Ma Bao's father and I live in Melbourne, Australia, yes, the legendary most livable city in the world for seven consecutive years. When I stayed here, I really didn't think about whether it was livable or not, I just felt that the environment was better and the pressure of life was less. The arrival of Ma Bao's children made our originally comfortable and moist little family chickens fly and dogs jump, and people turn over on their backs, and I know that no matter in ** life, having children, is the same tired dog.
The two authentic Chinese raise babies in Australia, in addition to the tiredness of raising children, there are of course cultural differences. Although my father and I have lived here for more than ten years, we don't know anything about Australian parenting and basic education. In the process, my acceptance of Australian-style education is much higher, and in some places I even think it makes sense, compared with Chinese-style education, it also has its own advantages and disadvantages. Text, Picture Lydia
Edited by daisy
Australians "go with the flow".We Chinese emphasize "let children win at the starting line", and Australians are more "go with the flow" for children.
From the beginning of my pregnancy, I have seen the "nature" of Australians. Two months pregnant, I suddenly saw red, and the first time I was pregnant, of course, I was like a big enemy, and I hurried to see my family doctor.
The doctor said lightly, nothing, observe and observe. I often hear people say that red pregnancy is a threatened miscarriage, and it is necessary to protect the fetus in China. I could only ask the doctor with a dead face: "Am I having a threatened miscarriage, do I want to save the fetus?" ”
The doctor still replied lightly: "Even if there is nothing we can do, we will not do anything to protect the fetus in the first three months of pregnancy, if we can't keep it, it will only be the result of nature's survival of the fittest, and it will not be a healthy child if it is hard to protect." "Fortunately, I didn't have any major events later, and nature didn't eliminate Ma Bao.
When Ma Bao was 14 months old, I began to take her on a tour of the kindergarten near her home, which can also be said to be a nursery. Kindergartens in Australia can accommodate even a few months old babies, and I thought it was incredible when I first heard about it.
Ma Bao went to this kindergarten, the youngest class is basically a baby under the age of one, the youngest is six months old, and the oldest is one year old.
I have to say that foreigners advocate nature and feel that children are all climbing all over the ground, so they are really extraordinarily big, and it is really rare to hear that Chinese will send children under the age of one to kindergarten, even if the kindergarten teacher takes care of them carefully.
Ma Bao was already able to walk and run at that time, and at the age of one year and two months, she went directly to the second primary class, and most of the children in the class were one to two years old.
I followed the audition for two days, and everyone played casually during free activities, and during group activities, the teacher told stories, sang and danced, which should be similar to domestic kindergartens.
The difference is that because of the child's young age, the teacher has a small notebook to record the number and time of each child's diaper change.
Also, don't look at the "little bean buns" that are one or two years old, they eat all by themselves, even if they eat all over the ground, as long as the child is still holding a spoon and stuffing it into his mouth, the teacher doesn't care, and in the end he is only responsible for helping you clean up your clothes and the ground.
I am an authentic Chinese, and I have a little obsessive-compulsive disorder, first, I am worried that the child will not eat well, and second, I see that she eats so dirty, and I really have the urge to grab the bowl and feed myself, and I complain in my heart: This is too primitive, like a group of little savages.
Ma Bao is full of joy when he goes to kindergarten, and he is happy every day. I also slowly accepted that her clothes were as dirty as Peppa Pig jumped out of a mud puddle every day, becauseThe teacher told them to do whatever they wanted while it was safe to do so, the paint painting body, full of pants and sand or something are small cases.
I haven't been in kindergarten for a few months, and winter is coming. In the habits of Chinese, the weather is cold in winter, and children can be outdoors for a short time every day to breathe.
However, in Australian kindergartens, winter is still dominated by outdoor activities, which still makes children run around outdoors all day long, sometimes sweating while playing, and getting sick when the wind blows.
I don't remember how many times she caught a cold that winter, but I know that there were too many complaints from Chinese mothers, and the kindergarten posted a "The Importance of Winter Outdoor Activities" notice in Chinese on the wall of the kindergarten's entrance.
Once, the teacher called ** and said that Ma Bao had a fever and asked me to pick her up. As soon as I entered the door, I saw that the child was walking barefoot.
The teacher said that she had a fever and that taking off her socks was to dissipate heat and prevent her from burning higher, and that there was a more "natural" way to reduce fever than this?
My GP told me that children will be infected with hundreds of viruses before the age of five to build a healthy and strong immune system, and every time they are sick, the immune system will be more perfect, so don't be afraid of your child getting sick. Hearing this, I could only silently roll my eyes in my heart.
Marble is getting bigger, and I vaguely feel that these "natural" are not so bad. Ma Bao has rarely gotten sick since he was three years old, and it can also be said that he has had all the diseases he deserves, but he is "not invaded by a hundred poisons".
Every time I take her back to China to play, she is more mature and self-reliant in many ways than children of the same age in China.
For example, when she is more than two years old, she can already eat independently, eat well, dress and put on shoes by herself, organize toys, and use tools.
We Chinese like to take care of our children very thoughtfully, clean, for fear that the child will suffer a little sin, Australians are "going with the flow" to let the child grope and grow by himself.
This picture and process are often very difficult for Chinese parents to accept, but seeing Ma Bao growing up healthy and happy day by day, let's turn a blind eye for the time being.
Australian children's "interest classes" in the growth of Chinese children, how can there not be a few interest classes, piano, Go, calligraphy, dance and other interest classes that not only cultivate sentiment but also a lifelong talent are the favorite of Chinese parents.
In the Chinese circle in Australia, these are still the darlings of interest classes, so much so that there was once a local TV station that did a special program to discuss why all Chinese children learn piano, and there was no conclusion after discussion, but they were very incomprehensible.
When Ma Bao was more than four years old, there were many children of the same age in the surrounding Chinese families who were learning piano. In a Christmas observation meeting posted by the piano interest class**, almost all the twenty or thirty children brought by a teacher are Chinese faces.
On this issue, I choose to side with the Australians.
The original intention of many Australians to enroll their children in interest classes is simply to find something to do for their children, pass the time, and kill their energy.
Anyone who has ever brought a child knows that from the age of two or three, the energy of children is so strong, and the first thing they say when they open their eyes every day is "Where are we going to play today?" It's a little unbearable for adults to follow up for a day, so of course you have to find something to do for these energetic little people.
So what,The first interest class that Australian parents choose for their children is usually the most physically exhausting sports, such as ball games, swimming, but also golf, horseback riding, etc. In these courses, the children are very tired after a class, and they can definitely sleep well during the nap, and the mothers can also have time to take a breath and do something of their own.
Doing more exercise can also strengthen the body, and the overall physical fitness of the Australian people is high, which is inseparable from the important factor of the whole people's love for sports.
Most of the Chinese children have not exercised much or even at all under the pressure of exam-oriented education in recent years, which is actually very bad.
That's how I came over myself, so I don't want my children to be like me, sitting in front of the piano every day since they were four or five years old, not playing or jumping, not even a good sport.
The first interest class I gave Ma Bao was a ball game for children aged two to five. The children are divided into three age groups and learn five types of balls: football, basketball, tennis, rugby and cricket, with one ball game every two weeks so that the children do not lose interest.
The first part of each class is a warm-up. The teacher will make the group of little ones stand in a row, which sounds simple, but in fact is the most difficult part.
In the three- to four-year-old age group where Ma Bao is in class, some children are still holding pacifiers, some are holding their mothers and refuse to go out to line up, and some are standing well and suddenly run away to play by themselves, I really admire the patience of the teacher.
Finally, the teacher will play some familiar nursery rhymes, and the children will follow the teacher to warm up on the spot.
Imagine a row of dozen or so three- and four-year-old things stretching out their arms, kicking their legs and twisting their butts, that picture is really very joyful. Then it's a run, run three laps with the teacher, and the warm-up is completed.
The second part of a lesson is ball skills. For example, in basketball, the teacher will teach some basic dribbling skills and do some shooting exercises.
Of course, basketballs and hoops are specially designed for children of this height. The last part is the game, the game is different in each class, sometimes the teacher will design some small games related to the ball game in this class, and sometimes it will also "zoom in" -
Set up the entire obstacle course and play the children's favorite "Crossing the Obstacles". It seems that they have been playing, but in fact, the children have also learned to abide by discipline, work as a team and discover their own interests in the play.
After Ma Bao went to elementary school, he did not hesitate to choose basketball first in various after-school club activities. She says she's played so many sports, basketball is her favorite.
I accompanied her to the first two basketball drills, and watching her skillfully dribble and pass the ball, even in the face of her senior classmates, I realized that this is actually the power of a person's interest.
Probably the fundamental difference between Australians and Chinese interest classes for children is that Australians let children find their own interests, while Chinese cultivate children's interests according to their parents' preferences.
Very few local children in Australia learn musical instruments at a young age, because for such a young age, they can't really like to practice every day from the bottom of their hearts.
In that case, it's better to wait, instead of forcing children to do things they don't like, why not let them do what they like?
Australian children's "cultural classes" all say that Western countries do not pay attention to children's cultural classes, but in fact, people also have to take the university entrance examination, and middle schools and primary schools are also ranked second by scores.
Why do Australian children look relaxed? In general, the method and focus of Chinese education are still different.
The most important thing in Australian education is the ability to read. There are a lot of libraries of all sizes, and there is a small but well-equipped community library near my house.
I'm ashamed to say that before Marbao, we lived in this neighborhood for several years and never visited. When Ma Bao was more than two years old, at the suggestion of the kindergarten teacher, I began to borrow books for my children, which could not only access more books but also save a lot of money.
The library will give each child a special bag for borrowing books, a book notes and reward stickers for writing and drawing, and for each small goal (such as reading 20 books), you can ask the mother to put a reward sticker on the book.
The library's advice is that parents should read with their children, and that their children should read a thousand books before they go to school.
1,000 books, that is, from the age of two to the age of five, insist on reading one every day, what book to read, it doesn't matter whether you are literate or not, it is to develop the habit of reading books.
After Ma Bao went to elementary school, he had homework from the first day of school, and his homework was the same every day, which was to read a book.
The teacher brings a book home to each student every day, a thin story book of less than ten pages, each page is mainly **, only about one or two lines of words, and after reading, you should write a feeling after reading, and you can also write a sentence.
The content and difficulty of the books distributed by the teacher are also combined with the school curriculum, and although I read a story book, I also reviewed the content I learned during the day and continued to read every day.
In my opinion, this is the same as our Chinese's "own ** house in the book", and cultivating children's habit of reading from an early age is beneficial for life.
Western countries attach great importance to the cultivation of learning ability, and teachers believe that the process of exploring answers is more important than answers, which is the biggest difference between Chinese and Western education methods.
The reason why Chinese-style education is also called test-oriented education or even cramming education is largely because teachers teach, students learn, and if they don't understand, then it's good to memorize it.
"Memorize" is not without benefits, the basic knowledge is solid and solid, to take the simplest example, multiplication small ninety-nine, we Chinese have memorized it since childhood and can't forget it for a lifetime, and many foreigners need to press the calculator.
However, the disadvantage of this type of education is that children do not enjoy the process of learning and exploring, but directly get the answers and go to the end.
Australia's education model is more of a roundabout tacticFor example, if the teacher asks a question, first the children will discuss in groups, the teacher will join the discussion of each group, give some opinions and hints, and then let each group explain their own answers, and finally the teacher will give the correct answer.
For the older students, the teacher will throw out a question to give the students many days to study, and also encourage them to borrow books from the library to find the answer. Learning in this way will become more interesting, and children will have a sense of accomplishment, as well as a spirit and ability to delve into it.
Australia is also now taking STEAM education very seriously. STEAM is the abbreviation of science, technology, arts, engineering, mathematics, and is a star concept that has swept the global education community in recent years.
Since Ma Bao started kindergarten, there will be a "science lady" every week to accompany the children to do handicrafts, when they are young, they are like playing, such as making some small sailboats, and everyone puts them in the water together to check the water to see whose boat is faster.
When you are older, you will do some simple chemical experiments, such as what is added to a transparent liquid to change color, and what is added to make it transparent. For little ones, it's as appealing as magic.
After entering elementary school, there is a regular STEAM class every week, and the younger students start with the simplest but children's favorite - building Lego.
The teacher will ask you to make a thing, such as an excavator, but instead of giving you a drawing like in a Lego box, and teach you how to do it step by step, you will have to figure out how to make it yourself.
The teacher will prepare some relevant books for the students, and each person will be given an ipad for you to search**, etc., and the students will have to figure out how to complete it by themselves. Older students will of course have more difficult projects, such as making a model of an excavator that can actually move.
STEAM education can stimulate children's interest in science, and enhance hands-on and problem-solving skills, so it is now a must-have curriculum for almost all primary and secondary school students in Australia.
Overall, I am still acceptable to Australian-style education. Ma Bao's child has just entered primary school, and there is still a long way to go, and I will also let her absorb the advantages of Chinese education, at least, Xiao Jiujiu still has to be able to memorize it......