Reading in the morning, reading in the afternoon, and setting the sun are a way of life for children put forward by Mr. Gan Guoxiang in 2006.
What he means is that a child's spiritual life should start with the light, go through rich expansion, and finally go through dialogue, reflection and absorption, and continue to complete the spiritual construction in this cycle.
How to understand it? The development of children's spirit often goes through such a process: first, it is an awakening and enlightenment; Then it is tirelessly enriched, expanded and deepened (this is often done through reading and learning in a broader sense); Finally, in the dialogue and reflection between self and the outside world, children will potentially or consciously complete their spiritual construction.
For example, because of the teaching of teachers and parents, or because of the encouragement of role models, children have some vague wishes, just like a beam of light entering the soul, which is often the beginning of spiritual development. Under the illumination of this spirit, children begin to explore, read and learn diligently, and extend their tentacles to various valuable fields. This is the process of spiritual development.
In this process, it is bound to be accompanied by reflection. Reflection refers to the judgment made by children based on their own life and life, as well as their own situation. It is the active choice and active digestion of all children, and the completion of spiritual development.
Children go through this process constantly, forming their spiritual movement. We usually call this process "romantic, precise and comprehensive".
The so-called "beauty of the whole person" course is of great significance in helping children recover their spiritual life, suggesting to restore the integrity of life and avoiding the possible division caused by one-sided knowledge learning. It is a "morning recitation, afternoon reading and late storage" course system aimed at developing children's spiritual life.
The "morning reading" here mainly refers to poetry reading; Afternoon reading mainly refers to a large number of children's reading, including intensive reading and extensive reading; "Sunset province" mainly means that children constantly reflect on their own lives under the guidance of teachers, and form and enhance their reflection ability in this process. In this context, the morning recitation class has become the most ceremonial course.
Why do you say you have a sense of ceremony?
First, morning reading is often the first class for children after they arrive at school every morning, which usually lasts about 20 minutes. The purpose of morning reading is not to memorize knowledge, but to enrich children's present life and cultivate a lifestyle of dancing with dawn.
The difference between morning reading and recitation lies in: morning reading points to knowledge and belongs to knowledge course; Morning reading points to people and belongs to the course of life, so that every day begins with experiencing beautiful poems, feeling life and life, that is, "dancing with the dawn."
Children's daily life should be awakened not only by the sun, but also by their mothers and poems. Only by being awakened by poetry can the spirit be truly awakened. This is a high-quality spiritual life that can light up a day.
What if children are awakened in different poems every day?
What about nursery rhymes in grade one, children's poems in grade two or three, classical poems in grade three or four, Chinese and foreign classics in grade five or six, modern poems, youth poems and Confucian and Taoist classics? When every day of campus life begins with poetry in six years, what vivid changes will happen to children's inner spirit, external language and even intellectual life!
Therefore, morning reading is a wonderful gift given to children by schools and teachers.
Shen Congwen has a saying, which is often used to describe the meaning of morning recitation: "When the morning is extremely quiet, hearing birds sing makes people afraid to fall." In the words of Confucius, this is called poetry teaching. Therefore, Confucius said, "Prosperity lies in poetry, propriety lies in ceremony, and success lies in joy". "Prospering Yu Shi" accurately summarizes the significance of morning reading. With this premise, all kinds of rules can be established and finally transformed into a free state of life, that is, to achieve the realm of "music".
Of course, the significance of morning reading is not limited to this. The extension and richness of spirit have many meanings. Mental health and the nourishment of life depend on the watering of poetry, and poetry also potentially develops cognitive ability and language ability. Through morning prayers, both national culture and human civilization have been passed down in a very natural and beautiful way.