良知的发见与养正——从王阳明看儿童道德教育的意涵及其实现

Manifestation and Cultivation of Conscience: the Connotation and Realization of Children’s Moral Education from Wang Yangming

在当下,儿童道德教育的基本路径是通过知识化教学来提高儿童的道德。王阳明认为儿童的道德力量根源于人的内在良知,儿童道德教育需要把良知这一道德的内生力量焕发出来,在儿童的内心建立起稳定的道德根系,从而为儿童养成良好的道德行为提供内在的根据,而不只是一种外在性的道德知识与规范的教授。儿童道德教育的要义是遵循儿童的性情,把儿童的良知无蔽地发见出来,实现良知的养正;在具体的方法上,采用歌诗以兴发儿童的道德情感、习礼以涵养儿童的道德意志、读书以拓展儿童的道德理性以及每日考德巩固和纠偏儿童的道德行为。

At present, children’s moral education takes the path of improving their morality through knowledge-based teaching. Wang Yangming believes that children’s moral power is rooted in people’s internal conscience. Children’s moral education, therefore, needs to radiate the internal power of conscience, establishing a stable moral root system in their mind, so as to provide intrinsic basis for them to develop good moral behavior, rather than just an extrinsic teaching of moral knowledge and norms. The essence of children’s moral education is to follow children’s temperament, to reveal their conscience fully, and to realize the cultivation of conscience. In specific way, poems are used to stimulate children’s moral emotions, etiquette to cultivate moral will, reading to expand moral rationality, and daily morality test to consolidate and correct moral behavior.