Interview
Q:
Keystone aspires to develop a curriculum
rooted in Chinese history, language and culture,
and to enable students to graduate as ‘Chinese
cultural ambassadors.’ How can a Keystone education
accomplish this goal? As the Coordinator of the
Chinese Curriculum, where do you plan on starting?
A:
Conceptually speaking, members of this Keystone
family not only agree with, but aspire to practice the five
virtues of Confucianism – Compassion (仁 Ren), Justice (义
Yi), Respect (礼 Li), Wisdom (智 Zhi) and Honesty (信 Xin).
Also, our students will be immersed in a bilingual (Chinese
and English) environment. So we expect our students to have
a strong foundation in their mother tongue (which will be
Chinese for most students), while at the same time acquire
mastery over the English language, and ability to appreciate
foreign cultures. This type of environment should equip our
graduates with the appropriate skills and understanding to
disseminate Chinese culture, should they decide to do so.
Our curriculum will also incorporate a Chinese Thread. This
thread will include content in Chinese culture, history, morals,
and rituals. Our students will learn about and be exposed to the
teachings of great ancient Chinese thinkers. We will teach our
students poetry, for example, not by having them memorize
poems, but by challenging their higher-level thinking skills
so as to cultivate their interest in, and understanding and
appreciation of the beauty of these Chinese writings. And the
subtle temperament, and aesthetic preferences of the writers
behind these texts. We will also choose stories for our students
that highlight Chinese rituals and moral concepts.
Additionally, we will ask our students to keep a record of
their own personal development and provide them many
opportunities to participate in philanthropic activities.
Our students, from a young age, will begin the process of
understanding that they are one part of a larger society,
which requires their cooperation and help. They will begin to
recognize that even if they are successful or accomplished
they should never stop helping others. As the curriculum is
being developed, you will see that I am a big proponent of our
students learning basic principles such as respecting elders
and others, and humility. In order for our students to truly
grasp these principles, they must penetrate our words and
actions.
Finally, Keystone’s boarding setting is a great opportunity for
students to receive guidance from Chinese and foreign staff.
And it is very likely that staff will become role models for our
students. Currently, Chinese kids are the “little sunshines”
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The Keystone Magazine
of their respective homes, where they are spoon-fed by their
parents and grandparents. This dynamic is causing our children
to develop limited and self-centered attitudes. We must
recognize that kids are like a plain sheet of paper, and that their
perception of what is right and wrong is built on what they see
in the actions and words of those around them. So we have
to be careful that we are not just telling our children what we
believe to be right and wrong, but also acting out what we teach.
Q:
Keystone’s Chinese curriculum is different from
many international schools. In foundation year,
and grade 1, Chinese constitutes 70% of class time, while
it constitutes 50% of class time in grades 2-5. What is the
reasoning behind this allocation?
A:
The main reason we designed our primary school curriculum this
way is because the Chinese language is one of the most difficult
languages to learn. This is a widely accepted fact. Achieving literacy in
English is relatively easy because the script is phonetic, so as long as you
can hear and speak, then you will most likely be