KINGSPARK NEWS

Club Number: 30119

2006-07 Rotary Year : Issue 20 : 15 April

Contents

Editorial (Academic Interference) - By Francis Wann
Adopt a School - By IPP Dominic Ko
From the Webmaster (Partiality) - By CP John Wan
Letters to Editor
The Board

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EDITORIAL

Academic Interference

I was at the hearing of the Commission of Inquiry on Allegations relating to the HKIEd yesterday when Vice President (Academic) Professor Bernard Luk gave evidence for the first time after institute president Paul Morris left the witness stand last Thursday.

As you opened your morning newspaper this morning (Sunday, 15 April), I suppose members would be disturbed by what they read about a brief exchange of comments between the then director of education Fanny Law and Bernard Luk, then a member of the welcoming team at York University in Canada, in 2002.

Professor Luk uses the word "shocked" to describe his feeling at that time when Mrs Law said Hong Kong teachers were "all so stupid". Hardly could he have imagined that in less than a year's time, he would be taking up the post at the HKIEd, responsible for academic policies and curriculum development in teacher training.

Prof Luk could not derive much from her comment, but obviously that forthright description must have left him with something so solid he was still able to recall it after a span of five years.

Further encounters and scruffles with Mrs Law and education chief Arthur Li after he's joined the institute were well documented and reported in the press, and naturally readers may form their own opinions on the subject.

EMB chief Arthur Li may be good at public relations when hardselling his education reforms to parents, but as Prof Luk described, he was "commanding and firm" when he ordered him to condemn those redundant teachers who went on strike in 2004 and the Professional Teachers' Union which supported them.

How the commission deliberates on the evidence should have serious implications on the future of our education, and the profession as a whole. But if Fanny Law made her remarks with good intentions, she was probably not articulate enough.

What on earth could make the teaching profession lose its sense of integrity and professionalism? And what is it that has made thousands of teachers live and work in fear? Ever since the launch of education reforms after the release of Education Commission Report No. 3, the teaching profession has been in a state of turmoil and disharmony. There have been ongoing disputes about quality assurance, external inspections, benchmark tests, mother tongue teaching, learning areas, to name just a few.

And on many occasions, most teachers simply grin and bear, but there are also times when they have to stand up and fight. Well, if a frontline teacher tells the management he does not agree with the reforms, he'll probably labeled as outcast, antisocial, lacking team spirit, failing to move with times, etc. Yes, the majority simply go with the flow.

Rosanna Wong mentioned the achievements in the education reforms yesterday on RTHK's Letter to Hong Kong as she left her position as Chairman of the Education Commission. I couldn't agree more when she said "Education is a profession about people¡K" I remember I was still not in the Rotary when I attended the district installation ceremony in 2001 when she was invited as the guest of honour. I still remember she talked about the Third Force in the community.

Of course Dr Rosanna Wong knew what she said; she was nevertheless a Rotary scholar.

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Adopt a School
By IPP Dominic Ko

IPDG Peter Wan called a meeting of the Rotarians, who have involved in the Adopt a School project, on 12th April, 2007 and I represented our club to attend the meeting. We had a good sharing with various clubs on what we had done and what we would do in the future. We have noted that there are some very popular programs organized, namely, vocational seminar, interview training, mentorship programs, parents workshops, etc. The adopted schools love the Rotarians because we have brought new exposure to the students and they have been helped by Rotarians from different professions and industries and this is something which the schools or the teachers cannot do this in the past. For Rotary Clubs, these programs can be organized easily and can attract Rotarians participation. Depending on the relationship between the Rotary Club and the school and also the work done for the school, some Rotary Clubs can play an active role in promoting some educational policies. PP Mahmood said "It will be a good opportunity to promote moral education and the Chinese virtues to the students in Hong Kong." There are many ways which we can do to achieve our Rotarian goals for good education and we need the support from the Rotarians of our district to make this come true.

Our club organized a very successful Mock Court project for our adopted school, Ho Tung Secondary School, last year and for sure it would be very difficult for us to organize this kind of project for the school every year. With the help and through the network of the Education and Manpower Bureau ("EMB"), our district should be able to organize some good projects for the schools and if they are successful they can make a lot of publicity both in the schools and the community.

In the meeting the Adopt a School Committee was formed under the leadership of IPDG Peter to oversee the on going development and implementation of the project, which, according to the wish of DGE Peter Wong, will be officially established as a district project in 2007/2008.

Our District and the EMB are organizing a Sharing Meeting in the afternoon of 21st April, 2007 at W422-423, 4/F West Block, EMB Kowloon Tong Education Services Centre, Suffolk Road, Kowloon Tong. The objective is to promote the program amongst Rotary Clubs and schools which have not yet participated in the project. They are also planning a Phase One Review Meeting and Signing Ceremony for the Second Batch of Partnerships to be held on 23rd May, 2007 as part of the program of the District Conference.

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From the Webmaster

Partiality

Last time, I discussed forgiveness, and few would have problem agreeing to it being a virtue worthy of their practising even though few would find such practices easy in practice. On the other hand, many people might not regard being partial as some practice to write home about, let alone anything assoicated with or close to godliness. Indeed, few would openly admit to being partial, particular in relation to individuals within the same group, for example, siblings in the same family, students in the same class, or colleagues in the same office.

If I tell you that God - the God in the New and Old Testaments - is a rather partial being, you may start thinking that I have had a few drinks or that I am looking for more or new readership.

If you are a regular reader of the Holy Bible, however, you would not fail to notice that the Scripture is full of references that would suggest that God was partial in many cases. For example, God preferred offerings from Abel to his brother Cain's, God had a special liking for Noah, God liked Abraham and David despite their weaknesses and shortcomings; and in the New Testament, Jesus chose St Peter despite the fact He knew that he would deny him three times, and St John had always been his favourite and most loved apostle; and so on.

Does it mean that God has been unfair or unjust?

Just as forgiveness is not about fairness and absolute justice on a human scale, being partial may not necessarily be unfair or unjust. One should ask why a person, and for that matter, why God would be partial to some individuals.

Many of us who have siblings would have witnessed or experienced sibling rivalries.For example, have you been baffled at why your mother loved your brother more for no apparent reasons.

We learn from the Scriptures that God's partiality had resulted in other consequences and sins. Cain became jealous and murdered Abel; and so on. But that is another matter.

Alas, there are so many things in life the meanig for which we cannot expect to be able to fully comprehend or understand at first encounter, unless through continuing study or research, or unless we obtain special inspiration.

One obvious reason why anyone would like any one individual in a group of apparent equals is that the particular individual has insight into what makes that other person happy. In short, he understands what makes the other person tick. Is it a bad thing for someone to please another individual? Does one always or necessarily know why any individual would want to please another fellow human being? Is it so bad for an individual to reciprocate pleasantries?

Back to the question I put to you in the beginning, is partiality good or bad. I do not have an answer for you. It depends, doesn't it?

It does mean that one ought not look at things at face values. It does mean that no one person can be classified good or bad as such. It does mean that no situation can be good or bad. It does suggest thatnothing in the world in which we live is permanent or real.

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Letters to Editor

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.

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The Editors

Chief Editor : Francis Wann
Ex-officio : President Patrick Wong
Secretary and Features editor: Michael Eyles
Newsroom and Reviews editor : Kennedy Tsang
Events editor: Ted Ho
Profiles and International Desk Editor : PP Edward Lau
District Desk Editor : PDG John Wan

The Board of Directors

President : Patrick Wong
President-Elect : Sunny So
Vice-President : Marvin Lai
Secretary : Kennedy Tsang
Treasurer : Ted Ho
Rotary Foundation : Thomas Chan
Club Service Director : Edward Lau
Community Service Director : Joyce Mak
Vocational Service Director : Stephen Tsai
Programme Director : Peter Lo
Sergeant-at-Arms : Andy Leung
Membership Director and IPP : Dominic Ko
Sports Captain: Raymond Chan

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