Author: Leo Busca Gria

At the beginning of this century, my father grew up in a village in northern Italy. At that time, only wealthy families could afford their children's education. My father comes from a poor peasant family. He often tells us that as far as he can remember, he has never been absent from work for a day. In his life, he never had the idea of doing nothing. In fact, he can't understand how a person can not do things.

When my father was in the fifth grade, the family forced him to drop out of school regardless of the opposition of the teacher and the village priest. Both teachers and priests think that father is a student and can receive formal education, but father has gone to work in the factory.

Since then, the world has become his school. He is interested in everything. He reads all the books, magazines and newspapers he can get. He likes to listen to the talk of the elders in the town, so as to learn about the world outside this remote village where our Goliath family lived for generations in Busca. My father is very studious, and his curiosity about the outside world not only accompanied him across the ocean to the United States, but also passed it on to his family. He is determined to make every child get a good education.

Father thinks that the most unforgivable thing is that we are as ignorant when we sleep at night as when we wake up in the morning. "There are too many things to learn," he often said. "Although we are born ignorant, only fools will be like this forever."

In order to prevent his children from falling into the trap of complacency, he insists that we must learn new things every day, and dinner time seems to be the best occasion for us to exchange new knowledge.

We never thought about going against our father's wishes. Therefore, every time our brothers and sisters gather in the bathroom to wash their hands and prepare for dinner, we must ask each other, "What did you learn today?" If the answer is "nothing", then we will definitely look for something in our old encyclopedia first, otherwise we won't dare to eat at the table. For example, find out "What is the population of Nepal ..."

After each of us has "new knowledge", we can go to eat. I still remember that there was always a pile of high spaghetti on the dining table, often too high to see my sister sitting opposite.

There was a noise while eating, and the collision of cups and plates triggered an active conversation. We speak Italian piedmont dialect. This is to accommodate my mother who can't speak English. What we describe is not important and will not be ignored. Parents of both sides will listen carefully and give their opinions at any time. Their comments are often profound, analytical and to the point.

"It's smart to do so." "Idiot, why are you so confused?" "So, you deserve it." "However, no one is perfect." "Idiot, didn't we teach you?" "Well, that's really good."

Then there is the finale. It was our worst moment-communicating what we learned today.

At this time, the father sitting at the top of the table will push back his chair, pour a glass of red wine, light a strong Italian cigar, take a deep breath, spit out smoke, and then scan his children.

This move often makes us feel a little nervous, so we also look at our father and wait for him to speak. He will tell us that if we don't take a good look at us, we won't see us when we grow up. So, he will stare at his children, one by one.

Finally, his eyes will stop on one of us. "Felize," he said, calling my baptized name, "tell me what you learned today?"

"What I learned today is that the population of Nepal is ..."

There was a sudden silence at the dinner table.

I always find it strange that no matter what I say, my father will not think it is a trivial matter. First of all, he will think carefully about what I said, as if saving the world depends on what I said. "The population of Nepal. Hmm. All right. "

Then, my father will look at my mother sitting at the other end of the table and mix some leftover wine with her favorite fruit as usual. Q: "Do you know the answer?"

Mom's answer always makes the serious atmosphere fade. "Nepal?" She would say, "I don't know the population of Nepal, and I don't even know where it is in the world!" " "Of course, this answer is exactly what my father wants.

"Felize," my father would say, "give me the map and we will tell your mother where Nepal is." So the whole family began to look for Nepal on the map.

Similar things are repeated again and again until everyone in the family takes turns. So every time after dinner, we will add six kinds of knowledge like this.

We were all children at that time and didn't realize the beauty of this kind of education at all. We just can't wait to get out of the house and play a noisy can-kicking game with our friends who are less educated than us.

Looking back now, I realize what a vivid and powerful education my father gave us. Unconsciously, our whole family grew up together, shared experiences and participated in each other's education. By observing us, listening to our words, respecting our knowledge, affirming our value and cultivating our self-esteem, my father is undoubtedly the most influential mentor.

Soon after I entered the university, I decided to make teaching my lifelong career. At school, I studied with some of the most famous educators in China. Finally, I finished my education, and I have rich theories, terms and skills. But what makes me feel very interesting is to find that what those professors taught me is exactly what my father already knew-the value of continuous learning.

Father knows that the most wonderful thing in the world is people's learning ability, and a little knowledge may be beneficial to us. "Life is limited," he said, "and so is learning. What we become depends on what we have learned. "

My father's method has benefited me for life. Now, every night before going to bed, I hear my father say, "Felize, what did you learn today?"

Sometimes, I may not even remember one thing I learned this day. At this time, although I am very tired after a day's work, I will still get out of bed and look for something new on the bookshelf. After that, my father and I will rest in peace, because they know that this day has not been wasted. After all, no one can predict when the population of Nepal will be useful to you.