British Public School-英国公学

BritishPublicSchool|英国公学Theprivatesecondaryschools,orpublicschools,aregenerallycontrolledbygoverningbodies2,whoareappointed3astrustees4tokeepalivefoundationsoriginally5begunbycharitableinstitutions6orbyrichpeople.Theydonotmakeanyfinancialprofits,butonlytobalancetheirItisdifficulttomakeaprecise7definitionoftheterm“publicschool”.Butitissafetosaythattherearealtogetheraboutahundredschoolswhichwoulduniversally8beregardedas“publicschools”.Withinthegroupthereareaboutthirtywhichcanberegardedas“leadingpublicschools”.Mostpublicschools,particularlythemosteminent9ones,arecalledbythenameofthetownorvillageinwhichtheyaresituated.ThefourmostfamousofallareEton10College,Harrow11School,Winchester12CollegeandRugby13School.Tosendaboytopublicschoolcostsabout￡900to￡4,000aterm,thoughsomeofthelessfamousschoolsmaycostaslittleas￡600.Whenaboyhasbeenprovisionally14accepted,hemust,whenthetimecomes,presenthimselfascandidate15fortheCommonExaminationforEntrancetoPublicSchools.Somepublicschoolsacceptonlyboyswhohavedoneverywellinthisexamination,butsomeothersdeliberately16prefertohaveamixtureofcleverandnot-so-cleverboys.Everypublicschoolhasmanyrulesandcustomspeculiar17toitself—uniform,specialclothes,ties,hats,rituals18andtraditions.Buttheessentialcharacteristicsaremoreorlessthesameinthem.Atypicalpublicschoolhasabout500boys.Theremaybesomebuildingswhicharethreeorfourhundredyearsold.Thereareprobablymodernandwell-equippedscientificlaboratories.Thoughteachingisarrangedcentrallyfortheschoolasawhole,theboysliveinseparate“houses”.Usuallyaboyentersahouse,andremainsinthesamehouseforthewholeofhistimeasapupil.Atypicalhousehasaboutfiftyboys,andtheyareallunderthespecialcareofthehousemasterandhiswife.Thehouseitselfisaworldinminiature19.“Fagging20”isawell-knownpublicschoolinstitution.Notlongagotheyoungestboyhadtoperformpersonalservicesfortheoldestones,doingsuchjobsascleaningtheirshoesandrunningerrands21forthem.Nowitismuchdiminished22.Muchattentionispaidtosport.Andboysareoftenobligedtoplayfootballorcricket23,ortorowonanearbyriverortogooutrunningortoplaysomeothergames,onmostdaysofeveryweek.Butnowthereisalsomuchencouragementforotherformsofnon-academicactivity.Boysformtheirownsocietiesforthepursuitofmanyandvariedinterests,andtheylearnagreatdealfromeachother.Religionplaysanimportantpartinthelifeofmostpublicschools.Innearlyeveryonethereisachapel24whichdominates25theschoolbuildingsandisbigenoughtoholdalltheboysandmasters.Untilfiftyyearsagomostheadmasterswereclergymen26;thisisnownolongerso.Butheadmastersarestillgenerallyexpectedtobeespeciallyinterestedinreligionintheschool,andoccasionallytopreachsermonsinthechapelonSundays.Theremaybeonemasterforeverytenboys,andtheclassesaresmallandflexible27.AstheboygrowsolderandreachestheSixthForm28hewillbegivengreatscopeandencouragementtodevelopintellectuallyinhisownway.Publicschoolsdonotclaimtobemoreefficientatgivinginstructionthanthegrammarschoolsbuttheydosaythattheytrytocreateconditionsinwhichthemindcandevelopinbreadthaswellasdepth,andnotonlythemindbutthewholepersonalityaswell.Lessonscanbeplannedsoastoleavemuchtimeforsportandotheroutsideactivities.Moreimportant,theatmosphere29ofthehouseandschoolbreedsacombination30ofloyaltyandcompetitiveness.Totheindividualboyhisprogressthroughhishouseislikehisfutureprogressthroughlifeintheworldoutside.Firsthelearnstotakeahumble31part,respectfultowardshissuperiors32;andattheend,asaprefect33,helearnsresponsibilityandtheartofleadership.Throughleavinghomeatanearlyage,boyslearntosuppresstheiremotions—andsometimesmayseemthattheylearntohavenoemotionsatall.Certainlyonequalitytheylearnisanabilitynottotakethemselvestooseriously.Boysfrompublicschoolsseemonthewholemoresophisticated34,matureandself-assured35thanothers.Whyarethepublicschoolsosuccessful,bothinhavingsomanyapplicantsfortheirlimitedplaces,andinseeingsomanyoftheirformerpupilsbecomingleadingfiguresinthenation’slife?Theansweris:tobesuccessfulinlife,youmustfitreadilywiththosewhoarealreadyatthetop.Public提起英国的教育，世人就会想到它的公学，尤其像伊顿这样的公学。最负盛名的公学并非公立学校，而是接收13至18周岁男孩的私立中学（也称独立中学）。在中学教育体系中，公学其实只占很小一部分比例，每40个英国男孩之中只有一个上公学，1,500人中只有一个上伊顿。然而事实是如果家长经济实力雄厚，足以支付私立学校费用的话，他们很可能会将自己的子女送到那里就读。这些私立中学（或曰公学）通常由执行机构管理，作为托管人，管理最初由慈善机构或富贾筹建的基金会。他们不求利润，只求平衡预算。要对“公学”这个术语下准确的定义可太难了。但可以肯定地说，英国约有100家公认的“公学”，其中将近30所属于“重点公学”。大多数公学，尤其是那些赫赫有名的公学以其坐落的小镇或村庄命名。其中最有名的四所为：伊顿公学、哈罗公学、温彻斯特公学和拉格比公学。公学的费用每学期900至4,000英镑左右，名气稍小的学校600英镑就可搞定。临时录取后，男生作为候选人必须准时参加公学公共入学考试。有些学校只招收考试中成绩超群的学生；有些学校则有意优劣兼收。每所公学都有其独特的校规和校俗，如制服、别具一格的衣服、领带、帽子、礼节和传统，可本质上没有太大的区别。典型的公学有500名男生，校园有一些三四百年之久的建筑物，还有配置现代、设备精良的科学实验室。尽管教学由学校统一安排，但男生们住在不同的“房子”里。通常一名男生住进一所房子后，便会一直住在那里，直至毕业。一般一所房子约有50个学生，由舍监和他的太太悉心照顾。这所房子本身就是英国社会的缩影。低年级学生听高年级学长的使唤是一项人尽皆知的公学传统。不久前，最小的学生还得给学长提供私人服务，如擦皮鞋、跑腿什么的，不过现在这种现象少多了。英国公学非常注重体育活动。男生们几乎每天都要参加某项运动，如踢足球、打板球、在附近的湖上划划船、外出跑跑步，或参与其他活动。现在公学还鼓励学生从事其他一些非学业活动。男孩们根据各自的兴趣爱好，组建五花八门的兴趣小组，互相切磋，受益匪浅。在大多数公学中，宗教扮演了极为重要的角色。几乎每所公学都有一座教堂，高出学校其他建筑，大得能容纳所有的学生和老师。50年前大多数校长还是牧师，现在这种情况虽不复存在，但人们仍然希望公学校长能对宗教抱有浓厚的兴趣，时不时在教堂里做周日布道。每位老师大概负责10个男生，小班授课，极为灵活。随着学生年龄的增长，到了六年级，老师会扩大他们的学习领域，鼓励学生在智力上自主发展。公学并不自诩在传道授业上比文法学校高明多少，可他们却强调能为学生创造条件，