What is “Good”? 何謂「善」?

Developing and establishing personal beliefs and personal values is an important process and part of growing up. Our semester mission of learning about and helping homeless and shelter animals was a step towards growth in this area.

價值觀及信仰的建立與不斷發展是人生中一個很重要的過程，也是成長的必經之路。本學期的教學目標之一是幫助學生學習如何關照流浪中及收容所裡的動物，並將所學身體力行，這有助於他們在建立自己的價值觀和信仰時獲得啟發。

Before we could discuss the topic of “charity”, we first needed to touch upon the issue of “good”. We attempted to come to a general agreement within our learning group as to what “good” even means, and then pushed this further to the area of “doing good for society”.

在討論「慈善」這個主題之前，首先要了解何謂「善」。 於是我們在班級裡對「善」的定義進行了探討並達成了共識，然後進一步將所定義出來的「善」昇華為「有益社會的善行」。

We began grappling with this big issue topic by discussing the concepts of “good”, “fair”, “just”, and “moral”. Students were presented with a variety of scenarios, both real-world and hypothetical, with which to contemplate, form opinions on, share thoughts, and discuss, argue and defend. Students also regularly discussed and asked for input on these issues with their own parents as well, better understanding family values and offering input of their own.

為了增加學生對這學期主題的瞭解，我們透過情境教學的方式，探討「善」、「公平」、「公正」及「合乎道德」這四個概念，向學生展示多種真實及虛構的情境，讓他們設身處地的思考自已在不同的處境下該如何應對，然後再將想法與班級分享、討論以及辯論。同時，我們也要求學生定期與父母討論這些議題並詢問意見，以幫助學生更加了解自己家庭的價值觀，並對其提供自己的看法。

These exercises in thought and debate will surely be useful in helping students develop their personal and unique views of the world, and encourage them to be empathetic, thoughtful individuals.

這些思考與辯論的訓練，有助於學生發展出自己獨特的世界觀並激勵他們成為有同理心、有思想的人。