当我得知自己将有机会与美国佛蒙特州第81任州长Peter Shumlin见面 ,我就想问他关于教育的问题。Shumlin州长与外国政要们在高层政治方面拥有第一手经验——我想知道我们教育的目的是什么?
这个世界的节奏是疯狂的，我的新闻里到处充斥着全球消费造成的影响，环境、政治和社会影响着生活在第一世界的人们想要消费更多东西的欲望。也许是我到了中年，但我认为这个世界是一团糟。我想知道，这是我们这一代的遗产吗？我要留给下一代完成什么？
Shumlin州长带着他那极富感染力的乐观主义说到: “这一代人意识到，他们有这样的负担，多多少少是前几代人遗留下来的。然而，没有哪一代人面临挑战更大的说法，如果他们可以在除了等级和分数之外，发展对世界的了解，语言技能，最重要的是学习如何与他人合作和互动，这些从未如此重要过。”
在我们继续的谈话当中，他提到了两个很有力量和变革性的话题。他强调作为父母要愿意投资“发展灵魂”并且允许孩子“自由地犯错”。
– 发展灵魂 –
在我这一代的世界观里通往成功的路线图是如此简单——获得大学学位。进入大学的申请程序要求越来越多，诸如要上这些课程、参与这些活动、与哪些导师合作等等。
“如果你看看美国父母的错误，当他们拥有巨大的繁荣时，他们太过溺爱自己的孩子，并且认为通过某种方式非常小心地规划他们的生活就能保证孩子们的未来是父母希望的那样”，Shumlin州长说到。当有人告诉你是谁以及如何做的时候，“我是谁”就没有身份定义，没有意义了。
如今，大学招生官和企业雇主比以往任何时候都更青睐于看到他们发出独立的声音、有自我意识、创造力、协作并致力于发展。根据Shumlin州长所言: “大学现在想要知道，他们的生活中是否有过让他们发挥独立性的经历、去实验、去探索和给予他人的经历，或者有一些比他们的学术成绩和结构化的生活更重要的东西? 他们的灵魂里有什么？
– 自由地犯错 –
Shumlin州长说：“他们知道，如果这一代人不能仅仅依靠能源，他们的未来就不会幸福。但其中的机会是非凡的…不仅仅是经济, 而且整个地球仰仗这一代人推动世界的新技术。” 作为父母，我们有时会陷入这样的陷阱:
如果我们以某种方式计划孩子的生活，我们可以控制局面并将知识转移给他们。与之相反，Shumlin州长相信 “孩子们必须自己去学习，自己去发现。他们会像我们一样犯错误。如果你过度计较于好奇心、创造力和允许他们犯错而产生的代价，你就剥夺了你的孩子，你最爱的人，学习如何创新，探索和寻找幸福的机会。”我们犯错误，我们前进，我们转向，我们反思——成功创新的关键存在于错误之中。
Shumlin州长同时提到，现在没有比中国更合适的地方了。 “当你想到这所学校的价值，以及这所学校正在做的事，这就是历史上最完美的地方，最完美的时刻。”州长如此说到。
– 未来 –
Shumlin州长的讲话和通过教育对世界做出持久的改变的热情着实让我这位第X代有4个孩子的母亲产生强烈共鸣。我是在美国的一个移民家庭长大的，我的父母为我寻找教育机会致力于改变我的未来。将来成为一名医生、律师、工程师是通向稳定和安全未来的道路。
如今，我自己的孩子身处如此快速改变的世界，他们需要考虑更远–他们需要关注这个未来–这个世界的未来，以及未来的几代人。只有当这代人选择运用他们的技能和智慧，并带着他们的同情心和抱有理解的精神来改善全人类，才会发生持久的改变。
我和我的丈夫，我们选择了上海西华外籍人员子女学校（WISS）, 中国第一所认证全阶段国际课程的学校，因为学校的使命和核心价值观于我们对孩子的期望产生了深刻的共鸣。我们希望孩子能够学习学术严谨的IB课程，以及他们的知识和技能能被用来塑造未来的观念。我们希望成为一个志同道合的社区中的一份子（家长们，学生们，老师们），我们在这一愿景中分享教育的未来。
作为一名家长，Shumlin州长的发言既充满希望，又令人生畏。这让我们感到畏惧，因为我们要让我们的孩子们在一个繁荣和富裕的时代成长起来，留下的问题是过度消费和浪费，以及随之而来的政治和社会影响。
然而，希望在于身为父母的我们能同心协力“发展灵魂”，并让创造力在允许“自由地犯错”中流动，那么我们将真正把这个世界交接给孩子们富有同情心的双手，有能力去胜任做出真正和持久的改变。这是我能与之共存的未来。
When I heard that I had the opportunity to talk about education with Governor Peter Shumlin (81st Governor of the state of Vermont, USA, I knew immediately what I wanted to ask. Governor Shumlin has shared the world stage with foreign dignitaries and has firsthand experience in top level political engagement – I want to know – What are we educating for?
The pace of this world is frenetic – my newsfeed is populated with snippets of the effects of global consumption – environmental, political and social implications to the first world desire to consume more of everything. Maybe it’s middle-age but I think this world is a mess. And I wonder, is this the legacy of my generation? What am I leaving for the next generation, my children, to clean up?
Governor Shumlin, and his infectious optimism, states it this way, “This generation realizes, they have this burden, in many ways dumped on them by previous generations. However, there is no generation that is more up to the challenge, if they can, in addition to grade and scores, develop world understanding, language skills and most importantly learning how to cooperate and interact with each other. It’s never been more important.”
As we continue our conversation, two things he discusses are strikingly powerful and transformative for me as a parent. He emphasizes that parents must be willing to invest in “developing the soul” and allowing children the “freedom to make errors.”
– Developing The Soul –
In my generation, the roadmap to a worldly view of success was so simple- get a university degree. The application process to get into university became increasingly prescribed—take these courses, be involved in these activities, engage tutors, etc.
“If you look at the mistake that was made by American parents when they had huge prosperity it was in over indulging their kids and thinking that by somehow prescribing their lives very carefully they can somehow guarantee them the kind of future parents wants their kids to have,” states Governor Shumlin. There is no sense of identity formulation about “who I am” when someone is telling you who and how to be.
Now more than ever, the independent voice, self-awareness, creativity and collaboration and commitment to development are coveted in university admissions and by employers. According to Governor Shumlin, “Universities now want to know, have they any experience in their lives that have allowed them to exert independence, experiment and explore and give to other people or have some because that is bigger than their academic and structured life? What is in their soul?”
– The Freedom to Make Errors –
“If this generation doesn’t get it right on just energy alone, they know, that their future is not a happy one. But the opportunity in that is extraordinary…It’s not just economic but the entire globe depends upon this generation in order to move the world forward with new technology,” states Governor Shumlin.
As parents, we sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that if we plan out our children’s lives, somehow, we can control the transfer of knowledge. Contrastingly, Governor Shumlin believes that:
“Kids have to learn it themselves, make their own discoveries. They will make mistakes just like we did. If you overindulge at the expense of curiosity, creativity and some freedom to make errors, you deprive your child, the one you love the most, the opportunity to learn how to innovate, explore and find happiness.” We make mistakes, we carry forward, wepivot, we reflect–the crux of successful innovation is actually found inerror.
And according to Governor Shumlin, there is no better place to be right now than China. “When you think of the values of this school and what this school is doing it’s the perfect place to be at the perfect time in history,”says the Governor.
– THE Future –
Governor Shumlin’s word sand his passion for education to address and make lasting change in this world really struck a chord with me as a Generation X mother of four young children. I grew up in an immigrant family in the United States and my parents sought education opportunities for me that were focused on changing MY future. A future doctor, lawyer, engineer was the path to a stable and secure future.
Now, with my own children, with this rapid changing world, they need to think beyond themselves--they need to care about THE future–the future of this world and generations to come. Lasting change will only happen when this generation chooses to utilize their skills and intellect coupled with aspirit of compassion and understanding for the betterment of humanity.
For my husband and I, we have chosen Western International School of Shanghai (WISS), China’s first full continuum International Baccalaureate school because the Mission and Core Values of the school resonate so deeply with what we want for our children. We want our children to have the academic rigor of the IB curriculum and the mindset that their knowledge and skills are purposed to shape the future of the world. We wanted to be part of a like-minded community(parents, students and teachers) who shared in this vision for the future of education.
As a parent, Governor Shumlin’s statements are simultaneously hopeful and daunting. It’s daunting because of burden we are leaving our children having grown up in an age of prosperity and wealth which has left a residual of our consumption waste and ensuing political and social implications.
However, the hope that if we commit as parents to “develop the soul” and allow creativity to flow through a “freedom oferrors” we will actually leave this world in the capable, compassionate hands of our children to make real and lasting change. This is a future I can live with.
Maria English
来自西华外籍人员子女学校的家长(WISS parent)
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