Know our roots

in #steemiteducation5 years ago (edited)

My younger son had speech delay when he was young.

As a result, we focused on one language, English, that is most commonly used for most subjects in school.

As a Chinese, we often communicate in English since it is the most commonly used language.

At the age of 8 years old, my younger son refused to learn our Mother Tongue Language, Mandarin.

The doctor also recommended him to be exempted from our Mother Tongue Language in school since he had difficulty coping with other subjects.

Recently years, my son started to develop interest in his own Mother Tongue Language as he understands the rich culture.

This short article is to share some thoughts about knowing our own roots.


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Food

In every culture, food is often cooked differently.

Food is a universal tool for bonding beside filling our stomach whenever we have gathering.

As a Chinese, we do have many ways to cook our food. The history of our culture in food can go as far back into the ancient China.

One of the things that made my younger son to have the spark of interest in our own culture was through food.


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He refused to recognise being a Chinese when he was young and we did not force him.

He slowly understands our own rich culture and food is a good starter indeed.

History

China has a rich history but it is not my birth place. Nevertheless, my ancestors came from China.

As my younger son has developed interest in history so he got to find out about some China history.


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Every race has its rich history but not every child is exposed to history related to his own roots.

Allowing our children to know the different contributions and interesting facts about history of our roots not only enrich their minds but also build interest.

Drama and Songs

My son has limited amount of words he knows in Chinese.

One of the easiest ways is through dramas and movies in Chinese.


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As parents, we need to select the shows that our children would probably enjoy watching and let them learn the language in an engaging way.

Music is fun to most kids so getting our children to listen to the songs from our own culture can be non-threatening and simple.

We need to find ways that make them feel learning the language can be effortless and easy.

Simple online lesson package

Since my younger son has built up interest in Chinese, it is great to find online resource with English subtitles to help him since we may not always have the time to coach him.

Below are a few samples of the lesson package that I found.

With some online resources found, I can let my son have self-directed learning even when I am not at home.

In conclusion

It is important to start speaking my Mother Tongue Language at home even though I need time to get used to speaking it with my son.

Our roots may be diluted from one generation to another generation if we do not put in effort to retain it.

The fact is that I do have a dialect language that I am not able to speak properly since my parents did not speak to me in that language when I was young.

We should recognise our own culture and race.

Embrace our own roots and pass on the torch so that we do not lose our roots in years to come.

We should also teach our children to respect other cultures and roots so that there can be racial harmony and friendships. Just like I have developed good friendships with different races and people in steemit.



Disclaimer: This is my personal reflection and I am not in any position to instruct anyone what they should do. I am not responsible for any action taken as a result of this post. My post can only be a reference for your further research and growth. By reading this post, you acknowledge and accept that. All images and pictures were taken from google images that are free from copyright under labelled for reuse.


Posted from my blog with SteemPress : http://fun2learn.vornix.blog/2018/10/15/know-our-roots/

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Very good article @ funter2learn, I congratulate you. It is a theme that all families must touch at some time with their children, there are people who do not know what their roots are and, due to the circumstances of life, they will never find out, because the people who knew about them died. That's why we should not miss the opportunity now that we can talk to our children and grandchildren.
The videos that I did not understand, but I think it's just as good, I do not know neither English nor Chinese and less mandarain hahaha. Thanks to the Google translator, I read your pos.

Thank you for making the effort to read my article using google translator even though you do not read English.

Congratulations for your post, @fun2learn . Knowing the family roots is very important for everyone, it makes us know ourselves completely. Im glad to see your son began to show interest in his chinese roots. In addition, I think is a very rich and beautiful culture.

Thank you for your encouragement and positive comment.

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