Inaugurated in 1979, the Melbourne Chinese School, is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. Similar to other Chinese language schools in Victoria, our student numbers shrunk due to the pandemic, from 81 students to a current enrolment of 11 students. This gave us the unique opportunity to step back and reassess what it is that we want to bring to our children – the leaders of our Future.
The old school way is to push upon our students the curriculum prepared from previous decades. The New Way of education is to inspire, to bring to our children through our own love and joy of learning, the fascination of life and of this blessed world that we share. At the new Melbourne Chinese School, students will learn Chinese through understanding of culture, relationship with self, others, Mother Earth, life and so much more.
Through understanding we bring through self-discipline. We find that our children turn up to life and say “I’m bored”. So we decode for them what it means
when we say “I’m bored”.
I’m bored is a declaration to the self and the world that “I am boring”. This is because we are the ones that we are with, in mind and in heart, 24 hours 7 days a week. How can it be when we are here to create our own life and trajectory? So the children begin to learn to respect the Nobility of the Self within and in turn respect others.
As parents, we understand the importance and the power of being able to focus on a task until it is complete. Our attention when focused is like a laser beam able to cut through diamonds, the toughest substance on earth. However, in this modern technological existence, our power of focus is often compromised by Distractions.
At school, we often find our children arrive either tired or agitated. In this mental and emotional state, the children’s systems have firewalls up and new information is immediately rejected. To prepare the children’s systems to learn, we employ scientific methods of meditation and mindfulness to slow down their brainwaves allowing their systems to relax and open. Just as concert violinist practices, mastery requires training. Our children know that they are young Masters-in-Training.
As parents and teachers, we are guardians of our children.
Being guardians, our sacred task is to foster and cultivate their potential – the potential that is unique to every child.
One parent asked: “How do I do this?”
First by seeing our children as perfect as they are.
Just as Mother Nature, we would not look at a budding rose and declare it inadequate or imperfect. Just as an acorn can grow into a magnanimous oak tree that gives life and shelter, the potency of the acorn is what lies within our children and this is what we impart to them.
Bilingual Education
The Melbourne Chinese School teaches in both Chinese and English.
We welcome both:
(1) Non-Chinese speaking students who wish to learn Chinese
(2) Chinese speaking students wishing to further develop their language skills
If you feel that what we have shared here resonates with you and your heart wish for your child. Please feel to get in touch, explore, investigate, find out more.
We are here for you and your child.