孩子上国际学校第一周，老师给家长的一封信。真的好感动

tibet2010

Dear Mr. XML,

Thank you for your e-mail. Please accept my apologies for my emai lnot reaching you- I had lost my wifi connection and my outlook program did not inform that my email had not left my inbox.

Jenny has adjusted well in this first full week at XXX. She has shown to be a dilligient student who concerns herself with making sure she understands the teachers expectations on schoolwork and homework. There was one instance on Wednesday when I did need to remind her on multiple occasions that she cannot read  'manhua' in class; however, seeing as it is difficult AND exhausting to be in an all-English environmetn (especially in the first week), it is understandable and I have faith she will not repeat this.

On Monday she will  sit our math entrance exam (things were rather hectic this first week, with projects, final assessments to do, the spelling bee and the choosing of books for novel studies....quite a first week for her in a new school!  

A large part of her vocab lists will be math terms, as I believe this is one area where her prior knowledge can help her shine in class, as well as improve her English. I will have a laminated, bilingual vocab sheet that she can use during math class. I will also have several mp3 files for her to practice her listening & speaking skills (will key words and phrases of math, as well as other subjects in the file); written text will be included.

For Wednesday, Jenny is expected to give a powerpoint presentation, in Chinese, about Confuciunism. I will have a powerpoint template prepared for her on Monday and she can fill it in with the info from her research. She will also have the chance to practice her oral presentation skills- speaking loudly/ slowly/ clearly, while standing straight.  I hope she will have the chance to practice with an adult at home.

As for this weekend, I would like to ask if you could help her continue reseaching her topic.

Our Central Idea is People have different Belief Systems  ;

and our 3 Lines of Inquiry are:  1) what is a belief system
                                                   2) The similarities and differences between belief systems
                                                   3) How belief systems affect our daily lives

We have explained to the students that a belief system is NOT always a religion (?? being one example). having said that, the students have put much effort into studying Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and Hinduism , as well as Shinto and Taoism. We have also discussed how living in a country that has a large influence from a certain religion (Asia= Buddhism ; Middle East= Islam India= Hinduism ; USA = Chrstianity) can affect your life due to cultural traditions and / or laws.

I would like Jenny to focus on Confucius' history (birth, hometown, life/work, death, followers/students, etc...) and how his teachings have affected China thru the centuries; also how it affects modern-day China, if at all (has it changed? Is Confuciunism experiencing a 'rebirth' ? etc..)

Also, she should research how Confucius became a quasi-religion and people began to think he was a god, but not anymore (and why).

She can also write about how Confuciunism has affected other countries/cultures in Asia.

For this weekend, she needs to create a PIE CHART about the current number (and % ) of believers of each religion here in China. (using MS Word)

She should also gather photos/ images (and a timeline, if she can find one) about Confucius and his followers, hometown, etc...

For the most part, this is a research paper about FACTS. However, on Monday & Tuesday I hope to help Jenny to make the connection between Confuciunism and moChinese society  (both traditional/ historical AND modern) : social rules, laws, traditions, customs, rites of passage (naming ceremonies, marriage, funerals, etc..)  music, literature, respect for the dead (??)

Mr. Ruth, our Teacher Assistant from YunNan, will also be on hand to work with Jenny to help her complete her classwork assignment on time.

Also, next week we will begin to explore a new unit based on science- 'Kitchen Chemistry' . This unit will focus on the properties of energy and matter, thru cooking. I will have a parent letter for all families go home on monday with more info. Also, next monday I would like Jenny to begin daily homework of : reading, cursive writing and keyboard typing - I will provide more info on that on monday as well.

It is a pleasure to have you daughter join us, Mr. XML and I look forward to meeting you next month during parent-teacher conferences. If  you have and questions or comments, please do not hesistate to contact me.

Best Regards,

老易

原帖由 我爱飞飞 于 2009-11-22 14:10 发表
这是国际学校通行的做法。

班级小，学生老师交流多，注重孩子能力和思维的拓展，而不仅仅专注于给孩子灌输知识。

幸好现在我们慢慢注意到这一点了，家长有心的话，还是可以补充学校教育的不足的。

当然 ...

我博客里有一篇文章《探索，发现与研究性学习》，
就这个问题谈了一些想法，也许能给你一些启发。

小P妈妈

原帖由 木兰花慢 于 2009-12-1 08:45 发表


并没有浮躁啊，人家学校其实是重在形势的，是希望孩子通过这种方式煅炼孩子的思维，掌握一些思辨的方法，至于孩子真正从所谓孔子论语上学到什么，其实是次要的。况且这个东西本身就是仁者见仁，你又怎么能肯 ...

就事论事，对于孔子和论语，恰恰应该去学习其内容，而不是什么对中国社会什么的影响，尤其是对于这么小的孩子来说。纸上谈兵，就是流于浮躁。

思维，也无非就是一些方法，掌握起来很容易的。内容的学习，才是真的要静下心扎下去的，花时间的，特别是对小孩子来说。老外的教育方法也不见得样样都好，国际学校学出来的学生有的还不如正规中国名校出来的学生素质高呢。

joyful

请问是哪所国际学校？方便的话请告知或小窗？

木兰花慢

原帖由 小P妈妈 于 2009-11-29 23:37 发表


你们玩什么积木阿，这个也不至于和应试教育联系上吧。。。。
貌似儿子中班，一个人就能玩积木，玩上半个小时，经常搭完了，然后让我去看他的杰作。。。。

还有上面那个研究孔子的命题也太夸张了，放到研 ...

并没有浮躁啊，人家学校其实是重在形势的，是希望孩子通过这种方式煅炼孩子的思维，掌握一些思辨的方法，至于孩子真正从所谓孔子论语上学到什么，其实是次要的。况且这个东西本身就是仁者见仁，你又怎么能肯定的说孩子自己体会到的东西会比我们大人肤浅呢，往往孩子的眼睛恰恰看到的是最本质最真的东西，说这些有点跑题哈。
我想这也正是我们学习和国外学习的差距吧，国外的学习重在方法，而我们似乎太过于重视内容方面了。
不是说重视内容不对，但过于重视内容，恰恰容易忽视了一个人能力的培养。

三月妈妈

好羡慕呀

小P妈妈

原帖由 yidan135 于 2009-11-26 17:04 发表
我和女儿玩积木，让她按我拼的拼，再复杂也能拼成。让她自己拼、随便拼什么也可以，她就一脸茫然，不知道怎么拼。这就是典型的应试教育的结果。我真想把孩子送到国际学校

你们玩什么积木阿，这个也不至于和应试教育联系上吧。。。。
貌似儿子中班，一个人就能玩积木，玩上半个小时，经常搭完了，然后让我去看他的杰作。。。。

还有上面那个研究孔子的命题也太夸张了，放到研究生课题也差不多阿。

论语二十篇都没读下来，研究什么孔子呢，这也太浮躁了吧，不理解这些国际学校的教法。

yidan135

我和女儿玩积木，让她按我拼的拼，再复杂也能拼成。让她自己拼、随便拼什么也可以，她就一脸茫然，不知道怎么拼。这就是典型的应试教育的结果。我真想把孩子送到国际学校

dse123

只有四个字：耳目一新，国内为什么学的那么死呢

paisley

是英国的国际学校吗？给我感觉好像是这样。：）