歐斯頓的愛的教育— 一位加拿大教師的桐鄉情結

●方溫丹

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歐斯頓的愛的教育— 一位加拿大教師的桐鄉情結

●方溫丹

保羅·凡·歐斯頓A portrait of Paulus Van Oosten

34年的教師生涯，他把四分之一的時間留在了桐鄉，留給了茅盾中學中加班的學生。

8年的桐鄉生活，他把學校當作家，每一個學生都是他最親愛的孩子。

他說，桐鄉這座城市，溫暖安逸。這里就是我的家。

他就是浙江省桐鄉市茅盾中學中加國際高中部的外教歐斯保羅·凡·歐斯頓（Paulus Van Oosten）。

榮獲“西湖友誼獎”，他當之無愧

1953年11月5日，歐斯頓出生于荷蘭，畢業于加拿大多倫多大學林學專業，擁有加拿大BC省專業教師資格證，在加拿大公立學校有20多年的教學經驗。2006年2月來到中國，在河南鄭州第47中學任教。2007年9月開始在桐鄉市茅盾中學中加國際高中部工作，至今已經8年多（其間2013年在蘇州外國語學校工作一年）。在桐鄉茅盾中學工作期間，歐斯頓先生一直擔任加拿大課程中科學、數學、化學和物理學科的任課老師，2014年開始擔任副校長。

歐斯頓具有很強的工作責任心和工作熱情，經常為工作而廢寢忘食。在其他外教遇到特殊事情時，他主動分擔教學任務，在外教隊伍中起到模范帶頭作用。他經常放棄個人休息時間對學生進行個別輔導。

歐斯頓對教育、教學工作充滿激情。2006年2月到中國工作以后，一直喜歡中國的教育和文化環境，積極向國外宣傳中國正面形象，甚至把家人都帶到中國居住生活。

歐斯頓認為教育離不開感情，感情最能教育人，最能打動人，最能收到良好的效果。愛的教育的特點不僅僅是以理服人，更重要的是以情動人、以情感人。現在的少年兒童之間感情聯系少了、疏遠了、淡漠了。所以培養學生健康的、豐富的感情世界，是非常重要的教育內容。

這些年來，歐斯頓先生留在辦公室備課的場景，給茅盾中學國際部主任周銀耐留下了深刻的印象。他還清楚地記得，5年前歐斯頓先生的妻子患了癌癥，他一邊工作，一邊在上海、桐鄉為她找醫院，照料她。當時歐斯頓帶的班級就要畢業省考了，他就在病房里備課，批改作業。一直到6月份學生畢業了，他才帶妻子回加拿大治療。說起歐斯頓的敬業精神，他身邊的中國同事也常常自愧不如。

歐斯頓（前右一）奉獻愛心。Van Oosten donates cash.

歐斯頓還有一個小小的心愿，就是當好中加人民友誼的橋梁，“希望我的學生都能到加拿大學習和工作，看看我給他們講的我的故鄉是什么樣的。”他希望成為中國和國外聯系的一條紐帶，做一個傳遞中加友誼的使者。

2015年11月8日他光榮地參加了嘉興市政府組織的“南湖友誼獎”頒獎典禮。11月10日又出席了浙江省人民政府的“西湖友誼獎”頒獎典禮。

大家都說，歐斯頓先生獲得“西湖友誼獎”當之無愧！

歐斯頓在給學生演示實驗。Van Oosten demonstrates an experiment.

“老頑童”教課嚴謹卻不失風趣

那天上午9時20分，歐斯頓走進教室，這是他的生物選修課，他要對學生進行一次小型的測試。隨著PPT上考試題目的呈現，教室里安靜了下來，學生們都在低頭奮筆書寫試卷答案。歐斯頓高大的身影在這些學生中穿梭，時不時還調皮地低下頭“偷看”學生的答案。少了些“考官”的威嚴，卻多了一份“老頑童”的活潑。

高三物理、高二化學、高一口語，還要兼上生物選修課，歐斯頓的課程表安排得滿滿的。他上課沒有過多條條框框的約束，教學形式多樣靈活，善于根據不同的任務，設計不同活動來完成教學任務。課堂上學生們自由交流，氣氛十分輕松、活躍。這是他當天上午的第二節課，授課內容是A-level數學。

“有些學生比較害羞，不敢開口表達。他們在接觸全英文授課的課程時，會出現聽不懂課、讀不懂題目等各種狀況。”歐斯頓看到了學生的英文基礎現狀，便想方設法幫助他們提高英語水平。他建立英語理科考試題庫，整合物理教學PPT資源，供學生課后復習；組建中加班烹飪俱樂部、園藝俱樂部、針織俱樂部，帶著學生一起“玩轉”英語。

歐斯頓在校園內有著很高的“人氣”，他的身邊常常圍著一群學生，有什么活動，大家也會熱情地邀請他一起參加。“他就像個快樂的老爺爺，又像我們的朋友。”“他的課特別有趣，物理、化學這些課學起來竟然一點也不枯燥了。”這是學生對他教課的普遍感受。

國際化的教學方式和理念有別于傳統學校的教學模式。近年來，歐斯頓努力讓國際化的教育理念和實踐走進中加班，并輻射與滲透到整個學校的教學，推動茅盾中學走有自己特色的國際教育化之路。

“加拿大爸爸”的善舉

在茅盾中學的校園里，流傳著一個歐斯頓的動人故事。那是他來茅盾中學工作的第一年，而跟著他一起來的還有一個河南女孩趙靜芳。起初學校的老師和學生都覺得很奇怪，為什么這個女孩叫他“加拿大爸爸”。后來大家才知道，歐斯頓在河南鄭州第47中學任教時發現了這個來自貧困山區的女孩，當得知她的母親身患癌癥，家里沒有經濟來源，唯一的“電器”就是一個電燈泡時，歐斯頓決定把她帶在身邊，資助她完成學業。歐斯頓先生奉獻愛心，從2007年開始到2010年，他個人捐款10多萬元人民幣，資助了趙靜芳同學三年學費和生活費，幫助一個對生活失去信心的孩子重新回到課堂。

“這個女孩子很用功，也很懂事，是一個優秀的學生。”國際部主任周銀耐也非常欣賞趙靜芳。經過三年努力和歐斯頓夫婦的幫助，趙靜芳同學收到了香港大學、多倫多大學等大學的錄取通知書，但為了減輕歐斯頓老師的經濟負擔，最后她還是選擇了有全額獎學金的加拿大溫尼伯大學。

在辦理趙靜芳同學的留學簽證時，歐斯頓老師又發出捐款倡議，學生、教師和家長紛紛獻出愛心，終于解決了趙靜芳同學的留學保證金和機票等款項難題。在趙靜芳同學去加拿大留學以后，歐斯頓先生一直關心著她的學習和生活，并發動他在加拿大的親戚朋友盡可能地幫助她，讓一個原先愁眉苦臉的孩子變得陽光、自信并樂于助人，真正體現了一個教育工作者的高尚師德。

“我愛每一個學生，也許他們有些調皮，也許他們有些小小的壞習慣，但是我的學生都很熱情，也很懂禮貌，他們都是我的孩子。”歐斯頓如是說。

歐斯頓時時處處踐行著愛的教育。去東方民工子弟學校授課，和新居民子女一同做游戲；到特殊教育學校扮演圣誕老公公，給“折翼天使”們送去禮物和關愛；他為汶川地震的受災群眾捐款，資助貧困學生……歐斯頓把善良和愛心留在了中國，留在了桐鄉。

三秋的桂子，十五的月亮。2015年中秋節，茅盾中學國際部特意請來了月餅師傅小嚴教外國老師和學生學習制作月餅。小嚴師傅細心講解慢慢演示，歐斯頓等外教認真地學，其樂融融。當烤箱開啟時，香氣四溢，大家沉浸在歡樂之中。中秋節本是中國家家戶戶團圓之時，在這個的日子開展這樣一次小小的活動，不僅使外國老師品嘗中國美食、領略中國傳統文化，更使遠離家人的歐斯頓等外國友人感受到家一般的溫暖。

美麗的桐鄉就是歐斯頓的家。Van Oosten on the pretty campus of Mao Dun Middle School in Tongxiang

“桐鄉雖然沒有上海、杭州這些地方‘高大上’，卻是一座很溫暖的小城市，在這里時間是以‘小時’計算的，我可以非常安逸地享受生活，享受和學生在一起的時光。”歐斯頓動情地說：我的心在桐鄉，這里就是我的家。

在茅盾中學的這些年，教過的一屆屆學生都順利地進入了國內外高校就讀，歐斯頓欣喜之余也更有工作的動力。“學生畢業了，我卻沒有畢業。我想，茅盾中學將是我的最后一所學校。”歐斯頓看著美麗的學校，看著身邊這群可愛的孩子，臉上露出了欣慰而慈祥的笑容。

Oosten Teaches in Tongxiang

By Fang Wendan

Paulus Van Oosten has been a teacher for 34 years and 8 years of the long teaching career he has spent in Tongxiang. He teaches classes of the China-Canada international project at Mao Dun Middle School in Tongxiang, a municipality in northern Zhejiang between Hangzhou and Shanghai.

Born in the Netherlands in November 1953, Oosten graduated as forestry major from Toronto University, Canada and qualified as a teacher for teaching in public schools and taught in the northern American country for decades before he came to China in February, 2006. After working at No 47 Middle School for three semesters, he came to Tongxiang Mao Dun Middle School in September 2007 and taught science, math, chemistry, physics at the school’s international department. He went away in 2013 to teach in Suzhou Foreign Languages School for two semesters and came back to Mao Dun Middle School. Since 2014 he has been vice schoolmaster of the school.

Oosten is loved and respected at the school for his strong sense of responsibility and professionalism. Zhou Yinnai, director of the international department of the middle school remembers one thing especially clearly about Oosten. Five years ago, his wife was diagnosed with cancer. It was a time the class he taught was preparingfor the graduation final examinations at the provincial level. He worked hard and made arrangements for her wife to go to hospitals in Tongxiang and Shanghai for treatment. It was not until June when students graduated that he and his wife returned to Canada for medical treatment. His Chinese colleagues thumbed up for his professionalism.

On November 8th, 2015 he received the South Lake Friendship Award issued by the Jiaxing Municipal Government and two days later he received West Lake Friendship Award issued by the Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government. Those who know him agree unanimously that Mr. Oosten deserves the honors.

As a teacher, Oosten strives to bond with his students and considers all-round growth as a key part of education. And his teaching style is innovative and flexible in comparison with relatively rigidity often seen in the methods used by Chinese teachers. Students think that his teaching is fun and difficult subjects such as physics and chemistry are no longer dull and boring. This is the way he prepares Chinese students to get accustomed to the way things are taught in Canada. In recent years, Oosten has intensified his efforts to promote international education theory and practice at the department he teaches and through the school. And he organizes after-class clubs for students to improve their oral English. Oosten enjoys great popularity on the campus.

2015年11月10日，歐斯頓在浙江省人民政府的“西湖友誼獎”頒獎典禮上獲此殊榮。Van Oosten receives West Lake Friendship Award issued by Zhejiang Provincial People’s Government on November 10, 2015.

歐斯頓所飾的“圣誕老人”來到學生中間。Dressed in the costume of Santa Claus, Van Oosten enjoys a happy moment with his students.

Canadian Dad

When he arrived at Mao Dun Middle School in 2007, he brought along a girl named Zhao Jingfang from Henan Province. The teachers and students at Mao Dun Middle School wondered why the girl called Oosten Canadian Dad. Oosten spotted her while teaching at No 47 Middle School in Henan. She came from a poverty-stricken family in a mountainous region and the only electric appliance the family owned was a lamp. Her mother was stricken with cancer and the family had no income to support her education. When Oosten was to come to Tongxiang, he decided to bring her over so that she could continue her education with his financial assistance. From 2007 to 2010, Oosten and his wife footed bills that amounted to 100,000 yuan for the girl studying and living at the school.

An excellent student, Zhao worked hard. After three years at the school, she received offers from universities in Hong Kong and Toronto. She chose the University of Winnipeg in Canada largely because of the full scholarship. While Zhao was preparing to go, Oosten launched an initiative to raise funds for her travel expenses and guarantee money for her study in Canada.

“Though Tongxiang is not comparable to Shanghai and Hangzhou, it is a tender city where I can enjoy life comfortably and where time goes normally by the hour. I enjoy my time with students. My heart is in Tongxiang and it is my home,” says Oosten.

Over years, his students at the school have graduated into universities across the world and this is one of the motivations that drive him to work. “They graduate. I don’t. I think Mao Dun Middle School is my last school,” says Oosten with a big smile.