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![](\"http://blog.creaders.net/wubenson/upload_file/20071022104600.jpg\")
女儿上初二了, 在学校里如同所有的亚裔学生, 表现一贯出色. 每次文体活动, 学校都要求家长尽量出席. 为她球队比赛捧场, 上班时间我请假参与. 观看她参与表演的话剧, 颠峰时刻从车阵里杀开一条\"血\"路也在所不惜. 在不经意中, 步入了学校布下的互动教育\"陷阱\". 开始时担心是否太宠爱孩子, 后来才发现家长们个个如此. 过去常羡慕国内的朋友们, 孩子们送住读学校多爽. 天长日久又习惯了家庭第一的文化土壤, 还沉醉于养育子女的幸福感中.
周末到了, 老师大概已不满足于家长们简单的身体力行. 给女儿的周末备忘录里, 竟然为家长布置了一道家庭作业. 老师要求家长写封信给孩子, 密封后由老师转交. 内容得包含孩子出生当日的感受; 什么特质让你认为孩子与众不同? 孩子怎样的进步令你骄傲? 对孩子有什么要求? 对未来有什么期待? ...等等. 在哭笑不得中, 我按要求完成. 征得女儿同意后, 贴出来与大家分享(翻译件附后):
Dear Daughter;
This is the first time we are writing to you, although we have lived together for over 12 years. I\'m sure you know why I\'m writing to you instead of talking, but it\'s not only because we are requested by your teacher. It is because we think that a lot of memories and feelings are difficult to express verbally.
Now you are turning 13, which will make you a real teenager. But to us, the day you were born was just like yesterday. It was an extremely cold day, and New York City just experienced a terrible storm. We picked your birthday, because your Mom had to have a C-section. We chose February 1, as it was the second day after Chinese New Year in 1995. It is a lucky day in the Chinese traditional custom, and indeed you did bring us lots of luck.
As your parents, we feel you are always a special gift given from God. I still remember when your Mom told me that she was pregnant. I was on a business trip in China when she called me. She said that she went to pray in a temple at upstate New York the day before she went to see the doctor. Although your birth was special gift to us, more surprises kept coming. The Catholic School principal in Bayside suggested we let you start 1st grade instead of kindergarten. Her reason was that you read too many books each day, and that could make you feel lonely in a kindergarten class. But we chose not to change, because we didn\'t want you to miss the fun of your childhood.
After we moved to Long Island, the surprises continued to come. It only took me 2 days to teach you swimming. Now you become such a good swimmer. You participated on the softball team because you wanted to train yourself as a team player. One day we received a congratulatory letter from the Elementary School, advising that you were selected for the OMNI class. Both your Mom and I didn\'t quite understand what OMNI meant. Your Mom called the school and we found out that it meant the gifted class. This further proved that you are a special gift to us. We are proud of you.
We know that you have a lot of dreams about your future. You mentioned almost all the interesting careers in which you are interested--such as teacher, pediatrician, scientist, screenwriter and so on. In order to be what you want, we wish that you can cut some time on the Internet and watch less TV, using this time to participate more in school activities. It would also be good to participate in any community activities recommended or sponsored by the school. We don\'t want to design your future career, but we hope your dreams can come true. We are confident that whatever you become, you will do well. Therefore, our wishes for you are that you will always be helpful to society, with a sympathetic heart, and always be happy.
Love
Mommy & Daddy
![](\"http://blog.creaders.net/wubenson/upload_file/20071022104731.jpg\")
亲爱的女儿:
虽然我们在一起已生活12年了, 这却是我们第一次给你写信. 我敢肯定你知道为什么会以写信的方式, 而不是与你谈心. 其实, 这不单是为完成老师的任务, 有许多记忆和感受的确难以用口头表达.
你快13岁了, 即将成为一名副其实的少年. 但对我们来说, 你的出生就像是昨天. 那是个极度寒冷的日子, 纽约市刚刚经历了一场可怕的暴风雪. 因为你妈妈必须做难产手术, 我们选择了你的生日---2月1日，在1995年它正是中国农历大年初二. 按中国人的习俗, 这是个幸运的日子. 而事实上, 你也的确为我们带来了太多的好运.
作为你的父母, 你永远都是上天赐予我们的特殊礼物. 我至今还清楚地记得, 你妈妈告诉我她怀孕的时刻. 那天我正在中国商务旅行. 她说去医院检查的前一天, 还特意去了纽约上州的寺庙拜佛. 尽管对我们来说, 你的到来已经是份厚礼. 但更多惊喜却层出不穷地涌现. 住在贝赛海湾时, 天主教小学校长曾建议, 要我们让你跳过学前班, 直接上一年级. 她的理由是你每天读太多的书, 这有可能让你在学前班感到孤独. 但我们选择了按部就班, 因为我们不希望你错失了童年应有的乐趣.
搬到长岛后, 惊喜又接踵而至. 我只花了2天就教会了你游泳, 而现在你已成为了一名棒极了的游泳好手. 您报名参加垒球队, 仅仅是想培养自己的团队精神. 记得有一天, 我们突然收到学校的贺信, 说你被选进了OMNI. 你妈妈和我都不明白, OMNI是什么意思. 不得已你妈妈打电话去学校, 原来是你被选进了资优班. 这又进一步证明, 你的确是上天给我们的一份特殊礼物. 我们为有你而骄傲.
我们知道你对未来怀有许多梦想，你几乎对所有有趣的职业都热爱. 教师, 儿科医生, 科学家, 编剧等. 为能实现你的理想, 我们希望你能减少上网和看电视, 充分利用好时间, 更积极地参与课余活动, 也要参与社区服务, 若有学校推荐或赞助的更好. 我们不会设计你未来的职业生涯,
但希望你能梦想成真. 我们有信心, 无论做什么你都会成功. 因此, 我们的心愿是你能成为一名有益社会的人, 一个负有同情心的人, 一个永保快乐心境的人.
爱
妈妈&爸爸 |
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