Singapore is called the Lion City because the island of Singapore is shaped like a lion. In addition, the origin of Singapore is a beautiful legend.
1 1 century ago, Singapore was an uninhabited desert island with only swamps and vast jungles, and some passing China and Arabian shipyards occasionally stopped here. Around the year 1 160, the prince of srivastava Kingdom (known as Sanfo Kingdom in China) in Sumatra left Sumatra by boat with his father in order to find an ideal place to build a new city. The prince finally chose bintan island and fell in love with a beautiful and dignified princess, two of a kind. One day, the prince who became the king of bintan island went out hunting with his wife and came to the uninhabited island of Simaxi. On the white beach, a monster greeted the prince and flew away. This beast is bigger than a sheep, with a black head, a white chest and a red body. It is vigorous and agile. The prince likes it very much, but he has never seen it. He asked his entourage in surprise: what animal is this? The follower casually replied: lion. The prince believed it and was very happy. He thought it was an auspicious land and decided to build its capital here. Lion City is a compound word composed of Sanskrit singe (lion) and Pura (castle), which gradually evolved into Malaysian Singapore in the long history.
In Singapore, this symbol of merlion can be seen everywhere, and many buildings have such lifelike statues and patterns. Many people who travel to Singapore want to buy crafts with the image of Merlion. Every time I go to Singapore, I also want to buy all kinds of small crafts with the image of Merlion, as well as chocolates and key chains to send back to my friends.
According to Singaporeans themselves, the Merlion statue actually embodies the spirit they are pursuing: it should be not only as brave as a lion, but also as flexible and natural as a fish. In this sense, Merlion is indeed a symbol of Singapore.
Singapore is a multi-ethnic immigrant country, and its language and characters are inevitably diversified. The Singapore government has designated Malaya, English, Chinese and Tamil as official languages. Malay is the national language and English is the administrative language. In this special language environment, most Singaporeans master two or more languages. English, as the first language in Singapore, occupies a primary position. Accordingly, the state implements an educational policy of attaching importance to English. Chinese in Singapore have the most ancestral homes in China, Guangdong and Fujian provinces, so Cantonese, Chaozhou dialect and Hakka dialect have become the main languages used by Chinese in Singapore. In recent decades, due to the vigorous advocacy and promotion of the Singapore government, Mandarin has become the main social language of Chinese in Singapore. In addition to the above-mentioned main languages, Singapore's multilingual family also includes Malaya, Punjabi and other languages used by Indian immigrants. Watching Chinese TV, listening to Chinese radio and reading Chinese newspapers in Singapore is as convenient as in China. There are countless Chinese books in bookstores and libraries. During my stay in Singapore, I must watch Chinese TV every day, mainly watching the news, and listening to Chinese radio in my friend's car, also for understanding the news. I have to buy a copy of Lianhe Zaobao every day, just like reading China Business Daily.
On the one hand, the diversity of language and writing enables Singaporeans to absorb western knowledge and information more conveniently and quickly, and learn and master advanced western technology and management experience; On the other hand, while introducing a large number of technologies and personnel, ideas, cultures and values of western countries have also flooded into Singapore. In this eastern country, western values and its original traditional values inevitably collide. The conflict between these two values will inevitably affect the behavior and attitude of contemporary Singaporeans. Today, many experts and scholars in Singapore believe that new technologies and methods from the West should be used to accelerate the industrialization of their country, but they should be resisted in the face of Western values. In the late 1980s, the Singapore government promoted new moral education textbooks in middle schools to guide teenagers correctly and make traditional values take root in their thoughts.
Singaporeans attach great importance to family moral education and strive to cultivate children's good qualities.
(1) Cultivate a kind heart. Among the many characters in the works of Singapore woman writer Kang Peishan, there is a dark-haired girl living in a small town. With a young and frail body, she independently bears the burden of taking care of two poor and sick adoptive parents. This masterpiece "Black Hair" has won great praise in Singapore, because from this teenage girl, people see the great strength and infinite wisdom brought by the kind spirit.
Ms. Chen Xinyi, the former director of education in Singapore, believes that parents should not only love their children with full love, but also teach them to love others. Children should be taught to love their parents, their elders, their teachers, their classmates, their schools and so on. If a child has only accepted the backlog of others' love since childhood, but never knows how to treat others with the same love, then he will only become an emotional idiot and devil when he grows up, or he will only accept others' love insensibly, never talking about loving others. Such children will only bring misfortune to the family and society in the future, and will eventually be rejected by the family and society. Ms. Chen also said that parents should teach their children how to express their feelings through their words and deeds. For example, once, her two young sons were playing trapeze. They excitedly ran around every room, jumping up and down on the sofa, screaming and cheering loudly, and refused to sleep until late at night. Ms. Chen Xinyi didn't come forward to reprimand the children as usual, then dragged them one by one and ordered them to go to bed at once. She quietly turned off the TV, turned off the headlights in the room and crept away to pick up the messy toys. She raised her middle finger to the children, hissed and whispered that Dad worked hard, so he had to go to bed early tonight. Can you stop playing games for a while and let dad have a good sleep, so that he will be very motivated to go to work tomorrow? The two children nodded inexplicably, but they were obviously in high spirits and reluctant to part with the game toys around them. So Ms. Chen promised not to put away the toys in a hurry, but to put them in a big box and play them tomorrow. They also strongly praised their thoughtfulness and filial piety. So the children happily went to say good night to their father and then went back to their bedroom. Ms. Chen's advice to parents is that parents should cultivate their children's feelings of loving their parents and others, and give them opportunities to express these feelings. For example, let children know that their parents are busy and tight at work, and playing at home can't affect their parents' rest; We should care about our parents' health, respect our elderly grandparents and do something for them. When you play with your peers, you can take photos harmoniously and help each other. Willing to do good for neighbors and companions, and so on.
(2) Cultivate children to be disciplined and orderly. There is a saying in China that no rules can make Fiona Fang, which is also one of the important principles of family moral education in Singapore. Parents in Singapore often cultivate their children's awareness of norms through small things in daily life or various forms of games, so that children can know these norms and consciously act according to them. Mr. Chen Xingang, a famous professor at the National University of Singapore and dean of the School of Business Administration, said with deep feelings when he recalled his childhood: At that time, my brother and I were both very young and not very sensible. But our parents try to let us know that everything has certain rules. At home, my mother let us know that all kinds of things and objects in the house are in a fixed place, and they should be put back after each use. Every day, she wants us to go to bed and get up on time, eat on time and do all kinds of exercises and homework on time. At that time, my brother and I were very obedient, not afraid of being beaten, but afraid of disobedience. My mother will tell the teacher about our performance, so that the students will know that this is a shameful thing. He also described the game between his father and himself when he was a child. Once, a father and son played chess. Chen Xingang was very competitive and wanted to beat his father. Open your eyes and concentrate on thinking about every move, and the pieces in your hand are wet with sweat. Finally, he made a sharp attack, and he proudly took a step forward. Unexpectedly, at the moment of moving, he suddenly found that he had miscalculated, and this move was tantamount to taking the initiative to send him into the tiger's mouth. He hurriedly shouted that he would regret playing chess. At this time, my father, who has always been kind and gentle, became serious. He is not allowed to regret playing chess carefully, although it is only an informal chess game. The young heart is secretly dissatisfied with his father's irrationality, and even thinks that his father is narrow-minded for a long time. Many years later, he realized that this little song with no regrets was full of his father's good intentions. Any game has rules, and rules are the guarantee for playing the game smoothly and achieving the purpose of the game. For children, the rules of the game are necessary constraints on their own behavior. As for playing games with children, the father urges children to strictly abide by the rules, precisely to cultivate their self-control, train their discipline and lay a solid foundation for them to become law-abiding citizens in the future.
(3) Educate children to be polite. Singaporeans attach great importance to politeness. They think that a person's politeness is a mirror, which reflects his portrait. Advocating civility and politeness undoubtedly reflects the friendly relationship of mutual care and respect among people, and also reflects the cultural and educational level of citizens themselves. In this respect, Singaporeans and China people have many similarities and differences.
Cultivating children's civility and politeness means asking children to learn to be kind, gentle and humble.
When it interferes with others or brings inconvenience to others, you should take the initiative to say sorry for disturbing you, but you can't help apologizing, not to mention culpable of punishment;
When someone apologizes to you, you should answer it doesn't matter or it doesn't matter, but you can't ignore it, let alone make trouble without reason;
When you meet peers and elders in the streets, you should say hello, but you can't bow your head and pretend not to see it;
When parting from others, you must say goodbye, but you can't leave without saying anything;
Elegant speech must match Hugh's behavior. Therefore, while teaching children to use polite language, parents should also make unremitting efforts to cultivate their children's decent and elegant manners;
The code of conduct that children need to know and abide by is: stand with chest and abdomen, shoulders flat and not shaking, arms drooping and not shaking;
When entering other people's rooms (including parents), you should knock gently first and get permission before entering. You can't just push the door.
Visit people in advance, and pay attention to the time, generally do not go during meals and naps, and try to avoid interfering with their normal life;
Never wear underwear or pajamas to visit people or receive visitors at home in any season;
Guests should take the initiative to give up their seats when visiting, offer them with both hands when pouring tea, sit up straight when receiving guests, don't lean left and right, don't cross your legs or cross your legs, and don't sway.
When talking with people, don't pick your nostrils, ears, teeth, itch, take off your shoes and socks, and pick your toes;
When eating, don't move chopsticks in front of guests and elders, don't rummage in the dishes, handle the tableware gently to reduce collision, and don't make a chewing sound when eating;
Cover your nose and mouth with a handkerchief when coughing, sneezing and spitting in public, and don't aim at others.
It is worth noting that parents must set a good example for their children in cultivating their manners. At least in these aspects, children can be given a correct demonstration.
In addition, the parents' ways of Singaporeans also include educating their children to be thrifty and housekeeping, to act according to their abilities from an early age, to tell the truth, not to tell lies and so on. There is a short story in Singapore's children's moral education textbook: Xiao Lixin loves painting very much and asked her mother to buy her a box of colored pens many times, but her mother didn't take it to heart and never bought it. In order to get this long-awaited colored pen, Lixin began to cheat his mother: our kindergarten teacher said that everyone would take a box of colored pens to the kindergarten to draw tomorrow. Mother didn't dare to disobey the teacher's request and bought a box of colored pens. Xin Li finally achieved his goal by lying. Lies like this happen to many children from time to time. In fact, parents can avoid it as long as they pay proper attention. Many parents in Singapore have realized that their reasonable requirements for their children should be met as much as possible. If you can't satisfy it for a while, you must also explain the reason to your child. If children's wishes and demands are ignored or rejected indiscriminately, it is easy for children to lie or do bad things behind their parents' backs.
In mourning for the famous scientist Madame Curie, Einstein said: When a noble person like Madame Curie ended her life, we should not just be satisfied with the contribution her work made to mankind. The significance of first-class figures to the times and historical process may be greater than pure intellectual achievements in moral quality. It can be seen that the outstanding achievements of talents are closely related to noble quality. As a parent, if you want your child to become a talented person, you must pay attention to cultivating his good moral quality. It is worth learning that Singaporeans attach great importance not only to family moral education, but also to social moral education. People green the country and take the initiative to care for the surrounding environment. In Singapore, there is one tree for every four people on average. Singaporeans love the land where they live and breed, and they decorate this beautiful garden country with their own practical actions.