Portugal Immigration focuses on Portugal Education: In mid-September, all schools in Portugal will gradually open. Chinese children are returning to school, and the education of children, which is a concern for overseas Chinese, has once again become a topic of interest. How can we care for the growth of the next generation? How can we cultivate the next generation to succeed?
Receiving a normal basic education is the most fundamental requirement for every child's growth. Cultivating children to become useful talents who can contribute to their ancestral homeland and local society is the responsibility of every overseas Chinese parent. From the current situation, the interactions between China and countries around the world are becoming increasingly frequent, and the resulting frictions are also increasing. To solve these problems, we need talents who are well-versed in both Chinese and Western cultures to contribute to cooperation and common development in various fields between the two countries. From the current development trend, the education of overseas Chinese children carries the long-term development plan for the Chinese community and directly affects the future of the Chinese people, making it a top priority for the Chinese community.
Currently, more and more Chinese parents are placing great importance on their children's education and are willing to invest significant resources to ensure their children receive the best education, aiming to equip them with sufficient knowledge to thrive on the grand stage of future society. Educational investment has become a common pursuit among most parents. Of course, among our overseas Chinese community, there are still a small number of parents who do not prioritize their children's education, being busy with business and focusing on immediate material benefits, allowing their children to drift without guidance, causing them to miss out on valuable learning opportunities. As a result, when these children grow up, they can only become employees in the same three-hundred-store jobs as their parents.
The future development of Chinese people in Portugal relies on strengthening educational investment, broadening children's horizons, finding directions and opportunities for development in new fields, entering new industries that are less competitive than the retail sector, and becoming useful talents in Sino-Portuguese or international exchanges.
The Watershed in Chinese Children’s Education
We often find a watershed for Chinese children during their growth process, where they transition from a vague state into a self-awareness phase, leading to a sense of national identity. This age is typically established around the age of ten, which is when Chinese children begin to think, dream, and express themselves in a particular language. Below this age, some children think in Portuguese, while above this age, some children think in Chinese. We refer to this as the educational watershed.
Generally, children who arrive in Portugal or are born in Portugal before the age of ten will naturally be assimilated into Portuguese culture during their education and life in Portugal. They think and express themselves in Portuguese, adopt Portuguese lifestyle habits, and behave according to Portuguese customs, becoming "banana people" with Chinese appearances but Portuguese characteristics. Of course, this is not immutable and can be mutually converted.
"Banana people" speak only a little Mandarin at home; otherwise, they are surrounded by Portuguese people, and their thinking concepts and lifestyle habits are completely Portuguese. Aside from their Chinese appearance, their connection to Chinese culture is significantly diminished. They often consider themselves Portuguese, refer to their parents as Chinese, and view Portugal as their only homeland. Gradually, they melt into Portuguese society, lacking a sense of identity with the Chinese nation, referring to China as a foreign country and Portugal as their homeland, forming a new type of Portuguese Chinese.
This new type of Portuguese Chinese shows little interest in Chinese culture, and learning Chinese has become their greatest challenge. Some of these children can understand multiple languages, but they are almost completely unfamiliar with Chinese characters. If Chinese language education is not strengthened, these children will drift further away from Chinese culture as they grow up, disappearing from the social fabric of Portugal. A significant portion of these children may excel academically and become outstanding individuals in various fields in Portugal. We strive to preserve the roots of the Chinese nation within them, igniting their interest in learning Chinese and helping them find a sense of belonging to their ethnicity.
Generally, children who come to Portugal after the age of ten, around 16 or 17, have received preliminary education in their home country. They are accustomed to the thinking patterns of Chinese people and rarely identify as Portuguese, maintaining a sense of identity with their ancestral homeland. These children often face a challenging language adaptation process upon arriving in Portugal. This age group can easily become polarized; one group becomes self-isolated, unwilling to learn, avoiding education, and only finding their space online, wasting valuable learning time and becoming a new generation of "netizens" among the Chinese community. As they grow older, they may end up in the same professions as their parents. The other group, however, masters Portuguese during their schooling in Portugal, and due to their linguistic proficiency, the innate intelligence of Chinese individuals is fully realized, allowing these children to stand out among their Portuguese classmates.
While we advocate for integration into local society, we must also maintain our ethnic traditions, recognize our roots, and not forget our ancestors. The children of Chinese people bear the mission of transmitting two cultures, and it is the shared responsibility of all Chinese to cultivate children into useful talents who can contribute to society.
Chinese schools play a positive role in preserving Chinese culture, but due to financial constraints, it is challenging for Chinese education to develop deeply.
Disadvantages of Chinese Children’s Education
There are many disadvantages in the education of Chinese children in Portugal, many of which stem from the parents themselves. We should not only ensure that our children are well-fed and clothed but also care for them, supervise them, and provide a relaxed and positive environment for them to grow up in a setting of democracy, love, tolerance, honesty, progress, discipline, and integrity, fostering them into citizens who benefit society.
A small portion of parents among us not only fail to fulfill their parental responsibilities but also pass on their erroneous ideas to their children, allowing them to inherit many of their parents' shortcomings. Leading by example is more effective than verbal instruction; parents' flaws are often subtly transmitted to their children through their actions.
Moreover, due to the difficulties of entrepreneurship and the monotony of life abroad, a few parents seek excitement through gambling, drugs, and other vices. The lack of self-discipline among parents can lead to divorce or separation, ultimately affecting the children. Both parents may neglect their children, causing them to bear the pressures of life too early, leading them down a path of no return. Such precedents are not uncommon.
Some parents, after having children, entrust them to Portuguese nannies for care. Initially, they may pay wages and take time to visit, but later, when the couple argues and divorces, they abandon the children, stop visiting, and cease paying the Portuguese nanny. As a result, Chinese children grow up in Portuguese households until the age of 14 or 15 without knowing their biological parents.
"If a child is not taught, it is the father's fault." During the growth process, parents play a crucial role. Many children of Chinese immigrants, once they are brought out, do not seek ways to provide them with learning opportunities but instead allow them to drift. These children, who are just developing, often lack self-discipline, engage in delinquency, extortion, and other harmful behaviors, directly harming society and tarnishing the reputation of the Chinese community in Portugal, severely jeopardizing the normal lives of Chinese people.
Some parents believe that "money can solve all problems"; their outdated views lead them to think that hard-earned money can benefit their children, leaving them wealth to ensure a worry-free life in the future. They fail to spend time connecting with their children emotionally, teaching them good qualities through example, and do not impart correct life views or provide normal educational opportunities, resulting in children becoming societal burdens. They often assume that "second-generation rich" can build upon their parents' foundation, which frequently leads to contrary outcomes.
Chinese parents can be authoritarian, creating a generation gap between children and parents. Parents often use the excuse of "I do everything for your good" to deflect, failing to resolve the barriers between them and their children. Authoritarian decisions can strip children of their autonomy and analytical skills, making it difficult for them to adapt to society once they leave their parents.
We should discuss children's education from the perspectives of morality, intelligence, and physical health, encouraging everyone to jointly educate and care for children, enabling them to benefit society and their families, and become beneficial members of society.
Hope for Chinese Children’s Education
Through my understanding, Chinese children studying in Portuguese schools are not the top students; the best students are often Indian immigrants.
The education system in China differs from that in Portugal, where children are forced to study. Children in China face overwhelming homework burdens, causing them to lose their carefree childhood too early. The rote education methods make it difficult for children in China to develop creative thinking, often turning them into victims driven by societal interests.
Not many Portuguese nationals receive higher education; parents and schools do not impose strict requirements on children, allowing them to develop freely based on their interests. As long as Portuguese Chinese parents supervise their children to adhere to daily educational arrangements without taking on additional burdens, naturally gifted Chinese children can excel in class, and attending university becomes a non-issue. Children receiving a good education in Portugal gain recognition from Portuguese society. In future developments, Chinese children with dual education in Chinese and Portuguese will benefit more from the frequent cultural exchanges between China and Portugal, becoming international talents who contribute to the world and help the Chinese nation stand tall among the nations of the world.