I don't know the actual position of "appropriate sex education for children aged 0-8" (hereinafter referred to as "appropriate sex education") in the United States, but the translated stunt is not small, and it is known as the "green Bible" of American preschool education. Personally, I think it is exaggerated, even contrary to the educational concept mentioned in the book. At best, it can only be regarded as a strategy of commercial propaganda!

However, such publicity is not the patent of this book. It seems that all the books are similar now. Let's talk about how good this book is, and which authoritative people have given it a high evaluation, and then explain that this book must be extraordinary. It gives the impression that you are a little blind without reading.

So now the book has also embarked on the road of packaging and publicity, which makes people feel a little overwhelmed. Because if you are not careful, you may be fooled by similar propaganda. Of course, there are undeniable masterpieces.

On the contrary, the cover of some books is only the title of the book and the name of the author (or translator). If one or two core sentences are added to this book, it will seem a little thin, but often the content of the book is heavy and can stand the test of history. Of course, some students failed in the exam, and the reasons are more complicated.

Therefore, in this era of paying attention to external packaging, there is also some refraction on the cover of books. However, this strategy does not necessarily fail, but has achieved great success, making more books continue to enjoy while promoting.

What attracted me at first was its publicity, which made me buy this newly translated book at the original price early.

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In the process of reading this book excitedly, the initial sense of curiosity and superiority (feeling that I took a fancy to such a good and advanced book first) gradually disappeared.

To tell the truth, I have the feeling of reading the Guide to Learning and Development for Children Aged 3-6 (hereinafter referred to as the Guide). I feel that there are too many similar things in it, and I can't help but feel the urge to compare with the Guide. Whether it is appropriate or not needs further discussion.

Let's talk about the personal reading experience of comparing "Appropriate Sex Education" and "Guide":

(A) the nature of the text

Proper Sex Education is a book written by the National Association for Early Childhood Education, which mainly reflects the mainstream view of early childhood education in the United States. Therefore, it is the condensation and sublimation of the theory and experience of an academic group.

From the way of writing, we can find that it basically follows the academic writing paradigm. All opinions in this paper are basically quoted from sources, that is to say, there are corresponding empirical studies as evidence, rather than arbitrary opinions or conclusions. Therefore, the authority of its text comes from a lot of practical research and can be traced back.

Compared with the Guide, although it is also the collective result of preschool teachers in China, it is more like a policy text with top-down guidance function. You can catch a glimpse of the word "guide" in naming. Therefore, the Guide is mainly promulgated and implemented by the government, and there is no specific person in charge in its text, because it does not clearly indicate who wrote it, and there is no corresponding reference to the views in the text. This shows the policy and authority of the Guide.

It can be seen that the nature of the two texts is completely different. Suitability education is more like a bottom-up academic expression, while guidance is more like a top-down policy guidance. Of course, they all have an important influence on preschool education in China.

(2) Concept orientation

1. Education

The core of "appropriate sex education" is still "education" as the core, or from the perspective of education to promote children's development. Therefore, the document particularly emphasizes the supporting and promoting role of education in children's development. According to this logic, suitability education especially emphasizes the role of teachers, who "confirm that teachers' knowledge and decisions have a very important impact on the effectiveness of education" (P2).

Since Dewey's downfall, the "child-centered" position has taken root in the United States. After a hundred years of development, we can see from the "suitability education" that the role and value of teachers in children's development have not been ignored because of "taking children as the center", but "teachers play an important role in the practice suitable for children's development, regardless of whether learning activities are led by adults or children" (P23). In other words, "teacher-led and child-led are equally important", the key lies in whether to promote children's deep learning.

The importance attached by appropriate education to teachers and children also stems from their "inclusive thinking in early educational practice" (P58), and they constantly struggle with "binary opposition" thinking.

study

Compared with sex education, the more prominent core of the guide is "learning". From the perspective of learning, it is more about learners' personal affairs and responsibilities, and the role of teachers has been dissolved to a certain extent, and teachers are more auxiliary roles.

In fact, from the narrative perspective of the text in the Guide, it is still described from the perspective of teachers, but from the name of the text, it is inevitable that the significance of education and the role of teachers will be weakened to some extent. This may have a lot to do with the current learning turn in education.

Another possible main trend of this learning turn is the disintegration of the relationship in education. This is just a concrete analysis of the next third point.

(3) Relationship

"Suitability education" emphasizes education, and education involves the relationship between teachers and children, and how the relationship directly determines the development of children. Therefore, "Suitability education" also pays special attention to the establishment of the relationship, especially the significance of the relationship between teachers and students, including the relationship between teachers and parents (not specifically discussed here).

Among them, the Principles of Children's Development and Learning Helpful to Practice clearly points out that "children will develop better if they establish a safe and sustained relationship with adults who can respond positively and get the opportunity to establish a positive relationship with their peers" (P 17). Following this principle, the first article of the Practical Guide to Child Development is "Building a caring learner community" (P2 1), which is rooted in the stable, positive and caring relationship between adults and children, between children, between teachers and between teachers and parents (P2 1).

In short, "relationship is an important link in children's development and learning". (page 22)

Compared with sex education, the guide emphasizes "learning" more and pays less attention to relationships. This may have a lot to do with their different emphases.

cultural diversity

From the perspective of education, suitability education focuses on relational existence in education, and a very important challenge in dealing with educational relations is cultural diversity.

When children come to nurseries, kindergartens and even primary schools, she is not a blank sheet of paper, but is influenced by family and society, that is, they always belong to children in a certain culture. Facing the differences of different cultures, what should we do as educators?

Therefore, "Suitability Education" attaches importance to "respecting and responding to the diversity of individuals and cultures" (P Preface), and puts forward that "educators must understand how their own cultural experience shapes their own views and understand the importance of having diverse views for children's development and learning" (P 18).

For teachers, cultural factors should be considered when establishing mutually beneficial cooperative relations with their parents, and a case of "Bridging Cultural Differences" (P55-56) is put forward, pointing out that "it is very important to listen to and accept different views with an open mind in the case of cultural differences, which is very important for all families they serve" (P55). Of course, there are more specific descriptions in this paper, so I won't repeat them here.

Compared with appropriate education, the guide may focus more on "learning", so it emphasizes "individual differences" and pays little attention to group differences (that is, cultural diversity).

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Of course, the difference between "proper sex education" and "guidance" is not just the above four aspects, which I personally think are more prominent. The comparison here is not to explain who is good and who is bad, but to better understand the two, because after all, the two texts are different in nature, focus, function and influence.

In addition, as mentioned above, there are many similarities between the two. For example, they all put forward the development points of different age groups and what the corresponding educators should do.

Let's go back to what I said earlier. It is inappropriate to call "proper education" a "green Bible", which goes against the educational philosophy of this book. As a carrier of faith, the Bible has a strong cultural exclusiveness, and the article insists on "tolerance" of cultural diversity. Besides, suitability education, as a collection of experiences based on practice and research, will be constantly tested and developed in practice and experience, which is also an important reason for its recognition-that is, the unity of practicality and academics. If it is faith, it is not something that needs to be tested and developed, but something that remains unchanged and eternal.

So to sum up, I personally think that although the propaganda of the book "Appropriate Sex Education" is somewhat exaggerated, it is also worth learning. I think as readers, we should also treat this book with an "inclusive" attitude.