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0What if the Valedictorians in America's Schools Were the Cool Kids?
As America's democracy and society have struggled in recent years, caught in an authoritarian riptide and mired in inequality and discontent, I've wondered about the lessons that we Americans can learn from some of the successes of Asia.
Every time I visit Asia, I feel a pang of envy for societies that seem to value education more than America does.
The passion reflects a tradition in the Confucian belt of East Asia that the path to glory is to study. Even today in Chinese villages, you occasionally come across an ancient "paifang" monument to some local man who centuries ago earned a "jinshi" degree with top honors in the imperial exams. (When was the last time you saw an American village commemorating a local Ph.D.?)
In a modern echo, in some East Asian schools I've visited, students and teachers alike have explained that the "hot" girls and boys are the valedictorians. It's nerd heaven, and this set of values leads many students to work extraordinarily hard.
Can we build this kind of education-obsessed culture in America?
In any case, many in East Asia complain that their systems work children too hard, robbing them of fun, and focus too much on memorization and not enough on creativity. Yes, that's all true.
But couldn't we Americans edge a little in Asia's direction? We don't need to build a commemorative arch outside the home of each Ph.D., but maybe we could manage a bit less complacency about educational mediocrity? What if we respected human capital as much as financial capital?
内容拓展
Oh, the Places You'll Go! By Dr. Seuss
这本苏斯博士的人生成长绘本，是欧美极具代表性的毕业赠礼。全书以轻快押韵的语言，描绘一段充满未知的人生旅程：你将怀揣勇气启程，奔赴广阔世界，经历顺境与高光，也会遭遇迷茫、挫折与停滞。它不只歌颂成功，更教会我们接纳起伏、勇敢前行。语言简单治愈，寓意深刻，适合全年龄段阅读，是送给每一位前行者的温暖鼓励。
生词好句
valedictorian 英 [vælɪdɪkˈtɔːriən] 美 [vælɪdɪkˈtɔːriən] n. 毕业典礼上代表毕业生致辞的“优秀学生代表”
prom king and prom queen 毕业舞会上选出的国王和王后
authoritarian 英 [ɔːθɒrɪˈteəriən] 美 [əθɔːrəˈteriən] adj. 专制统治的，威权统治的
riptide 英 [ˈrɪptaɪd] 美 [ˈrɪptaɪd] n. 激流
be mired in something 陷入困境，越挣扎越深
mire n. 泥潭，泥沼
a pang of envy 一阵嫉妒的刺痛
pang n. 一种突然的、尖锐的疼痛或情感冲动
a pang of hunger 突如其来的饥饿感
a pang of jealousy 突如其来的嫉妒感
a pang of guilt 突如其来的内疚感
a pang of nostalgia 突如其来的怀旧感
nerd 英 [nɜːd] 美 [nɜːrd] n.（本文）学霸；（传统英文语境下多为贬义）书呆子
近十余年来，"nerd"的形象发生了转变。如The Big Bang Theory（《生活大爆炸》）讲述的正是一群典型nerd的生活；与此同时，硅谷涌现出的众多昨日首富与今日首富，也多为nerd出身。
