从基督绅士到职业俗人——美国高等教育的转型与启示

From Christian Gentleman to Secularized Professional——The Transformation of American Higher Education and Its Enlightenment

从19世纪末开始,当初专门培养基督绅士的基督教文理学院转变为以培养千变万化的职业俗人为目标的世俗性机构。然而,这次转型是在持续的抗议声中实现的。抗议者认为,这次转型导致美国高等教育遗失了自由教育的优良传统,放弃了对年轻人的教化使命。虽然美国高等教育的转型似乎势不可挡,大学曾一度丧失了教育的内在统一性并放弃了传递重要的精神与智力遗产的古老使命,但被剥除了文化功能的世俗教育日益暴露出其内在的价值局限性,自由教育出现了一定程度的回归。美国高等教育的转型及自由教育的回归表明:大学有史以来就是精神的建构与道德的诉求。无论我国新建本科院校如何转型,都不能遗忘高等教育的古老使命——人的品性的塑造。

Since the end of the 19 thcentury,Christian colleges that focus on training Christian gentleman at the beginning have transformed into secularized institutions that train various secularized professionals.However,the transformation was achieved with constant protests. The protesters think that the transformation leads to the fact that the American higher education lost its tradition of liberal education,and the universities abandoned its education mission of the youngsters. The transformation of the American higher education seemed to be a trend which cannot be halted. The American universities lost the inherent unity of education and abandoned its ancient mission of passing on key spirit and intelligence heritage. But the secular education that were stripped off cultural function increasingly exposed its inherent value limitation. A return to liberal education took place to some extent. The transformation of the American higher education and the return of the liberal education show that： since the birth of a university,it has been the construction of spirit and pursuit of morality. No matter how the newly-built undergraduate colleges in China transform,they can＇t forget the old mission of higher education： the shaping of the human＇s moral character.