让教育回归本源——评怀特海《教育的目的》

Return to the origin of education ——On Whitehead's The Purpose of Education

怀特海作为著名的数学家和哲学家,其对教育现象及问题的看法独树一帜。在其著名代表作《教育的目的》中,他阐述了教育的唯一主题即生活,他提倡的智慧教育须在遵循学生成长规律中把握教育的节奏,使学生在好奇心的自由驱动下和教师的智慧引导下将所学的各类知识内化成指导其生活得更好的无形力量。教育的目的就在于帮助人们用知识理解生活,热爱生活,这与当下填鸭式的知识灌输和机械性的死记硬背等教育现状形成了鲜明对比。因此怀特海具有生活性的智慧教育思想值得当代师生共同学习与借鉴,推动教育回归其本源。

As a famous mathematician and philosopher, Whitehead has a unique view of education phenomena and problems. In his famous masterpiece The Purpose of Education, he expounds that the theme of education, namely life. He advocated that wisdom education should grasp the rhythm of education in accordance with the law of students’ growth, so that students can internalize all kinds of knowledge into invisible force to guide their lives better under the free drive of curiosity and the guidance of teachers’ wisdom. Education aims to help people understand and love life with knowledge, which is in sharp contrast to the current situation of education, such as cramming and rote memorization. Therefore, Whitehead’s idea of life-oriented wisdom education is worth learning by contemporary teachers and students and promoting education return to its origin.