北京市私立樹人瑞貝學(xué)校的教育不只是幫助學(xué)生們學(xué)知識，考高分。成績固然重要，但我校的教育宗旨是為學(xué)生們提供智力與個(gè)人全面成長的優(yōu)良環(huán)境。

　　Education at Shuren-Ribet isn’t just about academics and top test scores. While these are still important, our mission is to provide a stimulating environment for both intellectual and personal growth for our students!

　　我校的目標(biāo)是培養(yǎng)學(xué)生們成為自信且高效的溝通交流者、有責(zé)任心的全球公民、均衡發(fā)展且自律性強(qiáng)的個(gè)體，以及有創(chuàng)造力及分析能力的思考者。

　　We aim to help our learners become confident and effective communicators, conscientious global citizens, well-balanced and self-disciplined individuals, creative and analytical thinkers.

　　大家可以在校門口看到我們“中西貫通，品智達(dá)優(yōu)”的教育理念，這不僅僅是一句口號；它描繪了教育的未來。

　　“Holistic Growth for Global Success” that we have at the entrance of our school isn’t just a slogan. These four words describe the future of education.

　　人們認(rèn)為除了科學(xué)和數(shù)學(xué)，藝術(shù)、音樂和戲劇也有很光明的未來；成功往往會眷顧那些擁有廣泛的跨學(xué)科能力的人。律師學(xué)習(xí)編程？醫(yī)生著作小說？科學(xué)老師還是一名專業(yè)攝影師？非常有可能哦！

　　Some people believe that alongside sciences and mathematics art, music, and drama have very bright future; and success will come to those who have a wide range of interdisciplinary skills. A lawyer learning coding? A doctor writing a novel? A science teacher who is also a talented in-demand photographer? Very possible!

　　品智達(dá)優(yōu)的理念不僅體現(xiàn)在學(xué)生的成長上，也體現(xiàn)在教師身上。

　　The idea of holistic growth is manifested not only in growth for our students, but also teachers.

　　我們一起認(rèn)識一下Dominic Garcia老師吧！許多同學(xué)都認(rèn)識Garcia老師，知道他是樹人的一名英語老師，但大家知道他是一位天賦異稟的音樂家嗎？

　　Meet Dominic Garcia! Many students know Mr. Garcia is an English teacher at our school, but didyou know that he’s also a talented musician?

　　今年，他為小學(xué)高年級以及初高中的學(xué)生們開設(shè)了古典吉他俱樂部活動。同學(xué)們非常喜歡加入他的課程，在學(xué)音樂的同時(shí)學(xué)英語！

　　This year, he hosts a classical guitar club for the students of upper-primary, middle school and high school. Students enjoy attending the club very much and learn music and English at the same time!

　　他為我們講述了他與音樂的故事，兒童在學(xué)習(xí)樂器時(shí)常見的困難，以及給家長們的小建議。

　　He shares with us his story of falling in love with music, experiences about the difficulties children face learning to play musical instruments, as well as useful tips for parents.

　　Garcia老師在北德克薩斯州大學(xué)中學(xué)習(xí)了音樂。之后他在美國創(chuàng)建的吉他班成為了達(dá)拉斯最大的課程；他的學(xué)生贏得了全美大量的獨(dú)奏與樂團(tuán)獎項(xiàng)。

　　Mr. Garcia studied music at the University of North Texas. His guitar program in the U.S. grew to be the biggest program in Dallas; his students in the U.S. won many solo and ensemble awards across state.

　　音樂伴隨著他長大，他對音樂的興趣極其濃厚。在高中，他遇到了他的摯友，同樣也是一名吉他愛好者，鼓舞他學(xué)著彈奏吉他。

　　Growing up, he was always interested in music. In high school, he met his best friends who both played guitar and inspired him to learn.

　　為什么選擇古典吉他呢？

　　Why classical guitar?

　　我認(rèn)為，吉他是世界上最有表現(xiàn)力的樂器。貝多芬有一句名言——“一把吉他就像一支小型管弦樂隊(duì)。”換言之，管弦樂中每一種樂器的聲音都能夠通過吉他演奏出來。從銅管樂的激情，到弦樂的甜美，甚至是打擊樂的聲音，古典吉他都可以表現(xiàn)出來。

　　In my opinion the guitar is the most expressive instrument there it is. Beethoven famously said, “That the guitar is like a mini orchestra”, in other words, every type of sound produced by the different instruments of the orchestra can be produced on the guitar. From the aggressive sound of the brass section to the dolce sound of the string section to even the sound of percussion section, the classical guitar can do it all.

　　雖然Garcia老師從高中才開始彈吉他，但他相信學(xué)吉他的黃金年齡是四五年級的時(shí)候。“學(xué)生的運(yùn)動能力在這個(gè)年紀(jì)才會成熟，幫助他們在彈奏中釋放表現(xiàn)力。”

　　Even though he began playing in high school, he believes the perfect age to start learning the guitar is 4th and 5th grade. “At this point in time the fine motor skills have developed enough to play the instrument expressively”, he says.

　　正如許多青少年一樣，Garcia老師年輕時(shí)也喜歡聽重金屬音樂，他最喜歡的音樂家是Metallica 樂隊(duì)的James Hetfield。他說大多數(shù)人都不會覺得重金屬和古典樂有相似性，但是他們的彈奏技法都是相同的！

　　As many young people of the time, Mr. Garcia listened to heavy metal and back then his favorite musician was James Hetfield of Metallica. He says that most people would never assume how similar heavy metal and classical music are, but they are both the study of technique!

　　Garcia老師認(rèn)為對于兒童們來說，學(xué)會演奏一名樂器最大的兩個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)其中之一便是擁有足夠的耐心來學(xué)習(xí)彈奏技法。

　　Having the patience to master the technique is one of the two biggest challenges he outlines for children aspiring to learn to play a musical instrument.

　　“無論你學(xué)習(xí)演奏吉他、鋼琴還是小提琴，最大的兩個(gè)挑戰(zhàn)往往是相同的：

　　最初的學(xué)習(xí)曲線；每一個(gè)人開始學(xué)樂器時(shí)都是會面對大量的未知探索，但復(fù)雜性一旦上去了，人們往往會放棄。

　　熱情；我發(fā)現(xiàn)學(xué)生如果只專注于課上的內(nèi)容，則會漸漸喪失興趣。”

　　“Whether you’re learning to play the guitar, the piano, or the violin, the two biggest challenges are always the same:

　　The initially learning curve; whenever someone begins to learn an instrument there is a great deal of discovery, but once things begin to become more complex, people tend to give up.

　　Enthusiasm; I’ve found that students begin to lose interest when they only focus on what is taught in their lessons.”

　　Garcia老師認(rèn)為，要克服這些挑戰(zhàn)的出路便是保持住學(xué)習(xí)的熱情。“一定要選擇能夠激勵(lì)你的音樂。如果你在熱愛的音樂上投入一些時(shí)間，就一定能夠戰(zhàn)勝這些困難。”

　　Mr. Garcia adds that the only way to overcome these challenges is to preserve enthusiasm. “Always go to the music that inspires you, if you devote some time to playing the music that you love, you will always overcome these challenges.”

　　他為家長和同學(xué)們提出了三點(diǎn)建議：

　　1.讓孩子們自由地選擇能夠激勵(lì)他們的樂器！

　　2.無論孩子彈奏哪種樂器，你首先需要注意的是音調(diào)。如果音調(diào)不準(zhǔn)需要改進(jìn)，請告訴孩子們慢下來，把注意力集中在聲音上。

　　3.帶著感情去演奏。音樂是一種藝術(shù)形式，目的是傳達(dá)語言所不能表達(dá)的情感。

　　He adds three tips for parents and children:

　　Allow your children the freedom to play the music that inspires them!

　　No matter what instrument your child plays, the first thing you should listen for is their tone. If their tone sounds like it needs improvement, tell them to slow down and focus on the sound.

　　Play expressively. Music is an art form, the goal is to communicate what words cannot.