KINGSPARK NEWS

Club Number: 30119

2007-08 Rotary Year : Issue 8 : 17 October

Contents

Editorial (Does Size Matter?) - By Francis Wann
From the Charter President (Toleration) - By CP John Wan
Letters to Editor
The Board

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EDITORIAL

Does Size Matter?

At last they're going back to the numbers game again. The teaching profession would only have itself to blame if they accept the Chief Executive's promise of cutting class size. But how can the teachers be so gullible? Our system is literally hopeless however you look at it. Small class teaching , by comparison, shouldn¡¦t be something on top of our agenda.

Now you have new Secretary for Education Michael Suen talking down to us, that some schools can avoid the threat of closure because of this policy, that some teachers need not be made redundant, and that universities are ready to provide specific courses on small class teaching.

Well unless you have a short memory, you should still remember only less than a year ago, they rejected calls from the profession to reduce class sizes in primary and secondary schools, arguing that research findings could not be substantiated and thus inconclusive.

But no wonder, our Government has always been the great master of statistics. There are other, more serious issues on the education front for us to address: the education reform has created a backlog of problems waiting to be solved. On any given school day, you'd find teachers going to "refresher courses" to "upgrade" themselves - one of the many visible legacies left by the reforms.

Still on the subject, Webmaster John in his last column mentioned the district has invited Fanny Law, then Permanent Secretary for Education, to speak at the District Vocational Service Seminar on October 16. I suppose the district officials must have thought over it long and hard before they made this decision, but sadly her record in social service would not make us forget the damage she's done to the face of education itself. I read with much interest recent article written by Dr Rosanna Wong, Executive Director of the Hongkong federation of Youth Groups and former Education Commission Chairman, in which she discusses the hard issue of poverty ¡V and how should we go about it. She rightly questioned the bureaucrats and government policies on the achievement of the Poverty Commission after two years. She is understandably disappointed that the fact that discussions on the subject has never risen above noise levels. She makes it plain that investment in education is the only answer. (The fabric of Life, SCMP, 6.10.07)

How can it be otherwise? Education has long been used and abused by officials as the obvious answer whenever they want to address any social issues. It's a one-size-fits-all syndrome and it rarely fails to win support. Why not? You talk about education and everyone knows we're talking about things really long-term. Investing in people takes time and money, and we have both.

But poverty can't wait. We can't afford another round of consultation or research. Last year Prof Peter Townsend the UK poverty expert was here and made recommendations for the Government. Nothing much seems to have happened. While we are still deliberating on the specific terms of poverty, history is already repeating itself in our society. It is easy for the Government to give us handouts under the banner of education, but that alone won't change the fabric of our our lives.

The homepage of the Education Commission paints a rosy picture: "Education is the key to our future. We are living in a knowledge era and we need to keep abreast of what is happening in the world. Continuous learning is therefore very important¡K"

Yawn.

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From the Charter President

Toleration

"Peacemaking was not considered to be a role for Rotary in the organization's early days The club was conceived as a meeting place for buisness acquaintances who wanted fun and the fellowship of trustworthy friends and business associates." That was how David Forward began the chapter on "Rotary, the Peacemaker" in his epic "A Century of Service - The Story of Rotary International", commissioned and published by RI to mark and celebrate Rotary's first centennary.

On the other hand, there is always scope to look at peacemaking as a process, a function, a vocation, a policy objective, a job and so on.

Rotary, Rotary International and Rotarians have been involved in peacemaking during and after the two World Wars and indeed Rotarians are architects in the drafting of the Charter of the United Nations.

One could however trace from the lives of Rotary founding fathers, notably Paul Harris, an element, an essential element of peacemaking - tolerance or toleration.

In his first term as National Association president - equivalent of RI President - Founder Paul Harris wrote a 6,000-word piece called "Rational Rotarianism" in which he analysed the elements which had attracted business and professional people of widely different disposition to join Rotary or Rotary clubs. In 1910-11, there were 1,085 members in 16 clubs, all in the United States. Later in his term, Rotary spread to Canada. This was how he began his manifesto.

"If by interposition of Providence I some day were to find myself standing on a platform in some great Coliseum looking into the eyes of every living Rotarian, and were to be told that I could have but one word to say, without an instant's hesitation and at the top of my voice, I would shout: Toleration!"

Here are some more excerpts: "It was in pursuit of it that the pilgrim fathers embarked in their frail craft upon the stormy waters. It was from the chrysalis toleration that lustrous winged Liberty, awakened by the music of the sweetest toned bell on earth, sprang and floated away that July day in Philadelphia, while the world dreamed and wondered.

"If this Rotary of ours is destined to be more than a passing thing, it will be because you and I have learned the importance of bearing with each other's infirmities, the value of toleration.

"Rotary is entirely without precedent in the history of clubdom. [See also the following paragraph.] We have had no rules except such as have been gathered from the creative imagination of the men who have been responsible for our destinies. As mariners, long before the invention of the compass, successfully navigated perilous and unknown seas by the guidance of the stars, so they, the forefathers of Rotary, observed the rules that have from time immemorial influenced the lives of men, skillfully guided their craft in perilous, unknown, and trying circumstances. May we never, in times to come. depart from the safe course of rational toleration and humane consideration of the conviction of others."

When Paul Harris said that "Rotary is entirely without precedent in the history of clubdom" he was unaware of some similiar institutions before his time. He later learned that the idea was not entirely original. A social club based on a similar vocational classification system had been organized in London two centuries before he founded Rotary in 1905. There was also some similarity in an 18th Century institution established in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin. Nevertheless, these entities never attained either large scale or lasting influence.

Paul Harris also called for toleration when the nations of Europe went to war in 1914. Past RI President Cliff Dochtermann, in his famous "The ABCs of Rotary", also discussed "Toleration of Difference" in one of his essays.

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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 Board

President : Marvin Lai
President-Elect and Membership: Joyce Mak
Vice-President and Public Relations: Michael Eyles
Secretary : Kennedy Tsang
Treasurer : Ted Ho
Rotary Foundation : Patrick Wong
Club Administration : Edward Lau
Service Projects : Peter Lo
Sergeant-at-Arms : Alexander Kar

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