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A Letter Home from Dehong丨Dehong Beijing

The past ten days have been quite dramatic and heart-wrenching.

When our lives slow down, when our vision is taken back from the big world to our little home, it can be boring, can be anxious and one can feel empty or even be angry.

It is very difficult for an adult to deal with such complicated emotions, not to mention that one has to deal with one or several energetic young children every day! Our dear parents, you have worked hard! We know how you feel!

As the parents of a new generation, we also know that living in the present moment and taking advantage of it is one of life's compulsory lessons. So why not use this time to create a moment of "private" time with yourself and your family for deep reflection?

As working parents, we used to complain that we were too busy at work to spend time with our children and family. We now have a lot of time to "listen" to our child, to really understand what he or she wants to say, to do without worrying about whether they are going to be late for the next after-class lesson, or whether they are going to sleep late and not be able to get up tomorrow! It won't be long before we get busy again at work, or even busier! Do you think we'll miss being ‘stuck‘ at home?

We are fortunate to live in an age where the Internet is so powerful that online learning resources now allow our children to learn anything, anytime, anywhere. I believe that parents have prepared countless online platforms, free ones, paid ones, from English, Mandarin, Maths to Arts, music, sports etc. Soon the teachers of Dehong will also share the essence of core knowledge through the online platform.

Dehong aims to cultivate future citizens who are morally noble, highly educated, confident and innovative. We do not only focus on children's academic performance, we pay more attention to their moral development.So in the face of such a crisis, we hope that parents will also work with us to pay attention to our children’s mental health. Because children learn and understand the world not only from books, but also from life, from the observation and imitation of family members and those close to them. In the face of unexpected situations, parents' handling methods will surely influence our children imperceptibly.

For example, how can we face unforeseen or uncontrollable emergencies in our life/study/future work? How to deal with his/he emotion? How many people's lives have been disrupted by this outbreak? How to deal with frustration that travel cannot happen? How to solve the problem of work not going as planned? How rare are these examples to teach children valuable experiences that cannot be learned from books? !

For another example, at a special time when there are more rumors than the updates of refutes of rumors,(why do some abandon their pets because they believe they carry the virus?) Teaching a child how to judge whether a piece of information is true or false, and developing the habit of critical thinking, will serve him or her well for the rest of his or her life.

Our families spent the holiday abroad must also have felt the different attitudes of governments or people towards China or Wuhan. Teaching our child to understand and care for others instead of blaming and rejecting will help him or her become a open, compassionate, empathetic future citizen.

Finally, all education is originated from love. Our children are not mature enough to fully understand the crisis at hand. They may be confused, confused about the relationship between menkind and nature, disappointed in the relationship between people. Schools will explain these complex relationships in terms of vocabulary and concepts in the words children understand when they return to school. All parents have to do now is to give your children lots of love!! Accompany and listening is the key to simlify the complicated relationships.  

May every family enjoy a state of peace and joy.

 

Today is the beginning of spring. Eveyrthing spings into life! May all the good things come thick and fast!

All the best, Wuhan! All the best, China!