凯伦：洋帅哥宁波爱幼教

陆灵刚+邱明亮

位于宁波市郊的鄞州赫德实验学校有一位很受孩子们喜爱的、来自遥远的爱尔兰帅哥——幼儿教师凯伦（Ciaran Sngleton）。初夏的一天，我们前去采访凯伦。负责管理学校幼儿园的园长张丽热情地接待了我们。

张丽把我们带到了幼儿园一楼的103教室。这是一个孩子们的快乐天堂，教室外墙上贴满了孩子们用英文写的花花绿绿、大大小小的单词和小画作。教室里摆满了各式各样的小玩具，天花板上挂满了五颜六色的气球。一位年轻帅气的老外坐在地上，周边围着20来个两三岁大的孩子。他就是凯伦。一米八的个头，棕黄色短发和胡子，一双蓝眼睛炯炯有神，穿着也十分随和得体。墙壁上高高挂着的凯伦最心爱的伙伴——一把吉他。

张丽介绍，幼儿园有80多个小朋友，有4位外籍教师。两年多前，我国一家人才招聘机构在爱尔兰聘请立志前来中国当外教的老师。正在爱尔兰特拉利科技大学体育科技专业学习的凯伦前往应聘并获录取。凯伦说，他喜欢这个古老而充满活力的国家，到中国来工作对他来说就是一个挑战。他说他曾经去过美国及欧洲好几个国家，第一次来到中国。他就是想来中国工作，中国对他来说是既陌生又喜欢，年轻就是他的财富。2015年下半年，他背起行装和几位伙伴一起来到了遥远的东海之滨——宁波。

用音乐带给大家欢乐

酷爱音乐的凯伦除了热心教孩子学习英语外，还经常弹起他那心爱的吉他教孩子们唱英语歌曲，给他们带去很多欢乐。双休日，他经常约上几位同乡好友带着吉他和其他乐器，去熟悉的音乐餐厅演出。有时还应邀去宁波朋友的婚庆喜宴上给大家带去异国的音乐和歌声。凯伦说，近两年来他到过宁波的许多娱乐场所，发现很少有带异国风情的西洋乐队和西方音乐。凯伦他们的小乐队深受一部分年轻人的喜爱，已经在宁波市区小有名气了。甚至连慈溪的音乐爱好者也经常邀请他们前去演出。

说起凯伦对音乐的执着和爱好，他自己也深感自豪与快乐。1992年出生在愛尔兰的凯伦，从小就有音乐的天赋。七八岁时他在当地的一个教堂唱歌受到好评，牧师抚摸着他的头说：你长大了肯定能成为一名好歌手。13岁时，凯伦就已经应邀在爱尔兰的一家国家电视台唱歌。15岁时，就在爱尔兰举办的一次国家级的歌唱比赛中得了一等奖。这让凯伦在音乐的道路上更加自信，他立志在歌唱的道路上坚定地走下去。他妈妈对凯伦的唱歌爱好也十分支持，经常开车带着他去参加大大小小的各种活动，一有机会就让他一展歌喉。每到周末，凯伦妈妈总要开车带他去参加当地的各种歌唱比赛。有次比赛凯伦拿了一等奖，奖金8000欧元，全家都为他感到高兴。

培养孩子活泼个性

在宁波鄞州赫德实验学校幼儿园，凯伦对所有孩子的热爱也是受到大家的齐声点赞。凯伦说：“我加入赫德学校是因为我很喜欢孩子，喜欢这里温馨的工作氛围。”

如今的独生子女，在家长的过分呵护下，大多都是温室里的花朵。除了来自家庭的无限关爱，孩子从出生到小学毕业，都是在以女性为主的教育环境下成长起来的。造成了现在的孩子普遍缺少阳刚之气，缺少自信、勇敢、果断、大方等。于是，我国的一些幼儿园开始引进男教师。宁波鄞州赫德实验学校从国外引进一批男老师就是一次有益的尝试。学校的老师和教职员工，还有许多学生家长都把这些洋外教亲切地称为“洋爸爸”、“洋哥哥”、“帅哥哥”。凯伦爱孩子的一个心愿就是要培养孩子们活泼的个性和对英语及音乐的喜爱。赫德实验学校幼儿园也是以“教育塑造人格”为基本原则、以蒙台梭利教育、英才启蒙为办学定位，致力于培养双语并重、全面发展的优秀青少年，希望这里的孩子们能快乐、安全地成长。

宁波鄞州赫德实验学校幼儿园一有机会就要举办一些孩子们喜欢的集体活动，像做游戏、举办音乐会等，凯伦当仁不让自然就是一位积极的参与者和组织者。他经常背起他的那把心爱的吉他教孩子们唱歌。可爱的麋鹿角，清脆的铃铛声......音乐会一开场便让孩子们沉浸在了愉快的海洋里，欢快的童声唱出了满满的爱。小朋友们给大家带来的芭蕾舞表演《跳舞娃娃》，粉嫩的芭蕾裙衬着孩子们可爱又不失优雅的芭蕾动作，萌翻了现场的爸爸妈妈们。在赫德幼儿园每一个孩子都是一名主角，都有机会在舞台上展现自己的才能和爱好。张丽园长告诉我们，赫德幼儿园的音乐课上他们还尝试了许多乐器的学习课程，如吉他、大提琴、小提琴、长笛等。

凯伦十分在意教室墙壁上挂着的时钟，孩子们几点午休、几点上课、几点午餐，凯伦记得清清楚楚并十分守时。眼看下午二点半了，他必须上楼去把正在午休的孩子们叫醒。他十分抱歉地中止了我们的采访，自己噌噌地上楼去把孩子们带了下来。当孩子们准备吃热饮料时凯伦十分细心的观察着孩子们，生怕他们烫伤了嘴。不管是分内还是分外，凯伦对工作的认真负责不但让幼儿园的同事们赞许，也让我们敬佩。凯伦对他班上的孩子十分体贴，哪个孩子身体稍有不舒服，他总是马上告诉保育阿姨。在课外活动中，凯伦总是十分关心孩子们的身体和安全，至今从来没出现过安全事故。

爱宁波想继续留下

洋帅哥凯伦到宁波鄞州赫德实验学校幼儿园工作转眼已经快两年了。凯伦告诉我们：他和同伴们一来到宁波，就被安排住进了教师公寓楼，学校还提供了许多生活上的照顾和便利。他也已经慢慢适应和习惯了宁波这边的生活，开始学会吃中国菜，吃宁波海鲜。他跑过了宁波许多地方，都留下了美好的印象。他还和宁波许多音乐爱好者交上了朋友建立了联系。凯伦刚到宁波还不会说中文，现在他已经学会了不少基本的交流语言，“您好”、“谢谢”、“再见”、“拜拜”。凯伦说原本他打算在宁波工作两年就回爱尔兰去，现在看来也许要逗留更长的时间了。

在學校幼儿园老师们的共同努力下，赫德实验学校幼儿园得到了许许多多家长的一致点赞。张丽特别在我们面前夸奖凯伦和其他几位来自万里之外的男幼教。她笑嘻嘻地告诉我们，凯伦也受到了幼儿园小朋友家长们的夸奖，有的家长还向她打听这位洋帅哥有女朋友吗？如果还没有的话，他们可想做凯伦的月下老人呢！说得我们都开心地笑了起来。

（本文摄影：白阳杰）

HD Ningbo School is a private bilingual education institute with courses from kindergarten and primary school to secondary school. It is a sister school of Hurtwood House， one of the most respected schools in UK due to its vitality and vision. Ciaran Singleton， an Irishman， is one of the four foreign teachers at the schools kindergarten in Ningbo. He is extremely popular with kids.

The other day， we arrived at the kindergarten to have an interview with Ciaran. We were ushered into room 103 on the ground floor. The walls presented drawings by children and English words in various sizes and colors. On the floor were toys and on the ceiling were garish balloons. A handsome young foreigner sat on the floor， surrounded by 20 some two or three-year-olds. The teacher was Ciaran. He was tall， his light brown hair cut short and his eyes blue and bright. On the wall was a guitar， his favorite musical instrument.

We learned that the kindergarten had about 80 children and there were four foreign teachers. A Chinese talent agency went to Ireland two years ago in search of young people who were willing to work as teachers in China. Ciaran， a student at Institute of Technology Tralee， signed up and got employed. He told us in the interview that he considered it a huge challenge to teach in China， an old and dynamic country. He had visited USA and some European countries. He came to Ningbo with a few friends in the second half of 2015.

He teaches English at the kindergarten. Part of his work is to teach kids to sing English songs. During weekends， he and his friends perform at a local music restaurant. Occasionally， he and his friends sing at wedding banquets. He and his musician friends have established a reputation in Ningbo. Sometimes they are invited to perform in county-level cities around Ningbo.

Ciaran is a gifted vocalist. Born in 1992， he grew up singing in a church chorus. He was invited to sing at a national television studio at 13 and won a first award at a national singing competition at 15. The biggest award he won at a singing competition was 8，000 Euro.

Ciaran is loved and adored by the kids at the kindergarten. Ciaran said that he joined HD Ningbo School because of his love for children and that he liked the school.

Hiring male teachers is an experimental practice of HD Ningbo School. Most Chinese families have one child and many kindergartens and primary schools have no male teachers. Parents are worried that children may not grow up in a balanced way if they grow up under the care of women teachers. The school and parents love the male teachers.

At such a kindergarten， music plays a big part. Music events and games are a big part of the curriculum for the preschoolers. Ciaran is an experienced organizer. Kids have opportunities to learn how to play musical instruments such as the cello， the violin and the flute.

Ciaran watched the clock on the wall closely while chatting with us in the interview. It turned out that he needed to wake up the children at 2：30 in the afternoon. Presently， kids filed down the staircase into the room. While serving hot drinks， Ciaran watched very carefully lest some might get burned by the drink. No accidents had ever happened to kids while they were under his watch.

Ciaran and his colleagues have worked about two years at the school. They live in a dorm building for teachers and the school provides a full range of conveniences. He has long since got used to the life here in Ningbo. He is used to Chinese food and seafood in Ningbo in particular. He has visited quite a few places around Ningbo and learned some Chinese words. He said that he had planned to go back home when the 2-year contract expired. But now he has changed his mind.

Zhang Li， an administrator of the kindergarten who accompanied us during our visit， praised Ciaran and his fellow teachers a lot. She said Ciaran was popular with parents. Some even asked her if Ciaran didnt have a girlfriend. Some were eager to set Ciaran up for a date or two in Ningbo. We burst into laughing after hearing the approval in the eager matchmaking.