Senior students of George Watson's College
Recess time! Seagulls waiting for the food crumbs!
Gorgeous weather kept following us on Day 4 of our Scotland exploration journey. This made the green greener, the red redder. George Watson's College gave us yet another great impression as a very fine school for those admitted to it and the teaching staff.
There are several things that stood out during the visit:
There are several things that stood out during the visit:
 | 1. George Watson's College puts a lot of effort into teaching students "The Charter of the UNCRC" which states the rights for children. This forms part of the school's wellbeing education, which is a big teaching and learning element in Scotland. While posters concerning children's rights could be seen everywhere on campus, this particular poster of the subject offered something new. Q1: Can you tell what was so special about this poster? The Vice Principal told me that while students were not expected to recite these statements, students were explained in detail about these concepts so that they could understand their own rights and respect that of the others. This school is exemplary in promoting The Charter of the UNCRC. |
2. Perhaps it was not a unique feature of this school, but I did notice how the classroom was arranged - the neat tablet storage boxes with chargers, the schoolbag hanging areas and water bottle areas etc. This maximises students' learning space and makes moving groups much more convenient.
 | 3. In the P.5 Maths class I observed (yes, Maths again!), the teacher taught for half of the lesson and spared the other half for us visitors to interact with the students. Me and another tour participant explained to the children in class the background of Hong Kong and briefly on how our education system worked. These children were very excited and kept putting up their hands to ask questions. They asked us about school hours, language policy, animals in campus etc...All of the questions showed their curiosity and intelligence. And we were more than happy to respond to them. |
Snacks in the afternoon
Memorable times kept coming, unlike the sunshine. In the afternoon, I made use of the free time we were offered to travel from Edinburgh to Stirling. Stirling is a peaceful little town with a long history. Not a lot of tourists would choose Stirling as a spot to visit but somehow I decided to go there (with my wife), and it was personally important. I went to a place which looked a lot like Royal garden.
The good weather didn't follow my train to Stirling and the town was typically cold and gloomy. Light rain disturbed the Airthrey Loch lightly but it was good for the wildlife. The happy sunlight was hiding and thus we could understand that beautiful things don't always stay - we need to appreciate good moments and embrace the less good as they always make us stronger.
Q2: But the question is, why did I go to Stirling today?
Q2: But the question is, why did I go to Stirling today?
Finally, I discovered these spherical items between two buildings. I first thought they were large artwork for decorations only. But I should be wrong.
Q3: By the look of them, could you guess what they are?
That's all from me today. I love all your feedback and answers and responses so far to the previous posts. For those of you who haven't commented (hope that at least you have read the posts!), the discussion is still open. I will give you the answers altogether (if I know all of them at all ^o^) when I return. Souvenirs are of course reserved for those who read and responded well! But I do know that my students will not care about the souvenirs at all, they are just waiting for my return so that their English lessons could resume, that's the important thing, isn't it?
Write you soon for Day 5...
Dr H C Lee
Q3: By the look of them, could you guess what they are?
That's all from me today. I love all your feedback and answers and responses so far to the previous posts. For those of you who haven't commented (hope that at least you have read the posts!), the discussion is still open. I will give you the answers altogether (if I know all of them at all ^o^) when I return. Souvenirs are of course reserved for those who read and responded well! But I do know that my students will not care about the souvenirs at all, they are just waiting for my return so that their English lessons could resume, that's the important thing, isn't it?
Write you soon for Day 5...
Dr H C Lee
