Day 4 started our school visits. St. George's School was the first on our list. Like Ying Wa, St. George's is a boys' school providing education to children from Year 1 to 12 (P.1 - S.6).
We had a brief tour around the large campus of the senior school led by a professional student ambassador. His eloquence, confidence and sincerity really impressed us. I particularly liked his many badges attached to his classic blazer recognizing his involvement in various school activities.
A talk about the school by administrators followed and we couldn't agree more on their philosophy about teaching boys and that boys need a specialised curriculum. While YWPS has a motto of "winning is not everything...", St. George's School's sense of competition and academic excellence doesn't seem to be as strong as their desire to building "fine young men, one boy at a time"!
In response to our request, the YWPS team had a rare chance to visit their junior school as well. The beautiful castle-like main building and the large green area gave us the best welcome. Their admission officer toured us around the school and offered us a very detailed and thorough introduction along the tour. We could visit lessons and see their many special rooms. Yet, it was indeed a pity that the school discouraged photo-taking of their students, or else their energetic lessons could have been captured.
We did not have a very in-depth review of this school's teaching and learning environment, but the impression was clear - their children are enjoying a fun, fruitful and explorative childhood in the school where excellence is nurtured through a relaxing and natural learning context. Schools in Hong Kong are usually weak in building children into more than exam-takers. Seeing the happiness in St. George's, I am glad that our school takes a very rare path to both creating a creative and adventurous learning experience and sharpening students' skills in different disciplines to enhance competitiveness at a rather young age. And so far, our boys are on the right track in becoming a well-equipped global citizen, and we are absolutely proud to see that.
I simply can't wait to visit more schools tomorrow and have more inspiration about our own teaching and thinking.
Dr H C Lee
We had a brief tour around the large campus of the senior school led by a professional student ambassador. His eloquence, confidence and sincerity really impressed us. I particularly liked his many badges attached to his classic blazer recognizing his involvement in various school activities.
A talk about the school by administrators followed and we couldn't agree more on their philosophy about teaching boys and that boys need a specialised curriculum. While YWPS has a motto of "winning is not everything...", St. George's School's sense of competition and academic excellence doesn't seem to be as strong as their desire to building "fine young men, one boy at a time"!
In response to our request, the YWPS team had a rare chance to visit their junior school as well. The beautiful castle-like main building and the large green area gave us the best welcome. Their admission officer toured us around the school and offered us a very detailed and thorough introduction along the tour. We could visit lessons and see their many special rooms. Yet, it was indeed a pity that the school discouraged photo-taking of their students, or else their energetic lessons could have been captured.
We did not have a very in-depth review of this school's teaching and learning environment, but the impression was clear - their children are enjoying a fun, fruitful and explorative childhood in the school where excellence is nurtured through a relaxing and natural learning context. Schools in Hong Kong are usually weak in building children into more than exam-takers. Seeing the happiness in St. George's, I am glad that our school takes a very rare path to both creating a creative and adventurous learning experience and sharpening students' skills in different disciplines to enhance competitiveness at a rather young age. And so far, our boys are on the right track in becoming a well-equipped global citizen, and we are absolutely proud to see that.
I simply can't wait to visit more schools tomorrow and have more inspiration about our own teaching and thinking.
Dr H C Lee
| p.s. How come we could visit the USA in our Canadian tour? |  |
