星期三, 7月 23, 2014

幼稚生通識

劉天賜個人專頁 第一屆全港幼稚園通識問答比賽,有200多間幼稚園參加。經過首輪遴選後,16間學校成功進入決賽,每間入圍學校選出K1、K2及K3學生各一名,(兩歲多至五歲)分組在台上對賽,以淘汰制選出最終勝出者。對我而言,不論怎樣友善,都產生反感,如果當今世界,該如此『教育』小朋友知識?我真的生錯了時代! 讓大家看看統一後的廿一世紀德國,歐盟中流坻柱,文明先進的社會,怎樣教育下一代,尤其幼兒。 德國幼稚教育強調兩個方面:一是事實與環境教育。二是實際生活與家政教育。 世球生病了,日語常用『公害』二字形容人類正在污染地球,下一代怎面對?德國幼兒已教育對周圍環境感到興趣及責任,直接觀察體驗自然。引導接觸自然,欣賞自然,從少知這個人類大責。看,教幼兒教導收拾及整理垃圾,香港家長怎想?教子弟做垃圾佬乎?這正是意識上大不同了。 實際生活上的必須具備的技能。如穿衣,熟悉使用各種玩具,認識每年的重要事件,掌握家務勞動技能(整理房間、洗衣做飯等),熟悉交通規則,學習一些儀器使用(收錄機、煎烤箱),對緊急情況作出反應。這些都是他們實用的生活技能,總不會連縛鞋帶也須佣人幫忙吧。記得五十年代唸幼稚園,沒有課本的,老師教導生活上的技能,如廁衛生,身體衛生,集體生活的規矩,如何做一個有禮貌的小朋友,如何對父母兄弟姊妹、同學老師,怎樣對待工人,店舖及服務員。後來知道這一切都是:倫理教育,責任心、是非心、誠信心都是這個一張白紙時代烙印在小朋友心底的。 正如參加比賽某校長所言,注重德育重於常識。那時,兩年制幼稚園教什麼文化知識?記得沒有英文,連廿六個字母也不教。中文只在高班教一些實用字,例如:父、母、兄弟、手足等,沒有超過十劃漢字喲!他日應考(都是名校),主考拿出生字卡問考生,正是這些字。主要看這位小考生的態度、禮貌,衣服鞋襪頭髮衛生,以及懂得應對。 中國孩子必要遵行中國傳統的生活態度:知所進退,知道處身什麼環境,面對什麼人,作出什麼行為及發出什麼語言,現代話是:『扮演什麼角色』。這要從蒙童時代開始授與的。 或者認為,上述的話十分封建,不合時宜,今天香港社會已不是五六十年前的社會了,不能『輸在起跑線』,而且,所所名校都嚴格篩選『精英兒童』入讀,趨勢是一年級生的補習老師已教三年級的課文。家長出盡八寶加強『填鴨式』灌輸,期望子弟能出人頭地,成為菁英中之菁英! 將來便可一世衣食不憂,好好過活。經營的學校也順從『顧主』家長心意,為難了這些幼兒。你同意這種教育嗎?

星期六, 7月 19, 2014

Are you raising nice kids? A Harvard psychologist gives 5 ways to raise them to be kind

Washington Post - July 19, 2014 Amy Joyce ,editor and a writer for On Parenting. Earlier this year, I wrote about teaching empathy, and whether you are a parent who does so. The idea behind it is from Richard Weissbourd, a Harvard psychologist with the graduate school of education, who runs the Making Caring Common project, aimed to help teach kids to be kind. I know, you’d think they are or that parents are teaching that themselves, right? Not so, according to a new study released by the group. About 80 percent of the youth in the study said their parents were more concerned with their achievement or happiness than whether they cared for others. The interviewees were also three times more likely to agree that “My parents are prouder if I get good grades in my classes than if I’m a caring community member in class and school.” Weissbourd and his cohorts have come up with recommendations about how to raise children to become caring, respectful and responsible adults. Why is this important? Because if we want our children to be moral people, we have to, well, raise them that way. “Children are not born simply good or bad and we should never give up on them. They need adults who will help them become caring, respectful, and responsible for their communities at every stage of their childhood,” the researchers write. The five strategies to raise moral, caring children, according to Making Caring Common: 1. Make caring for others a priority Why? Parents tend to prioritize their children’s happiness and achievements over their children’s concern for others. But children need to learn to balance their needs with the needs of others, whether it’s passing the ball to a teammate or deciding to stand up for friend who is being bullied. How? Children need to hear from parents that caring for others is a top priority. A big part of that is holding children to high ethical expectations, such as honoring their commitments, even if it makes them unhappy. For example, before kids quit a sports team, band, or a friendship, we should ask them to consider their obligations to the group or the friend and encourage them to work out problems before quitting. Try this • Instead of saying to your kids: “The most important thing is that you’re happy,” say “The most important thing is that you’re kind.” • Make sure that your older children always address others respectfully, even when they’re tired, distracted, or angry. • Emphasize caring when you interact with other key adults in your children’s lives. For example, ask teachers whether your children are good community members at school. Advertisement 2. Provide opportunities for children to practice caring and gratitude Why? It’s never too late to become a good person, but it won’t happen on its own. Children need to practice caring for others and expressing gratitude for those who care for them and contribute to others’ lives. Studies show that people who are in the habit of expressing gratitude are more likely to be helpful, generous, compassionate, and forgiving—and they’re also more likely to be happy and healthy. How? Learning to be caring is like learning to play a sport or an instrument. Daily repetition—whether it’s a helping a friend with homework, pitching in around the house, or having a classroom job—make caring second nature and develop and hone youth’s caregiving capacities. Learning gratitude similarly involves regularly practicing it. Try this • Don’t reward your child for every act of helpfulness, such as clearing the dinner table. We should expect our kids to help around the house, with siblings, and with neighbors and only reward uncommon acts of kindness. • Talk to your child about caring and uncaring acts they see on television and about acts of justice and injustice they might witness or hear about in the news. • Make gratitude a daily ritual at dinnertime, bedtime, in the car, or on the subway. Express thanks for those who contribute to us and others in large and small ways. 3. Expand your child’s circle of concern. Why? Almost all children care about a small circle of their families and friends. Our challenge is help our children learn to care about someone outside that circle, such as the new kid in class, someone who doesn’t speak their language, the school custodian, or someone who lives in a distant country. How? Children need to learn to zoom in, by listening closely and attending to those in their immediate circle, and to zoom out, by taking in the big picture and considering the many perspectives of the people they interact with daily, including those who are vulnerable. They also need to consider how their decisions, such as quitting a sports team or a band, can ripple out and harm various members of their communities. Especially in our more global world, children need to develop concern for people who live in very different cultures and communities than their own. Try this • Make sure your children are friendly and grateful with all the people in their daily lives, such as a bus driver or a waitress. • Encourage children to care for those who are vulnerable. Give children some simple ideas for stepping into the “caring and courage zone,” like comforting a classmate who was teased. • Use a newspaper or TV story to encourage your child to think about hardships faced by children in another country. 4. Be a strong moral role model and mentor. Why? Children learn ethical values by watching the actions of adults they respect. They also learn values by thinking through ethical dilemmas with adults, e.g. “Should I invite a new neighbor to my birthday party when my best friend doesn’t like her?” How? Being a moral role model and mentor means that we need to practice honesty, fairness, and caring ourselves. But it doesn’t mean being perfect all the time. For our children to respect and trust us, we need to acknowledge our mistakes and flaws. We also need to respect children’s thinking and listen to their perspectives, demonstrating to them how we want them to engage others. Try this: • Model caring for others by doing community service at least once a month. Even better, do this service with your child. • Give your child an ethical dilemma at dinner or ask your child about dilemmas they’ve faced. 5. Guide children in managing destructive feelings Why? Often the ability to care for others is overwhelmed by anger, shame, envy, or other negative feelings. How? We need to teach children that all feelings are okay, but some ways of dealing with them are not helpful. Children need our help learning to cope with these feelings in productive ways. Try this Here’s a simple way to teach your kids to calm down: ask your child to stop, take a deep breath through the nose and exhale through the mouth, and count to five. Practice when your child is calm. Then, when you see her getting upset, remind her about the steps and do them with her. After a while she’ll start to do it on her own so that she can express her feelings in a helpful and appropriate way.

星期五, 7月 11, 2014

書展贈興

劉天賜2012年寫的贈興文 書展贈興 每年書展,例必人山人海,整個灣仔北熱鬧起來,比首長訪問更加『好』氣氛。 有趣的問題是:香港人不是『書蟲族』,缺乏閱讀書籍生活習慣,家中或有報章、八卦雜誌,而沒有書櫃,不似外國如德、日等國,人人家中有書房,客人以看書為交誼話題。英、美、法等國書店,佔地頗大,各類書籍出版繁榮,偏鋒類書籍亦大有銷路,反映出:外地看書風氣的確普遍。人們渡假,在交通工具中,沙灘泳池旁,皆手執一本小書,享受閱讀樂趣,消閒以看書為樂,入睡前亦以看書平伏一天煩惱,知識乃快樂之源。香港旅客正忙於水療、按摩、購物,一天六餐吃過不停了。 然而,不是『書香之香港』,竟每年錄得六十、七十萬人次入書展,奇乎? 當年,有青少年通宵在會展門外等候,令人感動。卻原來他們是搶入去爭購漫畫社出產有限發售的『武器紀念品』,可炫耀同儕,又可圖利的,與好看書完全無關,迫爆玻璃門,咎由自取。及後,又有『(口靚)模』寫真集出現,也令會場多了吸引力,可惜並不是一本好書帶來位吸引力,只是好事之徒俗興而已。 書展發展至此,提升港人看書興趣,發展出版事業等等口號,受到嚴重考驗了。一個地方閱讀風氣乃因該地社會文化的氣氛做成,不是由政府官員被派到所謂『文化局』便可倡導文化事業及出版事業的。因為搞文化的原來不是『文化人』,只是閉門造車者,技術官僚而已。『文化產業』四字好聽好講,人人以為可成為本少利大無煙工業之一,如今天的韓國大賺外快,殊不知道,文化產需要國家社會民族深厚的文化底蘊,加上言論、出版自由,民風好雅,再加上政府間接直接的鼓勵政策,如免減創作人的入息稅,出版社的利得稅,在國際上推動本土文化特色等等工作。 今天香港的『文化產業』、『文化事業』不過是絕地求生的中小企生產工作,每年書展,似大型銷書市場,而推銷的多是『俗市場』副產品。市面興講飲食,則大量食譜出籠,興瘦身,則大量減肥書面世,搞噱頭,明星效應,圖牟急利。 每當文化產業受利用成牟利工具時,即失去了文化光彩,意義也薄弱。而文化作為大城市『裝飾外衣』,要興建什麼偉大的文化區、地標等想法,也會是金玉其外,敗絮其中,卒成負資產,聽養老鼠而已。 如果政治利用文化作為政權宣傳,侵佔一份話語權,增大影響力,一切為政治服務,則不是真正文化活動,乃是政治活動,為政權向人民洗腦了。