『親子教養篇』 – 陪孩子迎向未來 – 學前月刊總編輯黃美湄

新的一年先和關心孩子的您說個國外的故事。

There was a father who took his child to a prestigious college, and this father wanted his child to take shorter classes than others. He said to the dean, "My son will never be able to take all the classes, and I want him to graduate quickly. The dean responded, "Oh, yes! Oh!" The dean responded, "Oh! He can take a crash course and you can mold him the way you want him to be. It takes God a hundred years to make an oak tree, but it only took Him two months to make a pumpkin."

姑且不論像樹和南瓜各有各的價值，但要「怎樣收穫，先怎樣栽」是明顯可見的，只不過生長在這個變遷快速又趨向全球化的年代，父母很難看透：什麼才是孩子長大後足以依存的優勢。現在流行與熱門的學習，對將來是不是一定有用？學有專長但並非志趣時，算不算幸福？生活環境品質一再面臨挑戰時，又該何以面對？當未來合作與競爭並不單單是自己生長的所在時，如何與他人交流或展現自己的特色才能有所成就？這些問題錯綜複雜連趨勢專家都小心翼翼翻新論點，隨時修正，父母自然也不是憑著速成的方法，就可以為孩子的未來來鋪好路，然後高枕無憂。

In order for children to be competitive for future survival, it is necessary to be prepared and yet maintain enough flexibility. The direction of preparation depends on how much the parents know about the surrounding environment and how broad their vision is; on the other hand, it depends on their own attitude towards life and what they expect from their children. From the interviews of many professors, we have come up with a fundamental answer: Bring your children to read and live well from a young age! In reading, children will be able to construct their own answers to life's questions and learn to face the society they will live in.

I am reminded of something I read - Alexander the Great once asked the philosopher Diogenes what he wanted as a reward. The philosopher, an advocate of frugality, said casually, "Move over, please, and give me some sunshine! When raising a child, accompaniment and letting go are always two sides of the same coin. When you are trying to manage your child's future with the best of intentions, first look at what is the sunshine in his eyes!