Overseas parenting: what interest classes do European children learn?

What matters is not what interest class to enroll in, but the process of cultivating children's interest. Let's compare the interest cultivation of Chinese and foreign parents. I hope it works for you. Whether at home or in Europe, children's learning skills is a very hot topic. However, parents in the two places have very different attitudes and practices on how to accompany their children to learn art. Today, I share some of my views with my WeChat friends in junior business school on my observation of my life in Europe.

Let's start with a 13-year-old English boy. He is a photography enthusiast and started winning prizes in international competitions very early. This master photographer is not a "rich second generation". He was born in a peasant family. At the age of nine, he got a digital camera for Christmas and fell in love with photography.

No one in the family knows about photography, so he practiced taking pictures with his camera, taught himself by watching various videos on the Internet, and went to a photography forum to learn from others. A year later, he felt it necessary to upgrade his camera, so he replaced the broken camera with a second-hand Nikon -D90 SLR.

The upgrade was achieved by hard work and selling cameras. Later, in order to buy lenses, he sold all his toys and used his spare time to capture inspiration and take photos at his grandparents' ranch.

Three years later, he took the following photo with this second-hand Nikon -D90 and won the biggest award in the field of outdoor photography.

Interestingly, when a reporter interviewed him, he asked him what he wanted to be when he grew up. Owen said: "It would be great if I could become a professional photographer, but as a farmer, taking photography as a hobby will also make me very happy."

This is an ordinary English farm boy, from 9 years old to 13 years old, trying to pursue a hobby story, plain and simple, rational and independent, down-to-earth.

But most parents in China may not be so supportive of their children's hobbies.

"Don't delay the children" is a false proposition.

An acquaintance in China said that her son, a senior one, wanted to play photography. She usually doesn't even want to buy a pair of shoes for 200 yuan. In order to support her son, she immediately bought him a Nikon -D300, and the camera and lens cost 20,000 RMB. As a result, my son said that he didn't like Nikon cameras and wanted Canon ones. She said to me anxiously and apologetically, "It's all my fault. I bought it without asking clearly. Spending money didn't make my son happy, even a little hobby couldn't satisfy him. My husband and wife know nothing and have no ability. The birth of our son was postponed. "

To be honest, I really didn't think that son was "delayed". From the mother's belief that she should try her best to satisfy her children, I only see unprincipled doting on her children.

We seem to be particularly concerned about the investment in equipment. Those who want to learn piano will get tens of thousands of imported high-grade pianos. If you want to go abroad, whether it is necessary or not, buy a SLR first. On the streets of Europe, almost all tourists or students from China have a high-quality SLR. Europe pays more attention to the nature of hobbies and the direction of efforts.

When I first started playing photography, I entered a domestic forum, and the whole page was full of what kind of SLR a novice should buy. Then I went to the foreign photography introductory forum, and everyone was discussing how to take pictures.

My doctoral supervisor Jan is not only a master of natural science, but also an international wildlife photographer, and has won the "Wildlife Photography of the Year" award for many times.

I asked him what kind of camera he should buy.

He asked, "What do you mainly shoot?"

"When traveling, take photos."

"It's basically a still life. You don't have to buy any cameras. Practice composition and light perception with mobile phones and digital cameras. You must first practice a pair of eyes that discover beauty. "

My introduction to photography began with taking pictures with my mobile phone step by step.

Public piano room: the music enlightenment place for Dutch children

I have also seen many parents arbitrarily reject their children's hobbies because they don't like them. I have also met some parents who want their children to learn some talents whether they are interested or not. The most common thing is to force children to learn piano and take exams. Parents accompany the class and insist on practicing the piano. The sound of the piano is accompanied by scolding and the crying of the children, which makes the children and parents full of grievances and fails to hear the children's love and interpretation of music.

Can you face hobbies with a normal and rational attitude? Parents may wish to discuss their hobbies with their children more, learn more about the nature of this hobby, and analyze the possibility, advantages and disadvantages of realization. Children should know that in the pursuit of hobbies, the most important thing is their patience, perseverance and responsibility.

I have never seen Dutch parents insist on practicing the piano, and the children know it is their responsibility. Most pianos bought here in Holland are second-hand. Those who don't buy pianos at home practice in public piano rooms. I like to watch the games that teachers and children improvise with stories after class.

As soon as the child sat in front of the piano, the teacher began to tell a story: "The dwarf was walking happily in the forest when suddenly a wolf came." The dwarf ran and ran, fell down and got up again. Suddenly, a beautiful garden appeared in front of the panting dwarf ... "

While listening to the story, children cut into the appropriate piano sound. As the story changes, they are sometimes anxious and nervous, and sometimes they are soft and dreamy.

At the end of the song, everyone applauded the happy children playing the piano, and other children scrambled to start the next round of improvisation.

Hobby is not a loose pleasure, it is also a responsibility and ability, which needs to be learned. To get the greatest satisfaction and happiness from hobbies, a person must have the whole process of creating opportunities, solving problems and finally achieving goals. This is how European children pursue their hobbies step by step.