At Glasgow Academy
Do we only teach for excellence? How would the curriculum be shaped like if it wasn't the case?
Today we were fortunate enough to have visited two brilliant schools in Glasgow which might not be the so-called traditionally elite schools.
Today we were fortunate enough to have visited two brilliant schools in Glasgow which might not be the so-called traditionally elite schools.
Glasgow Academy impressed us with a campus filled with "human touch". The politeness of students, words of praise posted on boards, posters hand-drawn by students, or even the funny Christmas video the Headteacher showed us featuring a story written by their students and played by both staff and students...all these are examples of this school's supportive and friendly environment, which is a very happy feature of the school.
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The ambassadors were very helpful and cheerful. But beside them, I grabbed the opportunity chatting with those having lessons as well. This boy on the left picture, Oliver, was happy with his "stylish" bottle painted by his sister. I wondered what bad thing he did to her to make her stain his bottle with such "toxic" ink! But Oliver didn't seem to mind at all!
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Q1: We happened to witness the Glasgow Academy's International Week. In the Chinese Booth of the fair, could you tell/guess which two activities were offered?
The next school we visited was St. Roch's Secondary School, which is the only state (government) school that hosts us in this trip.
While the school might not be the wealthiest, their inclusive education policy touched us a lot. Especially, their "Deaf Education" is exemplary. The school takes in all students with sign language needs from Glasgow and as a result they have 30+ students with this need. It offers great challenge to the staff and many of them needed to learn the sign language so as to support these children.
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Keren Mingole is one of the deaf children studying in St. Roch's. She was invited to share with us her learning experience in this school and how she fought her way to doing well in school. Watch the video to understand her background and her achievement.
Q2: The interpreter spoke with a Scottish accent which may be a bit tricky for Hong Kong students. Try to listen to him several times to get the idea. Do you understand what sort of difficulties Keren needs to get through and what achievement she had got?
Q2: The interpreter spoke with a Scottish accent which may be a bit tricky for Hong Kong students. Try to listen to him several times to get the idea. Do you understand what sort of difficulties Keren needs to get through and what achievement she had got?
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I had a happy chat with Mr Donnelly, one of the deaf education teachers who helped Keren, and gave him a copy of my literary journal so that he could pass it to Keren. I'm glad I found two poetry lovers in two days!
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In the end of the school visit, Mrs Lam gave each of those student ambassadors a "Snoopy" file for serving her well. All were happy in the end.
Getting back to the first question: Do we only teach for excellence? Well, the "love" I could sense in these two schools was already the "excellence" which every school should be working for.
Day 7 has something great to happen. Stay tuned.
Getting back to the first question: Do we only teach for excellence? Well, the "love" I could sense in these two schools was already the "excellence" which every school should be working for.
Day 7 has something great to happen. Stay tuned.
