The Great Tradition—Reading and Writing with Dr. Jeng (古典人文傳統- 跟鄭老師閱讀與寫作)

The Great Tradition—Reading and Writing with Dr. Jeng

(古典人文傳統- 跟鄭老師閱讀與寫作)

¾介紹鄭老師給七八年級學生開的閱讀寫作課程¾

答客問一：這門課的宗旨與目標是什麼？

A&Q 1: What’s the aim of this class?

The aim of this class is to read the writings of great minds, to be connected to the classical liberal tradition, to listen to the sounds of the most beautiful language, to nestle in the bosom of the most noble thoughts. This class will serve as a bridge to the Great Tradition of the world, with the instructor playing the role of a tour guide. In a word, we befriend the ancient sages.

閱讀偉大心靈，銜接中西古典人文傳統，聆聽最美麗的語言，親炙最高尚的思想。這門課是座橋樑，老師是那引介說明的導遊。換言之，我們要尚友古人，古代的偉人，非古老的死人。

答客問二：為什麼是七八年級？

A & Q 2: Why grades 7 and 8?

Eighth or seventh graders are in their formative age, an ideal time for fertilizing the soils of their personality, mind, and spirit. Students in grades 5 or 6 are still too young; those in grades 9 and 10, too occupied with various activities; those in grades 11 or 12, too late for any vain hope of reformation! Young minds in grades 7 or 8—active, curious, playful, defiant of authority but still too green to rebel, yet always ready for spiritual mentors—are in a golden stage for their mental sensitivity, receptivity, susceptibility, and malleability.

七八年級正在人生的所謂形成期（formative age）, 正是思想人格心靈精神沃土的理想播種時期，五六年級太稚嫩，九十年級太忙碌，十一年級太蒼老，唯有這七八兩年間宛如黃金歲月般，好奇，好動，好玩，正開始要學會叛逆，但未成精，他們需要也渴求精神導師。

A & Q 3: How will the course be taught?

Twenty percent of the class hour will be spent on vocabulary building, which should be an on-going process before they finish their college education. The rest of the time will be used to do a close reading of Dr. Jeng’s selected writings, followed by writing a mini-essay in response to an idea or a thought expressed in the writing. The approach is one of close reading accompanied with substantive writing to extract as much as possible the essence of the passages under study.

答客問三：如何授課？

百分之二十時間用在建立豐富詞彙量。百分之八十用在閱讀和寫作。精讀Dr. Jeng慎選的文章，並針對文章內容的某些見解寫下個人讀後心得，以達到深入探討該見解，並學習批判思維與文字表達的能力。同時親近古代聖賢，親近偉人，親近偉大的人文傳統。

答客問四：上多久？

A & Q 4: How long will the course be?

The course can be as short as one year, or as long as two years, depending on their ages. Those who cannot or will not persevere should make room for those who are willing to commit.

短則一年，長則兩年。無法或不願長期持續堅持者請止步，留給願意做功課的人。

答客問四：對考試有幫助嗎？

A & Q 4: Will this course help their test-taking skills?

Yes, eventually, when water fills up a pond, it overflows by itself; when efforts have accumulated sufficiently, the results will appear accordingly. This is a course for thinking, reading, writing, and conversing with ancient authors, as well as a time for cultivating reading skills.

有。源泉混混，盈科而後進；真積力久，水到而渠成。這裡是思想，閱讀，寫作，與古人對話的時段，也是厚積閱讀能力的契機。

答客問五：班有多大？

A & Q 4: How many students will be in the class?

This class will accommodate only eight to ten students.

限於Dr. Jeng時間和精力，本班只收受八名學生，需面談。