Those dazzling courses
All courses in Stanford University (undergraduate, master and doctor) are optional, except for special circumstances (such as doctoral literature theory courses that require a lot of reading). The scope of Stanford's courses was unimaginable at first. Language, you can learn Tibetan and Cantonese, Japanese and Russian, English speech and script writing. Art, you can learn film and television director, drama performance, painting, classical guitar, piano, harp, and of course, the most popular ballroom dance and modern dance. There are rock climbing, sailing, beach volleyball, golf and equestrian in physical education class, so it is difficult to register by lottery.
There are two kinds of courses, lectures and seminars. The lecture is a big class with dozens of people or more, and students are not allowed to ask questions in class. A seminar is a seminar. Generally, there are a few people to a dozen people, and the whole process is discussed. One person (maybe a professor, a teaching assistant or a student) leads the discussion, while others discuss several issues around one or more papers and a book. Compared with the undergraduate class, there was no discussion (mainly no one participated in the discussion), and the class was dismissed by handing in the paper casually. This kind of academic training and thinking exercise is still very challenging.
It turns out that learning can be so free.
The motto of Stanford University
Liberty Road
English is
The wind of freedom blows
"Let the wind of freedom blow"
Here, as long as you don't interfere with others, no one will limit your freedom. You can freely choose the courses you want on the basis of completing the professional requirements; You can kill time in the open-air swimming pool and gym for free; You can learn to discuss in a roadside cafe; You can also read the books you want in any corner of the library.
Friday night is a carnival night for students. Although you still have to finish your homework on weekends, smart students will redouble their efforts and make time to drive to the nearby beach for barbecue or climb mountains and rocks. On weekends, most professors will ignore your email, the student service center will not accept your request, and Mexican workers at nearby construction sites will stop working. The whole campus is resting. There are only people sitting in the sun in twos and threes on the lawn, topless people playing volleyball and basketball by the roadside, people driving a group of children and dogs to the seaside, and farmers who only appear every Sunday.
A person who sells vegetables and fruits picked from his own farm in the market.
Some people describe Stanford students as ducks.
Syndrome, translated as they look like ducks in the water, leisurely and effortlessly swinging, but underwater their flippers are flapping desperately. On campus, you won't easily see people who are immersed in hard work or walking with their backs. You will only see people drinking coffee, chatting with friends, riding skateboards or pedaling bicycles. You will only see them lying on the lawn in the sun, or singing loudly and playing ball games.
Efforts are not for a piece of paper.
In the library, in the classroom and in the corner of the canteen, you will see their dedicated eyes and desperate enthusiasm. They either face the computer, or face a lot of books, or think, or are annoyed because they think fruitlessly. There are many people fighting all night in the 24-hour study room of the library. work
Push, hit hard. Work, study and play are all like a career, which requires 100% determination.
If the so-called "Harvard University at 4 a.m." I learned from the media before is exaggerated, then the "Stanford Day and Night" I saw with my own eyes must not exist in name only. In the laboratory at night, the lights are always on, and there are always people who stay up for several nights for an experimental data. At night, on the Stanford campus, occasionally someone rides a bicycle and passes by like lightning. They are either on the way from the laboratory to the dormitory or on the way from the dormitory to the laboratory.
If you just work hard, it is not a skill. After all, there are certainly many hard-working people in universities in China. China people seem to be the best at studying hard. In the study room of the university, there are books and workbooks for postgraduate entrance examination, materials for civil servants, review materials for TOEFL and GRE (I used to be one of them) on my desk.
Although we are also on the way to realize our ideals, it is difficult to feel a feeling of trying to be a better person for ourselves from this group of people. But in Stanford, I felt their firmness very strongly, that is, not only to tide over the immediate difficulties and get a paper certificate, but to make myself a better and more tolerant person.
Volunteer because of enthusiasm
Among the students I know, some use their spare time to teach themselves a foreign language (such as Hebrew or Latin) that may not be used for a lifetime. Speaking of the feeling of reading the original, their eyes are full of excitement. Some represent the California team in boxing competitions in the United States, and there are trophies and medals in the dormitory. Some love painting and sketching in the mountains on weekends; Some are good at stage performances and do night shows in the theater part-time. Some are tasters, some have joined diving teams and participated in rescue missions. Some used to be soldiers, but they narrowly escaped. Some are mothers of two children, but they are also shining principals. Some backpackers use the money saved by part-time jobs to travel all over the United States.
In addition to these things, they can easily win weighty design awards in the industry, master five or six different languages at the same time, show their paintings in exhibitions and publish academic papers in academic journals of all sizes. There are not a few such people. The most important thing is that they don't take these seriously. Because, these are just outside their studies, enriching their lives. Voluntary, so enthusiastic.
Someone once asked me, what impressed you the most in Stanford?
It's not a buffet in five canteens with different themes, a quiet compartment in a library, smiling faces everywhere, a wide lawn, Spanish-style buildings and churches. But one new person after another. They come from all over the world and have different histories and lives. They are tolerant, friendly, enthusiastic and free. They may have many shortcomings, or they may have Sheldon-like incomprehensible characteristics. But they want to be better people, not work for an institution or system. They are confused about their life, but they make themselves more confident through faith and learning. In addition to their intelligence and hard work, there is something more worth learning.