编者按】枫叶小熊全球副总裁，加拿大教育家，Gerald MacLeod 对此文的评语：“It is a very personal as well as professional article.  It shows that she understands what she is doing and that she is a dedicated person.”

《中西方幼儿教育的比较与融合》续篇

By Lisa Ruth Anderson

INTRODUCTION

Last October, 2009, I was honoured to be invited to speak at the Forum on ECE for the rise of Central China at Songshan Hotel in Zhenghzou.  The topic of my speech was ‘A Comparison and Integration of ECE between China and Western Countries’.  I’d only been in China for a few months, and at the time, nearly everything seemed different to me.  Snack time was different, nap time was different, play time was different…I had lots of things to compare!  I remember how confused my Chinese co-workers were at first by the amount of free play time in the class.  Allowing the children to explore on their own and play individually did not seem like ‘teaching’ to my colleagues who had experience in traditional Chinese schools.  I spent a lot of time at first assuring parents and co-workers that I was in fact working (really!).

In the 16 months since the school has opened, there have been many changes as we all adapted to each other.  One of the most exciting ways that the school has grown is in its resources.  A major difference in Eastern and Western ECE is the emphasis on age-appropriate toys and easily manageable environments in the West.  Lego, playdough, and toys from the Little Tikes catalogue, are all standard issue in Canadian pre-schools.  Having classrooms stocked with these kind of toys makes the time the children spend in free play extremely valuable.  These kinds of toys promote creativity, math skills, problem solving, and small motor skills development, among other things.  Excellent quality toys that are durable and safe for children make learning fun.  I’m constantly amazed at the ingenuity of the students when they’re playing.  The variety and scope and their imaginations is very impressive!

Having the right toys and resources is extremely important for the child-centered learning we practice at Maple Bear.  The class environment is seen as one of the major components of the learning experience for the children.  Of course, part of setting up the environment of a class is making sure that the children have the tools they need to work out their own conflicts.  Playing may seem like easy fun, but learning how to share and negotiating games with other children is hard work!

One of the best Western ECE practices that I’ve had the chance to use in the Nursery class is called Positive Behaviour Support (PBS).  PBS is based on values and empirical research.  It was developed in the 1980’s in the United States.  It is based on research that shows what works, and a value system that respects children’s stages of development and needs.  (http://www.challengingbehavior.org/explore/pbs/pbs.htm)

PBS is a very clear, useful tool for early childhood educators.  Often in parent meetings, parents express a concern that their child is especially disobedient or ‘naughty’.  A teacher who is using PBS in their class looks on all challenging behaviour as an unskilled way of communicating, instead of a fixed character trait.  It puts the responsibility on the teacher to clearly model and explain to the students the emotional and social skills that they need to master in order to do well in class.  Look at how long the following list is:

Social and Emotional Skills to Teach

? Following rules, routines, and directions

? Identifying feelings in oneself and others

? Controlling anger and impulses

? Problem solving

? Suggesting play themes and activities to peers

? Sharing toys and other materials

? Taking turns

? Helping adults and peers ? Giving compliments

? Understanding how and when to apologize

? Expressing empathy with others’ feelings

? Recognizing that anger can interfere with problem solving

? Learning how to recognize anger in oneself and others

? Learning how to calm down

? Understanding appropriate ways to express anger

LANGUAGE

Language is one of the key components to teaching young children how to manage their own feelings and negotiate successfully with others.  Many children first need to be given the language they can use with their peers.  If they want a toy that someone else is playing with, the children need to be given choices on what they can say.  They can say, ‘Can I have that toy now?’ or ‘Can I trade you that toy for a different toy?’  If their friend chooses to not share immediately, the child needs to know they can say, ‘Can I have that toy when you’re done?’ (to which their friend will have to agree, ‘Of course!’, because we share our toys at school)  Watching the students negotiate with each other, using these kind of skills, is one of my most rewarding experiences as a teacher.

Learning how to identify feelings and express them skillfully is a huge accomplishment for children.  It’s quite common in my class for students to day, ‘Lisa, I’m angry!’ when they’re told that it’s time to go inside or clean up the toys-the fact that they can express themselves in English and identify how they feel is great.

RULES

In China, rules are very respected, and expecting children to follow rules is standard practice.  In Western practice, it’s believed that setting up classes and play areas to limit the amount of rules frees up the students and teachers to focus more on learning.  The teacher is less a police officer, and more a facilitator.  When the environment of a class is set up specifically for children to enjoy and explore, less time is spent imposing rules on the children.  Rules are important, and learning to follow rules is a skill that children need to master, but exploring and learning in a class that requires fewer rules frees up time for the work of learning.

CONCLUSION

It has been extremely rewarding for me to have seen how the school has grown to incorporate the strengths from both Western and Chinese styles of teaching.  Although when I first came to China, I was a little overwhelmed between the differences in our approach to ECE, the basic philosophy of caring for and respecting the children is the main goal across cultures.

I look forward to coming to school every day.  I feel very privileged to be able to spend time with my children.

本文没有做中文翻译，欢迎我们的助教老师或家长来尝试翻译。