Text | Rice grain mom
Recently, Migrain's mother found a very interesting documentary, "The Class Next Door".
It's about an alternative and bold experiment:
Let parents return to elementary school and learn with their children, who is better than who to see?
A group of parents aged 40+ who are classmates with their children and become primary school students together are quite interesting to think about.
I don't know what you think, but the rice grain mother is a bit of a fist anyway, eager to try
The principal of Blackrod Primary School in the UK said:
"Many parents' understanding of primary education is still stuck in 20 years ago. It may be crazy, but it's going to be a great learning opportunity. ”
Adults are not as powerful as they think,
Children's lives are not easy
In 2017, Blackrod Elementary School was in the summer semester.
The children attended the morning meeting as usual, but the principal suddenly announced: Our school has formed a new class.
What is even more unexpected for the children is that the new classmates who are wearing school uniforms are actually their own parents!!
And in the next month, they will drop their jobs and become sixth graders, going to school with themselves.
In this regard, some children's first reaction is to be afraid;
Some children said that it was very novel and interesting to meet their parents on campus;
Other children are far-sighted and worried about their parents' embarrassing requests to play together between classes.
Unlike children who react differently, parents are elated.
They are proud of their success and surprise their children, while preparing to set a "shining example" for their children.
The average age of the parents is 40+, including successful people from all walks of life, such as entrepreneurs, real estate developers, jewelry designers, engineers, performanceists, physiotherapists, makeup artists, rock singers and so on.
But soon they had their first round of "critical hits": the bottom exam.
They never expected that the topic of the sixth grade would be so difficult now!
So much so that some parents cry on the first day because they think they are too stupid.
This made The rice grain mother can't help but think of a paragraph:
"Parents in the first to third grades are the most arrogant and grumpy because they can do anything; fourth to sixth grades become more low-key, basically no scolding, because most of their problems will not be; in junior high school, they become calm, often communicate with their children, because they can't do all the problems..."
From this point of view, I can still tutor my work now, and I can do it and cherish it.
After all, we don't have much time to crush our children's IQ.
In addition to being overwhelmed by schoolwork, parents are also unsatisfactory in abiding by classroom discipline.
The next day, some people couldn't stand the discipline and couldn't help but apply for "smoking".
Even on this occasion, he took advantage of the lunch time to take two other parents who wanted to "skip school" and relax outside the campus.
Before entering the school, the class teacher deliberately emphasized the precautions of "grooming and appearance of sixth grade students".
As a result, on the third day, someone knowingly committed a crime and replaced the school uniform pants with jeans.
Immediately after, some people forgot to bring homework, and some people deliberately did not write homework.
After experiencing individual parents being called the principal's office to lecture, and the principal went to the class to solemnly warn all the staff, there were still serious violations of the law such as "8 people privately opening a small stove" and "being 55 minutes late".
Seeing this, there may be rice noodles who feel that this group of parents is too playful and does not take it seriously at all! But this is not the case.
Someone brushed the question until late at night;
Someone helps each other and solves problems together;
Some people are obese, afraid of exercise, or grit their teeth to complete physical education classes;
They are also trying to behave better, and no one wants to embarrass their children.
Rice's mother felt that the campus life of elementary school students was far more difficult than we thought.
Although it should not be up to the parent Jonathan, the prison rules are not as much as here, but there are indeed many restrictions.
"No running, no fighting, no mobile phones, no fights, no confrontation with the teacher in the corridors, we can hardly do anything, we can't move..."
If you let the rice grain mother participate in this program, it is estimated that it is not allowed to use mobile phones, which cannot be observed...
Not to mention that now tutoring children's homework, there is a deep sense of frustration every time... (Don't ask me how I know)
It seemed simple to be a primary school student more than thirty years ago, but today, more than thirty years later, it is really not easy for primary school students.
Exams are right and wrong,
But there is no standard answer to education
In the documentary, there are two parents who particularly impressed me.
Jennifer, the bully mother in the special class.
In her first drawing class at Crodt Elementary School, she was sharp and straightforward.
"I don't care if I draw well, I think this class is suitable for less intelligent children."
Strictly speaking, she scoffed at all "side lessons."
In Jennifer's view, good grades in the main class are king. As long as you have good academic performance, you can get a rich and happy life. (Like their generation of parents who are not like rice grains)
She has been a beneficiary of test-taking education since she was a child, and naturally carries the same expectations to her children.
Fortunately, her daughter also lived up to expectations and became the smartest and best-achieving student in the class.
But on this trip back to school, she had to participate in class performances because the school has a regular "dance festival" every year.
The performance of her daughter's preschool class is also the finale of this dance festival.
It is a rare opportunity to practice dancing with her daughter, and Jennifer naturally hopes that she can accompany her daughter to do her best.
It is because of the full devotion that the performances of both mother and daughter are very successful.
Through this experience, Jennifer experienced a different joy from learning and corrected her previous ideas.
"In school, you not only have to study hard, but you can also make friends here and watch how people grow up in various campus activities. It's a great feeling! ”
Rice's mother wants to praise Jennifer and can correct her educational views in time, which is not an easy task.
Another parent, Jonathan, is the "thorn head" in the special class. His attitude towards test education is diametrically opposed to jennifer's.
Jonathan believes that grades are superficial and that happiness is the most important thing. He even said that he used to go to school just so that he could play with friends and play football together between classes.
In addition to his poor academic performance, he was a troublemaker from childhood to adulthood, which was also stamped by his son Marley.
But in reality, "Bad Kids" is just Jonathan's protective color.
The reason why he was angry was not deliberately aimed at the school or the teacher, but just felt that learning was too boring.
In other words, it's because he can't experience the joy of learning. And the most fundamental reason why he is like this is that he has a serious lack of confidence in himself.
In Jonathan's time, schooling was generally harsh, and he grew up in repression and denial because of his poor performance from an early age.
Fortunately, today's education is very different from the past, and even if students make mistakes, most teachers are more tolerant.
When the principal asked Jonathan, "Why didn't you do your homework last time, what good did it do To Marley?" ”
He immediately corrected his attitude and actively accepted the request to finish his homework before he could go to lunch.
During this time, the principal patiently guided him to complete his homework on his own, which allowed him to gradually rebuild his confidence in learning
When Jonathan finished his homework and was about to leave, the principal said a very touching message:
"Before you go, I want to tell you that Marley is so happy you're here that you're here and that you make him proud."
The next day, a magical scene happened.
While the other parents felt the heat and laughed while fanning the wind, Jonathan was concentrating on learning!
He also uttered remarks that were particularly unsympathetic:
"I wish I could go back in time and grab my childhood self and ask him, do you know what you're doing?" Then ask him to sit down and concentrate on something. ”
Not only that, he also swept away the rejection and confrontation of the past, actively participated in class activities, and opened his heart to get along with his classmates.
He even openly admitted that his self-confidence had been destroyed in the past, so he activated the defense mechanism and hid his true self.
Mi Grain's mother felt that the reason why Jonathan had such a 360-degree change was only because of the principal's patient guidance and encouragement.
Only because the "child who was hurt by the past" in his heart was healed.
Therefore, love and encouragement are the best gifts for children.
There are some "illusions" in children, which require parents and teachers to be patient to find the reason.
Let go of arrogance in order to read the child
After watching the documentary, Migrain admired the wisdom of the principal of Blackrod Elementary School.
Long before the experiment was carried out, he had anticipated the difficulties of the matter:
"Maybe the whole education thinks this is too crazy, to manage a group of adults does not agree, every link may go wrong." But without adventure, humans might still be alive in caves. ”
It turns out that standing in the shoes of others and experiencing other people's lives is a very meaningful attempt.
Despite the challenges, most parents passed the graduation exam and successfully completed the course.
At the graduation ceremony, parent Jill sighed heartily:
"After a month, I know more about my daughters' situation. Now I finally understand why they don't want to talk about school when they come home from school, and why they always forget to bring a kettle and pess equipment for gym class. ”
When she said this, the eldest daughter in the audience showed a happy and a little wanted to cry.
In fact, most children are waiting for their parents to understand.
It's like when we waited for our parents to understand.
My mother was recently reading a book: "I wish my parents had read this book", which is also recommended to you. A spiritual healing book written by a counselor for parents and children. Happy people use childhood to heal a lifetime, and unfortunate people use a lifetime to heal childhood.
Parents love their children, and they have far-reaching plans for them.
However, out of good intentions, we often receive rejection and ruthless complaints from our children.
Although it is quite interesting to wrestle with their own children, old fathers and mothers are always deeply confused:
I really don't understand, what are children thinking now?
From this group of parents who returned to the sixth grade, The rice grain mother actually felt some doorways:
Let go of the condescending "sense of parenthood", let go of the arrogance of assumption, more empathetic thinking, more reflection, more tolerance, understanding will come naturally.
As it is written in "Growing Up with Children for Life":
"People are born to raise children, but educating children requires reflection and learning."
About the author: @Rice Grain Mom Love To Share (Welcome to Pay Attention), American returnee, Haidian parent, when the first place in the new book list "Parent-child English Book That Affects Children's Life" author. Focus on the scientific parenting of 0-5-year-old babies, learning enlightenment, and the world's novelty recommendation, welcome to pay attention! (5-12 years old bao mom please pay attention to: @ rice grain mother channel)