To: Residents of Hong Kong Outlying Islands

Dear Residents of Hong Kong Outlying Islands,

Greetings. This afternoon my whole family (my daughter, son, wife and I) also came to join your march against the construction of incinerators in Shek Kwu Chau.

There were many kids joining the march, and so let me talk about my favourite subject: picture books! There is a tale called "Town Mouse and Country Mouse" and countless picture books have been drawn based on this tale. In some versions, town life is about the consumption of earthy resources while country life is about the conservation of the natural environment. So the story is actually about the choice of different value systems and lifestyles. We live in one of the most crowded and polluted area of Northen Hong Kong Island, and as town mice we came to support all of you country mice :-)

One of my son's most favourite picture books is called "I Stink!” This is a famous American picture book and has earned a lot of prizes. It is about the daily life of a trash truck (and hence also of the trash workers). One of the most striking images of the book is that when the trash truck feels itself being discriminated by citizens (because it stinks!) it goes on strike! Then the whole city becomes a trash mountain! The story is very funny yet highly educational, and is especially suitable for kids reading together with their parents..

In the Taiwanese, Chinese version of the book, in the appendices there is also information provided for kids about the solutions of the problem. And as every one of you knows, these are about "Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle", or 3Rs. These basic principles of environmental protection is also being taught in the curricula of every primary and secondary school in Hong Kong, and many pupils are actively participating in school 3R projects too.

So, the construction of these 15-billion-dollars GIANT MONSTERS called "incinerators" which during operation emit such poisonous particles as Dioxin which will enter the food chain and eventually endanger fishes, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers, fetus, babies, and children, essentially means that the teaching of 3Rs at home or school is totally redundant.

After all, these expensive MONSTERS need to gobble up huge amounts of trash everyday (even "trash" that contains vast reusable values) in order to maintain its "cost-efficiency", at the expense of other more sustainable strategies of waste management like recycling industries and community recycling teams, because of the displacement of much needed public resource support.

What's the point of reducing wastes, reusing reusable stuff and recycling recyclable materials then? Why don't we just consume more, and feed these MONSTERS with trash to satisfy their enormous appetite?

So should we tell our children that our teachings at home and school are all wrong?

Or should we all come out now and tell the government that its waste management policy is WRONG instead?

Thank you for helping us build a sustainable Hong Kong!

In Solidarity,
Franklen and his DD, DS and DW

囝囝愛繪畫 (二)

囝囝昨天下午第一次上繪畫班試堂時畫的，用的是廣告彩和粉彩。老師看過囝囝在家中的作品後，請他畫架貨車來看，和請他盡量用盡整張紙 (加上一些簡單提示)，一小時後他畫成上圖，還要不時提醒老師：「唔好幫我畫！」老師急忙澄清：「我唔係幫你畫，我只係提下你可以點樣畫。」

自妹妹出世後， 囝囝幾乎沒有碰過廣告彩 ，坦白說，當他畫完後興高采烈地給我看這幅作品時 (我只可以旁觀十分鐘, 以免打擾其他人, 所以也不知道他上了色)，我也有點吃驚。

老師對我說：「你囝囝好主動，好唔似一個剛滿四歲的小朋友。同埋唔係咁易說服佢, 例如點都唔肯加陰影，不過佢畫得好好。」我說：「係呀！佢係屋企幫我手整pizza。佢意志力好強，唔容易tum，你好難叫佢做佢唔明白或者唔同意0既0野。你可能要同佢講多0的道理。」

另一位在場的老師負責接待我。她很喜歡囝囝的主動，她亦很有耐性聆聽，我索性開宗明義，把我對上繪畫班的憂慮向她分享，她也同意在她這個行業裡，有很多行家教小朋友繪畫時，像是「倒模」般，結果每個學生畫出來的畫都很相似。她們自己的方法，是老師提出一個題目後, 便讓小朋友自由發揮，老師只是作為輔助和提點角色，不會強加自己的主意落在孩子身上，她的說法與我對她們教學方法的觀察相符，我可以放心。

感激有心的美育老師。

不過荷包的紙幣全用來買了畫室的畫具和顏料，連今堂的試堂都未夠錢找數，幸好可以下次補回。不好意思 。

離開畫室後, 我們到附近的公園坐坐，給了他一些點心，順便教他看看陽光下樹木的陰影、我臉頰的高光位、我鼻子和手的暗位。

老師, 下次囝囝應該會肯留意光線和陰影的。

城市綠洲

近來每逢星期日，我們全家多了一個好去處：北角海濱公園一帶。

路線是這樣的，我揹著妹妹，太太拖著哥哥，步行到達北角渡輪碼頭，然後沿著海傍，到達碼頭東堤，先去看看那個新開不久的狗公園。妹妹年紀太小，我抱高她在公園矮牆外觀看，哥哥則讓媽媽拖著進入公園內，在大人的保護下近距離觀察、摸摸狗狗和讓狗狗嗅嗅。我們家沒有養狗，只養有一隻由三個月大養到現時十五歲的貓貓 (牠與孩子們可是好朋友哩！)， 可兩個孩子也非常喜歡狗狗。看著數以十計、不同種類和性格的大狗小狗，自由自在的在狗公園內追逐和嬉戲，孩子被這些景象深深吸引，經常樂而忘返、不肯離開。

然後沿著海濱公園一路向東走，囡囡愛看海和摸摸大樹幹，囝囝則愛在這裡和我賽跑 : "Run, run, as far as you can! You can't catch me, I am the Ginger Bread Man!" (當然每一次我這塊Gingerbread 都給他追到食了啦！:-) 。沿途可見到很多長者在享用健身設施和散步，悠然自得，據說平日一到晚上， 這裡就是一個平民大笪地，像「開嘉年華會般的熱鬧」:

「[...]有唱K的，有打拳的，有唱戲的，有說書的，有唱南音的，有唱粵曲的；有跳舞健身的，有跑步鍛練的，有吹蕭拉胡琴的，有打腰鼓扭秧歌的； 有看書的，有上網的，有納涼聊天的，有純粹看熱鬧的。難得的是，這些活動都是自發的。[...]」《貓眼看世界 - 莎莎的 Blog》

但在星期日的上午，最令孩子和我留下深刻印象的，是一群一群的菲傭和印傭，分散在由碼頭到這個空地的不同區域上唱歌、敲打樂器和跳舞，或共同崇拜，或進行集體遊戲。每次經過正在圍圈跳舞和唱歌的姐姐們時，我必定鼓勵兒子加入，與姐姐們一起跳舞，而她們也會熱情地歡迎我們。囝囝模仿姐姐們的肢體動作時，總會逗得她們哄堂大笑。平時移住傭工們「入鄉隨俗，入境問禁， [...] 融入香港族群」(陳雲語)，今次是她們接納我父子兩人，並樂意向我們分享她們的文化風俗。

然後走出了海濱公園，到達電照街兒童遊樂場。這個位於樓高32層、可能影響附近景觀的巨大建築物──海關總部大樓──前面的迷你遊樂場，地理位置令這裡較海傍暖和，旁邊是個有涼亭有棋盤的小公園，其實只有一套小型滑梯裝置和兩個供嬰幼兒玩的兜型鞦韆位而已，但囝囝和囡囡均愛玩這個鞦韆，尤其是囡囡，看見公園樹樹的綠色葉葉便高興，看見鞦韆更會眼睛發光，還未把她放到座位內，在半空中的她便急著要掙脫我的手想坐下去！

孩子，其實是很容易滿足的。

昨天星期日上午，孩子們照舊高興地在盪鞦韆，旁邊不遠處的長椅前面，是一群菲律賓人在祈禱、唱聖詩、玩結他和手搖鼓。太太看管著剛剛落地、追著地上的珠頸斑鳩、手指指大叫「Eah！Eah！」的囡囡，我則問囝囝想不想聽姐姐們唱歌，他說想，我便把他抱出鞦韆、帶去姐姐們用手拉成的圈子內。

我雖然不是教徒，但聽著她們唱聖詩，看著她們臉上的笑容，想著她們離鄉別井，為香港付出她們的青春，承受許多的辛勞和歧視，卻能透過這些的集體儀式和群眾活動，撫平日常生活的抑鬱，保持對將來的盼望，對宗教信仰的信心，我不僅深受感動，流下眼淚；也希望我的孩子長大後，能夠理解文化的多元及尊重族群之間的平等，常存學習和友愛之心。

玩完了鞦韆，因妹妹要趕著睡午覺，全家去了附近一家酒家，吃港式點心當午餐──酒家阿姐們對我們非常友善和幫忙。囝囝愛吃奶黃飽和馬拉糕、囡囡愛吃山竹牛肉、太太愛吃腸粉，我則愛吃多年沒吃的叉燒包和椒絲鳳爪 (年紀大了，放縱一下！:-) 像大部份香港的中式酒樓一樣，酒家提供高凳給小朋友，非常方便家長 (如果沒有電視妨礙小朋友進食和家庭談話，那就更加好！)。

花費不多，就能令一家大小開心整個上午或下午，在繁囂而主要馬路又空氣污染嚴重 (吸煙+車煙) 的北角，竟然有這個可令小朋友愉快接觸和學習不同人物互動關係的城市綠洲。如果由九龍城或紅磡那邊過來，小朋友可乘坐渡海小輪、看看維多利亞港，父母可趁機進行機會教育，與孩子談談維港以至香港的本土歷史，上岸後可先逛逛海鮮街市，然後便可親近一下小動物、實地欣賞和體驗異族文化活動，又能沿途嘗嘗港式蒸點、雞旦仔、咖哩魚旦(小孩走辣)和豆腐花/豆槳等地道美食，之後還可以逛逛馬寶道和春秧街等舊式露天街市或新光戲院旁的國貨公司，比起全家花上過千元整日去迪士尼主題樂園消費白人中產安穩世界的美學和美式快餐食物，實在有意義得多。

Cooking

I am so happy because I have just cooked a complete meal for 8 persons.

Actually I was delighted not because of my present "skills" (a lot to be improved) but because I was still an idiot in cooking two years ago.

For example, when trying to stir-fry greens and to make them softer, I always had a tendency to over-cook them.

I thought I would never cook a proper dinner.

I feel myself more complete (as a human being) now :-)

Never too late

The educator John Holt began to study the cello only in his 40th year, with no particular musical background. Never too late. I hope I can learn to play a musical instrument, to write Children's literature, to draw and to cook (better).

Answer to a friend

Answer to a friend: Thanks for your concern. Why don't I get a well-paying job? Because I am working for the future of humanity... one person at a time :-)

Adult education

Adult education can learn much from child education where the education of the senses is considered important.

I am studying the former, and am learning the latter.

The Banking approach to child education

Tell me, where in the globe besides this city-state:

1. More and more local parents talk to their babies not in mother tongue but only in a foreign language (even though the parents themselves don't master it well, and the grandparents can't participate in their conversation), with a view to make their kids more "competitive" when later going to the school admission interview?
2. The so-called "early childhood education" means that, the toddlers as young as 3 (95% of 3~6 go to kindergartens in Hong Kong) have to learn "two languages three dialects" and "information technology", and to receive formal "writing skill training" (drilling)?

In this world's most capitalist city, arguably school (and increasingly even preschool) is the antithesis to education. It is a place where self-directed learning is discouraged and even punished, and it is also the place where children learn that learning is not fun, or that learning is not for the sake of learning per se.

Excavators

An elder cousin (5) of DS only loves buses, and he has dozens of toy buses. On the other hand, DS loves all kinds of trucks( he can distinguish between truck-mounted crane ["吊雞車"] and hook-lift truck ["勾斗車"]!). He can name (in Chinese) over twenty trucks, but he loves excavators most( he sees them everywhere- it is because there are always major and minor dusty construction works around the city! :-( ).

Some of his daily activities, then, is playing excavator toys/ puzzles, reading books on diggers, asking us to draw them on the paper (and now I encourage him to draw in his own way too) , or watching, listening to and singing along with Youtube videos/songs about the machine (well as I said before I limit this guided screen-watching to at most 30 minutes per day and only on occasional days)....

To make the digger toy more interesting, I have also taught DS how to attach the clamshell of it to other hand-tool toys: the screwdriver, the hammer, the pilers, etc. so that the excavator can now not only dig but also grasp, lift, drill, hit, and cut, like a real transformable hydraulic excavator! (By the way, constructing new, complex and more powerful commands by combining simple but self-sufficient commands is in line with the spirit of Unix, not M$ Windows!) :-) DS likes to stack wooden blocks on his table until the stack is taller than him, then push each block of the "multi-storey building" down one by one with the pilers attached to the excavator - it becomes a demolition game!

Several days ago we also discovered a new fun way to play. We sat in a row (I sat behind him), and I leaned my right arm out of his chair. When DS was moving two plastic tubes ("the control levers") with his hands towards certain directions, my arm and hand ("the boom, the bucket and the shovel") also moved accordingly. "The aim" was to put the "bucket" into a dump-truck toy. DS likes this role play activity very much and has asked me to play with him every night since then! Scoop!

Ha ha... I have become a paper-expert of the excavator because I (have to) know the names of every part of it, how it moves and how to control it except that I never really drive one! ;-P I guess I indulge in excavators too!

"This is the work I really love... because that's what's an excavator does...."

Perhaps later we can integrate the learning of science, music, arts, language, etc. into the theme of excavators for this child! Education and learning can be fun, whole and self-directed!