Everyone knows that our school system, in general, is not giving our kids the basic reading, writing, ‘rithmatic and science skills needed to be competitive in the high-tech workforce of the upcoming generation (at least, that’s the general assumption, and we won’t argue it here).
总的来说,我们都知道学校不能教给我们的孩子一些基本的读书,写作,算术和科学技能,这些技能是我们在即将出现的新一代高科技劳动力(至少,这是一个普遍的看法,我们不需要在这里争论)中具有竞争力的保证。

But there’s much more to life than those basic subjects, and unless you have an exceptional teacher who is willing to break out of the mold, your child isn’t learning the crucial things he or she needs to learn in life.
但是生活中我们需要远比那些基础学科更多的知识,你的孩子根本没有学会生活中需要的那些至关重要的知识,除非有一位独特的老师,他愿意去打破这种模式。

Think about your own experience for a moment. When you got out of high school, did you know everything you needed in order to survive in life, let alone succeed? If you were lucky, you knew how to read and had some basic history and math skills, and if you were even luckier, you had good study habits that would serve you well in college.
回顾你的切身经验,当你高中毕业时,你了解生活中的所需知识么?更不用说如何取得成功了。幸运的话,你也许知道如何阅读,并且有一些基本的历史和数学技能,甚至你还可能拥有良好的学习习惯,这将使你在大学中受益。

But were you prepared for life? Most likely not, unless you had parents who did you that favor. In fact, many of us screwed up our early adult lives because we didn’t know those skills — and we’re paying the consequences now.
但是,你真的准备好进入现实生活了么?也许未必,除非你的父母已经为你准备好一切。事实上,我们大部分人的早期成年生活都是一团糟,因为我们不了解所需的技能,而我们正在承受相应的后果。

That’s a part of life, you might say, learning these lessons. But it’s also possible to prepare your child a bit before they go out on their own, and if we can’t get the schools to teach these skills, then let’s do it ourselves.
你也许会说,这是生活的一部分——从经验教训中学习。但仍可能在你的孩子独立生活之前,让他准备得充分一些。如果我们无法让学校教授那些技能,就让我们自己来负责吧。

What follows is a basic curriculum in life that a child should know before reaching adulthood. There will probably be other skills you can add to this list, but at least it’s a starting point.
以下是一张基本课程表,孩子在迈入成年生活之前都应该掌握它。也许你认为还有其他技能需要加入其中,但至少这是一个起步要求。

A note on how to teach these things: These subjects should not be taught by lectures or textbooks. They can only be taught by setting examples, by conversation, by showing, and by allowing the child (or teenager) to do these things on their own (with supervision at first). Once you’ve talked about the skill, showed your child how to do it, and let them do it under supervision a few times, give your child the trust to do it on his own, and to learn from his own mistakes. Check back every now and then to talk about what he’s learned.
如何教导这些事情:这些课程无法通过讲课和课本来掌握,只能通过实例、言传身教来教导,并且要允许小孩独自去尝试(刚刚开始可以在监督下进行)。一旦你进行言传身教,并且监督他们尝试几次后,就应该给予你的孩子信任,让他自己去完成,从自身的错误中学习;另外要不时和你的孩子讨论他的学习成果。

儿童英语资料免费下载喽