美国当地时间4月9日上午，新东方创始人兼董事长俞敏洪受邀在第十届ASU+GSV教育科技峰会主会场发表演讲，演讲主题为“What does Education Mean to Me？”，受到了与会者的关注。
“when we are talking about education, what are we talking about?”现场，俞敏洪从教育的定义出发，通过讲述自己从少年到大学受教育的过程，以及在北大任教和创办新东方的经历，阐释了家庭教育、学校教育等不同阶段的教育如何成就了今天的自己，自己又如何理解教育真正的目标和意义。在他看来，好的教育的标准是世界共通的。
在国内，很多人对于俞敏洪的奋斗经历已经耳熟能详，而在国际的舞台上，这些励志故事依旧有着打动人心的力量。当他谈到通过努力，自己第三次高考终于考上北京大学时，收获了台下最热烈的掌声。俞敏洪阐述的很多教育理念和思考，也引发了现场观众的共鸣。
此外，俞敏洪在演讲中也总结了新东方在四个发展阶段的不同使命，他认为像新东方这样的教育机构，必须有为国家和社会服务的能力。当下新东方发展的任务不仅是培养学生独立思考的能力，良好的个性，扎实的知识和创造力。更重要的是赋予学生终身学习、全球视野、独立人格和社会责任方面的能力，探索和开展“全人教育”。而未来，新东方希望能够成为中国和世界优秀教育内容、系统和学习平台的集成者，提供从学前教育到终身教育的高科技产品，并不断推动中国教育的均衡发展。
演讲最后，俞敏洪还提出了自己未来要关注和实现的四个目标，一是为中国儿童的“全人教育”和全面发展做出贡献；二是在家庭教育方面多做些工作；三是为科技与教育的结合做出贡献；四是更多帮助农村儿童获得更好的教育。他透露，今年计划到贫困地区的一所农村高中担任名誉校长，将注入新东方最优质的教育资源，开启一段助力教育均衡的“试验”。
以下为经整理后的俞敏洪英文演讲全文，附中文翻译。
Distinguished friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.
尊敬的朋友们，女士们，先生们，早上好。
Today I come here to introduce a bit about New Oriental , a bit about me and a bit about education. I think most of you here are doing something for education. But education is the one of the most difficult things to define. If we say hospital is a place to cure people’s disease, and medicine is for the goodness and health of the people. But when we are talking about education, what are we talking about? When we look for it in the dictionary, we’ll find that the definition is very vague, “education is a process of being educated”. And when we find what’s “being educated”, “being educated is a process of education”. So what does that mean?
今天我来这里为大家介绍一下新东方，我自己，以及教育。我想在座的大多数人都在为教育做些事情。但教育是最难定义的事情之一。比如说医院是治疗人们疾病的地方，药品是对人们健康有益的东西。但是，当我们谈到教育时，我们在谈论什么呢？我们在字典中寻找它的含义时，我们会发现它的定义非常模糊，“教育是一个受教育的过程”。当我们查询什么是“受教育”时，会发现字典的解释是“受教育就是一个教育的过程”。那么，教育的定义到底是什么？
So human being have made great progress. From Aristotle’s time, He insisted that the earth is the center of the universe. And then, the Copernicus came into being, he said that he sun is the center of the universe. And then we came to the Natural law of Newton. And then we came to the theory of relativity by Einstein. So every step of the way we are making progress, we are understanding the world more and more. Coming back to us today is still full of ignorance and stupidity. We are not making much more progress in humanity as a human being. Sometimes, we still insist some wrong ideas in our mind. So what is all education about. Education has existed almost three thousand years. About more than two thousand years ago, we already have those wise people like Plato, like Aristotle, like Confucius, like Buddha, like Jesus, a lot so wise people in this world. But today we are still talking about education. We are still trying to understand what we can do for us, what we can do for our generations, how can we make the world a better place to live in, How can we at most understand each other but not killing each other. That is what we want to do.
我们知道，人类已经取得了很大的进步。从亚里士多德的时代起，他坚持地球是宇宙的中心。然后，哥白尼诞生了，他说太阳是宇宙的中心。然后我们有了牛顿的自然定律。后来我们又有了爱因斯坦的相对论。因此，在我们前进的每一步中，我们对世界的理解越来越多。回到今天，当今的世界仍然充满了无知和愚昧。有时候，我们的头脑中仍然坚持一些错误的观念，所以教育的内涵到底是什么？教育已有近三千年的历史。大约两千多年前，我们已经有了像柏拉图、亚里士多德、孔子、佛陀、耶稣这样的智者，在这个世界上有很多如此聪明的人。但今天我们仍在讨论教育问题。我们仍在努力理解我们能为我们自己做些什么，我们能为我们的后代做些什么，我们怎样才能让世界变得更美好，我们如何互相了解而不是互相伤害。这就是我们想做的。
I want to take myself as an example. First and foremost, I want to talk about my mother. Everyone has a guide in his or her journey in education. In fact, my mother is a peasant. She cannot read. The immediate question one may ask is: since your mom is illiterate, how can she educate you? What I want to say is that, as a mom, she wants her children to become someone with a promising future. In order for her children to have a good future, she set goals for them. And, that’s exactly what my mom did to me. Because in China, life as a peasant can be very hard. Generations after generations, peasants’ toils in the fields with back-breaking hard labour. My mom didn’t want me to live a peasant life, instead she wanted me to be a teacher. In her mind at the time, that means a teacher in a village. Since ancient times in China, there has been a tradition of respecting teachers. Teachers don’t have to do farm work, and often people in the neighborhood give teachers food to eat. So, my mom always thought teachers were well respected. So, she wanted me to be a teacher when I grew up. When I was young, she asked me to read as much as I could, even though she was unable to read herself. From the age of four or five, I remembered she never bought me a toy, but palm-sized comic books -- that’s how I started my own life in reading from the age of four or five.
让我以我自己为例来谈谈教育。首先，我想谈谈我的母亲。每个人在他或她的教育之旅中都有一个向导。事实上，我母亲是个农民。她不识字。人们可能会问的最直接的问题是：既然你妈妈是文盲，她怎么能教育你呢？我想说的是，作为一个母亲，她希望她的孩子成为一个有远大前程的人。为了让她的孩子有一个美好的未来，她为他们设定了目标。我母亲就是这么对我的。因为在中国，农民的生活是非常艰苦的，过去一代又一代农民在田间辛勤劳作，没有其他出路。我母亲不想让我过农民的生活，她想让我当一名教师。在她当时的脑海里，这意味着一个村庄的老师。中国自古以来就有尊师的传统。老师不需要做农活，附近的人经常给老师食物吃。所以，我母亲一直认为老师是受人尊敬的。她也想让我长大后当一名老师。当我年幼的时候，她让我尽可能多地阅读，尽管她自己不能阅读。从四、五岁起，我就记得她从来没有给我买过玩具，而是手掌大小的漫画书——这就是我从四、五岁就开始自己的阅读生活的原因。
Luckily, I have a sister who is five years older than me. She was in Grade 2 or 3 when I was four or five years old. So, she could read the Chinese characters to me. In this way, I gradually learned a lot of Chinese characters. So, when I was in Grade two, I was able to read novels, including the Chinese classical masterpiece "Water Margin" and so on. From here, I started to enjoy studying. Throughout my life, although I’m not good at mathematics as no one in my family was able to teach me, my Chinese has been very good.
幸运的是，我还有一个比我大五岁的姐姐。我四、五岁的时候，她在读小学二、三年级。这样，她就可以把汉字读给我听了。通过这种方式，我逐渐学会了很多汉字。因此，当我在二年级的时候，我能够阅读小说，包括中国古典名著《水浒传》等等。从这时开始，我逐渐喜欢上了学习。在我的一生中，虽然我不擅长数学，因为我家里没有人能教我，但我的语文一直很好。
When I was in high school, I encountered some difficulties. However, my mom spared no effort in supporting me to get high school education. When I graduated from high school, China just started reform and opening up. This gave me an opportunity for university education through college entrance examination. I began to work hard to prepare for the exam. It has always been my father and mother’s hope that I can leave the countryside and go to college. I studied really hard and took the college entrance examinations three times. I didn't succeed in the first year. Neither did I got it the second time. In the third year, I talked to my mother: mom, can you not let me do farm this year, I want to spend all my time studying. She agreed , and finally I got a very good score and entered the best university in China--Peking University. From here, I embarked on journey that taught me the true meaning for education. It also planted seeds for me to become an educator in the future.
当我在高中的时候，我在升学问题上遇到了一些困难.但是，我母亲还是不遗余力地支持我接受高中教育。当我高中毕业的时候，中国刚刚开始改革开放。这给了我一个通过高考接受大学教育的机会。我开始努力准备考试。我父母一直希望我能离开农村上大学。我非常努力地学习，参加了三次高考。第一年我没有成功。第二年我又一次落榜。在第三年，我对母亲说：妈妈，你能不能让我今年不要做农活，我想把全部时间用在学习上。她同意了，最终我取得了非常好的成绩，进入了中国最好的大学—北京大学。从这里，我开始了一段旅程，它教会了我教育的真正意义，也为我将来成为一名教育家播下了种子。
Of course, my parents have many other influences on me. The kindness, hospitality, helpfulness to others are all part of my personality which I learned from my parents. Their perseverance in the face of hardship had a major impact on me and I became a person that’s kind, hospitable, and can well be tough in face of difficult times. I believe such qualities are more important than the education I received in school because they lay an important foundation for success.
当然，我的父母对我还有很多其他方面的影响。我性格中的善良、好客、乐于助人，都是从父母那里学到的。他们在艰难困苦中的坚忍不拔，对我产生了很大的影响，让我在困难的时候也能坚持下去。我相信这些品质比我在学校接受的教育更重要，因为它们为我的成功奠定了重要的基础。
So come to the conclusions like this. Education is not somebody who is smarter than the one who is teaching you. Education is not the professor teaching you the knowledge that you already know. Education or educators can be somebody who's illiterate like my mother and my father, they cannot read or write, but they teach you something that you should go beyond yourself. Go beyond your mission of this world. Go beyond your limitation and go beyond your natural ability. And you will get new talents, because of education you can help others. They try to push you, so let you have your potential to be released. And you will become more understanding about this world. And become open-minded to let yourself go out of your way to challenge yourself. And you will become more tolerant to go walk far away from ignorance.
所以可以得出这样的结论。教育不是比教你的人更聪明。教育不是教授教你已经知道的知识。教育或教育工作者可以是像我的父母一样的文盲，他们不会读或写，但他们教给你去超越自己，超越你在这个世界上的使命，超越你的极限，超越你的天赋。你将获得新的才能，教育可以让你帮助别人。他们试图推动你，让你的潜力得到释放。你将会对这个世界有更多的了解，并且变得开放，让你努力地去挑战你自己。你会变得更加宽容，远离无知。
Studying at Peking University is a turning point for me. I’m very fortunate that I entered the best university in China, Peking University. I have learned a lot during the five years studying there. First, I read more books because there were 7 million books in the library at Peking University. Now, the number of books should be over 10 million. More importantly, I met a large number of friends at Peking University, including my classmates and my teachers. They taught me not only academic knowledge or subjects, but how to think independently and pursue spiritual freedom. Everyone knows that spiritual freedom and independent thinking are the source of all learning, and the source of thinking through one’s own life in multiple dimensions.
在北京大学学习对我来说是一个人生转折点。我很幸运进入了中国最好的大学。在那里学习的五年里，我学到了很多东西。首先，我读了更多的书，因为北京大学图书馆里有700万本书。现在，书的数量应该超过一千万本。更重要的是，我在北京大学遇到了很多朋友，包括我的同学和老师。他们不仅教会了我学术知识，还教会了我如何独立思考和追求精神自由。每个人都知道，精神上的自由和独立的思考是所有学习的源泉，也是一个人在多个维度上反思自己生活的源泉。
So within one time in Peking University, I really learned what is called independent thinking, what is called independent personality, what is called a free mind and a free spirit. So this becomes a new me. It was before that I always think education where you get from university is that you just study your major. If you're studying English literature, then you just study English literature. If you study mathematics, you study mathematics. But later, I think education it's far beyond that. It’s far beyond a major, far beyond examinations, and far beyond what the teacher's talking to you. It's all about how you come back to yourself and how you can really become enlightened about this world. And how you can create your own thinking and discussion about this world. So that's one Peking University gives me. So except the academic knowledge is identified in university. I did several things in the University.
所以在北京大学的一段时间里，我真正学会了所谓的独立思考，所谓的独立人格，以及自由的心灵和自由的精神。我变成了一个全新的我。在那之前，我一直认为你从大学获得的教育就是学习你的专业。如果你的专业是英语，那你就只学习英语。如果你的专业是数学，那你就学数学。但后来，我认为教育远不止于此。它远远超出了专业范围，超出了考试，也远远超出了老师教授你的东西。教育是关于你如何回归自己，如何获得关于世界的真正启蒙，以及如何形成自己对这个世界的思考和观点。这是北京大学给我的。所以，除了在大学里获得的学术知识，我在大学里还做了几件事。
Broadly speaking, I achieved three things at Peking University. First, my knowledge base has been enriched and strengthened greatly. In addition to reading academic books of my subjects, I have read hundreds of books on various topics. Second, I made friends with a group of people with truly independent thinking and characters. Through these friends, I learned how to think about my own life independently and how to pursue my spiritual freedom. Many friends not only became friends for a lifetime, but also played a major role in my later career in running New Oriental. Some of them have also become my partners in New Oriental. Third, because my major was English, after two years of study, I gradually had the ability to read English originals. It greatly reduced many obstacles for me to explore the outside world. Interestingly, as a result, we were able to see a bigger world relatively earlier than my peers at the time in the university. I learned to appreciate that any problem can be viewed from multiple perspectives. It also helped me form a habit of thinking in multiple dimensions.
总结一下，我在北京大学完成了三件事。首先，我的知识基础得到了极大的丰富和加强。除了阅读本专业的学术性书籍，我还读过数百本关于不同主题的书。第二，我和一群真正独立思考并性格各异的人交上了朋友。通过这些朋友，我学会了如何独立思考自己的生活，以及如何追求精神自由。这些人不仅是我终生的朋友，还在我后来经营新东方的事业中发挥了重要作用。他们中的一些人也成为了我在新东方的合伙人。第三，因为我的专业是英语，经过两年的学习，我逐渐有了阅读英文原著的能力。它极大地减少了我探索外面世界的障碍。结果就是我们英文专业的学生能够比其他同学更早地看到一个更大的世界。这段经历让我理解了任何问题都可以从多个角度来看待。它还帮助我养成了多维度思考的习惯。
In short, entering such a good university is undoubtedly a turning point in my life. It’s also a privilege. The most important thing is to be able to learn from friends that are better than me one way or another, because if you follow someone who is better than you, sooner or later, you become even better.
总之，进入这样一所好大学无疑是我人生中的一个转折点，也是一种特权。最重要的是能够从那些比我更优秀的朋友那里学习，如果你追随一个比你更好的人，你迟早会变得更好。
I remember that Warren Buffett once said, it’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behaviour is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction. There is no doubt that I was actually following that in Peking University. This is not a deliberate choice, but an opportunity given to me by such an environment. Of course, in a certain sense, it is also the result of my personal pursuit.
我记得沃伦•巴菲特曾经说过，与比你更优秀的人交往。挑选出那些比你优秀的伙伴，你就会朝那个方向发展。毫无疑问，我在北京大学就是这样做的。这不是一个深思熟虑的选择，而是这样一个环境给我的一个机会。当然，从某种意义上讲，这也是我个人追求的结果。
After my graduation, I remained in Peking University, working as an English teacher. Actually, I wasn’t a teacher in the true sense. I was a teaching assistant. I taught English classes to first-year university students, because at the time China required every university student to study English. Students were also required to pass college English test levelled at band 4 and 6. They can’t graduate if they fail the exams. So, some graduates of English major remained on campus and became an English teacher. Although this was only an unintentional act of teaching students English, it allowed me to stay at Peking University and I continued to gain more knowledge. The experience gave me two benefits. Firstly, teaching hours were only eight hours a week, leaving me with plenty of time to go to the library to study. Secondly, as a teaching assistant at Peking University, it gave me the access to reach out to many famous professors, communicating with them and asking questions. I learned a lot from these professors.
毕业后，我留在北京大学当英语老师。实际上，我不是真正意义上的老师，而是个助教。我教大学一年级的学生英语课，当时中国要求每个大学生都要学英语。学生还必须通过大学英语四级和六级考试。如果考试不及格，他们就不能毕业。于是，一些英语专业的毕业生留在了校园，成为了一名英语教师。虽然教学生英语只是一个无意的行为，但是它让我留在北京大学，继续获得更多的知识。这段经历给了我两个好处。首先，每周只有八个小时的教学时间，让我有足够的时间去图书馆学习。其次，作为北京大学的一名助教，它让我有机会接触到许多著名的教授，与他们交流并提出问题。我从这些教授那里学到了很多。
I had a very good time at Peking University for six years working as a teacher. There was a beautiful campus for me to take a walk, famous professors for me to look for advice and excellent students to communicate with. It was also a very good stepping stone in my personal development. I read a lot of books in six years, and the bookshelves in my small house in Beijing were full of thousands of books.
我在北京大学当了六年的教师，度过了一段非常愉快的时光。我在美丽的校园中散步，向著名的教授讨教，和优秀的学生交流。这也是我个人发展的一个很好的垫脚石。在六年的时间里，我读了很多书，在北京小房子的书架上，摆满了成千上万本书。
Later on, students around me and my university classmates started to go abroad to study in the United States. With more and more went abroad to study, I also had the idea to so. I passed the TOEFL and GRE exams and applied for American universities. Unfortunately, none of the universities offered me scholarships. At that time, as a poor teacher, I was unable to afford to study abroad. So, I started to teach as a tutor in a training institution to earn some money in the hope that I have the funds to study in the US. By doing so, I saw a different world outside the ivory tower and found out the training industry in China was very prosperous. I also realised that a large number of teachers were not effective in teaching students. I already gained rich experience in teaching, so I decided to open my own classes. However, Peking University was unhappy about what I was doing in running these classes. I was then punished by the University for tutoring outside. The punishment led me to resign. Because if you were not appreciated in our work, it’s better for you to move on. I made up my mind already that if I left Peking University, I would run a training school to use my teaching skills to coach more students, helping them get high scores so that they can pursue a better future. Looking back, the punishment at Peking University planted a seed for my future success.
后来，我周围的学生和我的大学同学开始出国学习。随着越来越多的人留学美国，我也有了这样的想法。我通过了托福和GRE考试，申请了美国大学。不幸的是，没有一所大学给我提供奖学金。那时候，作为一个穷老师，我负担不起出国留学的费用。于是，我开始在一家培训机构当家教，挣些钱，希望能有钱到美国去学习。通过这些经历，我看到了一个象牙塔以外的不同世界，并发现中国的培训行业是非常繁荣的。我也意识到很多老师在教学上并不是很有效率。此时我已经获得了丰富的教学经验，所以我决定开办自己的培训课程。然而，北京大学对我在开办这些课程感到不满。我因为在外面做家教而受到了学校的惩罚，这也直接导致了我的辞职。因为在我看来如果一个人在工作中得不到赏识，那么他最好另谋高就。我在那个时候就下定决心，如果我离开北京大学，我将开办一所培训学校，用我的教学技能来指导更多的学生，帮助他们获得高分，以便他们能够追求更美好的未来。回顾过往，北京大学的惩罚也为我未来的成功埋下了种子。
Leaving the University, I broke away from the path of a teacher who potentially would work my way to professor. I turned myself into an entrepreneur of a training institution. To be precise, I shouldn’t call myself an entrepreneur, but self-employed. This a term that carried a negative shade of meaning at the time in China, referring to someone who gave up iron rice bowl and came out of the system to make money.
离开北京大学断送了我成为一名大学老师甚至大学教授的道路。我变成了一家培训机构的企业家。准确地说，我不应该称自己为企业家，而应该称自己为个体户。在当时的中国，这个词带有负面的含义，指的是放弃铁饭碗，从制度中出来赚钱的人。
It is precisely because of the experience teaching at Peking University that gave me a deeply understanding of the huge influence a teacher has on students. For example, if the teacher has been passive and with negative energy , he or she will pass on the negativity to the students. If the teacher is positive, wise, and possess the capability to guide students, he or she will have a major impact on the students’future.
正是我在北京大学教书的经历，让我深刻理解了老师对学生的巨大影响。例如，如果老师一直是被动消极的，带着负能量，他或她将把消极的东西传递给学生。如果教师是积极的，明智的，并具有引导学生的能力，他或她将对学生的未来产生重大影响。
I have been a teacher for many years and have great respect for the profession. At New Oriental, we have nearly 35,000 teachers. I have always asked each and every teacher in New Oriental to bring positive and good influences on students. I have been thinking hard on the question, “What are the most important things as a teacher?” I would argue a good teacher has the following five characteristics:
我当了多年的教师，非常尊重这个职业。在新东方，我们有将近35,000名教师。我一直要求新东方的每一位老师都能给学生带来积极和良好的影响。我一直在认真思考这样一个问题：“作为一名教师，最重要的事情是什么？”我认为一个好老师有以下五个特点：
First, good teachers should inspire students with the enthusiasm to pursuit knowledge and truth. I believe teachers should teach students knowledge and truths, not just to help them pass exams, nor just for the students to remember some knowledge points in order to get into the university. From primary, to secondary and higher education, I think the most important thing for teacher is to instil students with a passion to pursuit knowledge and truths.
首先，好的教师应该激发学生追求知识和真理的热情。我相信老师应该教给学生知识和真理，而不仅仅是为了帮助他们通过考试，也不是为了让学生记住一些知识点才能进入大学。从小学到中学，再到高等教育，我认为教师最重要的是向学生灌输一种追求知识和真理的热情。
Second, good teachers should be able to teach and discuss knowledge in a positive language that stimulates students to think. If the teacher is indifferent to the teaching content, students are unlikely to participate actively. Knowledge can be more meaningful only when you teach in a way projecting positive happiness and the ability to stimulate thinking.
其次，好的教师应该能够用一种积极的语言来教授和讨论知识，从而激发学生的思考能力。如果教师对教学内容漠不关心，学生就不可能积极参与。只有当你以一种投射积极的快乐和激发思考的能力的方式进行教学时，知识才会更有意义。
Third, a good teacher pays attention to the all-round development of students. Many teachers are one dimensional in practice, only looking at whether students have solved questions in the classroom, whether students have learned the knowledge points, performed well in exam, or written good essays. I believe in addition to these, it’s more important for teachers to care about the development of students' personality, their well-being and morality. They should set examples to students in addition to provide them with advice. I also believe that teaching of knowledge must be based on wisdom. Teaching of knowledge is not to remember the knowledge points, but to internalize knowledge into part of students’ own pursuit of life and career.
第三，一个好的教师要注重学生的全面发展。许多教师在实践中是单向度的，只看学生是否在课堂上解决了问题，学生是否学到了知识点，考试成绩如何，或者文章写得好不好。我相信，除了这些，更重要的是关心学生的个性发展，他们的福祉和道德。除了向学生提供建议外，他们还应为学生树立榜样。我也相信知识的传授必须以智慧为基础。知识教学不是要记住知识点，而是要把知识内化到学生对生活和事业的追求中去。
Fourth, good teachers should encourage students to chase their dreams and future. A good teacher must always help students look into the future. Teachers should cultivate students the spirit to do their best to pursuit their dreams in the face of difficulties, encourage them do not give up, empower them with perseverance and resilience. Because, when we look into the beautiful things in the future, the sufferings and difficulties in front of our eyes no longer make us desperate. They become something that can be used to hone one’s will and pushes you to work harder!
第四，好的老师应该鼓励学生追求自己的梦想和未来。一位好老师必须总是帮助学生展望未来。教师应该培养学生在困难面前尽最大努力追求梦想的精神，鼓励他们不要放弃，赋予他们毅力和韧性。因为，当我们展望未来美好的事物时，眼前的痛苦和困难不再让我们绝望。他们成为可以用来磨练一个人的意志和推动你更努力工作的东西！
Fifth, a good teacher should also be an expert in family education. Teachers should be able to fully communicate with parents. Teachers can greatly facilitate a child’s growth in the right direction if they are on the same wavelengths with parents in a child’s education. I always believe that qualified parents raise qualified children. That is to say, in addition to the influence a teacher has on the child, it is necessary for them to have influence on the child’s family. The cooperation between the family and the school is essential for the good education of the children.
第五，好的教师也应该是家庭教育的专家。教师应该能够与家长充分沟通。教师可以极大地促进儿童在正确的方向上成长，如果他们在孩子的教育中与父母处于相同的波长上。我一直相信合格的父母会培养出合格的孩子。这就是说，除了教师对孩子的影响之外，他们还必须对孩子的家庭产生影响。家庭和学校之间的合作对于儿童的良好教育是必不可少的。
The above five points are a summary of my teaching experience through being a teacher at Peking University and New Oriental in more than 20 years. Now, I will talk about New Oriental.
以上五点是我20多年来在北京大学和新东方任教经验的总结。现在，我想谈谈新东方。
New Oriental started with a small English training class with only 13 students. After 26 years of hard work, New Oriental has become a comprehensive education system that covers the educational needs between the ages of 0 and 30. Our business includes kindergarten, primary and secondary after-school tutoring, overseas and domestic exam preparations, overseas study counselling, quality education, STEAM education, book publishing, online education and other businesses. We achieved in building such a system step by step. We also have a goal to connect all the business systems and create a platform for children to learn for life with New Oriental. We also aim to make New Oriental a content provider and platform for lifelong learning.
新东方从一个只有13名学生的小型英语培训班开始。经过26年的努力，新东方已成为一个涵盖0-30岁教育需求的综合性教育体系。我们的业务包括幼儿园、中小学课后辅导、国内外考试备考、留学辅导、素质教育、STEAM教育、图书出版、线上教育等等。我们在逐步建立这样一个综合性的体系。我们的目标是将所有的业务系统连接起来，为孩子们创造一个终身学习的平台。我们致力于使新东方成为终身学习的内容提供商和平台。
In the course of our development, New Oriental has experienced four stages in its missions. Our first mission is to be a bridge for students to study abroad and a rainbow for the returnees to start their businesses in China. New Oriental started with overseas test preparations which helped many Chinese students to study in the US, the UK, and so on. We help them to return to China to work after graduation. Of course, many Chinese students actually stayed in the United States after graduation, but more and more are returning to China. Later, New Oriental broadened its services in providing a full range of English language learning and we had a second mission in making New Oriental "the place where Chinese learn English". New Oriental continued its journey and entered training in many other disciplines, including Mathematics, Chinese, Physics, Chemistry, etc. New Oriental is no longer a place to learn English, and our mission becomes “Come to New Oriental for Your Dream”. Of course, it’s a bit vague and broad, so we have the fourth stage in our mission. We hope that through our efforts, we can cultivate a generation of Chinese that possess the ability and quality of “lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility”. As you may see, we are actually gradually entering the core of education because we believe that education should be "whole-person education". The so-called "holistic education" is not only about knowledge, but make student a better human being that can better serve the society. I think the four aspects are quite important, that is “lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility”. The mission is our responsibility to students and we have a long way to go.
在我们的发展过程中，新东方的使命经历了四个阶段的变化。我们的第一个使命是成为学生出国留学的桥梁，归国就业的彩虹。新东方从留学备考开始，帮助了许多中国学生到美国、英国等地学习。我们也帮助他们毕业后回到中国工作。当然，很多中国学生毕业后都留在了美国，但是越来越多的人回到了中国。后来，新东方拓展了提供全方位英语学习的服务，我们的第二个使命就是使新东方成为“中国人学习英语的地方”。之后，新东方继续强化英语培训的优势，并进入许多其他学科的培训，包括数学、语文、物理、化学等。新东方不再是一个单纯学习英语的地方，我们的使命变成了“为梦想而来新东方”。当然，它有点模糊和宽泛，所以我们有了第四个使命。我们希望通过我们的努力，培养出一代具有“终身学习、全球视野、独立人格、社会责任”的中国人。大家可以看到，我们其实是逐渐进入教育的核心，因为我们相信教育应该是“全人教育”。所谓“全人教育”，不只是知识教育，而是让学生成为更好的人，更好地为社会服务。我认为这四个方面是相当重要的，即“终身学习、全球视野、独立人格、社会责任”。这一使命是我们对学生的责任，我们任重道远。
New Oriental has done a lot. Yet, in terms of our goals, we have just begun. What we have done to the students in China is far from enough. The emergence of new technologies, whether Internet, artificial intelligence, big data, has had a major impact on all industries. In the field of education, it will have a more significant impact. Today, what New Oriental has to do is not only teach students knowledge or provide teachers with tools and contents, but to combine that with mobile internet, AI and big data. New Oriental has set up a research institute for AI+ education to experiment the combination of cutting-edge technologies and education. We are working hard to come up with products to enable students to learn more effectively and intelligently. At the same time, New Oriental is also actively working with public schools, promoting a smart and intelligent education system for public schools. Such kind of system has been developed for several years and can improve the overall learning efficiency for students in public schools, providing them with solutions.
新东方做了很多事。然而，就我们的目标而言，我们才刚刚开始。我们对中国学生所做的远远不够。新技术的出现，无论是互联网、人工智能、大数据，都对所有行业产生了重大影响。在教育领域，它将产生更重大的影响。如今，新东方所要做的不只是教给学生知识或为教师提供工具和内容，而是将其与移动互联网、人工智能和大数据相结合。新东方成立了研究人工智能+教育的AI研究院，尝试尖端技术与教育的结合。我们正在努力开发产品，使学生能够更有效、更聪明地学习。同时，新东方也正积极与公立学校合作，为公立学校推广一套高效、智能的教育系统。这样的系统已经开发了几年，可以提高公立学校学生的整体学习效率，为他们提供完整的解决方案。
China also faces the challenge in education equality and balance. China has invested huge amount of money in education in 40 years of reform and opening up. The investment is dozens of times more than it’s used to be. However, we still face the problem of education imbalances. Children in rural and mountainous areas are unable to receive good quality of education as children in the urban areas. With the development of technology, such as remote learning, dual teacher, we can do a lot of things in improving education equality in China. I believe the real development of China's future must be the development of education equality through technology, so that children in every corner can receive the best quality education in China, so that every child has the hope to have the opportunity to enter the best universities in the world.
中国也面临着教育公平与均衡的挑战。改革开放40年来，中国在教育方面投入了大量的资金。这项投资比以前多了几十倍。但是，我们仍然面临着教育不均衡的问题。农村和山区的儿童无法像城市儿童那样接受高质量的教育。随着远程教育、双师课堂等技术的发展，我们可以做很多事情来提高我国的教育均衡水平。我相信中国未来的真正发展，必须是透过科技推动教育平等，使每一个角落的儿童都能接受中国最好的优质教育，让每一个儿童都有机会进入世界一流的大学。
For an educational institution like New Oriental, I believe we must have the ability to serve the country and the society. We should educate students with independent thinking, good personality, sound knowledge and creativity. More importantly, we need to empower students with skills in lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility. This is our mission today. As for the future of New Oriental, we hope to become an integrator and provider of excellent educational content, system and learning platform in China and the world. We hope that New Oriental becomes a lifelong learning service provider, providing high-tech and products from pre-school to lifelong education. We will also try to explore the combination of technology and education with human instructions. More importantly, we will devote ourselves to promote education equality in China, providing high-quality education services to children in rural areas in China, opening a bright path for their future.
作为一个像新东方这样的教育机构，我认为我们必须有为国家和社会服务的能力。我们应该培养学生独立思考的能力，良好的个性，扎实的知识和创造力。更重要的是，我们需要赋予学生终身学习、全球视野、独立人格和社会责任方面的技能。这是我们今天的任务。对于新东方的未来，我们希望成为中国和世界优秀教育内容、系统和学习平台的集成商和提供者。我们希望新东方成为终身学习的服务商，提供从学前教育到终身教育的高科技产品。我们还将努力探索技术和教育与人文教育的结合。更重要的是，我们将致力于促进中国的教育均衡，为中国农村儿童提供高质量的教育服务，为他们的未来开辟一条光明的道路。
Finally, I would like to say a few things about my personal goals.
最后，我想谈谈我的个人目标。
First, I hope to contribute to the "whole-person education" of Chinese children and their overall development. Second, I hope to do more in family education. New Oriental has been working in this area for more than a decade and I still feel there’s more to do. Third, I hope to contribute to the combination of technology and education. Fourth, I hope to do more to help children in rural areas to get better education. For example, this year I plan to return to a rural high school in a poverty stricken area to work as an honorary principal. I want to make efforts to bring some high-quality resources to such schools so that children in rural areas who may have no hope for high quality education will in one day enter a prestigious university in China or other countries.
首先，我希望为中国儿童的“全人教育”和他们的全面发展做出贡献。第二，我希望在家庭教育方面多做些工作。新东方在这方面已经工作了十多年，我仍然觉得还有更多的工作要做。第三，我希望为科技与教育的结合做出贡献。第四，我希望做更多的工作，帮助农村儿童获得更好的教育。例如，今年我打算到贫困地区的一所农村高中担任名誉校长。我希望努力为这些学校带来一些高质量的资源，帮助那些对高质量教育毫无希望的农村儿童有朝一日能够进入中国或其他国家的名牌大学。
For us, when we come into this world, in addition to satisfying ourselves with food and clothing, in addition to caring for our own family members, we always aspire to do something good for human development and social progress. That’s exactly what New Oriental is doing. And, that’s exactly what I’m doing. We also look forward to working together with other educational institutions and colleagues from the rest of the world to create a better education for the world. We often say that the economy is for today, politics is for tomorrow, but only education is for the future of mankind.
对我们来说，当我们来到这个世界上，除了满足自己的衣食需求，除了照顾我们自己的家庭成员，我们总是渴望做一些有益于人类发展和社会进步的事情。新东方就是这么做的，我也是这么做的。我们也期待着与其他教育机构和来自世界其他地方的伙伴合作，为世界创造更好的教育。我们常说，经济是为了今天，政治是为了明天，但只有教育才是为了人类的未来。
Now New Oriental has a slogan “A Better You, A Bigger World! ” Let’s become a better you, and then we can leave our children to go to a bigger, brighter world.
现在新东方有一个口号是“A Better You, A Bigger World!” 让我们成为一个更好的自己，帮助我们的孩子走向一个更大、更光明的世界。
Thank you!
谢谢大家！
美国当地时间4月9日上午，新东方创始人兼董事长俞敏洪受邀在第十届ASU+GSV教育科技峰会主会场发表演讲，演讲主题为“What does Education Mean to Me？”，受到了与会者的关注。
“when we are talking about education, what are we talking about?”现场，俞敏洪从教育的定义出发，通过讲述自己从少年到大学受教育的过程，以及在北大任教和创办新东方的经历，阐释了家庭教育、学校教育等不同阶段的教育如何成就了今天的自己，自己又如何理解教育真正的目标和意义。在他看来，好的教育的标准是世界共通的。
在国内，很多人对于俞敏洪的奋斗经历已经耳熟能详，而在国际的舞台上，这些励志故事依旧有着打动人心的力量。当他谈到通过努力，自己第三次高考终于考上北京大学时，收获了台下最热烈的掌声。俞敏洪阐述的很多教育理念和思考，也引发了现场观众的共鸣。
此外，俞敏洪在演讲中也总结了新东方在四个发展阶段的不同使命，他认为像新东方这样的教育机构，必须有为国家和社会服务的能力。当下新东方发展的任务不仅是培养学生独立思考的能力，良好的个性，扎实的知识和创造力。更重要的是赋予学生终身学习、全球视野、独立人格和社会责任方面的能力，探索和开展“全人教育”。而未来，新东方希望能够成为中国和世界优秀教育内容、系统和学习平台的集成者，提供从学前教育到终身教育的高科技产品，并不断推动中国教育的均衡发展。
演讲最后，俞敏洪还提出了自己未来要关注和实现的四个目标，一是为中国儿童的“全人教育”和全面发展做出贡献；二是在家庭教育方面多做些工作；三是为科技与教育的结合做出贡献；四是更多帮助农村儿童获得更好的教育。他透露，今年计划到贫困地区的一所农村高中担任名誉校长，将注入新东方最优质的教育资源，开启一段助力教育均衡的“试验”。
以下为经整理后的俞敏洪英文演讲全文，附中文翻译。
Distinguished friends, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good morning.
尊敬的朋友们，女士们，先生们，早上好。
Today I come here to introduce a bit about New Oriental , a bit about me and a bit about education. I think most of you here are doing something for education. But education is the one of the most difficult things to define. If we say hospital is a place to cure people’s disease, and medicine is for the goodness and health of the people. But when we are talking about education, what are we talking about? When we look for it in the dictionary, we’ll find that the definition is very vague, “education is a process of being educated”. And when we find what’s “being educated”, “being educated is a process of education”. So what does that mean?
今天我来这里为大家介绍一下新东方，我自己，以及教育。我想在座的大多数人都在为教育做些事情。但教育是最难定义的事情之一。比如说医院是治疗人们疾病的地方，药品是对人们健康有益的东西。但是，当我们谈到教育时，我们在谈论什么呢？我们在字典中寻找它的含义时，我们会发现它的定义非常模糊，“教育是一个受教育的过程”。当我们查询什么是“受教育”时，会发现字典的解释是“受教育就是一个教育的过程”。那么，教育的定义到底是什么？
So human being have made great progress. From Aristotle’s time, He insisted that the earth is the center of the universe. And then, the Copernicus came into being, he said that he sun is the center of the universe. And then we came to the Natural law of Newton. And then we came to the theory of relativity by Einstein. So every step of the way we are making progress, we are understanding the world more and more. Coming back to us today is still full of ignorance and stupidity. We are not making much more progress in humanity as a human being. Sometimes, we still insist some wrong ideas in our mind. So what is all education about. Education has existed almost three thousand years. About more than two thousand years ago, we already have those wise people like Plato, like Aristotle, like Confucius, like Buddha, like Jesus, a lot so wise people in this world. But today we are still talking about education. We are still trying to understand what we can do for us, what we can do for our generations, how can we make the world a better place to live in, How can we at most understand each other but not killing each other. That is what we want to do.
我们知道，人类已经取得了很大的进步。从亚里士多德的时代起，他坚持地球是宇宙的中心。然后，哥白尼诞生了，他说太阳是宇宙的中心。然后我们有了牛顿的自然定律。后来我们又有了爱因斯坦的相对论。因此，在我们前进的每一步中，我们对世界的理解越来越多。回到今天，当今的世界仍然充满了无知和愚昧。有时候，我们的头脑中仍然坚持一些错误的观念，所以教育的内涵到底是什么？教育已有近三千年的历史。大约两千多年前，我们已经有了像柏拉图、亚里士多德、孔子、佛陀、耶稣这样的智者，在这个世界上有很多如此聪明的人。但今天我们仍在讨论教育问题。我们仍在努力理解我们能为我们自己做些什么，我们能为我们的后代做些什么，我们怎样才能让世界变得更美好，我们如何互相了解而不是互相伤害。这就是我们想做的。
I want to take myself as an example. First and foremost, I want to talk about my mother. Everyone has a guide in his or her journey in education. In fact, my mother is a peasant. She cannot read. The immediate question one may ask is: since your mom is illiterate, how can she educate you? What I want to say is that, as a mom, she wants her children to become someone with a promising future. In order for her children to have a good future, she set goals for them. And, that’s exactly what my mom did to me. Because in China, life as a peasant can be very hard. Generations after generations, peasants’ toils in the fields with back-breaking hard labour. My mom didn’t want me to live a peasant life, instead she wanted me to be a teacher. In her mind at the time, that means a teacher in a village. Since ancient times in China, there has been a tradition of respecting teachers. Teachers don’t have to do farm work, and often people in the neighborhood give teachers food to eat. So, my mom always thought teachers were well respected. So, she wanted me to be a teacher when I grew up. When I was young, she asked me to read as much as I could, even though she was unable to read herself. From the age of four or five, I remembered she never bought me a toy, but palm-sized comic books -- that’s how I started my own life in reading from the age of four or five.
让我以我自己为例来谈谈教育。首先，我想谈谈我的母亲。每个人在他或她的教育之旅中都有一个向导。事实上，我母亲是个农民。她不识字。人们可能会问的最直接的问题是：既然你妈妈是文盲，她怎么能教育你呢？我想说的是，作为一个母亲，她希望她的孩子成为一个有远大前程的人。为了让她的孩子有一个美好的未来，她为他们设定了目标。我母亲就是这么对我的。因为在中国，农民的生活是非常艰苦的，过去一代又一代农民在田间辛勤劳作，没有其他出路。我母亲不想让我过农民的生活，她想让我当一名教师。在她当时的脑海里，这意味着一个村庄的老师。中国自古以来就有尊师的传统。老师不需要做农活，附近的人经常给老师食物吃。所以，我母亲一直认为老师是受人尊敬的。她也想让我长大后当一名老师。当我年幼的时候，她让我尽可能多地阅读，尽管她自己不能阅读。从四、五岁起，我就记得她从来没有给我买过玩具，而是手掌大小的漫画书——这就是我从四、五岁就开始自己的阅读生活的原因。
Luckily, I have a sister who is five years older than me. She was in Grade 2 or 3 when I was four or five years old. So, she could read the Chinese characters to me. In this way, I gradually learned a lot of Chinese characters. So, when I was in Grade two, I was able to read novels, including the Chinese classical masterpiece "Water Margin" and so on. From here, I started to enjoy studying. Throughout my life, although I’m not good at mathematics as no one in my family was able to teach me, my Chinese has been very good.
幸运的是，我还有一个比我大五岁的姐姐。我四、五岁的时候，她在读小学二、三年级。这样，她就可以把汉字读给我听了。通过这种方式，我逐渐学会了很多汉字。因此，当我在二年级的时候，我能够阅读小说，包括中国古典名著《水浒传》等等。从这时开始，我逐渐喜欢上了学习。在我的一生中，虽然我不擅长数学，因为我家里没有人能教我，但我的语文一直很好。
When I was in high school, I encountered some difficulties. However, my mom spared no effort in supporting me to get high school education. When I graduated from high school, China just started reform and opening up. This gave me an opportunity for university education through college entrance examination. I began to work hard to prepare for the exam. It has always been my father and mother’s hope that I can leave the countryside and go to college. I studied really hard and took the college entrance examinations three times. I didn't succeed in the first year. Neither did I got it the second time. In the third year, I talked to my mother: mom, can you not let me do farm this year, I want to spend all my time studying. She agreed , and finally I got a very good score and entered the best university in China--Peking University. From here, I embarked on journey that taught me the true meaning for education. It also planted seeds for me to become an educator in the future.
当我在高中的时候，我在升学问题上遇到了一些困难.但是，我母亲还是不遗余力地支持我接受高中教育。当我高中毕业的时候，中国刚刚开始改革开放。这给了我一个通过高考接受大学教育的机会。我开始努力准备考试。我父母一直希望我能离开农村上大学。我非常努力地学习，参加了三次高考。第一年我没有成功。第二年我又一次落榜。在第三年，我对母亲说：妈妈，你能不能让我今年不要做农活，我想把全部时间用在学习上。她同意了，最终我取得了非常好的成绩，进入了中国最好的大学—北京大学。从这里，我开始了一段旅程，它教会了我教育的真正意义，也为我将来成为一名教育家播下了种子。
Of course, my parents have many other influences on me. The kindness, hospitality, helpfulness to others are all part of my personality which I learned from my parents. Their perseverance in the face of hardship had a major impact on me and I became a person that’s kind, hospitable, and can well be tough in face of difficult times. I believe such qualities are more important than the education I received in school because they lay an important foundation for success.
当然，我的父母对我还有很多其他方面的影响。我性格中的善良、好客、乐于助人，都是从父母那里学到的。他们在艰难困苦中的坚忍不拔，对我产生了很大的影响，让我在困难的时候也能坚持下去。我相信这些品质比我在学校接受的教育更重要，因为它们为我的成功奠定了重要的基础。
So come to the conclusions like this. Education is not somebody who is smarter than the one who is teaching you. Education is not the professor teaching you the knowledge that you already know. Education or educators can be somebody who's illiterate like my mother and my father, they cannot read or write, but they teach you something that you should go beyond yourself. Go beyond your mission of this world. Go beyond your limitation and go beyond your natural ability. And you will get new talents, because of education you can help others. They try to push you, so let you have your potential to be released. And you will become more understanding about this world. And become open-minded to let yourself go out of your way to challenge yourself. And you will become more tolerant to go walk far away from ignorance.
所以可以得出这样的结论。教育不是比教你的人更聪明。教育不是教授教你已经知道的知识。教育或教育工作者可以是像我的父母一样的文盲，他们不会读或写，但他们教给你去超越自己，超越你在这个世界上的使命，超越你的极限，超越你的天赋。你将获得新的才能，教育可以让你帮助别人。他们试图推动你，让你的潜力得到释放。你将会对这个世界有更多的了解，并且变得开放，让你努力地去挑战你自己。你会变得更加宽容，远离无知。
Studying at Peking University is a turning point for me. I’m very fortunate that I entered the best university in China, Peking University. I have learned a lot during the five years studying there. First, I read more books because there were 7 million books in the library at Peking University. Now, the number of books should be over 10 million. More importantly, I met a large number of friends at Peking University, including my classmates and my teachers. They taught me not only academic knowledge or subjects, but how to think independently and pursue spiritual freedom. Everyone knows that spiritual freedom and independent thinking are the source of all learning, and the source of thinking through one’s own life in multiple dimensions.
在北京大学学习对我来说是一个人生转折点。我很幸运进入了中国最好的大学。在那里学习的五年里，我学到了很多东西。首先，我读了更多的书，因为北京大学图书馆里有700万本书。现在，书的数量应该超过一千万本。更重要的是，我在北京大学遇到了很多朋友，包括我的同学和老师。他们不仅教会了我学术知识，还教会了我如何独立思考和追求精神自由。每个人都知道，精神上的自由和独立的思考是所有学习的源泉，也是一个人在多个维度上反思自己生活的源泉。
So within one time in Peking University, I really learned what is called independent thinking, what is called independent personality, what is called a free mind and a free spirit. So this becomes a new me. It was before that I always think education where you get from university is that you just study your major. If you're studying English literature, then you just study English literature. If you study mathematics, you study mathematics. But later, I think education it's far beyond that. It’s far beyond a major, far beyond examinations, and far beyond what the teacher's talking to you. It's all about how you come back to yourself and how you can really become enlightened about this world. And how you can create your own thinking and discussion about this world. So that's one Peking University gives me. So except the academic knowledge is identified in university. I did several things in the University.
所以在北京大学的一段时间里，我真正学会了所谓的独立思考，所谓的独立人格，以及自由的心灵和自由的精神。我变成了一个全新的我。在那之前，我一直认为你从大学获得的教育就是学习你的专业。如果你的专业是英语，那你就只学习英语。如果你的专业是数学，那你就学数学。但后来，我认为教育远不止于此。它远远超出了专业范围，超出了考试，也远远超出了老师教授你的东西。教育是关于你如何回归自己，如何获得关于世界的真正启蒙，以及如何形成自己对这个世界的思考和观点。这是北京大学给我的。所以，除了在大学里获得的学术知识，我在大学里还做了几件事。
Broadly speaking, I achieved three things at Peking University. First, my knowledge base has been enriched and strengthened greatly. In addition to reading academic books of my subjects, I have read hundreds of books on various topics. Second, I made friends with a group of people with truly independent thinking and characters. Through these friends, I learned how to think about my own life independently and how to pursue my spiritual freedom. Many friends not only became friends for a lifetime, but also played a major role in my later career in running New Oriental. Some of them have also become my partners in New Oriental. Third, because my major was English, after two years of study, I gradually had the ability to read English originals. It greatly reduced many obstacles for me to explore the outside world. Interestingly, as a result, we were able to see a bigger world relatively earlier than my peers at the time in the university. I learned to appreciate that any problem can be viewed from multiple perspectives. It also helped me form a habit of thinking in multiple dimensions.
总结一下，我在北京大学完成了三件事。首先，我的知识基础得到了极大的丰富和加强。除了阅读本专业的学术性书籍，我还读过数百本关于不同主题的书。第二，我和一群真正独立思考并性格各异的人交上了朋友。通过这些朋友，我学会了如何独立思考自己的生活，以及如何追求精神自由。这些人不仅是我终生的朋友，还在我后来经营新东方的事业中发挥了重要作用。他们中的一些人也成为了我在新东方的合伙人。第三，因为我的专业是英语，经过两年的学习，我逐渐有了阅读英文原著的能力。它极大地减少了我探索外面世界的障碍。结果就是我们英文专业的学生能够比其他同学更早地看到一个更大的世界。这段经历让我理解了任何问题都可以从多个角度来看待。它还帮助我养成了多维度思考的习惯。
In short, entering such a good university is undoubtedly a turning point in my life. It’s also a privilege. The most important thing is to be able to learn from friends that are better than me one way or another, because if you follow someone who is better than you, sooner or later, you become even better.
总之，进入这样一所好大学无疑是我人生中的一个转折点，也是一种特权。最重要的是能够从那些比我更优秀的朋友那里学习，如果你追随一个比你更好的人，你迟早会变得更好。
I remember that Warren Buffett once said, it’s better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behaviour is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction. There is no doubt that I was actually following that in Peking University. This is not a deliberate choice, but an opportunity given to me by such an environment. Of course, in a certain sense, it is also the result of my personal pursuit.
我记得沃伦•巴菲特曾经说过，与比你更优秀的人交往。挑选出那些比你优秀的伙伴，你就会朝那个方向发展。毫无疑问，我在北京大学就是这样做的。这不是一个深思熟虑的选择，而是这样一个环境给我的一个机会。当然，从某种意义上讲，这也是我个人追求的结果。
After my graduation, I remained in Peking University, working as an English teacher. Actually, I wasn’t a teacher in the true sense. I was a teaching assistant. I taught English classes to first-year university students, because at the time China required every university student to study English. Students were also required to pass college English test levelled at band 4 and 6. They can’t graduate if they fail the exams. So, some graduates of English major remained on campus and became an English teacher. Although this was only an unintentional act of teaching students English, it allowed me to stay at Peking University and I continued to gain more knowledge. The experience gave me two benefits. Firstly, teaching hours were only eight hours a week, leaving me with plenty of time to go to the library to study. Secondly, as a teaching assistant at Peking University, it gave me the access to reach out to many famous professors, communicating with them and asking questions. I learned a lot from these professors.
毕业后，我留在北京大学当英语老师。实际上，我不是真正意义上的老师，而是个助教。我教大学一年级的学生英语课，当时中国要求每个大学生都要学英语。学生还必须通过大学英语四级和六级考试。如果考试不及格，他们就不能毕业。于是，一些英语专业的毕业生留在了校园，成为了一名英语教师。虽然教学生英语只是一个无意的行为，但是它让我留在北京大学，继续获得更多的知识。这段经历给了我两个好处。首先，每周只有八个小时的教学时间，让我有足够的时间去图书馆学习。其次，作为北京大学的一名助教，它让我有机会接触到许多著名的教授，与他们交流并提出问题。我从这些教授那里学到了很多。
I had a very good time at Peking University for six years working as a teacher. There was a beautiful campus for me to take a walk, famous professors for me to look for advice and excellent students to communicate with. It was also a very good stepping stone in my personal development. I read a lot of books in six years, and the bookshelves in my small house in Beijing were full of thousands of books.
我在北京大学当了六年的教师，度过了一段非常愉快的时光。我在美丽的校园中散步，向著名的教授讨教，和优秀的学生交流。这也是我个人发展的一个很好的垫脚石。在六年的时间里，我读了很多书，在北京小房子的书架上，摆满了成千上万本书。
Later on, students around me and my university classmates started to go abroad to study in the United States. With more and more went abroad to study, I also had the idea to so. I passed the TOEFL and GRE exams and applied for American universities. Unfortunately, none of the universities offered me scholarships. At that time, as a poor teacher, I was unable to afford to study abroad. So, I started to teach as a tutor in a training institution to earn some money in the hope that I have the funds to study in the US. By doing so, I saw a different world outside the ivory tower and found out the training industry in China was very prosperous. I also realised that a large number of teachers were not effective in teaching students. I already gained rich experience in teaching, so I decided to open my own classes. However, Peking University was unhappy about what I was doing in running these classes. I was then punished by the University for tutoring outside. The punishment led me to resign. Because if you were not appreciated in our work, it’s better for you to move on. I made up my mind already that if I left Peking University, I would run a training school to use my teaching skills to coach more students, helping them get high scores so that they can pursue a better future. Looking back, the punishment at Peking University planted a seed for my future success.
后来，我周围的学生和我的大学同学开始出国学习。随着越来越多的人留学美国，我也有了这样的想法。我通过了托福和GRE考试，申请了美国大学。不幸的是，没有一所大学给我提供奖学金。那时候，作为一个穷老师，我负担不起出国留学的费用。于是，我开始在一家培训机构当家教，挣些钱，希望能有钱到美国去学习。通过这些经历，我看到了一个象牙塔以外的不同世界，并发现中国的培训行业是非常繁荣的。我也意识到很多老师在教学上并不是很有效率。此时我已经获得了丰富的教学经验，所以我决定开办自己的培训课程。然而，北京大学对我在开办这些课程感到不满。我因为在外面做家教而受到了学校的惩罚，这也直接导致了我的辞职。因为在我看来如果一个人在工作中得不到赏识，那么他最好另谋高就。我在那个时候就下定决心，如果我离开北京大学，我将开办一所培训学校，用我的教学技能来指导更多的学生，帮助他们获得高分，以便他们能够追求更美好的未来。回顾过往，北京大学的惩罚也为我未来的成功埋下了种子。
Leaving the University, I broke away from the path of a teacher who potentially would work my way to professor. I turned myself into an entrepreneur of a training institution. To be precise, I shouldn’t call myself an entrepreneur, but self-employed. This a term that carried a negative shade of meaning at the time in China, referring to someone who gave up iron rice bowl and came out of the system to make money.
离开北京大学断送了我成为一名大学老师甚至大学教授的道路。我变成了一家培训机构的企业家。准确地说，我不应该称自己为企业家，而应该称自己为个体户。在当时的中国，这个词带有负面的含义，指的是放弃铁饭碗，从制度中出来赚钱的人。
It is precisely because of the experience teaching at Peking University that gave me a deeply understanding of the huge influence a teacher has on students. For example, if the teacher has been passive and with negative energy , he or she will pass on the negativity to the students. If the teacher is positive, wise, and possess the capability to guide students, he or she will have a major impact on the students’future.
正是我在北京大学教书的经历，让我深刻理解了老师对学生的巨大影响。例如，如果老师一直是被动消极的，带着负能量，他或她将把消极的东西传递给学生。如果教师是积极的，明智的，并具有引导学生的能力，他或她将对学生的未来产生重大影响。
I have been a teacher for many years and have great respect for the profession. At New Oriental, we have nearly 35,000 teachers. I have always asked each and every teacher in New Oriental to bring positive and good influences on students. I have been thinking hard on the question, “What are the most important things as a teacher?” I would argue a good teacher has the following five characteristics:
我当了多年的教师，非常尊重这个职业。在新东方，我们有将近35,000名教师。我一直要求新东方的每一位老师都能给学生带来积极和良好的影响。我一直在认真思考这样一个问题：“作为一名教师，最重要的事情是什么？”我认为一个好老师有以下五个特点：
First, good teachers should inspire students with the enthusiasm to pursuit knowledge and truth. I believe teachers should teach students knowledge and truths, not just to help them pass exams, nor just for the students to remember some knowledge points in order to get into the university. From primary, to secondary and higher education, I think the most important thing for teacher is to instil students with a passion to pursuit knowledge and truths.
首先，好的教师应该激发学生追求知识和真理的热情。我相信老师应该教给学生知识和真理，而不仅仅是为了帮助他们通过考试，也不是为了让学生记住一些知识点才能进入大学。从小学到中学，再到高等教育，我认为教师最重要的是向学生灌输一种追求知识和真理的热情。
Second, good teachers should be able to teach and discuss knowledge in a positive language that stimulates students to think. If the teacher is indifferent to the teaching content, students are unlikely to participate actively. Knowledge can be more meaningful only when you teach in a way projecting positive happiness and the ability to stimulate thinking.
其次，好的教师应该能够用一种积极的语言来教授和讨论知识，从而激发学生的思考能力。如果教师对教学内容漠不关心，学生就不可能积极参与。只有当你以一种投射积极的快乐和激发思考的能力的方式进行教学时，知识才会更有意义。
Third, a good teacher pays attention to the all-round development of students. Many teachers are one dimensional in practice, only looking at whether students have solved questions in the classroom, whether students have learned the knowledge points, performed well in exam, or written good essays. I believe in addition to these, it’s more important for teachers to care about the development of students' personality, their well-being and morality. They should set examples to students in addition to provide them with advice. I also believe that teaching of knowledge must be based on wisdom. Teaching of knowledge is not to remember the knowledge points, but to internalize knowledge into part of students’ own pursuit of life and career.
第三，一个好的教师要注重学生的全面发展。许多教师在实践中是单向度的，只看学生是否在课堂上解决了问题，学生是否学到了知识点，考试成绩如何，或者文章写得好不好。我相信，除了这些，更重要的是关心学生的个性发展，他们的福祉和道德。除了向学生提供建议外，他们还应为学生树立榜样。我也相信知识的传授必须以智慧为基础。知识教学不是要记住知识点，而是要把知识内化到学生对生活和事业的追求中去。
Fourth, good teachers should encourage students to chase their dreams and future. A good teacher must always help students look into the future. Teachers should cultivate students the spirit to do their best to pursuit their dreams in the face of difficulties, encourage them do not give up, empower them with perseverance and resilience. Because, when we look into the beautiful things in the future, the sufferings and difficulties in front of our eyes no longer make us desperate. They become something that can be used to hone one’s will and pushes you to work harder!
第四，好的老师应该鼓励学生追求自己的梦想和未来。一位好老师必须总是帮助学生展望未来。教师应该培养学生在困难面前尽最大努力追求梦想的精神，鼓励他们不要放弃，赋予他们毅力和韧性。因为，当我们展望未来美好的事物时，眼前的痛苦和困难不再让我们绝望。他们成为可以用来磨练一个人的意志和推动你更努力工作的东西！
Fifth, a good teacher should also be an expert in family education. Teachers should be able to fully communicate with parents. Teachers can greatly facilitate a child’s growth in the right direction if they are on the same wavelengths with parents in a child’s education. I always believe that qualified parents raise qualified children. That is to say, in addition to the influence a teacher has on the child, it is necessary for them to have influence on the child’s family. The cooperation between the family and the school is essential for the good education of the children.
第五，好的教师也应该是家庭教育的专家。教师应该能够与家长充分沟通。教师可以极大地促进儿童在正确的方向上成长，如果他们在孩子的教育中与父母处于相同的波长上。我一直相信合格的父母会培养出合格的孩子。这就是说，除了教师对孩子的影响之外，他们还必须对孩子的家庭产生影响。家庭和学校之间的合作对于儿童的良好教育是必不可少的。
The above five points are a summary of my teaching experience through being a teacher at Peking University and New Oriental in more than 20 years. Now, I will talk about New Oriental.
以上五点是我20多年来在北京大学和新东方任教经验的总结。现在，我想谈谈新东方。
New Oriental started with a small English training class with only 13 students. After 26 years of hard work, New Oriental has become a comprehensive education system that covers the educational needs between the ages of 0 and 30. Our business includes kindergarten, primary and secondary after-school tutoring, overseas and domestic exam preparations, overseas study counselling, quality education, STEAM education, book publishing, online education and other businesses. We achieved in building such a system step by step. We also have a goal to connect all the business systems and create a platform for children to learn for life with New Oriental. We also aim to make New Oriental a content provider and platform for lifelong learning.
新东方从一个只有13名学生的小型英语培训班开始。经过26年的努力，新东方已成为一个涵盖0-30岁教育需求的综合性教育体系。我们的业务包括幼儿园、中小学课后辅导、国内外考试备考、留学辅导、素质教育、STEAM教育、图书出版、线上教育等等。我们在逐步建立这样一个综合性的体系。我们的目标是将所有的业务系统连接起来，为孩子们创造一个终身学习的平台。我们致力于使新东方成为终身学习的内容提供商和平台。
In the course of our development, New Oriental has experienced four stages in its missions. Our first mission is to be a bridge for students to study abroad and a rainbow for the returnees to start their businesses in China. New Oriental started with overseas test preparations which helped many Chinese students to study in the US, the UK, and so on. We help them to return to China to work after graduation. Of course, many Chinese students actually stayed in the United States after graduation, but more and more are returning to China. Later, New Oriental broadened its services in providing a full range of English language learning and we had a second mission in making New Oriental "the place where Chinese learn English". New Oriental continued its journey and entered training in many other disciplines, including Mathematics, Chinese, Physics, Chemistry, etc. New Oriental is no longer a place to learn English, and our mission becomes “Come to New Oriental for Your Dream”. Of course, it’s a bit vague and broad, so we have the fourth stage in our mission. We hope that through our efforts, we can cultivate a generation of Chinese that possess the ability and quality of “lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility”. As you may see, we are actually gradually entering the core of education because we believe that education should be "whole-person education". The so-called "holistic education" is not only about knowledge, but make student a better human being that can better serve the society. I think the four aspects are quite important, that is “lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility”. The mission is our responsibility to students and we have a long way to go.
在我们的发展过程中，新东方的使命经历了四个阶段的变化。我们的第一个使命是成为学生出国留学的桥梁，归国就业的彩虹。新东方从留学备考开始，帮助了许多中国学生到美国、英国等地学习。我们也帮助他们毕业后回到中国工作。当然，很多中国学生毕业后都留在了美国，但是越来越多的人回到了中国。后来，新东方拓展了提供全方位英语学习的服务，我们的第二个使命就是使新东方成为“中国人学习英语的地方”。之后，新东方继续强化英语培训的优势，并进入许多其他学科的培训，包括数学、语文、物理、化学等。新东方不再是一个单纯学习英语的地方，我们的使命变成了“为梦想而来新东方”。当然，它有点模糊和宽泛，所以我们有了第四个使命。我们希望通过我们的努力，培养出一代具有“终身学习、全球视野、独立人格、社会责任”的中国人。大家可以看到，我们其实是逐渐进入教育的核心，因为我们相信教育应该是“全人教育”。所谓“全人教育”，不只是知识教育，而是让学生成为更好的人，更好地为社会服务。我认为这四个方面是相当重要的，即“终身学习、全球视野、独立人格、社会责任”。这一使命是我们对学生的责任，我们任重道远。
New Oriental has done a lot. Yet, in terms of our goals, we have just begun. What we have done to the students in China is far from enough. The emergence of new technologies, whether Internet, artificial intelligence, big data, has had a major impact on all industries. In the field of education, it will have a more significant impact. Today, what New Oriental has to do is not only teach students knowledge or provide teachers with tools and contents, but to combine that with mobile internet, AI and big data. New Oriental has set up a research institute for AI+ education to experiment the combination of cutting-edge technologies and education. We are working hard to come up with products to enable students to learn more effectively and intelligently. At the same time, New Oriental is also actively working with public schools, promoting a smart and intelligent education system for public schools. Such kind of system has been developed for several years and can improve the overall learning efficiency for students in public schools, providing them with solutions.
新东方做了很多事。然而，就我们的目标而言，我们才刚刚开始。我们对中国学生所做的远远不够。新技术的出现，无论是互联网、人工智能、大数据，都对所有行业产生了重大影响。在教育领域，它将产生更重大的影响。如今，新东方所要做的不只是教给学生知识或为教师提供工具和内容，而是将其与移动互联网、人工智能和大数据相结合。新东方成立了研究人工智能+教育的AI研究院，尝试尖端技术与教育的结合。我们正在努力开发产品，使学生能够更有效、更聪明地学习。同时，新东方也正积极与公立学校合作，为公立学校推广一套高效、智能的教育系统。这样的系统已经开发了几年，可以提高公立学校学生的整体学习效率，为他们提供完整的解决方案。
China also faces the challenge in education equality and balance. China has invested huge amount of money in education in 40 years of reform and opening up. The investment is dozens of times more than it’s used to be. However, we still face the problem of education imbalances. Children in rural and mountainous areas are unable to receive good quality of education as children in the urban areas. With the development of technology, such as remote learning, dual teacher, we can do a lot of things in improving education equality in China. I believe the real development of China's future must be the development of education equality through technology, so that children in every corner can receive the best quality education in China, so that every child has the hope to have the opportunity to enter the best universities in the world.
中国也面临着教育公平与均衡的挑战。改革开放40年来，中国在教育方面投入了大量的资金。这项投资比以前多了几十倍。但是，我们仍然面临着教育不均衡的问题。农村和山区的儿童无法像城市儿童那样接受高质量的教育。随着远程教育、双师课堂等技术的发展，我们可以做很多事情来提高我国的教育均衡水平。我相信中国未来的真正发展，必须是透过科技推动教育平等，使每一个角落的儿童都能接受中国最好的优质教育，让每一个儿童都有机会进入世界一流的大学。
For an educational institution like New Oriental, I believe we must have the ability to serve the country and the society. We should educate students with independent thinking, good personality, sound knowledge and creativity. More importantly, we need to empower students with skills in lifelong learning, global vision, independent personality, and social responsibility. This is our mission today. As for the future of New Oriental, we hope to become an integrator and provider of excellent educational content, system and learning platform in China and the world. We hope that New Oriental becomes a lifelong learning service provider, providing high-tech and products from pre-school to lifelong education. We will also try to explore the combination of technology and education with human instructions. More importantly, we will devote ourselves to promote education equality in China, providing high-quality education services to children in rural areas in China, opening a bright path for their future.
作为一个像新东方这样的教育机构，我认为我们必须有为国家和社会服务的能力。我们应该培养学生独立思考的能力，良好的个性，扎实的知识和创造力。更重要的是，我们需要赋予学生终身学习、全球视野、独立人格和社会责任方面的技能。这是我们今天的任务。对于新东方的未来，我们希望成为中国和世界优秀教育内容、系统和学习平台的集成商和提供者。我们希望新东方成为终身学习的服务商，提供从学前教育到终身教育的高科技产品。我们还将努力探索技术和教育与人文教育的结合。更重要的是，我们将致力于促进中国的教育均衡，为中国农村儿童提供高质量的教育服务，为他们的未来开辟一条光明的道路。
Finally, I would like to say a few things about my personal goals.
最后，我想谈谈我的个人目标。
First, I hope to contribute to the "whole-person education" of Chinese children and their overall development. Second, I hope to do more in family education. New Oriental has been working in this area for more than a decade and I still feel there’s more to do. Third, I hope to contribute to the combination of technology and education. Fourth, I hope to do more to help children in rural areas to get better education. For example, this year I plan to return to a rural high school in a poverty stricken area to work as an honorary principal. I want to make efforts to bring some high-quality resources to such schools so that children in rural areas who may have no hope for high quality education will in one day enter a prestigious university in China or other countries.
首先，我希望为中国儿童的“全人教育”和他们的全面发展做出贡献。第二，我希望在家庭教育方面多做些工作。新东方在这方面已经工作了十多年，我仍然觉得还有更多的工作要做。第三，我希望为科技与教育的结合做出贡献。第四，我希望做更多的工作，帮助农村儿童获得更好的教育。例如，今年我打算到贫困地区的一所农村高中担任名誉校长。我希望努力为这些学校带来一些高质量的资源，帮助那些对高质量教育毫无希望的农村儿童有朝一日能够进入中国或其他国家的名牌大学。
For us, when we come into this world, in addition to satisfying ourselves with food and clothing, in addition to caring for our own family members, we always aspire to do something good for human development and social progress. That’s exactly what New Oriental is doing. And, that’s exactly what I’m doing. We also look forward to working together with other educational institutions and colleagues from the rest of the world to create a better education for the world. We often say that the economy is for today, politics is for tomorrow, but only education is for the future of mankind.
对我们来说，当我们来到这个世界上，除了满足自己的衣食需求，除了照顾我们自己的家庭成员，我们总是渴望做一些有益于人类发展和社会进步的事情。新东方就是这么做的，我也是这么做的。我们也期待着与其他教育机构和来自世界其他地方的伙伴合作，为世界创造更好的教育。我们常说，经济是为了今天，政治是为了明天，但只有教育才是为了人类的未来。
Now New Oriental has a slogan “A Better You, A Bigger World! ” Let’s become a better you, and then we can leave our children to go to a bigger, brighter world.
现在新东方有一个口号是“A Better You, A Bigger World!” 让我们成为一个更好的自己，帮助我们的孩子走向一个更大、更光明的世界。
Thank you!
谢谢大家！
