Values and Mindset
Today was the first meeting of the semester and the topic was values and mindset. We selected this topic to draw these primary school students’ attention to realize the diversity and conflicts of values in our world as well as the connections between values and life.
At the beginning of the meeting, I asked Huang if he had heard of the concept of values before. As expected, he quickly mentioned the socialist core values posters that are posted everywhere on campus and in the community. Apart from that, he seemed unfamiliar with the concept of “values.” Adhering to the principle of explaining the diversity of values, I attempted to introduce the concept of values from the perspective of religious beliefs. Then I discussed the Enlightenment movement and the scientific system. Personally, I liked the thought experiment in “The Three-Body Problem” involving the turkey and the farmer, but Huang wasn’t familiar with it, so the response wasn’t as good as I had expected. When discussing conflicts of values, I used a video from “Oh My God” where the protagonist is chased by followers of different religions. Huang mentioned that he had seen an introduction to this movie on a video platform. From this, I deduced that the video platform is an important source of external information for Huang. After confirming, it turned out to be true.
Later on, we discussed the connection between values and life, which Huang understood relatively well. When providing examples, I used the heliocentric theory of Copernicus and the movie “The Pianist on the Ocean.” The most shocking moment came when I mentioned that people used to believe the Earth was the center of the universe before Copernicus. Huang said, “The universe is a cell of the human body.” Initially, I was surprised, but he explained that it meant “a cell in the human eye.” He believed that we can see this colorful world because it exists within our eyes. This viewpoint surprised me; it seemed less scientific but emitted a glow of idealism. Perhaps we only live in a subjective world. From this perspective, I want to choose a topic related to philosophical idealism for a future discussion. After all, Huang has already pondered on this aspect at a certain level.
Finally, when I asked Huang, “Is there anything you’d like to share with me?” he told me a story about his brother. He was curious about how many days high school students have off on weekends and why college students are so obsessed with gaming. He speculated that his brother must not have played enough games during high school. At that moment, I suddenly felt a hidden concern. I didn’t know if our conversations would still hold meaning if Huang eventually had to face such an educational system. Would he still care about the abstract topics we discuss, or would he, like many high school and college students, mechanically oscillate between pressure and indulgence without giving them much thought?
Critical Thinking
The theme of this conversation was critical thinking. Huang had some understanding of the topic, but he wasn’t very familiar with it. He mentioned that he reflects on the accuracy of teachers’ and parents’ words in his daily life. Interestingly, he once deduced that the sports teacher was lying (not actually sick at home) based on the background noise during a hands-free phone call. He isn’t a traditionally obedient child. I appreciate his unique thinking when it comes to the question of whether to fight back when being attacked. He considers the source of bullying rather than blindly obeying the teacher’s instructions.
Like many children his age, Huang also has some preconceived biases. When we discussed the story of “Yu Gong Moves the Mountains,” he instinctively supported the idea of Yu Gong moving the mountains and smashing Japanese cars. However, as we introduced different factors such as relocation, the thoughts of future generations, and landslides, Huang gradually changed his perspective on the story. When discussing the question of whether smashing Japanese cars is patriotic, after several rounds of discussion, Huang began to realize the complexity of the issue and not be deceived by the guise of “patriotism.” However, there is still much room for further exploration regarding themes such as patriotism, history, and aggression. External influences have a profound impact on Huang in these areas, including the counter-logic and provocative nature of mainstream media propaganda.
I am glad that Huang no longer responds with simple affirmations like “Hmm” or “Yes” after everything I say. Instead, he actively asks questions and raises doubts, which is a manifestation of critical thinking. One concern he mentioned is that there is a student in his class whom they label as a “fool” (possibly due to a congenital disability). Huang and his classmates look down upon this child. From Huang’s description, it seems that the school principal and teachers also don’t take good care of this child. Perhaps “How to approach marginalized groups?” could be one of the topics for future discussions.
Individuals and Nations
The theme of this activity is “Individual and Nation.” We chose this topic mainly because in our previous discussions, we occasionally heard H expressing some biased remarks with ethnic prejudice. His views on history, war, and international relations also seemed somewhat extreme.
I attempted to approach this topic through the lens of history and war. We started with the well-known novel “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” discussing the perspectives on history. Instead of the typical viewpoint of rulers, I asked H, “Suppose you were a commoner, how would you perceive the territorial struggles between Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Sun Quan?” To my surprise, H initially believed that the common people would admire and support them. However, as the conversation deepened, he gradually realized that the common people were more likely to have anti-war sentiment and yearn for peace.
When discussing “Letters from Iwo Jima” and “The Flag of the Rising Sun,” I anticipated that H might encounter significant confusion. Based on my understanding, the war-related works he had encountered previously mostly focused on hatred towards the aggressors, without delving into the complexity of war and the fate of ordinary individuals. However, our exchange went smoother than I expected, and H quickly recognized that people in war cannot be generalized, the irrationality of a revenge-driven logic, and the prerequisites of patriotism.
In summary, the current education system often excessively emphasizes unwavering loyalty and patriotism without making students aware of the relationship between individual interests and national interests. If basic human rights are not safeguarded and individual worth is not respected, what meaning does empty talk of patriotism and ideology hold? I am glad to have the opportunity to discuss such a topic with H.
Discovery from reading: an introduction to The Kite Runner (1)
The main focus of this meeting was to discuss the historical background of the book “The Kite Runner” with Huang. The primary content revolves around the modern history of Afghanistan and the conflict between the Sunni and Shia sects. The Sunni and Shia sects represent the respective faiths of Amir and Hassan. In terms of their identities, Amir and Hassan also have a master-servant relationship. The religious sects and Hassan’s Mongolian lineage subject him to discrimination in social life, and the relationship between Amir and Hassan is not simply that of close friends. These are the background details I wanted to share with Huang to help him better understand the content of the book. However, due to the progress of his reading, Huang is still at the stage of the childhood memories of Amir and Hassan, so I believe that in the subsequent reading, Huang will gradually become aware of the impact of history and religion throughout the work.
One pleasant surprise during our discussion was when we touched upon conflicts arising from stereotypes related to religious beliefs and ethnicity, Huang quickly pointed out examples of stereotypes about Japanese people and recognized the inappropriateness of such stereotypes.
Discovery from reading: an introduction to The Kite Runner (2)
Recently, I have felt that I have been taking up too much of the conversation in my interactions with Huang, and I should give him more space to express his views. Recently, I recommended “The Kite Runner” to Huang, and I wanted to use a series of continuous questions to facilitate our discussion in this activity. Through the design of these questions, I hoped to gauge the extent to which Huang understands the book and encourage him to think more deeply about certain issues, as well as stimulate his logical thinking.
What kind of person is Amir? How does he view his relationship with Hassan?
“Friends”?
Write a story
Hopes Hassan doesn’t recognize the words in the book
What kind of person is Hassan? How does he view his relationship with Amir?
Subconsciously calls him “Saffron Prince”
Smiles while being mocked when Amir reads to him
Asks about the onion
Helps Amir tidy his bed and pack school supplies
How is the hierarchical order reflected in the regions of Afghanistan?
Amir’s grandfather’s judgment “severe yet fair”?
People bully Hassan and Ali
Hazara people not considered part of Afghanistan?
What is the relationship like between Amir and his father?
“An unexamined life is not worth living.” Today, I attempted to insert a small segment before each conversation with Huang where I share a recent event from my life and discuss my thoughts on it. I explained the purpose of this to Huang, encouraging him to reflect on our past experiences and search for future directions.
Before discussing Amir and Hassan in “The Kite Runner,” Huang shared a funny incident with me about going to a small store with his classmates to buy food. He and his cousin also shared snacks provided by the school. It seems that Huang values friendship and interactions between people. From his sharing, it appears that there is some comparison of family backgrounds in his environment. However, I appreciate his unaffected attitude, as he said, “My parents’ accomplishments are not theirs.” Huang also encountered some difficulties at school, as he was punished for reading during the designated nap time. I wonder if this is related to our previous discussions on critical thinking, and I’m glad he is aware of some unreasonable rules in education. We also briefly talked about personalized education. When all children are required to do the same things, even sleeping, is this a flaw in the education system?
When discussing “The Kite Runner,” I followed the planned approach of using questions. Huang was able to understand the distance between Amir and his father and the social inequality between Amir and Hassan in the book. He also made some simple connections between this inequality and the inequality between the poor and the rich, as well as racial issues in the United States. It seems that Huang hasn’t fully grasped the complexity of the characters in the book.
In today’s conversation using this question-based approach, Huang appeared more relaxed and willing to share. I hope that in future discussions using this method, I can design questions that are easier to understand and have better continuity throughout.
Death and Life
In this conversation, I chose the theme of “Death and Life.” Death, as the inevitable end of every living being, holds great significance. In the process of growing up, death is rarely directly discussed, whether in school education or conversations with family members. It is sometimes taboo in our culture. From my personal experience, during my childhood, my understanding of death mostly came from occasions like Qingming Festival and funerals. Through a series of rituals, our vague understanding of death as an abstract concept gradually formed. Therefore, I believe it is necessary to have an open and honest discussion about death with elementary school students. We mainly discussed questions such as “What does death really mean?” “How is death connected to life?” and “Does the finite nature of life give it certain value?”
When asked if he has ever thought about death-related questions, Huang mentioned discussing it with friends during Qingming Festival. Huang pointed out that the existence of death makes us cherish life more. This was a good starting point for reflection, so I tried to further explore Huang’s mention of “cherishing life.” When we say “cherish life,” what concepts do we value? It may not just involve the biological meaning of life itself. Huang seemed a bit puzzled initially, so I attempted to approach the question from a different angle. I asked Huang if he would be willing to be “immortal” if the lifespan of life could be infinite. We then listed a series of advantages, such as “more opportunities to fulfill dreams” and “more time to spend with family and friends.” From this, we realized that “cherishing life” includes the pursuit and appreciation of life, ideals, and relationships. I was pleasantly surprised when Huang mentioned the fairness issue associated with the concept of “immortality”: some people would have infinite life while others must die. This issue is also a potential ethical dilemma brought about by technological advancements. If future medicine could grant people infinite life, would it be moral to sell such a drug? If both the poor and the wealthy, those in power and those at the bottom of society, face mortality equally, is this the ultimate form of inequality? However, we didn’t delve too deeply into this aspect in our conversation. To make the topic more engaging and interesting, rather than just a monotonous conceptual discussion, I introduced three films, “Coco,” “Departures,” and “The Bucket List,” to further the discussion. In the final section of expanding the topic, we talked about the proposition “Should euthanasia be legalized?” Huang expressed the viewpoint that living through the last moments filled with pain is not worth it. Based on Huang’s logic, this topic could be further extended, such as exploring what elements in life make it worth living.
