illiberal Education and “The Heart of the Matter“

"The heart of the Matter,"the just released report by the American Academy of Arts and Science(AAAS), deserves praise for affirming the importance of the humanities and social sciences to the prosperity and security of liberal democracy in America. Regrettable，however，the report's failure to address the true nature of the crisis facing liberal education may cause more harm than good.

"核心问题,"刚由美国艺术和科学学院发布的报告，因为肯定人类和社会科学对于在美国自由民主的繁荣和安全的重要性值得表扬。然后，令人遗憾的是，该报告未能解决面对自由教育的危机的真正本质，将会导致弊大于利。

In 2010,leading congressional Democrats and Republicans sent letters to the AAAS asking that it identify actions that could be taken by "federal,state and local governments,universities,foundations,educators,individual benefactors and others"to "maintian national excellence in humanities and social scientific scholarship and education."In response,the American Academy formed the Commission on the Humanities and Social Sciences. Among the commission's 51 members are top-tier-university presidents,scholars,lawyers,judges,and business executives, as well as prominent figures from diplomacy,filmmaking,music and journalism.

在2010年,主要的国会民主党人和共和党人给美国艺术和科学学院致函要求它确定可以被"联邦，州和地方政府，大学，基金会，教育工作者，个人捐款者和其他人"所采取的行动"在人文和社会科学学术和教育方面保持国家优秀水平。"为此，美国研究院成立了人文和社会科学委员会。该委员会的51名成员中有一流大学的校长、学者、律师、法官和企业高管，也有来自于外交，电影，音乐和新闻领域的杰出人物。

The goals identified in the report are generally admirable. Because representative government presuppose and informed citizenry,the report supports full literacy;stresses the study of history and government,particularly American history and American government,and encourages the use of new digital technologies. To encourage innovation and competition,the report calls for increased investment in research,the crafting of coherent curricula that improve students' ability to solve problems and communicate effectively in the 21st century,increased funding for teachers and the encouragement of scholars to bring their learning to bear on the great challenges of the day. The report also advocates greater study of foreign languages,international affairs and the expansion of study abroad programs.

报告中确定的目标总体上是令人敬佩的，因为代议政府假定和通知市民，报告支持全面的扫盲;强调对历史和政体的研究，尤其是美国历史和美国政府，并且鼓励新的数字技术的使用。为了鼓励创新和竞争，报告呼吁加大研究投入，精心设计连贯的课程，以加强学生在21世纪解决问题和有效沟通的能力，增加对教师的资助，鼓励学者用他们的学习来应对当今的巨大挑战。报道同样倡导加强外语学习、国际事务和扩大留学项目。

Unfortunately,despite 2 1/2 years in the making,"The Heart of the Matter"never gets to the heart of the matter: the illiberal nature of liberal education at our leading colleges and universities. The commission ignores that for several decades America's colleges and universities have produced graduates who don't know the content and character of liberal education and are thus deprived of its benefits. Sadly,the spirit of inquiry once at home on campus has been replaced by the use of the humanities and social sciences as vehicles for publicizing "progressive,"or left-liberal propaganda.

不幸的是，尽管花了两年半的时间研究，"核心问题"报告从来没有深入到问题的核心:我们一流的学院和大学自由教育狭隘的本质.委员会忽视了这样一个事实：几十年来，美国的学院和大学培养出的毕业生不了解自由教育内涵和性质，因此失去了自由教育所带来的效益。可悲的是，曾经在校园里盛行的探索精神已经被作为宣传"进步"或左翼分子宣传工具的使用所取代

Today,professors routinely treat that progressive interpretation of history and progressive public policy as the proper subject of study while portraying conservative or classical liberal ideas—such as free markets and self-reliance—as falling outside the boundaries of routine,and sometimes legitimate,intellectual investigation.

如此，教授们通常会把对历史和公众政策的进步解释作为适当的研究课题，然后在描述保守或古典自由思想时—比如自由市场和自立更生—甚至排除在研究领域之外，认为是不合法的知识研究。

The AAAS displays great enthusiasm for liberal education. Yet its report may well set back reform by obscuring the depth and breadth of the challenge that Congress asked it to illuminate.

美国艺术和科学学院展现了对于自由教育的极大热情。然后它发布的报告很有可能会阻碍改革的步伐，因为国会要求它阐明挑战的深度和广度，而这一点却并没有被阐述清楚。