This is a problem that has never been clarified, and I think it will never be clarified.
But I have to think about it,
And I have to answer this question, because the people who ask me are not only friends but also relatives, and I can't avoid it.
After years of thinking, I finally came to a conclusion, which is actually very simple. Two words are enough to explain: insist!
Times are developing, living standards are improving, and parents are thinking. Many of them come to the conclusion that for political and economic reasons, our generation is not qualified to receive this kind of training. Now that the conditions are good, children can't continue to have shortcomings in this area!
So the wind of "learning art" prevailed all over the country! There are many kinds of children's art classes, including calligraphy classes, which are more intensive than mushrooming.
This was originally a good thing, but unfortunately the parents' thinking only stayed at this level. There are many misunderstandings here, some people don't know, some people know and don't want to face them.
Myth 1: "We don't expect our children to become calligraphers in the future, as long as they write better." This sentence reflects a typical "Chinese-style" thinking, that is, to leave a retreat for yourself or your children in case you don't learn well in the future, so as not to be laughed at if you talk too much. Don't you know that this sentence will have a great negative effect? After listening to this sentence, children will immediately have a clear psychological hint: it doesn't matter if they don't learn well. I don't want to be a calligrapher anyway! This kind of psychological suggestion is manifested in the process of learning, which is obviously random and speculative. Such a manner, learn well!
Myth 2: "There are so many majors. If you can't learn this well, you can learn something else. " This is a sentence I am embarrassed to say, but many people keep it in their hearts. When children don't practice the first course hard, they have actually laid an eternal "curse": they have basically lost the spirit of hard work and struggle, and when they choose to learn another thing, they will still try as they did for the first time. Therefore, we can often see such a phenomenon around us: a child has learned many art forms in a few years, and it is not a matter of course that he can "know everything" in the end, but "everything is loose" is certain. Moreover, this mentality will often affect a child's life and make him unwilling to work hard on everything he learns, so don't take it lightly.
Myth 3: "Get the best results in the shortest time." There are many attractive advertisements in the society, telling people that they can write them in a few days, so many people flock to them. Do you know there is a "trick" hidden in this advertisement: how good is it? Such crash courses do exist, but they are aimed at adults. If a child goes to a crash course, it looks beautiful for the time being, and it will be more difficult to reshape and improve it later. In case you want to become a calligrapher again, you have to work harder than those who study through normal channels. It is well known that "there is no such thing as a free lunch", but everyone is looking forward to throwing a pie into his mouth. Many students once asked me, "Teacher, I have been practicing for five years, but why can't I catch up with you?" I stifled my laughter and replied, "Son, I've been practicing cudgel for thirty years. If you catch up with me five years later, how can I stand on this podium and live in this world? " Please have a heart and give me an excuse to live. "
Myth 4: "Find an ordinary teacher when you get started, and then find a famous teacher to guide you later." This is the most common statement and the most wrong statement. The most fundamental reason for this idea is only one word: save money! The first teacher for children to learn skills is one of the most important people. If you can find them, you must find the best teacher for them. Otherwise, you will go astray from the beginning and it will be very troublesome to come back later. That's enough. The most terrible thing is that many people will never get out of this misunderstanding. Having said that, I remembered something that happened to me many years ago: I studied calligraphy in the late Cultural Revolution, and things like copybooks, which were very common in rural areas, have long been regarded as the "four old" of cigarettes. I got a few pages of woodcut edition of the Mysterious Tower Monument by Liu Gongquan from an old gentleman, which is simply a rare treasure. Half a year later, my high school Chinese teacher (a rightist who was sent down from yenching university, Mr. Sun Yunxiao) of course wanted it, so I threw it away. My teacher gave me his own collection of "The Monument to the Tower" by Yan Zhenqing, and I was on the right track. However, ten years later, when my first work was published, the first sentence in the expert comment was: "Take the word Liu Fa for example"! This shows how important the role of the entry template is! The role of the first teacher can be seen from this.
To sum up, if children want to practice Chinese characters well, they must do the following: First, they must have the idea of becoming a calligrapher in the future (the ancients said that if they take the method, they will only win). Second, we must have the spirit of "one-on-one", insist on practicing for more than five years (after five years, children will devote themselves to self-study), and never "chop and change". Third, never fantasize that you can be fast. Even if it really "collapses", it will be unstable and there will never be real development in the future. Fourth, try to find the best first teacher.
I think this method is suitable for all art studies.