Beyond Simply Appreciating Teachers
感恩教师
I have always agreed with the Renaissance view that one of the most worthwhile types of knowledge is knowledge of one’s self attained through the guidance of mentors. As we celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week, I took the opportunity to think about my mentors and the impact they have had on me. All my life I have been surrounded by great teachers. From my parents (who were both teachers), to my first-grade teacher, Sister Raphael Maria, to my Master’s Thesis Advisor, Dr. Robert Scholes, I have been fortunate to have been mentored by outstanding people.
我一直都很赞成文艺复兴时期的一种观点，最有价值的知识类型之一就是通过导师指导获得自我认知的能力。在我们庆祝“教师感恩周”之际，我回想起了我的导师们以及他们对我的影响。我这一生遇到了多位伟大的导师，包括我的父母（他们都是教师）、一年级老师Sister Raphael Maria、硕士论文导师Dr. Robert Scholes等等，很幸运有这些杰出的人指导过我。
In elementary school, my neighbor Mrs. Burt let me study her new World Book encyclopedia as long as I promised to talk to her about what I learned. My sixth-grade teacher Mrs. Schneider encouraged me to read a slew of biographies. In middle school Mr. Smith talked politics with me (he later became a US Senator from New Hampshire), Señor Fernald set me up with a señorita from Mexico as a pen pal, and Mr. Petelle took me to see the new computer at University of New Hampshire—all because they saw a spark in me. Then in high school Mr. Kinmond gave me extra chemistry problems and extra advice on my jump shot, Mr. Quimby gave me extra writing assignments and lent me books from his library, and Mr. Decelle quizzed me weekly on current events and agreed to be my Confirmation sponsor. These mentors did more than just broaden my knowledge of the world, they built personal relationships with me and invested their time and interest in me. As I look back on it now, I know how lucky I am to have been so well mentored by so many.
小学时，只要我承诺跟我的邻居Burt太太讲我学到的东西，她就会让我学习她的新《世界百科全书》。我六年级的老师Schneider女士鼓励我读一些传记。初中时Smith先生与我一起谈论政治（后来他成为一名来自新罕布什尔州的美国参议员）；我和来自墨西哥的Señor Fernald成为了笔友；Petelle先生带我去新罕布什尔大学看了新型计算机，这些都是因为他们看到了我内心对知识的渴望。到了高中，Kinmond先生给我提供了额外的化学课题，还为我的篮球跳投技能提供了建议；Quimby先生给我布置了额外的写作任务，并且借给我他图书馆的书；Decelle先生每周都会和我讨论时事新闻，而且同意做我的担保人。这些导师们不仅仅是拓宽了我对世界的认识，他们还与我建立了私人关系，在我身上投入了时间和精力。当我回过头看这些的时候，我知道我是多么幸运才能得到这么多导师的指导。
Alumnus Mario Attie '12 spoke about this same kind of experience when he addressed students and faculty in Fuller hall this week. He began by quoting a movie that his film teacher Jay Scherer had recommended to him. A line from the movie struck him: “You are what you love, not what loves you.” Mario reflected on the things he loved—his family, coconut ice cream, playing tennis with Dr. John Sayarath—but as a teenager, he did not yet understand the truth of these words.
学院校友2012届毕业生Mario Attie本周在Fuller大厅为学生和教职工演讲的主题就是与我前面分享的同样的经历。他以一部电影中的台词开始了他的演讲，这部电影是老师Jay Scherer推荐给他的。影片中的一句台词打动了他：“你存在的意义在于你爱谁，而不是谁爱你。” Mario回想起他爱着的事物—他的家人、椰子冰淇淋以及和John Sayarath博士一起打网球，但是在他十几岁的时候，还不明白这句话的真谛。
As he pursued his studies as a Ph.D. candidate at Yale, he encountered a quote by Friedrich Nietzsche that helped him understand this idea more fully. Nietzsche said, “Certainly there may be other means of finding oneself, but I know of none better than to think of one’s true educators and cultivators.” Mario went on to say,
当他在耶鲁大学攻读博士学位时，他看到了Friedrich Nietzsche说的一句话，帮助他更全面地理解这个观点。Nietzsche说：“毫无疑问，可能还有其他认识自我的途径，但我认为获得导师的引导是最有效的方式。” Mario接着说道，
There seemed to be an essential connection between the things we value and the role of an educator. For who are one’s true educators if not those who show you what you love, those with the ability to reveal possibilities about the world that you did not know existed. One’s true educators are those who show you who you are. Or better, who guide you, in Nietzsche’s phrase, to become who you are…. And for me, both [the movie and Nietzsche] were talking about St. Johnsbury Academy.
我们的价值观和教育者所扮演的角色之间似乎有着本质的联系。因为真正的教育者不是那些告诉你谁爱你、将世界另一面摆在你眼前的人。真正的教育家是那些引导你发现自我的人，或者像Nietzsche所说，成为你自己……我引述[电影台词和Nietzsche格言]，其实就是想表达我在圣约翰学院遇到的好导师们。
So to all those who guided Mario, to all those named above who mentored me, to all those teachers—parents, coaches, neighbors, relatives, mentors—who have guided and mentored young people, thank you! The word educator comes from roots that mean “to draw out”, and true educators, as Mario said, help draw out young people’s true selves, helping them become who they are. If Mario and his film quote are right—if we are what we love—then I am a teacher, or rather a constellation of teachers. I truly do love all who have done, and are doing, this important work in my life.
在这里，我要对那些引导过Mario的人，对所有指导过我的人，以及引导年轻人的导师们--父母、教练员、邻居、亲戚、老师--说声谢谢！“教育家”这个词源自“鼓励”，而真正的教育家，正如Mario所说，会帮助年轻人勾画出真实的自我，帮助他们成为真正的自己。如果Mario和他的电影台词引述是恰当的，如果我们是为所爱之物而存在，那么我就是一名真正的导师，或者更确切地说是教师群体。我是真的如热爱生命一样热爱这份工作。
