【嶺南英教匯】提升內在修養 以智慧善用知識

最近一次不丹之旅，促使我反思對生命與教育的認知。雖然大眾常以「國民幸福總值」（Gross National Happiness）描述不丹，但該國仍面對複雜的社會、經濟與教育挑戰。閱讀Dr. Dorji Thinley的《Teacher Education in Bhutan—Perspectives on Teaching, Leadership, and Change》一書後，讓我對師資培訓有了新的體會：它不只是一紙專業資格認證，而是一項結合學識、道德及社會責任的長遠工作。

正如作者在序言中指出，學術工作為「一項超越自我的承諾」，這番話啟發了教育工作者，將專業發展視為一項持續的道德與公民使命，而非單純以數據衡量之任務。

A recent visit to Bhutan prompted reconsideration of my assumptions about life and education. While popular accounts highlight Bhutan's Gross National Happiness, the country faces complex social, economic and educational challenges. Reading Dr. Dorji Thinley's Teacher Education in Bhutan—Perspectives on Teaching, Leadership, and Change reframed teacher education not merely as professional certification but as an intellectual, ethical and socially situated endeavour. Thinley's account—particularly the prologue's claim that academic work is "a commitment to something larger than the self"—invites educators to view professional development as a sustained moral and civic project rather than a series of metrics.

回想我自 2007 年投入教育工作之初，在一所女子中學任教「香港高級程度會考」高級補充程度英語運用科（Advanced Subsidiary Level English），每日的教學更像是一種職業求生：營營役役地批改大量試卷，並將焦點狹隘地放在學生的考試成績上。此經驗使我明白到，單憑好意與學科知識並不足以構成負責任的教學；為成為更有能力的教育者，我需要具備更深厚的教學法、文化素養及研究能力。

正如Thinley所言，師資培育是一項「結合文化、精神、服務與學術融合的道德工作」。這個觀點將教師的專業發展從純粹的技術層面，拓展至包含價值觀以及教學選擇所帶來的影響。

My early career from 2007 resembled professional survival: teaching AS Level English in a girls' secondary school under an examinationdriven curriculum, with heavy marking and a narrow focus on test performance. This experience revealed the limits of good intentions and subject knowledge alone; to teach responsibly I needed deeper pedagogical, cultural and research literacy. Thinley describes teacher education as "a moral project that brings together culture, spirituality, service, and scholarship" , expanding development beyond technical skills to include values and the consequences of pedagogical choices.

「中道」理念助反思教育目的

Thinley著作的核心概念為「中道」（Middle Way），將不丹的教育願景建基於追求「平衡」——在思想與行為、個人需求與社會責任、傳統與現代之間取得平衡。這種理念對以成績或排名作為教育唯一標準的觀念構成有力對比。從「中道」的角度出發，師資培訓的目標不僅是培養技術純熟的從業者，更在於養成能以判斷力、同理心與責任感回應社群的教育者；學生學習則應朝向「成為品格高尚的人」，而非僅成為高成就者。這些價值觀——例如善良、智慧和不作惡，雖然難以量化，卻能影響我們如何幫助學習有困難的學生、學校如何定義成功、課堂如何實踐包容，以及如何將知識應用到社會上。當各大專院校正面對追求國際知名度及競爭指標的壓力時，Thinley的觀點就顯得尤其切中時弊。

A central theme in Thinley's book is the "Middle Way", framing Bhutan's educational vision as a pursuit of balance—between mind and conduct, individual needs and community responsibility, tradition and modernity. This counters purely performance-driven conceptions of education: while assessment and employability matter, they are insufficient if education's aim is reduced to grades or rankings. From the Middle Way perspective, teacher education should cultivate judgment, compassion and civic responsibility; student learning should form "good persons", not merely high achievers. These values—kindness, wisdom, avoidance of harm—are difficult to quantify but shape responses to struggling students, institutional definitions of success, classroom inclusivity and applications of knowledge beyond academia. Thinley's stance is particularly relevant when institutions face pressure for international visibility and competitive metrics.

Thinley的論點促使我檢視自身的課程設計：我的教學是否僅幫助學生應付考試而設，抑或真正在培養他們的同理心、促進對話與心智上的成長？語文課堂可以如何做到既提升學生的溝通能力，又同時培養他們成為負責任的全球公民？這些問題突顯了我們必須將課程設計與更廣泛的倫理及社會目標結合。

Thinley's arguments prompted me to interrogate my own courses: Do they merely prepare students to pass assessments, or do they nurture empathy, dialogue and intellectual growth? How might a language classroom simultaneously build communicative competence and responsible global citizenship? These questions underscore the need to align curriculum design with broader ethical and social aims.

我目前正進行一項獲資助的行動研究計劃，利用具備豐富文化色彩的兒童文學，促進本地與海外學生之間的跨文化交流。整個計劃分為兩個階段。第一階段會引入不同文化傳統的故事（例如《The Empty Pot》、《The Three Questions》及《The Lost Girl》），並要求學生回應反思問題，將故事主題與個人經驗連結起來。第二階段會將本地和海外學生配對，讓他們比較彼此的回應並討論當中的異同。此舉的目的不是要判定誰的文化才是正確，而是讓學生明白各人的歷史、教育背景及既定假設會如何影響對文章的解讀。

My current funded action research project is to use culturally rich children's literature to facilitate intercultural exchange between local and overseas students. The intervention had two phases. Phase one introduced stories from diverse traditions (e.g., The Empty Pot, The Three Questions, The Lost Girl) and asked students to respond to reflective prompts that connected text themes with personal experience. Phase two paired local and overseas students to compare responses and discuss similarities and differences, not to adjudicate cultural correctness but to surface how interpretation is shaped by histories, educational backgrounds and assumptions.

在教學層面上，這項活動要求學生仔細閱讀、清晰表達個人觀點、比較不同解讀並互相尊重——這過程既把語文視為學習對象，亦將其作為推動跨文化理解的媒介。參與計劃的學生變得更了解自己的既定假設，而文化差異亦成為了啟發他們深入探討的起點，而不是互相指責的憑據。

這項研究證明了大學語文中心可以如何在支援學生語文發展的同時，培養他們成為有思想、具社會責任感並積極參與多元社群的一分子。

Pedagogically, the activity required careful reading, articulation of personal viewpoints, comparison of interpretations and respectful engagement—using language both as an object of study and as a vehicle for intercultural understanding. Participants became more aware of assumptions, and differences became starting points for inquiry rather than evidence of error. The project demonstrates how university language centres can support linguistic development while fostering thoughtful, socially responsible participation in diverse communities.

Thinley指出「中道」可協調「內在修養與社會行為、知識與智慧、自我與他人」，這點出了知識與智慧之間的分別。知識賦予學生分析和溝通的能力；智慧則指引我們如何合乎道德地詮釋和運用知識。在語文教育中，除了技術上的能力，還必須具備對語文在社會及道德影響上的敏銳度——明白語文是如何包容或排斥他人、澄清事實或扭曲真相。

Thinley's reflection that the Middle Way harmonises "inner discipline with social conduct, knowledge with wisdom, and self with others" foregrounds the distinction between knowledge and wisdom. Knowledge equips students to analyse and communicate; wisdom guides how knowledge is interpreted and used ethically. In language education, technical competence must be complemented by awareness of language's social and moral effects—how it includes or excludes, clarifies or distorts.

Thinley提出的方針有其特定的文化背景，不能盲目地生搬硬套到所有教育環境中。任何教育理念都是源自特定的文化和制度條件，基於學術誠信，我們必須指出這點局限。這本書的價值在於它能促使其他地區的教育工作者質疑既有的假設與優先次序：讓大家停一停、用心聆聽，並思考現行的做法是否能同時兼顧學術成績與學生的全人發展。

Thinley's prescriptions are culturally situated; they do not translate uncritically to all contexts. Educational philosophies emerge from particular cultural and institutional conditions, and academic integrity demands such caveats. The value of the book lies in prompting educators elsewhere to question assumptions and priorities: to pause, listen attentively, and consider whether practices support both academic outcomes and humane development.

《Teacher Education in Bhutan》一書提醒我們，教育既是一項專業工作，也是一份道德責任。有效的教育應將評估素養及學科專業知識，與同理心、反思能力和公民意識結合起來。對於教育工作者而言，我們的任務是設計出合適的課程與制度，將教育願景轉化為負責任的實際行動——不僅僅是傳授知識，還要培養學生善用知識的智慧。

Teacher Education in Bhutan reminds us that education is both professional practice and moral responsibility. Effective education should combine assessment of literacy and disciplinary expertise with compassion, reflection and civic purpose. For educators, the task is to design curricula and systems that transform aspiration into habits of responsible action—cultivating not only knowledge but the wisdom to use it well.

●范炎虹（Angel Fan） 嶺南大學英語及外語教學中心講師，英國高等教育學會會士(FHEA)，曾任職於香港中文大學學能提升研究中心及中大教育學院。現正於布里斯托大學攻讀博士學位，研究聚焦課程國際化、混合式學習及人工智能輔助語言教學，並曾兩度榮獲卓越教學獎計劃優異證書。