鹅卵石和钻石[The Magic Pebbles]_南京教育论坛

“Why do we have to learn all of this dumb stuff?” Of all the complaints and questions I have heard from my students during my years in the classroom, this was the one most frequently uttered. I would answer it by recounting the following legend.

One night a group of nomads were preparing to retire for the evening when suddenly they were surrounded by a great light. They knew they were in the presence of a celestial being. With great anticipation, they awaited a heavenly message of great importance that they knew must be especially for them.

Finally, the voice spoke, “Gather as many pebbles as you can. Put them in your saddle bags. Travel a day’s journey and tomorrow night will find you glad and it will find you sad.”

After having departed, the nomads shared their disappointment and anger with each other. They had expected the revelation of a great universal truth. But instead they were given a menial task that made no sense to them at all. However, the memory of the brilliance of their visitor caused each one to pick up a few pebbles and deposit them in their saddle bags while voicing their displeasure.

They traveled a day’s journey and that night while making camp, they reached into their saddle bags and discovered every pebble they had gathered had become a diamond. They were glad they had diamonds. They were sad they had not gathered more pebbles.

It was an experience I had with a student, I shall call Alan, early in my teaching career that illustrated the truth of that legend to me.

When Alan was in the eighth grade, he majored in “trouble” with a minor in “suspensions.” He had studied how to be a bully and was getting his master’s in “thievery.”

Every day I had my students memorize a quotation from a great thinker. As I called roll, I would begin a quotation. To be counted present, the student would be expected to finish the thought.

“Alice Adams -- ‘There is no failure except...’”

“‘In no longer trying.’ I’m present, Mr. Schlatter.”

So, by the end of the year, my young charges would have memorized 150 great thoughts.

“Think you can, think you can’t -- either way you’re right!”

“If you can see the obstacles, you’ve taken your eyes off the goal.”

“A cynic is someone who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.”

And, of course, Napoleon Hill’s “If you can conceive it, and believe it, you can achieve it.”

No one complained about this daily routine more than Alan -- right up to the day he was expelled and I lost touch with him for five years. Then one day, he called. He was in a special program at one of the neighboring colleges and had just finished parole.

He told me that after being sent to juvenile hall and finally being shipped off to the California Youth Authority for his antics, he had become so disgusted with himself that he had taken a razor blade and cut his wrists.

He said, “You know what, Mr. Schlatter. As I lay there with my life running out of my body, I suddenly remembered that dumb quote you made me write 20 times one day. ‘There is no failure except in no longer trying.’ Then it suddenly made sense to me. As long as I was alive, I wasn’t a failure, but if I allowed myself to die, I would most certainly die a failure. So with my remaining strength, I called for help and started a new life.”

At the time he had heard the quotation, it was a pebble. When he needed guidance in a moment of crisis, it had become a diamond. And so it is to you I say. Gather all the pebbles you can, and you can count on a future filled with diamonds.

“为什么我们非要学这些没用的东西呢?”这是在我多年教书生涯中听得最多的学生们的抱怨与质疑｡然后我就会给他们讲下面这个故事｡

有一天晚上,一群游牧民正准备安营扎寨休息的时候,忽然被一圈耀眼的光芒所包围｡他们知道神就要出现了｡因此,他们满怀殷切的期盼,恭候着来自上苍的重要旨意,他们知道那一定是专为他们而来的｡

最后,神终于说话了:“尽量多捡一些鹅卵石,放在你们的马褡子里｡再走一天,到明天晚上,你们将同时体会到快乐和沮丧｡”

神消失后,牧民们又失望又愤怒,议论纷纷｡他们原本期盼神能够为他们昭示无上之道,但没想到却吩咐他们去做如此无聊之事｡但是不管怎样,方才神现身的灵光令人敬畏,他们虽然嘴里有些不满,仍旧各自捡了一些鹅卵石,放在马褡子里｡

他们又走了一天｡当夜幕降临,他们开始安营扎寨时,伸手一摸,发现昨天放进马褡子里的每一颗鹅卵石竟然都变成了钻石｡得到钻石他们很高兴,同时也懊悔没有捡更多的鹅卵石｡

在我教学生涯的早期,曾经有一个名叫艾伦的学生,他的经历印证了这则传奇故事所蕴涵的真理｡

那时,艾伦正读8年级,他调皮捣蛋,不仅常常欺凌弱小,更是个偷窃高手,正处在被退学的边缘｡

我每天让学生记一条名人名言｡点名时,我会说出一句名言的前半句,学生必须答出后半句,才算到课｡

“艾丽斯．亚当斯——‘没有所谓失败,除非……’”

“‘你不再尝试｡’我来了,施拉特先生｡”

所以,在这学年结束的时候,我的学生们都应已经牢记了150条名人名言｡

“认为自己行或者不行,你都是对的｡”

“如果你能够看到障碍物,那说明你的眼睛就已经偏离了目标｡”

“愤世嫉俗者知道每件东西的价格,却完全不知道它们的价值｡”

当然,还有拿破仑．希尔的:“只要你能提出一个构想,并且信心十足,那么你就能实现它｡”

在我所有的学生中,没有谁比艾伦更爱抱怨这每日的例行作业了——直到他被勒令退学｡此后,我有5年没有他的消息｡但是有一天,他来电话了｡他在附近一所学院接受一个特殊的培训,刚刚通过假释期｡

他说,他先是被送进青少年看守所,最后又到加州青少年劳教所服刑｡他对自己感到十分厌恶,一度用剃须刀片割腕自杀｡

他说:“您知道吗,施拉特先生,当我躺在那儿,看着生命从我的身体里汩汩流出,我忽然想到有一天您曾经叫我写了20遍的那句无聊格言:‘没有所谓失败,除非你不再尝试｡’那一刻,我突然明白了它的含义｡只要我活着,就不能算失败;但是如果我让自己死了,那么我就真地永远失败地死去了｡于是我竭尽残存的力气求救,开始了新生活｡”