wfn.org | TCN: Taiwanese parents get a glimpse of Jewish parenting

["Lydia Ma" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>Taiwan Church News

>2987 Edition

>May 25~31, 2009

Taiwanese parents get a glimpse of Jewish parenting

>Reported by Chen Yi-hsuan

>Written by Lydia Ma

Though Jewish people only make up 0.3% of the world’s population,  they have surpassed other nations in producing Nobel Prize winners. Many

experts credit this achievement to unique ways in which Jewish people  educate their children.

To help Taiwanese parents and teachers understand God’s plan in the  realm of education, Alpha Bible Reading for Children Association held a

seminar introducing Jewish parenting and education from May 18th through  25th. The organization invited Pastor Yo’el, a Bible scholar from

Israel, to share about parenting insights that Jewish people have  gleaned from their faith.

Yo’el was born in the U.S. and is a Messianic Jew. He immigrated to  Israel when he was six years old and was schooled in Jerusalem. He

received religious education and learned Hebrew classics there and still  receives training under a rabbi.

During seminars held at Dayspring Christian Church and National Museum  of Taiwan Literature in Tainan city, Yo’el asked audiences how they

viewed their children’s lives and went on to emphasize that parents  must see their children as beautiful treasures from God. They should  also

give their children freedom to develop and exhibit their own talents to  the best of their abilities.

Yo’el pointed out that American and Taiwanese parents tend to  over-emphasize on their children’s grades and forget to let their  children know

that they are priceless treasures. Consequently, their children grow up  never knowing their real value and identity.

Yo’el also emphasized the importance of unity between fathers and  mothers as a basic foundation for parenting. Parents must build a  “peaceful

home” for children to feel safe. Once children feel safe, their  ability to learn will also increase significantly. Furthermore, a study  on the human

brain revealed that children work best when parents remove pressure and  feed their children positive learning material.

According to Yo’el, Jewish parenting is unique in that it teaches  children by prompting them to think and reflect. Using the Socratic  method of

asking questions, children are encouraged to find answers for  themselves. Asking questions allows the human brain to get to work and  invites

>children to engage in introspection.

Yo’el reminded parents at the end of the seminar to allow children  to be themselves. Children are neither replicas of their parents nor  mere

tools for parents to brag about in front of others, he said.

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