School away from school / 學校以外的學校

暑假就要結束了，回想一下這兩個月做了什麼，除了工作、畫圖外，有一些時間泡在植物標本館。做了四個月的周六午後兒童工作坊，雖然要花時間念書準備，但我慢慢上手了，也很享受和孩子們度過的兩個小時，每週六出了植標館的心情，多是一片清新美好。

My summer break is about to end. When I think back on the past two months, I realized that apart from work and drawing, I also spent some time on the preparation of activities in the herbarium. We've been offering workshops every Saturday afternoon for four months. Though I have to make effort and study hard, I am gradually getting used to the pattern. Most of the time I really enjoy the two hours spent with the children. In fact, I usually leave the herbarium feeling positive and fresh. 

        如果要說為什麼喜歡，我在執行和學校完全相反的理念，與其傳授大量知識，我讓孩子在館裡自己探索，想要問問題再來問，我回答不出來的問題，有其他專家幫忙回答，而那便成為我那天學到的新東西。今天因為下雨天只來了三個孩子，我們完全不在意，即使只有一個人，開開心心的，我們也會提供和十個人一樣的服務，甚至更周到。今天的其中一位男孩知識淵博，還教了我們好多事情，我給了他很多機會介紹他認識的動植物，貴美還和他分享之前覺得對小朋友有點難度的章節。

     If asked why I like the job, I'd say here I am offered an opportunity to do everything contrary to what is being done at work. Instead of cramming kids with knowledge, I make them explore the museum in their own ways. They can come to me or the staff if they feel like asking questions. If they do and ask a question that I can't answer, I won't feel flustered because I can learn something new with the help of the staff. 

     Today there came only three kids due to the rain. Different from my response at school, we are totally ok with that. In fact, even if there is only one child, we still provide the same service, well, even better. We had a knowledgeable boy who taught us tons of stuff today. I made him introduce and share what he knew with us. Guei-mei even explained to him what she had thought was too difficult before today. 

        這個月做了好幾次穗花棋盤腳的介紹，也親眼看了很多次，可是今天因為小男孩又注意到新細節，因此認識到新昆蟲。

     Although I'd introduced and checked out small-leaved Barringtonia in the garden several times this month, today the boy noticed transparent sticky liquid attached to the surface of the fruit. Because of that, we got to learn a new kind of insect. 

        今天我也放鬆了，我們學了桃子蘋果的知識之後，慢慢地感受這兩種水果的氣味，讀了很棒的水果詩，從自然的主題又提到了文字創作，再說到家裡的生活，再讓孩子吃水果，我忘了平常要一直管控時間的習慣，真好。

     I relaxed without my awareness this afternoon. We learned the structure of the peach and the apple. Then we made the kids smell and touch the fruits. We even read really great poems about them. We talked about not only science but also writing techniques. In the end, I asked them who peels fruits at home before they ate the fruits. It was such a luxury not to care about time, which is the instinct of a teacher. How nice it is to be un-teacher-like in an un-school-like place. 

        最後都是畫圖的行程，但是今天的孩子不想畫圖，我很豁達地說：「那就不要畫啦！」大家收收書包，但是男孩已經等不及再回來，請媽媽趕快報名下個月的活動了。

     Our activity usually ends with an art assignment. However, the kids today didn't feel like drawing, so I just said, "Then let's NOT draw!" They packed their bags in a good mood while the boy couldn't wait to sign up for our workshop next month. 

        之前讀到芬蘭的教室介紹，我很幸運每週我可以執行這樣的理想，而也許慢慢地，我會相信體制裡的學校也有這樣的可能。

     I read about the introduction to a Finnish classroom. I am glad to have a chance to carry out my ideal on a weekly basis. Maybe, maybe one day, however faint it is, there is still the possibility of taking a similar try inside a traditional school.