What is being a tutor?

Tutoring, that is, family education, is synonymous with the education of the elders to the younger generation and children. It has long been a side of China's traditional culture. It is an important part of folk custom.

The content of family education is very extensive, including moral education, intellectual education, talent development and aesthetic education for children and adolescents. In fact, family elders exert influence on children and young people everywhere. For a long time, the traditional feudal moral norms, ethical relations and knowledge structure of the Chinese nation have been passed on to future generations through words and deeds, and this kind of education and transmission has formed the content of family education. Almost all urban and rural people, ordinary people know that "it is the father's fault to raise but not teach".

In the old days, the content of family education was mainly Confucius and Mencius. In moral education, the principles of "loyalty, filial piety and righteousness" are instilled in future generations. For women, in addition to "loyalty, filial piety and righteousness", "three cardinal principles" and "five permanents" should be added. These moral education. The minds of the old people were filled with many feudal moral concepts and norms, which to some extent formed the shackles that bound people's thoughts.

In rural cities, the official "filial piety" contains many contents, and twenty-four filial piety is the achievement of filial piety.

Of course, in the backward traditional concept, family education also contains correct factors and components. For example, the industriousness, simplicity, diligence, loyalty and kindness of working people are all important contents of moral education. There is also the traditional history and culture of the Chinese nation, which is also edifying and influencing future generations, children and younger generations. In the past, many propaganda contents of New Year pictures sold in cities and rural areas were related to moral education. In the old society, many families hung pictures of "Twenty-four Filial Piety" and mother-in-law tattooed pictures of "loyalty to serve the country" to educate people to be both loyal and filial.

As for rural and urban areas, parents have taught their children to be hygienic and thrifty at home since childhood, and often let them read the ancient poem "It's noon when weeding, and every grain is hard when eating Chinese food" to tell the hard-won truth about food. The purpose is to let children develop the virtue of thrift and the habit of respecting the fruits of others' labor.

With the development of society and the change of ideas, modern family education has got rid of the old traditional education mode and become a brand-new family education content. Of course, it has inherited many traditional, reasonable and correct educational contents and methods in history.

Nowadays, ambitious children will certainly put forward strict requirements for their children in culture. Many parents are hands-on tutors, or send them to professional preschool classes for preschool education, such as learning painting, calligraphy, music, dance, radio and other professional contents in juvenile officials to increase their knowledge and learn a skill.

There are many piano training classes such as electronic organ and violin in today's society, which have become an integral part of family education.

In infancy, parents or kindergartens often instill some enlightenment or basic knowledge through nursery rhymes, stories, nursery rhymes, etc., to cultivate children's understanding of things and at least the concept of right and wrong, so that children can be edified in their young minds.

Some on-site labor practices will also let children and teenagers know about society, life and labor skills, which is also a kind of family education. For example, in rural areas, mowing grass, grazing cattle, herding sheep, firewood, weeding and watering in the wild; Go to the mountains to plant trees, pick herbs, pick mushrooms and see orchards; Harvesting, hauling, threshing in autumn harvest season, and even learning to be a carpenter, blacksmith and other technical jobs can exercise people's labor concept and learn and master one or even several technical jobs.

Elders play a subtle role in teaching by example, which is why teaching by example is more important than teaching by example. We can also see the important role of family education on the road of life.

Excerpted from Li Bin's Grand View of Shanxi Folk Customs, China Tourism Publishing House.