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Gifts from Our Teachers
– Address by Yale President Peter Salovey to Yale College Graduates at the 2021 Commencement
May 24, 2021
老师的礼物
——耶鲁大学校长苏必德2021年毕业典礼演讲
2021年5月24日
Graduates of the Class of 2021, family members, and friends:
2021届全体毕业生及其家人和朋友们：
It is a privilege to speak with you as part of this remarkable moment.
我很荣幸能在这个特别的时刻发表演讲。
You are probably feeling many emotions right now. I often tell graduates that commencement is a “field day” for me as a psychologist, and that has never been more true. For over a year, we have walked a strange and historic path together. We are now at the end of an academic year like no other. But although our traditions may look different this year, they are just as meaningful as ever.
你们现在一定思绪万千。作为心理学家，我经常告诉毕业生，毕业典礼是一个“实地考察日”，这句话真是再恰当不过了。一年多来，我们一起走过了一条不同寻常的历史道路，现在正处于一个前所未有的学年尾声。尽管今年的毕业典礼看起来与往届不同，但实际上它们具有同样重要的意义。
Commencement is a time of celebration. It is a chance for you, our graduates, to revel in your accomplishments. It is also an opportunity to reflect and say thank you. So many people have been part of your journey to this moment. I hope you will find time to tell them how much they have meant to you.
毕业典礼是一个欢庆的时刻，是一个让作为毕业生的你们，享受自己所取得的成就的时刻。它也是一个反思和感恩的机会。成长至今，你们的一路上有许多人的参与，我希望你们能抽出时间来告诉他们，他们对你来说有多重要。
I also would like to say thank you – to you. Graduates of Yale College, you have made history at Yale. Many of you have studied and learned and made a community here under extraordinary conditions; others have studied remotely from around the world. Day after day for more than a year, you have made sacrifices for the greater good, helping keep our neighbors on campus and in New Haven safe. It has not been easy. Your “bright college years” have not always been what you expected. Like people around the world, you have experienced loss, grief, and uncertainty. And yet, you have repaid our community’s trust and confidence in you many times over.
我还想对你们说一句感谢。耶鲁本科学院的毕业生们，你们在耶鲁创造了历史。在非同寻常的日子里，你们中的一些人继续着自己的学业，并不断适应，打造起一个团结的家园；另一些人则在世界各地参与远程学习。一年多来，你们一直坚持为更大的改善做出贡献，帮助维护校园和纽黑文的安全。这一切并非易事，你们的“美好校园年华”并不总与期望中的一样。正如世界各地的人们一样，你们经历了失去、悲痛与不确定，然而，你们却从未辜负耶鲁社区对你们的信任。
Today, as we look to the future, I would like to share a personal story about my past and my present. I share it because I hope it will shed some light on your future. It is a story about teachers and the gifts they give us.
在我们展望未来之际，我想分享一个关于我的过去和现在的个人故事。我希望通过分享，能给你们的未来带来一些启示。这是一个关于教师与馈赠的故事。
In the early 1970s, I was a student at Williamsville High School North, outside of Buffalo, New York. It was a pretty typical large public high school; we had a popular football team and a marching band that played at the games. Perhaps it will surprise you to learn that I did not play on the football team, but I did march with the band! Now you might wonder how I fit into a school like this; I actually earned a varsity letter – for the drama club.
早在20世纪70年代初，我还是一名纽约州水牛城外的威廉斯维尔北部高中的学生。这是一所很典型的大型公立高中，有一个人气很高的足球队和一个在比赛中演奏的军乐队。或许会出乎你的意料，我没有加入足球队，而是加入了军乐队。相信你们一定好奇我是如何融入这样一所学校的。实际上，我参加了戏剧社，还因此获得了一个校队奖章。
I was part of another student organization as well: a poetry club hosted by two beloved English teachers, Mr. and Mrs. Blaisdell. A group of us would go to their home and share poems we had written or come across. We drank coffee; we talked about poetry. It was all very grown-up, especially for kids like us from Buffalo. Our teachers were only in their 20s, perhaps early 30s, but they were sophisticated adults and therefore seemed much older to us. They cared deeply about literature, writing, and poetry, but most of all, they cared about us, their students. (In fact, I’m not the only student of the Blaisdells on the faculty here at Yale: they taught English to Chemistry Professor Scott Miller about a decade after me.)
我参加的另外一个学生组织是诗歌俱乐部，由两位敬爱的英语老师Blaisdel先生及其夫人主办。我们一群人会去他们家做客，分享我们创作或阅读的诗歌。我们喝着咖啡，谈论着诗，这一切尤其对于像我们这样来自水牛城的孩子来说就像大人才会做的事。而我们的老师们只有20多岁，也许30出头，但他们是很成熟的成年人，因此在我们看来他们比我们年长许多。他们非常关心文学、写作和诗歌，但最重要的是，他们关心我们，关心他们的学生。（其实我并不是耶鲁大学教职员中唯一一个被Blaisdel夫妇教过的学生，比如还有耶鲁大学化学系教授Scott Miller。）
Fast forward forty-six years. The kids from that poetry club now have families and careers of their own. We have stayed in touch, but usually we only see each other every few years, at best. As a way of coping with the social isolation of the pandemic, we started meeting over Zoom. We shared poems; we drank coffee together again. Our former English teachers from Williamsville North – now retired – joined us! And we found, in the midst of so much grief and loneliness, a way to connect.
时间飞快，转眼已经是四十六年之后了。当年那个诗歌俱乐部的孩子们现在都有了自己的家庭和事业。我们一直保持着联系，但每次见面之间通常要相隔好几年。不过，为了应对疫情期间的社交孤独，我们开始在Zoom上见面，又像以前那样一边喝着咖啡，一边分享着诗歌。我们以前的英语老师现在已经退休了，但他们也加入了我们。在艰难和孤独的时刻，我们找到了一种沟通的新方式。
What does this mean for you, the graduates of 2021?
对于2021年毕业的你们来说，这个故事意味着什么呢？
First, my hope for each of you is that you have made a friend here at Yale, perhaps a few friends, who will be there for you in 46 years. That is no small thing.
首先是我对你们的祝福，希望你们在耶鲁结识的朋友，或许是一个或许是几个，都可以在46年后依然陪伴在你们的身边。这不是一件小事。
Second, I hope you have found great teachers and developed interests that you will take with you for the rest of your lives. I don’t mean only your professional interests. Many of you, without question, have found important mentors who will continue to advise and guide you. But you have also found interests at Yale that have nothing to do with your careers.
第二，我希望你们遇到了许多伟大的老师，培养出可以带入余生的兴趣爱好。我指的不仅仅是你们的专业兴趣。毫无疑问，你们当中的许多人找到了对自己很重要的导师，他们将继续为你们提供建议和指导，但你们也一定在耶鲁找到了与职业无关的兴趣。
For me, it was poetry, theater, and music, but for you, it may have been an economics class or history seminar that made you reexamine the world. It might have been a certain psychology class that helped you think about happiness in new ways. Or maybe you heard a lecture or attended an event that sparked an interest in the outdoors, or food, or dance. These moments of inspiration and learning can happen anywhere. We now know that they can even happen on Zoom.
对我来说，是诗歌、戏剧和音乐。但对你们来说，它可能是一堂经济学的课或者让你可以重新审视这个世界的有关历史的研讨；也可能是某门心理学课程，帮助你以新的方式思考幸福；或者，你参加的一场讲座或一个活动激发了你对户外运动、食物、舞蹈的兴趣……这些灵感和学习的瞬间可以发生在任何地方，甚至在Zoom上。
My friends from Williamsville North have gone into music, science, medicine, law, and theater. I am a psychology professor and university leader. My point is, none of us are professional poets, and yet our experiences in the poetry club were transformative.
我在威廉斯维尔北部高中的朋友们走进了不同的领域，如音乐、科学、医学、法律和戏剧。而我成为了一名心理学教授和大学的领导。我们都不是专业的诗人，但诗歌俱乐部的经历对我们的一生却颇具变革性。
From wonderful teachers, I learned how to ask different questions, bigger questions. In high school, I was always trying to figure out what a poem was “about;” I wanted to unlock the secret meaning. But Mr. Blaisdell would tell me, “Peter, what the poem is about is not always the most interesting question.” He encouraged me to appreciate beauty and occasionally put aside analysis; he pushed me to use different parts of my mind and my emotions. Beyond poetry, my teachers inspired in me and my friends a deep and joyful love of learning. They introduced us to interests that made our lives richer and more rewarding.
从那些杰出的老师那里，我学会了如何提出不同的问题，更大的问题。在高中时，我总是试图弄清楚一首诗的“内容”；我想解开其中暗藏的涵义。每当这时，Blaisdell先生会告诉我：“Peter，诗的内容并不总是最有趣的问题。”他鼓励我去欣赏美，偶尔忘掉分析内容，去调动不同的心智和情感。除了诗歌之外，我的老师还激发出我和我的朋友们对学习深深的热爱。他们为我们点燃的兴趣，使我们的生活更加丰富、更有意义。
I recently had the privilege of interviewing the poet Louise Glück, who won the 2020 Nobel Prize for Literature. Professor Glück has taught at Yale since 2004. She told me she thinks of teaching as a way of repaying her debts: “You can’t thank your teachers,” she said, “except by performing as they did for another generation.”
我最近有幸采访了获得2020年诺贝尔文学奖的诗人露易丝·格丽克。格丽克教授自2004年以来就在耶鲁大学任教。她认为教书是一种还债的方式，“你无法回报你的老师，只能像他们那样为另一代人奉献。”
Soon, you will leave Yale and contribute to every field and profession, as generations of alumni have before you. You will leave here with gifts from your teachers – from Yale professors and from others throughout your lives. And, as Professor Glück says, you can repay your teachers by helping others discover the world.
很快，你们将离开耶鲁，像之前的几代耶鲁校友一样为各个领域和专业做出贡献。你们将带着来自教师的“礼物”离开这里，这里的教师包括耶鲁大学的教授，也包括你们生命中的其他人。而且，正如格丽克教授所说，你们可以通过帮助他人探索世界来回报你们的老师。
Over the past year, we have learned so much about ourselves and about what we are capable of. And we have been reminded, again and again, that we must keep learning. There will always be new challenges to tackle, unexpected problems to solve. We will have to pivot and adapt. And if we love learning, if we are curious about the world and the people in it, then that task will be so much easier and more fulfilling.
过去的一年让我们明白自己的能力是多么有限，也一遍遍地提醒着我们必须不断学习。这个世界总会有新的挑战需要应对，会有意想不到的问题需要解决，我们不得不学会变通和适应。如果我们热爱学习，如果我们对世界和人类充满好奇，那么这项任务就会变得更简单且有成就感。
What will you do with the gifts you have been given? What gifts will you give to the world? I think of Emi Mahmoud, a 2016 graduate of Yale College. Born in Darfur, Sudan, Emi won the International World Poetry Slam Championship, was honored by the BBC, and met with President Obama – all while still a student at Yale. Emi’s poems often deal with her experiences of war and displacement. Today, as a United Nations goodwill ambassador, she advocates for peace and human rights, particularly the rights of children. She is sharing her gifts with the world in a very powerful way.
你将用你被给予的礼物做什么？你将给世界带来什么礼物？这让我想到了耶鲁本科学院’16届校友Emi Mahmoud。Emi出生在苏丹的达尔富尔，在耶鲁大学就读期间就获得了许多成就——赢得了世界诗歌大满贯的冠军，受到了英国广播公司的表彰，与奥巴马总统会面。Emi经常在诗歌中与自己在战争中失去家园的经历共处。如今，作为联合国亲善大使，她倡导和平与人权，特别是儿童的权利。她正以一种非常有力的方式与世界分享她的礼物。
In the book Tuesdays with Morrie, the sportswriter Mitch Albom describes reconnecting with his former professor, Morrie Schwartz. The elderly Morrie is suffering with ALS – Lou Gehrig’s disease. The book is an extended reflection on life and death, but it is also about the relationship between a student and his teacher.
在《相约星期二》一书中，作家米奇·阿尔博姆（Mitch Albom）讲述了与他以前的教授莫里·施瓦茨（Morrie Schwartz）再次见面的故事，当时年迈的莫里教授正遭受肌萎缩性侧索硬化（ALS）的疾病折磨。这本书延展出了对生命和死亡的思考，以及对于师生关系的思考。
At the end, Albom says, “Have you ever really had a teacher? One who saw you as a raw but precious thing, a jewel that, with wisdom, could be polished to a proud shine? If you are lucky enough to find your way to such teachers, you will always find your way back.”
在书的结尾，阿尔博姆写道：“是否真的有过这样一位老师？一位视你为未经雕琢但珍贵无比的璞玉的老师，可以用智慧将你打磨成耀眼光芒的珠宝？如果你有幸遇到这样一位老师，你总能找到自己的归途。”
I hope you find your way back – back to your teachers and back to Yale. I hope you will return to campus and walk down Chapel Street, and enjoy the sunshine, or the snow, on Old Campus or Science Hill. And I hope you will find ways of sharing the joy of discovery with others. I hope you will share your curiosity with a world that needs questions as much as answers; that needs “light and truth” more than ever.
我希望你们能找到这条归途，回到你们的老师身边，回到耶鲁。我希望你们未来能够回到校园，在教堂街漫步，在老校园或科学山享受阳光和雪景。我希望你们能找到一种方式，与他人分享探索世界的喜悦。我希望你们与这个既需要问题也需要答案的世界分享你们的好奇心。这个世界比以往任何时候都更需要“光明与真理”。
I usually conclude my addresses on Commencement Weekend with a few words of verse. Over the years, I have read from Rabindranath Tagore, Elizabeth Alexander, Billy Collins, Marie Borroff, and Claudia Rankine. But most often, I have turned to the words of John Milton from Paradise Lost. You know, those verses about leaving the Garden of Eden “with wandering steps, and slow” and making one’s way into a world that is “all before” you? There are moments when those lines move me to tears. In this challenging year, though, paradise does not seem the right metaphor for our beloved campus. But I look ahead with great optimism, and I trust you do, too. So perhaps these words of Emily Dickinson seem more appropriate at this moment:
在毕业致辞中，我总会以几句诗作为结语。我曾朗诵过泰戈尔、伊丽莎白·亚历山大、比利·柯林斯、玛丽‧博洛夫和克劳迪亚·兰金的作品，但更多时候我会读约翰·米尔顿在《失乐园》中的诗句。那些关于离开伊甸园的话语，“步履蹒跚，脚步缓慢”地全然将一个世界“呈现在你面前”。有些时候，这些诗句让我感动到落泪。面对过去这充满挑战的一年，将我们深爱的校园比作天国似乎并不恰当，但我对未来充满希望，我相信你们也是。因此，也许艾米莉·狄金森的这些话在此刻更为适宜：
‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
希望长着羽毛
寄居在灵魂里
唱着无字的歌
绝无丝毫停息
Graduates of the Class of 2021: you are ready to face the future with optimism and determination; you are ready to repay the gifts your teachers have given you and share the joy of discovery with others. You go with our best wishes and our admiration. Congratulations, and good luck!
2021届毕业生们，你们已经准备好以乐观和坚定的态度面对未来；你们已经准备好报答老师们馈赠你们的礼物，并与他人分享探索世界的喜悦。你们将带着我们最美好的祝愿和最深切的赞许踏上前程。恭喜你们，祝你们好运！ |
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发表于 2021-5-28 09:03:01
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