为什么新加坡拥有世界上最聪明的孩子Singapore （CNN）It’s a world-class teacher’s pet -- a straight-A student that’s top of the class： Singapore is officially the country with the smartest high-school kids in the world。
新加坡（美国有线电视新闻网）：世界一流教师青睐于班级中拔尖的全优生。新加坡被公认为是拥有世界上最聪明的高中生的国家。
The country’s academic success has helped it become a thriving economy， and the way it has built its education system could hold lessons for the rest of the world。
新加坡教育的成功帮助其成为一个经济繁荣的国家，并且新加坡建立教育体系的方式为其他国家提供了一些借鉴。
Singapore is a fascinating case， said Marc Tucker， the president of the U.S。 National Center on Education and the Economy。 “[It] was a major British port before the Second World War。 When Britain got out and closed its base Singapore was in terrible shape。
“新加坡是一个值得关注的国家”美国国家教育经济研究中心主任马克？塔克称。第二次世界大战之前，新加坡是英国的一个重要港口。当英国人退出并关闭其基地时，新加坡陷入一片混乱。
“Now today they are one of the best performing economies in the entire world。 They did it largely with education and training。”
“今天，新加坡是世界上经济运行良好的国家之一。他们的成功主要是依靠教育与培训。”
If Singapore’s rags-to-riches transition was built on education， the secret of its education system is the quality of its teachers。 “They source their teachers from among the best kids coming out of their high schools，” explained Tucker。
塔克解释道：“倘若新加坡的兴旺转变是建立在教育之上，其教育体系的秘诀便是教师的质量。”“他们聘请的老师来自于培养出优秀学生的高中。”
Creative use of knowledge’
创造性地运用知识
In the post-war years， Singapore had a low-cost， low-skill labor market， and it was enough for its education system to aim for universal literacy。 But starting in the 1970s， Singapore’s economic needs shifted。 It was quickly moving toward high tech， white collar jobs and the education system needed to keep up。 Soon， the aim was for a world-class education for every single child， and that meant moving on from rote learning to encouraging creativity。
战 后，新加坡的劳动力市场廉价且低端，因此其教育系统十分适合致力于扫盲教育。然而从二十世纪七十年代开始，新加坡的经济面临转型。朝着高科技和白领工作的 快速发展，教育体系也需要跟得上发展。不久，目标便是让每一个孩子享受世界一流的教育，这也意味着从死记硬背转向鼓励创新。
They had a drilling system when that was the only option -- they had to expand education quickly， said the OECD’s education director， Andreas Schleicher。 “But as they had achieved this， they were the first to think about， what is it that our children need to be successful 。。。 （in） tomorrow’s economy？
经济合作与发展组织教育主管安德烈亚斯？施莱克尔说道：“当他们面临只有一种培养体系时，定会快速发展教育。但是，当他们已经做到这一点，他们最先思考，在未来的经济发展中，我们的孩子究竟需要在哪方面获得成功？
One thing that’s been clear to them is that the world economy no longer rewards people just for what they know。 Google knows everything。 The world economy rewards people for what they can do with what they know。
“他们一直明白一件事，那便是世界经济使人们受益的不再只是他们所了解的。谷歌知道一切。世界经济使人们受益的是知道用自己所知能做些什么。
The emphasis on the application， the creative use of knowledge is very， very strong in Singapore and other Asian countries。
“强调应用，在新加坡和其他一些亚洲国家，创造性地运用知识十分重要。”
The importance of education is instilled at a young age -- before children even get to primary school。
小时候—甚至还没上小学时便被灌输教育的重要性。
“I think for us as preschool educators， we are the foundation years，” said Diana Ong， principal at Pat’s Schoolhouse Sembawang Country Club， a preschool in the north of Singapore。 “We form the basic foundation。
“我认为我们作为学前教育工作者，我们的教育是十分基础的。”一所新加坡北部的幼儿园，帕特校舍的三巴旺乡村俱乐部的校长，戴安娜王说道：“我们的幼儿教育是根基。”
I think the first years of a child’s life is very important。 So when you have a very confident child， that child’s confidence will carry him or her through primary school as well。 Not only do you want a child that is smart， you want a child who is resilient。
“我认为一个孩子一生中最初的几年十分重要。所以，当你的孩子十分自信，孩子的自信也将会陪伴他或者她度过小学。你不仅希望孩子聪明，而且希望他或她有适应能力。”
Schleicher says it’s part of the culture of many Asian countries for parents to prioritize their children’s education。
施莱克尔表示这一部分是由于文化的原因，许多亚洲国家的父母会优先考虑孩子的教育。
“It starts with resources， the priority they assign to education，” he explained。 “In these countries， parents and grandparents are going to invest their last resources， their last money into 。。。 the education of their children。
他解释道：“它始于资源，优先分配给教育。在这些国家，父母和祖父母们投资他们最后的资源，将最后的积蓄投入孩子们的教育。”
This is sort of a question of priorities。 You can see in all tiers of public policy， education comes first。 That’s your future。
“这有点像是一个优先权的问题，你能发现公共政策的各个层面均体现了教育为先，这便是你的未来。”
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