讲告诉你高等教育的意义)(1)

当你挥别母校、踏入社会时,总会带上师友前辈的忠告和箴言。

今天,双语君(微信ID:Chinadaily_Moible)为大家整理了今年最值得一看的毕业演讲(commencement speech)及其精华观点,帮你找到方向、不再迷茫。

普林斯顿大学校长:

别再被“学历无用论”欺骗!

针对目前甚嚣尘上的“学历无用论”,普林斯顿大学校长伊斯格鲁布(Christopher L. Eisgruber)在毕业演讲上有理有据地批驳了一番。

首先,有经济学数据充分证明读大学的好处。

研究表明:

(It is estimated that) the average annual return on investment from a college degree, net of tuition paid and lost earnings, at between 9% and 16% per year for a lifetime.

投资一个大学学位的平均年回报率,在扣除学费和收入损失后大约在9%-16%之间。

net of:扣除

相比之下,历史上美国股票市场的年平均投资回报率仅为7%。

受过高等教育,人生会有更丰富的体验。

College graduates report higher levels of happiness and job satisfaction.

大学毕业生们拥有更高的幸福感和工作满意度。

College graduates are healthier than non-graduates. They are more likely to exercise, more likely to vote, and have higher levels of civic engagement.

大学毕业人群要比非大学毕业人群更健康,他们更爱锻炼,更积极参与投票,有更高层次的公民参与度。

To these pragmatic considerations we should add the joys that come with an increased capacity to appreciate culture, the arts, the world’s diversity, and the inherent beauty of extraordinary ideas.

除了这些实用角度的考量,我们还应该加上一些额外收获,他们因为能更好地理解文化、艺术、世界多样性和卓越观点的内在美好,人生能获得更多乐趣。

所以,用教育经济学家莫顿·夏皮罗(Morton Shapiro)的话来总结:

大学学历“是一辈子最赚的一次投资(the single best financial decision they make in a lifetime)”。

大学教育帮助你拥有更强的应变能力。

有人觉得上职业学校也不错,比如美国的电焊工(welders)有时比大学生赚得都多,但遭遇变化时,大学教育能帮助你更灵活地应对。

You might worry, for example, about what happens if technology renders your trade obsolete, or arthritis leaves you unable to practice it, or you want to move into management or explore other interests.

比如,你也许会担心,随着技术发展,你的手艺会被淘汰;或者你得了关节炎,无法再干这份工作;或者你想进入管理层,或跨行挖掘其他的领域。

obsolete:过时

arthritis:关节炎

A college degree equips you to respond to the changes — to yourself, and to the world — that inevitably occur over a lifetime.

人一生中总难免遭遇一些变迁,无论是个人的还是世界的,而一个大学学历能让你拥有应对这些变化的能力。

倡导学历无用的人只关注眼前利益。

校长分析了“学历无用论”为什么会有市场。

因为高等教育的成本很高。虽然回报也高,但难以量化,且因人而异。

所以,在短期内以低成本获得确定性的回报就显得格外诱人。

The people who call for fewer degrees yield to that temptation. They emphasize the short-term. They focus almost entirely on the price of college and on the salaries students might earn in their first jobs. That is a mistake.

那些呼吁“少读点书”的人就屈服于这种诱惑。他们看中的是短期效益,几乎只关心读大学要花的钱,和学生毕业后第一份工作的收入。大错特错。

A college education is a long-term investment. It enables graduates to develop and adapt, and it pays off spectacularly in the long run.

大学教育是一项长期投资,它让毕业生不断发展自己和适应世界,从长远来看,收益更加惊人。

学历是贫穷地区的人们改变命运的阶梯。

A Princeton degree is a rocket-booster for students seeking socioeconomic mobility.

一个普林斯顿大学的学位可以成为学生寻求社会经济阶层流动的助推器。

提高全民教育水平,也有助于缩小社会各阶层的差距。

If we want to heal the divisions that inequality has produced in this country, we must ensure that students from low-income backgrounds receive the educations they need to develop their abilities and contribute to our society.

如果我们想要愈合这个国家中因不平等而造成的隔阂,就必须确保低收入背景的学生能够获得所需的教育,从而发展自身能力,并为社会做出贡献。

所以,伊斯格鲁布校长号召在座的毕业生们,他们自身感受过教育的力量,也应当努力发声,成为高等教育的倡导者。

奥普拉·温弗瑞:

没人看着时,更要做正确的事

各位对高等教育的看法(今年最好的毕业演讲告诉你高等教育的意义)(2)

美国著名脱口秀节目主持人奥普拉·温弗瑞(Oparah Winfrey)在南加州大学安纳伯格传播学院(USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism)的演讲振奋人心,一起来听↓↓↓

不要把自己跟别人比较

Stop comparing yourself to other people. You’re only on this planet to be you, not someone else’s imitation of you.

不要把自己跟别人比较。你来到这个世上就是为了做你自己,而不是模仿别人。

无人关注时,更要做正确的事

Don’t ever confuse what is legal with what is moral because they are entirely different animals. You see, in a court of law, there are loopholes and technicalities and bargains to be struck, but in life, you’re either principled or you’re not. So do the right thing, especially when nobody’s looking.

不要混淆法律允许的事与合乎道义的事,二者截然不同。你看,在法庭上,你可以寻找法律漏洞,利用诉讼细则,讨价还价。但生活中,坚持或是违反原则,你只能选择一个。所以,做正确的事,没有人看着你时,更应如此。

technicality: /teknɪ'kælɪtɪ/ 诉讼程序性细则

➤ 新闻人,要帮助人们明辨是非

You will become the new editorial gate-keepers, an ambitious army of truth-seekers who will arm yourselves with the intelligence, with the insights and the facts necessary to strike down deceit, you can answer false narratives with real information and you can set the record straight.

你们将成为新一代新闻的“把关人”。这是一只满怀雄心的队伍:你们要用智慧武装自己,运用自己的洞察力,借助必要的事实,击溃谎言。面对虚假叙事,用真实的信息予以反击,进而帮助人们辨明是非。

➤ 工作并不决定你现在,而是决定未来的过程

Your job is not always going to fulfill you. There will be some days that you just might be bored. Other days, you may not feel like going to work at all. Go anyway. And remember that your job is not who you are. It’s just what you’re doing on the way to who you will become.

你的职业不会一直令你满意。有些时候,你可能觉得它无聊;而其他时间,你可能根本就不想去工作。尽管如此,你还是要去上班。记住,工作并不代表你是谁,而是决定未来你会变成谁的过程。

The number one lesson I could offer you where your work is concerned is this:Become so skilled, so vigilant, so flat-out fantastic at what you do that your talent cannot be dismissed.

关于工作,我首先要告诫你的就是:你要提高自己的技能,保持审慎的态度,在自己的岗位上大放异彩,让所有人都无法忽视你的才华。

vigilant adj. 警惕的;警醒的

蒂姆·库克:

无所畏惧,迈出第一步

各位对高等教育的看法(今年最好的毕业演讲告诉你高等教育的意义)(3)

现任苹果公司首席执行官蒂姆·库克(Tim Cook)在杜克大学(Duke University)的演讲中说起了乔布斯,并表示,乔布斯的创新和不满足于现状的原则至今仍然指导着苹果公司。

➤ 提及乔布斯:不要满足现状

Steve's vision was that great ideas come from a restless refusal to accept things as they are. Those principles still guide us at Apple today. … In every way at every turn, the question we ask ourselves is not what can we do, but what should we do.

乔布斯认为,伟大的想法,诞生于从始至终不满足于现状。这样的原则至今仍然指导着苹果公司......在每一个转折点上,我们问自己的问题不是我们能做什么,而是我们应该做什么。

➤ 无所畏惧

Fearlessness means taking the first step, even if you don’t know where it will take you. It means being driven by a higher purpose, rather than by applause.

无所畏惧意味着迈出第一步,即便你不知道它会带你去向何方。驱动你的不是人们的掌声,而是更为崇高的目标。

If you step up without fear of failure, if you talk and listen to each other, without fear of rejection, if you act with decency and kindness, even when no one is looking, even if it seems small or inconsequential, trust me, the rest will fall into place.

在前进的过程中,不畏失败;倾听与交流时,不怕拒绝。如果你为人正派,善良友好,即便无人关注,哪怕只是做些无关紧要的小事,相信我,生活中的其他事也能够有条不紊地解决。

➤ 做正确的事,任何时候都是好时机

Martin Luther King stood right here at Duke, and said: “The time is always right to do right.” For you, graduates, that time is now.

马丁·路德·金曾经在杜克大学,站在这里说:“做正确的事,任何时机都是好时机。”毕业生们,现在就是最好的时机。

各位对高等教育的看法(今年最好的毕业演讲告诉你高等教育的意义)(4)

贾斯汀·特鲁多:

学会包容,引领未来

加拿大总理贾斯汀·特鲁多(Justin Trudeau)在纽约大学(New York University)发表了一通激情澎湃的演讲,他在演讲中拓宽了“包容”一词的内涵。

➤ 比包容更多一点

Here is my request: As you go forward from this place, I would like you to make a point of reaching out to people whose beliefs and values differ from your own. I would like you to listen to them, truly listen, and try to understand them, and find that common ground.

这是我的要求:当你走出大学,我希望你能努力接触信仰和价值观与你不同的人。我希望你能听听他们的想法,真心实意地去听,试着理解他们,找到你们的共同之处。

他还说,我们的目标可以更高一点,试着接受,尊重和建立友谊。

I think we can aim a little higher than mere tolerance. Think about it: Saying "I tolerate you" actually means something like, "Ok, I grudgingly admit that you have a right to exist, just don’t get in my face about it, and oh, don’t date my sister."

我认为我们的目标可以再高一点,而不仅仅是容忍。想想看,“我能容忍你”,这样说实际上的意思是:“好吧,我勉强承认你有存在的权利,只不过别来招惹我,还有,别跟我的妹妹约会。”

So let’s try for something a little more like acceptance, respect, friendship, and yes, even love. And why does this matter? Because, in our aspiration to relevance; in our love for our families; in our desire to contribute, to make this world a better place, despite our differences, we are all the same.

让我们尝试一些别的,比如接受、尊重、建立友谊,没错,还有爱。为什么这很重要呢?因为,在我们渴望出人头地的过程中,在我们呵护家人的过程中,在我们渴望做出贡献让这个世界变得更美好的过程中,尽管我们存在分歧,但我们都是一样的。

各位对高等教育的看法(今年最好的毕业演讲告诉你高等教育的意义)(5)

➤ 向他人学习

As you go forward from here, understand that just around the corner, a whole different order of learning awaits, in which your teachers will come from every station in life, every education level, every belief system, every lifestyle. And I hope you will embrace that.

当你离开校园,即将到来的是一种全新形式的学习。在这里,人们社会地位不同,文化水平各异,有着不同的信仰和各式各样的生活方式,而他们都是等待着你的老师。希望你能拥抱这一切。

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