Bringing up Kids in Hong Kong

This is an endless topic of discussion. I would like to express few words. May be, I would like to move my eyes upwards to get a macro point of view. Due to economic growth of Hong Kong, the education system adopted a lot of change from the past to the present. These changes exert a lot of pressure to all parties of student, teacher and parent. I would like to discuss each entity as below:

1) Student
The kids are the core of this system. Any influences from school, family and environment input to the kids. The root cause must not be the kids, but they are the result of performance reflecting the impact from difference influences. In capability, I cannot see a significant difference in kids between in the past and at the present. May be, I think that the kids at present is smarter than that in the past. Today, there are a lot of distractions/attractions to cause poor result of kids. It is not an excuse as it can be solved by a balance consultation from both teacher/parent to the kids.

2) Teacher
Recall the statement above “what do you expect from a CAT?”. I would like to rewrite as “what do you expect from a teacher?”. I have experience in both as a parent and a secondary school teacher because I did a temporarily job as a three months “supply teacher”(代課老師) at secondary school in the past because the original teacher was sent to government education department for training. I can understand their situation. The major source of teacher is the fresh graduate from university or education institution. The labor market is open which is a supply and demand problem with perfectly competition with private and government sectors. Don’t expect a teacher to be a superman or superwoman. In comparing the teacher from the past to the present, the quality of teacher is basically the same and OK la, or may be have better training at the present. Due to change of education system from one-stop open public examination to internal assessment in school, teacher has to do a lot of document work at the present which cause them fully loaded.

3) Parent
Some teachers complaint that it is difficult to teach a large discrepancy between students born locally and from China immigrant in same class. This is a fact. However, socio-economic problem always exists in education from the past to the present. In the past said 50’s to 60’s, most of parents including mine were fresh immigrants from China. Most of parents have not enough time to take care of their kids, that is same in the past and at the present. To me, I don’t think a big difference in parent behaviour between in the past and at the present. They do very good, but also do worst as well.

4) The education system
I am not an experienced educator. In this point, I take the role of parent or local citizen to criticize the current education system in Hong Kong. I basically feel very uncomfortable with it. When I was a student in the past, I faced only three public examinations in transition among primary school, secondary school and university. Internal examination became not important. We had less pressure and had a lot of fun to enjoy in school. Even you were lazy in school, you could catch up your result by pushing the study one year before public examination because the knowledge was simple.
At present, the public examination in primary school was cancelled and changed to internal assessment. Then, the pressure moves into school internal assessment which causes frustration from kids, teacher and parents. They are busy all the time to do different assessment, etc... I don’t know the difference in achievement between one-stop public examination and internal assessment with several years. Personally, I prefer one-stop public examination. If not OK in public examination, then attempt next year. Just simple!
I always heard a lot of change of education system from government. Why change? The coming big change is that the HKALE will be last administered in 2012 and merged with the existing Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination to form the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education examination at the end of the new, three-year senior secondary curriculum. CAT, can you explain “Why?”.
In change management, we firstly set the goal of change. Then, implement the change strategy. Lastly, should measure the result with respect to achievement of goal in order to determine whether the change is successful or failure. Both feel personally and heard from different person that performance of student at the present becomes poorer and poorer. Does anyone measure it with respect to change in education system and make adjustment if necessary? If failure, please stop it!

In conclusion, my major uncomfortable is the current education system, but not kids, teacher or parent. I admit that change of education system is appropriate in order to match with rapid economic growth of Hong Kong from the past to the present. But, I personally feel that:
1) the change is too rapid, and
2) the change is too complex

which cause drawbacks to kids, teacher and parent at all. OK! a lot of words. Just express my feeling.  


B. regards,
alant


Ref:
1) http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%A6%99%E6%B8%AF%E4%B8%AD%E5%AD%B8%E5%AD%B8%E4%BD%8D%E5%88%86%E9%85%8D%E8%BE%A6%E6%B3%95
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hong_Kong_Advanced_Level_Examination

Using economic theory, the quality of teacher can be used to present the economic situation of a country at particular period of time as below:

Theorem:
Even the quality of teacher is good at two particular periods of time, the quality of new teacher from fresh graduate at bad economic situation is usually better than that at good economic situation in a country. In other cases, it can be self-explained.

Everything has “black and white”, so thus teacher. There are good teachers and bad teachers as well. Hence, I shall not totally believe teacher. I grew in Catholic school, there is at least one person in Catholic school who is willing (自願) to take care kids. They are the “father & sister” (神父及修女) who implement the mission from God. For this reason, I gave my valuable comments as above at free of cost to help God.

Due to political reason and special situation struggled to me, I shall not take part-time teaching post or visit school anymore unless it is solved. It is because people always like a “sticker” to me wherever I go. I feel very uncomfortable. For this reason, I delegate “qualified” teacher to take care my kids in education.


B. regards,
alant

Dear alfcat,

There are mainly three implications in my second half paragraph as below:

1) In generalization, there are good teachers and bad teachers in any education institutions. If all teachers surround you are good teachers, then you are lucky. Everyday, you read newspaper, there is some news about bad teacher due to guilty of corruption, poor conduct, leading to poor school construction, etc... in wordwide.

2) Recap my memory when I was in Catholic primary and secondary schools, the people who I respect mostly were “Father and Sister”. I was seldom punished during school in the past, Father always made fun with me at that time. The Catholic school that I have taught in three months are also a reputable school with same Catholic society with my mother school (與我母校同一天主教會). The Fathers are interchangeable and know each other. All teachers in this school are good teachers too.

3) Over twenty years after graduation, I am a solid practical guy and experienced to deal with over thousands of senior executives locally and globally including fortune 100 company. My background of working experience is now open because my biography has been published in the 25th Silver Anniversary Edition of Who's Who in the World (世界傑出人名錄) at the end of year 2007 due to my achievement. Marquis Who’s Who ( http://www.marquiswhoswho.com ) is an international recognized organization in America to publish the biographies of millions of leaders and achievers from around the world. (個個都可知我什麼料) I am confident with my capability and believe that my comments are valuable (不是吹水). For this reason, I am willing to do if helping God. In fact, I am quite a business man to ask for money except this.

My total teaching experience includes three months “supply teacher” in secondary school to teach kids and less than one year part-time evening lecturer in local university to teach adult. My purpose is for interest, but serious. (不是玩玩吓那種). I understand your situation as a secondary teacher at the present.


B. regards,
alant

Dear alfcat,

If the teacher from top brand one secondary school feels like that, it is difficult to imagine what a teacher from brand three private secondary feel?
Cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun from our Catholic society has argued with previous government officer in-charge in Hong Kong Education (1998~2006), Fanny Law in education matters for many times. Hope that the present Secretary for Education, Mr Michael M Y Suen (2007~present) will be better and understandable.

如一流中學教師的感覺如此底落，真不可以想像三流私校內的中學教師感覺如何？
從我們天主教母會出生的陳日君樞機已與前香港政府教育官，羅范椒芬爭論不下多次。現羅范椒芬下台，希望現任教育局局長孫明揚先生會明理點。


B. regards,
alant

Dear alfcat,

The ten year education revolution in the past is at the same period when Fanny Law has been in government officer at education department. I am really in doubt about her capability. I believe that our government is still healthy at the present after ten year transition period prior to year 1997, it is a problem of individual government officer and I comment her as a “Dog” government officer. "CAT" may be afraid of “DOG”, but we are not fear because we are the crocodile in the business sector.

The enhanced version of Chinese translation as below:
香港過去十年教育改革正是前香港政府高官羅范椒芬在任教育部的時候，對她評語是：羅范椒芬不是光榮退休，而是被迫下台。她只是一個狗官，是前英政府的走狗。可能猫”CAT”會怕狗”DOG”，但我們不怕，因我們是商場上的大鱷。人們怕羅范椒芬，不是她本人，而是其胞兄，香港10大超級「打工皇帝」之一，現職中信泰富董事總經理之行政會議成員范鴻齡，他們是中國藏書家范欽之候人。我們是講道理，針對是她做出的事情，不是羅范椒芬本人。
以下吹吓水，不一定是真實，因寫中文鬼佬看不明：曾有個對曆史有認識的人對我說，每當英國政府撤離其殖民地時，如印度，都會使其混亂，不使其接手之新政府好受。事實，從1997後，英國在香港投資不斷减少。不知那教育改革的鬼主意是誰想出來，如是英國政府有關，那便有問題。如不是，便是香港在十年回歸過度時間，因改革造成混亂。


B.regards,
alant

Politic is a high level game playing. The attendance of kids is not my questioning. It is useless to me if people use my kids as a political tool to persuade me. Nobody can influence my decision making including anyone from my family. Only low level people will use this method to test me.

In Chinese, it states: 做大事的人，會斷六親！


B. regards,
alant

In my viewpoint, politic is adult's matter. Let adult to resolve. Don't involve kids.

With advance in technology, communication between people becomes closer and closer. A person in the south of world can speak easily with his/her friend in the north of world by mobile phone. A person in the south of world can travel easily in few days to north of world by airplane. Both the people and the society in the world are being changed from simple to complex. There is no absolutely judgment whether it is good or bad for this change. But, the environment has been changed from quiet and peaceful to noisy. In schooling, the socio-economic problem becomes more significant in comparing from the past to present.

I emphasize that Chinese, English and Mathematics are three foundation subjects in secondary school and they are very important language. For example, I encourage my kids to know how to consult a word from hard copy dictionary, rather than with help from computer. Although one of my expertise is computer, I do not suggest kid to stay with computer all the time. However, society becomes complicated. Students have a lot of things to learn in both school and society. Before totally absorbed, they need to learn other things. (使兩頭唔到岸). I feel the language ability of students becomes poorer and poorer at the present.

I agree with WINDWSS that it becomes harder and harder being a teacher especially in secondary & primary school in comparing to university because I have experienced in both of jobs before. Excluding the reason of salary, I personally prefer the job in university rather than that in secondary school because I feel more concentration in academic work. If you are capable to handle lesson/lecture in both school and university, then you feel job in university is easier. It is because teachers need to handle a lot of socio-economic problems such as discipline of student, parent complaint, etc... in secondary and primary schools, then they shall feel totally exhausted and over-loaded.

The world becomes more and more complicate particularly in the society of prosperous cities such as New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Toronto, etc... The age of people that starts to feel pressure becomes younger and younger. You cannot do a simple person. (你不能做個簡單的老實人) Depending on different person's goal of life, my slogan is “sufficient is enough”. (知足者常樂) However, I feel that it is another story in Hong Kong. I want to stop because I feel enough, but people push me to go ahead. I pretend to loss because I feel enough, but people push me to win. (人在江湖, 身不由己) I feel that my privacy is totally influenced and under controlled as well as my energy is totally exhausted.


B. regards,
alant

Noted!

因私人理由，決定斬時停止在本網站發表評論，直至個人問題解決為止。我亦謝謝你們提供資料，使我了解現時香港的社會問題。精明的你，經過大家討論後，相信已心中有數。現在的社會已變得複習，如你在沒有做錯事下，無原無故地時常被人屈，被人踏，問題不是你，這表示你的社會已出現問題，請小心別人的奸計，我已領教過很多次。再見！


B. regards,
alant