Text4Americanstodaydon’tplaceaveryhighvalueonintellect.Ourheroesareathletes,entertainers,andentr epreneurs,notscholars.Evenourschoolsarewherewesendourchildrentogetapracticaleducation——nottopursueknowledgeforthesakeofknowledge.Symptomsofpervasiveanti-intellectualisminourschoolsaren’td ifficulttofind.
“Schoolshavealwaysbeeninasocietywherepracticalismoreimportantthanintellectual,”sayseducationwriterDianeRavitch.“Schoolscouldbeacounterbalance.”Razitch’slatestbock,LeftBack:ACenturyofFailedSchoolReforms,tr acestherootsofanti-intellectualisminourschools,concludingtheyareanythingbutacounterbalancetotheAmericandistasteforintellectualpursuits.
Buttheycouldandshouldbe.Encouragingkidstorejectthelifeofthemindleavesthemvulnerabletoexploitationandcontr ol.Withouttheabilitytothinkcritically,todefendtheirideasandunderstandtheideasofothers,theycannotfullyparticipateinourdemocracy.Continuingalongthispath,sayswriterEarlShorris,“Wewillbecomeasecond-ratecountr y.Wewillhavealesscivilsociety.”
“Intellectisresentedasaform.ofpowerorprivilege,”writeshistorianandprofessorRichardHofstadterinAnti-IntellectualisminAmericanlife,aPulitzerPrizewinningbookontherootsofanti-intellectualisminUSpolitics,religion,andeducation.Fromthebeginningofourhistory,saysHofstadter,ourdemocraticandpopulisturgeshavedrivenustorejectanythingthatsmellsofelitism.Practicality,commonsense,andnativeintelligencehavebeenconsideredmorenoblequalitiesthananythingyoucouldlearnfromabook.
RalphWaldoEmersonandotherTranscendentalistphilosophersthoughtschoolingandrigorousbooklearningputunnaturalrestr aintsonchildren:“Weareshutupinschoolsandcollegerecitationroomsfor10or15yearsandcomeoutatlastwithabellyfulofwordsanddonotknowathing.”MarkTwain’sHuckleberryFinnexemplifiedAmericananti-intellectualism.Itsheroavoidsbeingcivilized——goingtoschoolandlearningtoread——sohecanpreservehisinnategoodness.
Intellect,accordingtoHofstadter,isdifferentfromnativeintelligence,aqualitywereluctantlyadmire.Intellectisthecritical,creative,andcontemplativesideofthemind.Intelligenceseekstograsp,manipulate,re-order,andadjust,whileintellectexamines,ponders,wonders,theorizes,criticizesandimagines.
Schoolremainsaplacewhereintellectismistr usted.Hofstadtersaysourcountr y’seducationalsystemisinthegripsofpeoplewho“joyfullyandmilitantlyproclaimtheirhostilitytointellectandtheireagernesstoidentifywithchildrenwhoshowtheleastintellectualpromise.”
第56题：Whatd oAmericanparentsexpecttheirchildrentoacquireinschool?
AThehabitofthinkingindependently.
BProfoundknowledgeoftheworld.
CPracticalabilitiesforfuturecareer.
DTheconfidenceinintellectualpursuits.
正确答案：C
