英國一中學說謊不受罰 稱鍛鍊交流能力

英國劍橋的珀斯中學學生犯錯後不會立即受到懲罰，而是得到十秒的自我開脫時間，如果能在十秒內用巧妙的言辭爲自己犯錯找到藉口，便可免受懲罰。該校校長稱，不會允許學生謊話連篇，但無傷大雅的善意謊言是可以接受的。他表示，在很短的時間內用言語讓自己擺脫困境是人生中很重要的一課，可以鍛鍊學生的交流能力。這位校長在一次採訪中表示，作爲校長，他希望通過十秒鐘自我開脫的方式培養思維敏捷、能言善辯的下一代。有人抗議稱校長此舉意在把學生培養成說謊成性的政客，不過一位辯論專家卻對此稱讚有加。

Telling a lie can get you on Santa's naughty list, but it could get you on the Dean's list at one British school.

Students at the Perse School in Cambridge, England, can avoid punishment for minor offenses, provided they can come up with quick, clever excuses for their transgressions within 10 seconds.

Headmaster Ed Elliott won't allow complete B.S., but "white lies" may be acceptable.

"It's a great lesson in life to talk your way out of a tight corner in a very short period of time," Elliot told the BBC.

Rewarding a child for lying may seem counter-intuitive, but Elliot believes he's fostering important communication skills.

“As head I like to play my part in creating a quick-thinking, communication ‘savvy’ generation, by giving students who have committed a minor offense 10 seconds to talk their way out of a punishment," he told the Cambridge News. "Many rise admirably to the challenge, and in so doing develop the charm and eloquence needed in the next generation of British entrepreneurs and wealth creators.”

The school's alum includes luminaries such as Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour, but Elliott suggests his "lie-dea" may give current students the right verbal skills to succeed in the world, according to the Telegraph.

Some wags have protested that Elliott is merely training students to be politicians, reported, but rhetoric expert Sam Leith thinks it's a brilliant idea -- no lie.

"You can see this being a really important life skill and actually politicians, some of them, are the absolute straight arrow, but often the ones who get further are the artful dodgers," Leith told the BBC.