Monday, June 25, 2012
Why do Chinese Children become math nerds?
When Asian-American Jeremy Lin emerged from nowhere to the center stage of American athletics, New York city comptroller John Liu commented: “See, we're not just math nerds!" Where did this “math nerd” label come from?
First of all, it seems to be a positive prejudice. Chinese students (actually Asian students in general) usually benefit from positive stereotypes that they are good at math. If your parents, teachers, and classmates keep saying that you are supposed to be good at math, sometimes you will start to believe it. In America, I don’t see a corresponding math pride among either younger students or adults. On the contrary, there might even be an element of anti-intellectualism when it comes to math. Many intellectuals seem to take pride in saying how bad their math is, as if saying so would influence others to believe they are good in other areas. While attending a conference in 2007, I was shocked to hear from a keynote speaker Dr. Steven D. Levitt, co-author of Freakonomics, talking how horrible his math was. I like the self-degrading humor , but it also reveals a tongue-in-cheek attitude towards poor math performance in the American culture. In China, however, you hear doggerels such as: “Master of math, physics and chemistry, will survive without anxiety.”
Parental support was also reported to have helped Chinese children. For all I know, Chinese parents are deeply involved, almost to a fault, in children’s math education, though many parents do not become well involved in many other areas. Many immigrants felt a disadvantage in language and communication, and refrain from helping their children for fear of spoiling their learning with their own imperfect knowledge. Math, however, is less dependent on language skills, and parents feel more confident in helping their children with, especially in earlier years. Ethnic communities also have weekend programs such as the Chinese schools where parents talk about math education. Such programs add to peer pressure among parents to teach children more math.
Pedagogy in math teaching probably also makes a difference. In most Chinese classes, math teaching is more “formal”, involving a great amount of uninterrupted teaching from the podium. A certain amount of rote memorization, which is frowned upon and underutilized in the US classroom, may help in establishing some fundamental knowledge, which in turn assists in the next stage of learning. While countries like China may err on the side of too much rote memorization, American schools sometimes err on the side of “process-oriented instruction” in which “mere facts, such as historical dates, names, and events, are treated with contempt” while facts can actually be “complex things which have connections and logical implications which reach beyond themselves, according to Drs. Howley and Pendarvis in their book Out of Our Minds. Asian parents take it for granted for kids to memorize math formula, while it may not be something American parents and teachers emphasize as much.
Increased time on task may also have been helpful. In the little American town where I live, I know that most Chinese parents either teach their children math or send them to a math class in students’ “spare time”, while their American classmates go to ball games, band practices or other activities that seem to be less essential for many Asian parents. Back in China, even from elementary schools, many parents take children to “math Olympic” classes which give the winning children advantages when taking exams for their middle or high schools.
Such “head start” Chinese students have is all good, but I am afraid it may not always translate to later advantages or career choices. Second generation Asian children is less pressed by the need to “integrate” into the American societies by finding a stable occupation and securing a permanent resident card. These children are actually more capable of pursuing their “American dream”. In such pursuits, more second generation Asian children move on to non-STEM majors than their parents, who used to perceive math, science and engineering majors as more capable of helping them to land a permanent job.
Another concern is that parental support in earlier years can become crutches. Once withdrawn, students find they are not really good at or interested in math themselves, unless parents have made conscientious effort to cultivate curiosity and interest along the way while building their knowledge in earlier years.
Even positive stereotyping can backfire. One of my friends graduated from China’s top Science and Technology University, and he complained that his daughter became very frustrated with math because he was angry every time he taught. Instead, his daughter showed great talent in reading and writing, which do not seem to be areas where immigrant children would prosper.
Compared to their first generation immigrant parents who were toughly trained in mathematics, these second-generation immigrant children do not necessarily have an innate advantage in an area. The good news is that they do not have an innate disadvantage either in other areas.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Joy of Learning
My colleague Professor Jim Dvorak once came back from his classroom asking: “Did you hear any loud explosion in the classroom?” Seeing the shock on my face, he chuckled: ”It's students' minds being blown away! “
For a teacher, it ought to be deeply satisfying to set students’ minds ablaze. Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) said that “education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” Becoming such an educational arsonist involves more than a secret pedagogical match. It requires one to care about students, and to have a deep understanding of human psychology to help students learn with focus, purpose, confidence, and satisfaction.
I became interested in student motivation as I notice an increasing number of Chinese children dropping out of weekend Chinese schools. As untrained volunteers, many teachers are actually parents who teach the way they were taught while growing up in China, while the conditions for learning have changed for children. As a result, students can be frustrated or bored to tears with classes. Whey kids say they would wash dishes than going to the Chinese school, something is very wrong in the ways they learn. How are they going to love their roots in Chinese and China if all their memory is associated with pain?
The school invited veteran overseas Chinese teacher Professor Zhang Yajun to talk about Chinese teaching. Professor Zhang said something that really struck a cord in me: “In Chinese, we have so many expressions about ‘hard’ learning”, emphasizing that learning is necessarily difficult, without paying equal attention to the joys learning brings." We say things like “Hard work is the path in the mountain of books, arduous work is the boat in the sea of learning.” What if, for instance, you row the boat without the compass to navigate? Or worse, what if you don’t know where you are going in the first place?
Elements like purpose, effort, and play should be artfully orchestrated to produce the conditions for learning. In his book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robionson stresses the importance of finding our intrinsic motivation which will guide us to live a productive and satisfying life. This ought to lead us Chinese to think beyond mere hard work.
There is nothing wrong with hard work itself. Most cultures stress hard work. In our agricultural tradition we say: “One portion of cultivation yields one portion of crop” (一分耕耘一分收获). Children in other cultures say similar things like “No bees, no honey; no work, no money.” Time on task is often one of the key contributors towards success at learning. Let’s not forget, however, that those who are effective learners have increased time doing what they enjoy or what they perceive to be meaningful, useful or at the very least necessary.
Take meaning for instance. When there is personal meaning to the subject matter, learning is not bitter and hard. For instance, students may be lukewarm towards teacher-assigned online discussions, but see what happens on their Facebook pages. What’s the difference there? Students simply find their Facebook sites to be places they “own”, or so they think.
Chinese parents often find it legitimate to force children to endure the hardships of learning without explaining why they are learning what they learn, using such lame excuses as: “they will understand it when they grow up.” If you cannot articulate the purpose to your children, maybe you do not know the purpose yourself. Maybe you just follow the faceless middle-class crowds who spend money sending their children to various after-school classes – let me be brutally honest here -- to have an illusion of being responsible. In these classes teachers pretend to teach and children pretend to learn. Your children may spend years studying piano to pass level tests, only to throw away all the books and never touch piano again when they “grow up”. Tell me about delayed satisfaction, and I can tell you about destroyed motivation, often happening in slow motion, over many years and across many regions.
If you love your child, transform learning into a voyage as described in the poem Ithaca by Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy(1863 –1933):
“Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time.”
If there is such pursuit for discovery, then there is no need to fear “the Lestrygonians and the Cyclops, the angry Poseidon” in the learning process.
China Daily, March 19 2012
For a teacher, it ought to be deeply satisfying to set students’ minds ablaze. Irish poet William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) said that “education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” Becoming such an educational arsonist involves more than a secret pedagogical match. It requires one to care about students, and to have a deep understanding of human psychology to help students learn with focus, purpose, confidence, and satisfaction.
I became interested in student motivation as I notice an increasing number of Chinese children dropping out of weekend Chinese schools. As untrained volunteers, many teachers are actually parents who teach the way they were taught while growing up in China, while the conditions for learning have changed for children. As a result, students can be frustrated or bored to tears with classes. Whey kids say they would wash dishes than going to the Chinese school, something is very wrong in the ways they learn. How are they going to love their roots in Chinese and China if all their memory is associated with pain?
The school invited veteran overseas Chinese teacher Professor Zhang Yajun to talk about Chinese teaching. Professor Zhang said something that really struck a cord in me: “In Chinese, we have so many expressions about ‘hard’ learning”, emphasizing that learning is necessarily difficult, without paying equal attention to the joys learning brings." We say things like “Hard work is the path in the mountain of books, arduous work is the boat in the sea of learning.” What if, for instance, you row the boat without the compass to navigate? Or worse, what if you don’t know where you are going in the first place?
Elements like purpose, effort, and play should be artfully orchestrated to produce the conditions for learning. In his book The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything, Ken Robionson stresses the importance of finding our intrinsic motivation which will guide us to live a productive and satisfying life. This ought to lead us Chinese to think beyond mere hard work.
There is nothing wrong with hard work itself. Most cultures stress hard work. In our agricultural tradition we say: “One portion of cultivation yields one portion of crop” (一分耕耘一分收获). Children in other cultures say similar things like “No bees, no honey; no work, no money.” Time on task is often one of the key contributors towards success at learning. Let’s not forget, however, that those who are effective learners have increased time doing what they enjoy or what they perceive to be meaningful, useful or at the very least necessary.
Take meaning for instance. When there is personal meaning to the subject matter, learning is not bitter and hard. For instance, students may be lukewarm towards teacher-assigned online discussions, but see what happens on their Facebook pages. What’s the difference there? Students simply find their Facebook sites to be places they “own”, or so they think.
Chinese parents often find it legitimate to force children to endure the hardships of learning without explaining why they are learning what they learn, using such lame excuses as: “they will understand it when they grow up.” If you cannot articulate the purpose to your children, maybe you do not know the purpose yourself. Maybe you just follow the faceless middle-class crowds who spend money sending their children to various after-school classes – let me be brutally honest here -- to have an illusion of being responsible. In these classes teachers pretend to teach and children pretend to learn. Your children may spend years studying piano to pass level tests, only to throw away all the books and never touch piano again when they “grow up”. Tell me about delayed satisfaction, and I can tell you about destroyed motivation, often happening in slow motion, over many years and across many regions.
If you love your child, transform learning into a voyage as described in the poem Ithaca by Greek poet Constantine P. Cavafy(1863 –1933):
“Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time.”
If there is such pursuit for discovery, then there is no need to fear “the Lestrygonians and the Cyclops, the angry Poseidon” in the learning process.
China Daily, March 19 2012
shocking scenes behind the fabrication scandal
On Jan 6, National Public Radio of America aired an episode of This American Life featuring excerpts from actor Mike Daisey's solo show, The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, describing Daisy's supposed findings from a "research trip" to Shenzhen, China, and the allegedly miserable working conditions at FoxConn, one of Apple's major manufacturers in China.
Daisey is not a journalist, but an independent performer of a one-man show. In his show he uses dramatic license to include exaggerations and fabrications for theatrical effect. However, this is no longer Marco Polo's world when one traveler to a faraway land can tell a story the way he wants and everybody simply believes him, and the loopholes in Daisey's story were soon exposed and discussed and analyzed in other major media outlets.
I am afraid that this greater truth is being lost in the media glare of the scandal. For instance, some have claimed that contrary to working long hours in a sweatshop, workers at FoxConn actually complain of not having enough overtime. Counterintuitive as this may sound, it is only natural given the fact that a large number of factory workers are migrant workers who have come to these factories to make money as quickly as possible to realize dreams that are common to many people the world over: buying a house, getting married, having a family. Cut off from their families and previous rural lives, of course they do not mind some extra work, especially if it means they get double pay.
Ignorant of this context, labor organizations and international media are all too quick to rigidly apply the standards of developed countries when evaluating working conditions in a Chinese factory. So wages are increased a little and "overtime" is cut. This makes everyone happy, except the workers, who can no longer work more to earn more.
But regardless of the hours they work, Chinese workers endure working and living conditions that no American worker today would accept. Benchmarked against working conditions in the developed world, many businesses in China would not even be marked a C or D. As a developing country, China's labor conditions are the same as those experienced by US workers years or decades ago.
As a nation China should be committed to improving the working conditions for the tens of millions of migrant workers, and should strive to create jobs closer to their homes or make it easier for them to settle in the cities where they work.
To me, that is the greater truth that needs telling.
Daisey is not a journalist, but an independent performer of a one-man show. In his show he uses dramatic license to include exaggerations and fabrications for theatrical effect. However, this is no longer Marco Polo's world when one traveler to a faraway land can tell a story the way he wants and everybody simply believes him, and the loopholes in Daisey's story were soon exposed and discussed and analyzed in other major media outlets.
As a result, Ira Glass, the producer and host of This American Life retracted the program aired on Jan 6 and produced a 58-minute program in which Glass interrogated Daisey as a lawyer would interrogate a criminal. Daisey's telltale pauses and silences were faithfully kept in this Pinteresque radio drama about truth and lies.
Daisey has defended himself by saying: "What I do is not journalism. The tools of the theater are not the same as the tools of journalism. For this reason, I regret that I allowed This American Life to air an excerpt from my monologue. This American Life is essentially a journalistic not a theatrical enterprise, and as such it operates under a different set of rules and expectations."
However, the furor over Daisey's dramatic license means that in the future, people in the United States will be very cautions about criticizing Apple's processing operations and FoxConn's labor conditions. This may be great news for Corporate America, but it is very bad news for the workers in China who produce the products these multinationals profit from.
However, the furor over Daisey's dramatic license means that in the future, people in the United States will be very cautions about criticizing Apple's processing operations and FoxConn's labor conditions. This may be great news for Corporate America, but it is very bad news for the workers in China who produce the products these multinationals profit from.
I am afraid that this greater truth is being lost in the media glare of the scandal. For instance, some have claimed that contrary to working long hours in a sweatshop, workers at FoxConn actually complain of not having enough overtime. Counterintuitive as this may sound, it is only natural given the fact that a large number of factory workers are migrant workers who have come to these factories to make money as quickly as possible to realize dreams that are common to many people the world over: buying a house, getting married, having a family. Cut off from their families and previous rural lives, of course they do not mind some extra work, especially if it means they get double pay.
Ignorant of this context, labor organizations and international media are all too quick to rigidly apply the standards of developed countries when evaluating working conditions in a Chinese factory. So wages are increased a little and "overtime" is cut. This makes everyone happy, except the workers, who can no longer work more to earn more.
But regardless of the hours they work, Chinese workers endure working and living conditions that no American worker today would accept. Benchmarked against working conditions in the developed world, many businesses in China would not even be marked a C or D. As a developing country, China's labor conditions are the same as those experienced by US workers years or decades ago.
As a nation China should be committed to improving the working conditions for the tens of millions of migrant workers, and should strive to create jobs closer to their homes or make it easier for them to settle in the cities where they work.
To me, that is the greater truth that needs telling.
(China Daily 03/28/2012 page8)
Top 5 problems an average Chinese faces
A friend recently asked about the top five problems in China from the perspective of an average Chinese. And here are a few that I listed as an average Chinese, thinking aloud mainly:
1. Geographic mobility: China has a rigid residency system called "hukou" which is tied to many things, such as housing, employment, schooling and social benefits. In the past you had to work where your "hukou" was. Though there is increasing flexibility now (you can work in another place with a temporary "hukou"), the system still restricts people from living and working wherever they want. Hukou causes an artificial divide among people, which has deep socioeconomical, psychological and political implications. An overhaul is long overdue, but politicians do not have the guts to fix it for fear that such massive changes will cause things to go out of control. People capable of speaking for change are shortsighted, unwilling to give up what they consider to be advantages they have "earned", and underestimating the perils of living in a society artificially divided.
Migrant worker phenomenon is a result of such a system. People who migrate to another city to work fulfill some job needs, but they do not identify with the city, and that may cause all types of problems. Divide into urban and rural hukou also raises concerns of social equality and systematic prejudice within the nation.
2. Education, especially children's education (K12). There is a dual anxiety among parents: dismayed that their child is not learning what he or she is supposed to learn as a developing person, while being fearful of allowing the child to lack behind in the rat race, insane as it is. Though Americans sometimes look to China for experience and expertise in advancing STEM subjects, most Chinese would dismiss such praises. What is the use of excelling in the exams earned with extra effort and training, if schools do not guide students to develop sustainable competencies to face the future?
Higher education is also broken. Programs are measured in terms of "research". Only the young and less experienced faculty do the hard work of teaching. "Research" becomes like the "Great Leap Forward" in the 50s and 60s, creating an illusion of being productive, when most products are shoddy. In the meantime, students do not get the quality education they paid for.
Due to the lack of a better educational model, people do not grow up learning to think for themselves and pursue their dreams, as the Chinese educational system is heavily based on norm-referenced tests which you have to excel to beat competitors. Schools graduate excellent test-takers, but not as many independent thinkers, qualified researchers, responsible citizens, and so on.
3. Housing: The price of housing is prohibitively high for young workers. Young people choose to stay in bigger cities because they think that's where the opportunities are (once again, this ties back to the hukou issue, which causes disparity in resource allocation), so cities like Shanghai and Beijing have soaring housing prices.
4. Healthcare: The system is problematic in all sorts of ways. For instance, doctors are poorly paid and some resort to corrupted practices (such as accepting kickbacks and bribes). Insurance sometimes does not cover critical illnesses that require expensive treatments. A major illness can reduce a family's living standards to ground zero. People always talk about what "developed countries" are doing, unfortunately America is not much of an example either at this moment.
5. Pride: One sad thing that I observed is that many Chinese have lost the pride of belonging to China, which is rather unusual in Chinese history. Social mobility was seen by some as having deteriorated. There is a sense that the second generations of the poor will stay poor because children of the rich and the powerful has too much of a head start.
The wealth China has accumulated does not have anything to do with the average guy on the street. The government may spend billions pleasing an European government, but poor kids in the countryside still depend on the good will of charity givers to have a decent schoolhouse. The average Chinese feel disconnected to the rhetorics the government is promoting on TV. Except the powerful and the rich, few people have anything to do with the "emerging superpower" construct western media promotes.
There is much anxiety about the future of the country, developing like this, allowing money to run over every other principle a civil society needs to function. This is best illustrated by the case of 18 people passing by as a little girl lie on a street dying after a traffic accident last year.
However, I believe that the pride is still dormant. Despair and helplessness have dampened everything for the moment.
1. Geographic mobility: China has a rigid residency system called "hukou" which is tied to many things, such as housing, employment, schooling and social benefits. In the past you had to work where your "hukou" was. Though there is increasing flexibility now (you can work in another place with a temporary "hukou"), the system still restricts people from living and working wherever they want. Hukou causes an artificial divide among people, which has deep socioeconomical, psychological and political implications. An overhaul is long overdue, but politicians do not have the guts to fix it for fear that such massive changes will cause things to go out of control. People capable of speaking for change are shortsighted, unwilling to give up what they consider to be advantages they have "earned", and underestimating the perils of living in a society artificially divided.
Migrant worker phenomenon is a result of such a system. People who migrate to another city to work fulfill some job needs, but they do not identify with the city, and that may cause all types of problems. Divide into urban and rural hukou also raises concerns of social equality and systematic prejudice within the nation.
2. Education, especially children's education (K12). There is a dual anxiety among parents: dismayed that their child is not learning what he or she is supposed to learn as a developing person, while being fearful of allowing the child to lack behind in the rat race, insane as it is. Though Americans sometimes look to China for experience and expertise in advancing STEM subjects, most Chinese would dismiss such praises. What is the use of excelling in the exams earned with extra effort and training, if schools do not guide students to develop sustainable competencies to face the future?
Higher education is also broken. Programs are measured in terms of "research". Only the young and less experienced faculty do the hard work of teaching. "Research" becomes like the "Great Leap Forward" in the 50s and 60s, creating an illusion of being productive, when most products are shoddy. In the meantime, students do not get the quality education they paid for.
Due to the lack of a better educational model, people do not grow up learning to think for themselves and pursue their dreams, as the Chinese educational system is heavily based on norm-referenced tests which you have to excel to beat competitors. Schools graduate excellent test-takers, but not as many independent thinkers, qualified researchers, responsible citizens, and so on.
3. Housing: The price of housing is prohibitively high for young workers. Young people choose to stay in bigger cities because they think that's where the opportunities are (once again, this ties back to the hukou issue, which causes disparity in resource allocation), so cities like Shanghai and Beijing have soaring housing prices.
4. Healthcare: The system is problematic in all sorts of ways. For instance, doctors are poorly paid and some resort to corrupted practices (such as accepting kickbacks and bribes). Insurance sometimes does not cover critical illnesses that require expensive treatments. A major illness can reduce a family's living standards to ground zero. People always talk about what "developed countries" are doing, unfortunately America is not much of an example either at this moment.
5. Pride: One sad thing that I observed is that many Chinese have lost the pride of belonging to China, which is rather unusual in Chinese history. Social mobility was seen by some as having deteriorated. There is a sense that the second generations of the poor will stay poor because children of the rich and the powerful has too much of a head start.
The wealth China has accumulated does not have anything to do with the average guy on the street. The government may spend billions pleasing an European government, but poor kids in the countryside still depend on the good will of charity givers to have a decent schoolhouse. The average Chinese feel disconnected to the rhetorics the government is promoting on TV. Except the powerful and the rich, few people have anything to do with the "emerging superpower" construct western media promotes.
There is much anxiety about the future of the country, developing like this, allowing money to run over every other principle a civil society needs to function. This is best illustrated by the case of 18 people passing by as a little girl lie on a street dying after a traffic accident last year.
However, I believe that the pride is still dormant. Despair and helplessness have dampened everything for the moment.
Sunday, March 18, 2012
The “Lei Fengs” of Oklahoma
Towards the end of Sunday service, our church usually has an activity called “Family Time”. This is a very engaging time for the congregation, and I often pay great attention. During this time, people announce birthdays of themselves, their spouses or other relatives. Kids announce that they are becoming “big sister” or “big brother” (meaning his or her mom is pregnant). Or they tell people they lost a tooth.
In any event, there are all sorts of interesting announcements going on. I have mentioned in the past that Sunday service at church is not merely a time for worshipping, though that is indeed a central piece to the gathering. Sunday service is also an important social occasion in America where people meet and socialize. In this busy and vast land where you cannot just walk over to a friend’s house, Sunday service can be the only occasion for some to meet. People take advantage of such opportunities to exchange news of each of their small families through this larger platform called “family time”.
During today’s Family Time, a gentleman stood up saying that he hadn’t been to church for quite some time, mostly for health reasons. Two years ago, he suffered from a heart attack without any prior symptoms. One would expect that nobody in the church would care any more since he isn’t coming to the church services. Surprisingly, people came to the hospital to visit him, sent him cards and kept praying for him. He fully recovered from his heart disease afterwards.
As the congregation wanted to applaud during the pause, he said: “Wait, you are not done with me yet.” He continued to say that after he recovered, he went to build his barn, but fell down and hurt his ankle. Mark, one of his neighbors who also comes to our church, found out about the accident and offered to help. He found several men and women from the church who spent several Saturdays to get his barn built. Choked with emotion, he announced each one of their names.
Soon, another gentleman (Tom) stood up, saying that the same group of people also came to help him build his fence, and he acknowledged them too. Now I remembered about this “gang” of people from our church, including my boss John, VP of IT services at Oklahoma Christian University, who sometimes went to help people using their own weekend time. I remember hearing that in 2010, when Oklahoma was having a historic snow storm, John hauled his new snow blower to people’s houses to blow away the thick layers of snow on his friends’ driveways.
March the 5th is the day when the Chinese people honor the legendary Lei Feng who was known for his help of others during his short lifetime. Every year, people perform some good deeds to honor this man whose name has become synonymous with “good deeds” in China. Every year at this time, schools and government agencies organize activities to “do good work”, such as sweeping the floor for some railway stations. I heard that some railway station managers even became annoyed by this, as his station has been swept multiple times on that day. It became disruptive. When he did need some help, nobody is there because the day to learn from Lei Feng has passed. Anyway if you have difficulty crossing a street in China, try to be there on March 5.
In churches in America, I see such living Lei Fengs everywhere. Some do not spend around fifteen minutes sweeping the floor. They do such heavy work as mending fences and helping people to move. When I passed Nashville, Tennessee several years ago, I heard of a gentleman from a Chinese church called Mr. He. Mr. He was known to have helped almost all Chinese families move. He did this year after year for dozens of years. His excuse is that this is a way for him to get some exercise. Most people in these churches do such good work routinely. They are rarely acknowledged, and they don’t seem to care.
Such consistent help is possible because they all feel they are joined by the same faith, which teaches that all Christians are of the same heart, that they belong to each other as parts of the same body. Only in such faith can one share hardships and help. If we can give meaning to the good deeds we are supposed to do, Lei Fengs will no longer be some rare individuals of the past we hardly can relate to. On the other hand, if we reduce good deeds to just a matter of tradition we blindly follow, the Lei Fengs will be gone soon enough, with the gentle breeze of April, till we remember him again next March.
“团契新闻”中间，有一个老者站了起来，说他叫莱瑞, 过去来过我们教会，当时已经好久没来了，主要是身体原因。两年前，他毫无征兆地突发心脏病。本以为离开了教会，就不会有人再来理睬他。谁知道不断有人去医院探望，不断有人给他寄卡片，不断有人为他祷告，他的心脏病后来痊愈了。
大家正要鼓掌，他又说：等等，我还没完。他说，心脏病康复之后，他兴致勃勃地开始修建自己的谷仓，倒霉得很，又从梯子上摔倒下来，把脚踝骨摔断了。隔壁邻居马克， 也是我们教会的一个成员，看到他这状况，说我跟你找几个人来帮你给修完。于是教会一伙男子，抽了几个星期六时间，一起把他的谷仓修了起来。他一一报这些人的名字，报着报着就控制不住哽咽起来。
又过不久，又有一个老者站起来，说巧了，他家篱笆也是这伙人帮着修起来的，所以一并表示感谢。我这才发现，这是一个利用周末时间帮人的团伙，其中包括我的老板，学校负责信息技术的副校长约翰。记得前年下大雪时候也有人说过，他正发愁怎么出门，约翰就用皮卡拉着自己的吹雪机过来，把他门口雪给吹走了。
三月五日是中国的雷锋日，这一天大家纪念传奇的雷锋。雷锋一生做好事，大家每年三月五日学雷锋，把他的名字和“好人好事”联系在一起了。每年到这个时候，学校和政府机关等单位都安排做好人好事活动，比如去火车站打扫卫生。我听说有些火车站站长都开始抱怨，说他的火车站已经不知道被扫了几遍了，都有些不胜其烦。但是真正需要人来帮忙的时候，却找不到人，因为学雷锋日过去了。
不过在教会里，这样的“活雷锋”比比皆是。有很多干的还不是去火车站花个十五分钟扫地这种小事，而是给人修篱笆、搬家这种粗活重活。以前路过田纳西，听当地华人教会里有人说一位何姓先生，几乎所有中国人家搬家他都去帮过忙，说是锻炼身体。几十年下来，这些好事做了都不知有几火车。不过多半情况下，这些人只不过是默默在做，知道的人也不是很多。能这么做，终归是大家觉得在同一信仰下，大家同心合一，互为肢体，如此才患难与共，相互扶持。只要人们对自己要做的事情赋予意义，活雷锋到处都是。倘若只是走形式，那么，当四月的清风降临大地的时候，雷锋们就随风而逝了，直到下一年的三月。
In any event, there are all sorts of interesting announcements going on. I have mentioned in the past that Sunday service at church is not merely a time for worshipping, though that is indeed a central piece to the gathering. Sunday service is also an important social occasion in America where people meet and socialize. In this busy and vast land where you cannot just walk over to a friend’s house, Sunday service can be the only occasion for some to meet. People take advantage of such opportunities to exchange news of each of their small families through this larger platform called “family time”.
During today’s Family Time, a gentleman stood up saying that he hadn’t been to church for quite some time, mostly for health reasons. Two years ago, he suffered from a heart attack without any prior symptoms. One would expect that nobody in the church would care any more since he isn’t coming to the church services. Surprisingly, people came to the hospital to visit him, sent him cards and kept praying for him. He fully recovered from his heart disease afterwards.
As the congregation wanted to applaud during the pause, he said: “Wait, you are not done with me yet.” He continued to say that after he recovered, he went to build his barn, but fell down and hurt his ankle. Mark, one of his neighbors who also comes to our church, found out about the accident and offered to help. He found several men and women from the church who spent several Saturdays to get his barn built. Choked with emotion, he announced each one of their names.
Soon, another gentleman (Tom) stood up, saying that the same group of people also came to help him build his fence, and he acknowledged them too. Now I remembered about this “gang” of people from our church, including my boss John, VP of IT services at Oklahoma Christian University, who sometimes went to help people using their own weekend time. I remember hearing that in 2010, when Oklahoma was having a historic snow storm, John hauled his new snow blower to people’s houses to blow away the thick layers of snow on his friends’ driveways.
March the 5th is the day when the Chinese people honor the legendary Lei Feng who was known for his help of others during his short lifetime. Every year, people perform some good deeds to honor this man whose name has become synonymous with “good deeds” in China. Every year at this time, schools and government agencies organize activities to “do good work”, such as sweeping the floor for some railway stations. I heard that some railway station managers even became annoyed by this, as his station has been swept multiple times on that day. It became disruptive. When he did need some help, nobody is there because the day to learn from Lei Feng has passed. Anyway if you have difficulty crossing a street in China, try to be there on March 5.
In churches in America, I see such living Lei Fengs everywhere. Some do not spend around fifteen minutes sweeping the floor. They do such heavy work as mending fences and helping people to move. When I passed Nashville, Tennessee several years ago, I heard of a gentleman from a Chinese church called Mr. He. Mr. He was known to have helped almost all Chinese families move. He did this year after year for dozens of years. His excuse is that this is a way for him to get some exercise. Most people in these churches do such good work routinely. They are rarely acknowledged, and they don’t seem to care.
Such consistent help is possible because they all feel they are joined by the same faith, which teaches that all Christians are of the same heart, that they belong to each other as parts of the same body. Only in such faith can one share hardships and help. If we can give meaning to the good deeds we are supposed to do, Lei Fengs will no longer be some rare individuals of the past we hardly can relate to. On the other hand, if we reduce good deeds to just a matter of tradition we blindly follow, the Lei Fengs will be gone soon enough, with the gentle breeze of April, till we remember him again next March.
Original Chinese article:
俄克拉荷马的雷锋班
南桥
教会礼拜结束之后，有一段时间叫“团契新闻”（Family Time）, 内容比较丰富，这通常是我听得最聚精会神的时候。发言的人，有的说自己的老伴生日到了，有的说自己的女儿被选上学校乐队了，有的小孩说他快当“大姐姐”了（告知大家她妈怀孕的消息），还有小孩说自己掉一个牙齿了。总之，包罗万象，无奇不有。教会除了礼拜之外，也是一个重要的社交场所。 美国地广人稀，大家没有约会不随便串门，所以对很多人来说，做礼拜甚至是唯一的社交场所。很多人利用这个时间，介绍家里的新闻。
俄克拉荷马的雷锋班
南桥
教会礼拜结束之后，有一段时间叫“团契新闻”（Family Time）, 内容比较丰富，这通常是我听得最聚精会神的时候。发言的人，有的说自己的老伴生日到了，有的说自己的女儿被选上学校乐队了，有的小孩说他快当“大姐姐”了（告知大家她妈怀孕的消息），还有小孩说自己掉一个牙齿了。总之，包罗万象，无奇不有。教会除了礼拜之外，也是一个重要的社交场所。 美国地广人稀，大家没有约会不随便串门，所以对很多人来说，做礼拜甚至是唯一的社交场所。很多人利用这个时间，介绍家里的新闻。
“团契新闻”中间，有一个老者站了起来，说他叫莱瑞, 过去来过我们教会，当时已经好久没来了，主要是身体原因。两年前，他毫无征兆地突发心脏病。本以为离开了教会，就不会有人再来理睬他。谁知道不断有人去医院探望，不断有人给他寄卡片，不断有人为他祷告，他的心脏病后来痊愈了。
大家正要鼓掌，他又说：等等，我还没完。他说，心脏病康复之后，他兴致勃勃地开始修建自己的谷仓，倒霉得很，又从梯子上摔倒下来，把脚踝骨摔断了。隔壁邻居马克， 也是我们教会的一个成员，看到他这状况，说我跟你找几个人来帮你给修完。于是教会一伙男子，抽了几个星期六时间，一起把他的谷仓修了起来。他一一报这些人的名字，报着报着就控制不住哽咽起来。
又过不久，又有一个老者站起来，说巧了，他家篱笆也是这伙人帮着修起来的，所以一并表示感谢。我这才发现，这是一个利用周末时间帮人的团伙，其中包括我的老板，学校负责信息技术的副校长约翰。记得前年下大雪时候也有人说过，他正发愁怎么出门，约翰就用皮卡拉着自己的吹雪机过来，把他门口雪给吹走了。
三月五日是中国的雷锋日，这一天大家纪念传奇的雷锋。雷锋一生做好事，大家每年三月五日学雷锋，把他的名字和“好人好事”联系在一起了。每年到这个时候，学校和政府机关等单位都安排做好人好事活动，比如去火车站打扫卫生。我听说有些火车站站长都开始抱怨，说他的火车站已经不知道被扫了几遍了，都有些不胜其烦。但是真正需要人来帮忙的时候，却找不到人，因为学雷锋日过去了。
不过在教会里，这样的“活雷锋”比比皆是。有很多干的还不是去火车站花个十五分钟扫地这种小事，而是给人修篱笆、搬家这种粗活重活。以前路过田纳西，听当地华人教会里有人说一位何姓先生，几乎所有中国人家搬家他都去帮过忙，说是锻炼身体。几十年下来，这些好事做了都不知有几火车。不过多半情况下，这些人只不过是默默在做，知道的人也不是很多。能这么做，终归是大家觉得在同一信仰下，大家同心合一，互为肢体，如此才患难与共，相互扶持。只要人们对自己要做的事情赋予意义，活雷锋到处都是。倘若只是走形式，那么，当四月的清风降临大地的时候，雷锋们就随风而逝了，直到下一年的三月。
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