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KINGSPARK NEWS Club Number: 30119 2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 14 : 19 January | ||
| This
is the biweekly bulletin of the Rotary Club of Kingspark Hong Kong Club Website: http://www.rotary3450.org/kingspark-hongkong | ||
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| Chief
Editor : Francis Wann Club Webmaster : John Wan | ||
| Editorial
(Marketing
Education ) - By Francis Wann | ||
| District Website | RI Website | RI President | TRF | News Room | Global History Fellowship | ||
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Marketing Education A few days ago I was covering another colleague for my A level students when they were watching a video on public speaking, and I immediately realized Stephen Tsai there as one of the guests. I think Stephen must be one of the most visible Rotarians at Kingspark. Earlier he was also involved in running leadership camps for Hotung students. For the benefit of those who are not too familiar with the A level curriculum and the exams, the exams authority has not made this presentation thing something of a prerequisite in both English and Chinese, much to the horror of many Hong Kong students who are the weakest link in oral work. The new senior secondary curriculum has stirred up much of a fuss even before it is being implemented. Today every primary and secondary school you go to, you'd find students in junior forms doing things to prepare them for the new syllabus later. Liberal Studies is all the rage among forms one and two when in fact the subject is only introduced at senior secondary. Across the territory, schools look upon this as a marketing strategy to retain or attract students in the wake of falling birth rate. These days you only need to click into the EMB website to understand the sorry state we're in. There's a lot of smooth talking aimed at parents who are now of course genuine stakeholders. Parents are overwhelmed with information when it comes to choosing the right school, which makes one wonder if there's anything sinister in the way they portray a school. Mention EMI and you win the hearts of parents; include your track records of A level results and you'd find parents queuing up for application forms for the primary section. It's true that the former permanent secretary for education Fanny Law's gone, but her legacy lives on, and the true damage could only be known in retrospect. The Government has managed to groom a class of bureaucrats who are good at the numbers game and who are able to play with the concept of accountability. How many times have we heard them say they have to be accountable to the public because it's public money? A few weeks ago, I also mentioned the case of a judicial review of the education reform ordinance initiated by the Catholic church. Perhaps the real meaning of education is something beyond the scope of our courts. I remember when asked about their views, many schools responded by saying that the reforms were necessary. I imagine those who made such remarks didn't know what they're talking about. It can't be bad to let people know that you're all for changes, that you welcome challenges, etc. It certainly give you more political currency. I had to raise my eyebrows when education sector legislator Cheung Mankwong also claimed that the reforms were necessary. Was he speaking for the teachers, or has he become another smooth talker already? My dear friends, if you think our education has failed us, have you ever thought about the real meaning of education? | ||
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This is not the first time and probably won't be the last that we appear late, but at least we appear; and I thank the District Webmaster for featuring Kingspark News on the District Website Home Page on a more than regular basis. At a recent club meeting, I talked about Rotary Awareness because we are in that month of the year featuring the theme. Rotary Awareness means that every Rotarian should be able to define what Rotary is and be proud of being a Rotarian. Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, who provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help build goodwill and peace in the world. Rotary is the world's first service club. Rotary is the The Rotary Foundation. Rotary is PolioPlus. Rotary is love. Rotary is peace.... and so on. The President of John Hopkins University is William R Brody. He writes regularly in a column called Thinking Out Loud for a regular publication of the university. The title of the October 2, 2006 edition is "Thank You Rotary International" in which President Brody recalled his association with a Rotary club and thanked RI for the good works in general and the PolioPlus programme in particular. It is always nice to read about third party endorsements such as this: you can read about what he wrote in his website; and I am happy to help you find the site if you have problems. I cannot resist sharing with you the joy, elation and pride I had over the early successes of Kingspark News within the district and without. I have since learnt slowly not to develop attachment to such past, interesting and nostalgic though they must be, even after so many years. One must move on, and if one does not, one would need to move over. I once said to past governor Raymond that I would not like to be involved year after years in the production of our club weekly - it was a weekly at the time - even though it was a glamarous weekly, in similar fashion that he seemed to be the de facto permanent editor of the bulletin for Kowloon East. Well, Raymond is still doing it; and I admire his dedication and commitment. I have since stopped talking about the matter and left it to market force to decide; and I am ready to move over anytime. | ||
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Views in any article in Kingspark News reflect those of the authors. They are not necessarily the views of the Rotary Club of Kingspark or of District 3450. You are welcome to write to Chief Editor Francis Wann or Club Webmaster John Wan on any topic, particularly in response to articles published in Kingspark News. We would publish all contributions as long as the authors identify themselves, the contents are not offensive or abusive, and would not offend common decency or common sense. You need not be a Rotarian to write to us and you have a choice to withhold your name in the published version. Where the contents make reference to statements or policies of individuals or organizations, we would try to obtain a response from the latter for publication in the same issue if possible. | ||
By Pascal Klein [Pascal Klein is the youth exchange student sponsored by our twin club Rotary Club of Canberra Sunrise. Pascal spent three weeks in Hong Kong in December 2006. Rotary Club of Kingspark is his host club and Rotarian Feroz, his host family - Ed.] Dear Rotary, Interact and other associated persons, I wanted pass on a letter of thanks for the lovely time I had whilst under your care, guidance and direction in Hong Kong. I was somewhat nervous about being by myself in a foreign city such as Hong Kong all by myself but after the hospitality the Cheung family provided me the moment we made contact that nervousness soon disappeared. The itinerary was packed with me standing up at 7 AM on the day of arrival (arrived ~00:30). I was introduced to Wah Yan College (Kowloon) where Patrick and Ryan of the Interact Club kindly guided both me, Dominic Ko and Edward Lau (both of whom deserve a massive kudos for the help, sincerity and time they gave to make my stay brilliant). I'd also like to kindly thank the principal, Norman So in regards to my time spent at Wah Yan. He leads a marvelous school of talented students. :) I visited many places, met lots of new people and in the evening had a place to come back to and rest. Throughout the day I think I would have at least had 10 people donate their time, energy and kindness towards me to make this all possible and I greatly appreciate that. Thank you once again for the lovely time. I would like to send a final kudos into the direction of a few distinct people: * Feroz and Anthony Cheung for giving me a place to rest after all the action and guiding me throughout Hong Kong for the first few weeks * Their friendly maid, Fibi, for her delicious dishes. * Dominic Ko & Edward Lau for organising much of this, taking me about in the city to show me numerous sites of interest and otherwise looking after me. Both were extremely friendly and time-giving. Thank you. * Kennedy Tsang for letting me crash at his place over the final weekend, taking me out and about especially to a most beautiful restaurant (that was a beautiful risotto) and giving me a good dose of Australian-accented conversation. :-) * Derek Roberts in particular for taking me to the Aussie sites in Honk Kong and his Rotary Club for kindly inviting me to one of their meetings. * The President of the Rotary Club of Kingspark, Patrick Wong for being the hosting Club and inviting me to attend and speak at one of their meetings. * Andy Leung for allowing me to attend his workplace and discuss topics of interest regarding IT. And all the others who invited me to functions and gatherings, took me places, gave me food and drink (in particular coffee), looked after me, gave me advice and generally made this all possible and furthermore turned it into an exciting and memorable experience. Thank you. Sincerely, | ||
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Chief
Editor : Francis Wann The Board of Directors President
: Patrick Wong | ||
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