Of Education and Educators

The following is an essay written by me about education which has been extracted from my book - The Universe - A Personal View ( page 165 to 169 )

Link to my book :- https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxqa2hjbGlmZXN0eWxlfGd4OjM5NmM2NTViMjAzY2M5MTk

Of Education and Educators

As I consider ignorance to be the greatest of all mortal sins, I naturally hail a good education system as mankind's saviour. As a matter of fact, I myself am a beneficiary of the education system in old Hong Kong. However, please do not misinterpret my statement as a compliment to the past colonial elite education system in Hong Kong back in the 1960s and 1970s. Notwithstanding the fact that the said elite system had provided me with the basis for my career, I do not support such an elite system which is only advantageous to the running of an impersonal and unjust colonial system. Such a system only takes care of the brighter group of students and ignores the needs of the majority. The great Chinese educator and philosopher, Confucius said that :- “ Education should not distinguish between different classes of students. “ It means that a good teacher is to try his or her utmost to impart knowledge and skill into the mind of every student regardless of their level of intelligence. I totally agree with such a noble and visionary principle of education. In my own case, I sincerely pay my unreserved homage and express my heart-felt gratitude to the Brothers of the Christian Schools, the De La Salle Brothers who labour their heart and soul constantly throughout their saintly lives to open up our minds and souls to reason and compassion. They are unconscious followers of Confucius' educational philosophy and have provided the underprivileged children like myself in my younger days and others a chance to better ourselves and make a difference to our lives. I have come a long way, though modest by general standards, since my childhood days which were spent in our literally humble home and environment at the fringes of the infamous Walled-City ( Kowloon City ), a place well-known for criminal activities, delapidation and untouchable by British colonial laws due to its jurisdiction being covered by the Qing Dynasty Unequal Treaties. Of course, I like my siblings owed my mother a lot for bringing myself and four of my brothers and sisters up working hard as a teacher for some thirty years day and night ( taking up evening classes as well ). I was able to enter Hong Kong University in 1968 as an undergraduate student in accounting and economics mainly because of my adequate intellectual training provided to me by the Christian Brothers and partly due to my luck on the spark of inspiration in making the right decision to change to the arts subjects. The British system at the university was both rigid and not conducive to developing personal initiatives and intellectual agility. It was again by sheer luck and competent basic training in my secondary school days that had pulled me through to graduation. Therefore, I do have some bitter and sweet experience with the education system that has enabled me to develop some particular insights into this all important system which is the locomotive that pulls society forward.
Unlike traditional thinking of aiming at students' success in their

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future in society, I am inclined to the view that they must be educated in the defensive techniques of handling failure. Nor is this simply a pessemistic view of reality. Let me ask you this question. How many students are number one in their class ? Surely, there is only one ! What happens to the rest ? Are they to feel sorry for themselves and quit trying ? Of course not. But before they can achieve that, they have to be able to get over their initial failure first. The highest position I ever got to in my class was during year seven which was second spot in my class of 45 and eighth spot in the whole of year seven totalling 270 students ( 6 classes in total graded by their results ). I never got to the top spot which is generally viewed as absolute academic success. So, you cannot argue with statistics that failure outweighs success by a huge margin but that depends on how you define success. If it is defined in terms of improvement, then it will be a different story. It is all a matter of expectation and the selection effect as in scientific research.Therefore, I am glad to learn that recently public organizations in Hong Kong and elsewhere have contributed to certain academic awards called award on progress instead of the traditional awards to the top students only. Those students who have made the biggest improvements during their academic year will be recognised regardless of the position where they have started in the beginning of the year. This is definitely a more sensible and encouraging approach. Students should be given the realistic picture of life which is this failures do very often occur. This is to be expected as the rule rather than the exception.The most important thing to bear in mind is that they must do their personal best to achieve the academic goals set for them by the education system. If the unfortunate scenario of failing an examination arises students should find out the reasons why and, may be with some help from their teachers and parents, to learn from their mistakes. Then, they must accept the reality of their failure and move on, putting their earlier failure in the proper perspective of their whole life as just one of the unavoidable falls in one's life. A failure in one examination among numerous academic tests and other emotional and physical trials throughout one's life can be meaningfully compared to a little painful fall in the process of a child learning to walk. The sensible and logical thing to do about such a mild set-back is to endure the pain. Cry a bit if you like to relieve the pressure and stress ( I have always opposed the wrong attitude of adults in stopping children from crying when the young and gentle soul feels like it- crying is Nature's way of dealing with stress ). Then stand up and try once more. Learning to muster enough strength in one's character to put the past behind oneself and to pick up whatever pieces in one's life to endure failures and improve oneself should be the top priority in the education process. After all, to beat the overwhelming odds is the defining hallmark of life with a capital L. Therefore, take strength from the emergence of life in this universe and try your very best to beat the odds. You will be surprised at what you can achieve through your will power. It can be a case of mind over matter if you so decide.

Then, there is the issue about humlilty and absolute respect to the teachers that are to be traditionally demanded of students. While there is little doubt that humility and respect for the older generation are great virtues, blind adherence to such ideas regardless of the relevant circumstances will reduce such virtues to farce and even demerits. Take the process of learning in the class room, for example. We all agree that by tradition, students with oriental cultural backgroumds take less initiative in asking questions in class. Firstly, they are unreasonably inclined to the view that asking questions indicates disrespect and implies potential challenges to their teachers' instructions or competence. Secondly, the students may be under the mistaken impression that asking questions also reveals their own ignorance. It is obvious that the students are wrong on both counts. The correct attitude in learning is to clarify any doubts that may adversely affect our understanding of the truth and knowledge at hand. The question of disrespect for the teachers does not arise in this proper procedure of the learning process. Students should show their respects in their manners and body language in and outside of classes instead. Also, it is naïve on the part of students to feel embarrassed in asking questions which they may feel will reveal their ignorance. On the contrary, asking more questions ,in fact, shows that the students know a lot about the subject being discussed. If they do not know anything about the subject in question, they would not have been able to raise any relevant issues in the form of queries to the teacher in the first place. So, students should ask as many questions as they possibly can. It shows that you are really smart and works to both your advantage and personal image if you feel that is important to you. It will give

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you better self-confidence, too in public speaking and improving your ability to articulate your thoughts and verbal ability.

It appears to me that the virtue of humility has a lot to do with building up the students' self confidence. Always being humble regardless of the circumstances is counter productive insofar as it erodes one's confidence. When students are certain that they are right on particular issues they should be encouraged to express their points politely but forcefully. This will build up their confidence in sticking to their own principles. That is why the extracurricular activity of debating is a very good way of training in logical thinking and articulate verbal ability. I was once a member of the school debating team and I did enjoy the experience very much. On the other hand, humility comes in when the students should always be reminded of their proper place in life and society and ultimately the whole universe when they mature. The point that no one is all powerful and indispensable must be hit home in the students' mind. Similar to dealing with failure, students should be taught not to lose their head in excitement, pride and over-confidence with themselves in their successes as pride goes before a fall. Again, no one is invincible.

Let me tell you a very subtle tale told by a great Japanese master in Zen philosophy. There was once a very clever young man who heard of an old and wise Zen master from whom the young man wants to learn more wisdom. So, the young man paid a visit to the Zen master's humble dwellings. Upon entering the the entrance the young man was asked to crawl through a very low gate as a symbol of humility to access the study where the Zen master practised his meditation. After they were seated on the straw mattress, the old master performed tea ceremony and poured some tea into a cup held in the hand of the young man. He was specifically asked by the old master to pay attention to the tea pouring procedure so that he might learn something. As instructed, the young watched the cup slowly filling up with tea but he noticed that the old master continued to pour tea into the cup even after it was full and overflowing. He could not stand the pain of the hot tea burning the skin of his hand and let go of the cup which subsequently shattered to pieces on the floor. Without apologizing for his clumsiness, the old master asked the young man to leave. He was astonished by the rudeness and protested about the pain caused him by the old master. In the young man's mind, he felt cheated by the old master's claimed reputation of being a wise philosopher. He thought that the Zen master was nothing but a useless and clumsy old fool. So, the young man demanded that he be given some advice by the old master before he would leave him in a move to try to embarrass the old master and to discredit his reputation. Whereupon, the Zen master spoke in a slow but self- assured tone of voice :- “ I had already given you some excellent advice only you were too preoccupied with your own ego and complacency to have missed it. “ But the young man retorted that the Zen master was nothing more than a sham and his remarks were a poor disguise of the old master's total ignorance of any Zen philosophy. Without being upset in anyway, the old master said :- “ If your cup of thoughts is already full, how can you acquire any more knowledge to enrich your wisdom further ? “ The young man realized there and then that the whole scenario was an elaborate lesson to teach him humility. He felt so ashamed of his own arrogant attitude that he knelt down in front of the old Zen master in great humility to beg for his forgiveness. He was subsequently accepted by the old Zen master to be his follower and became an accomplished Zen philosopher himself in due course. There you have it. The little tale I have just told you is known as a Koan in Zen terminology which is similar in nature and purpose to the parables of the New Testsment of the Bible. It is really a telling episode.

Teachers occupy a very high and honourable position in oriental cultures and so did they under the ancient Greek tradition. This is not an accident of history but rather a reflection on the important responsibilty they bear in educating the younger generation who represents our future hopes and dreams. This being the case, teaching is not just any old job for people to make a living but instead it is a profession of vital importance on which society depends to shape the brains of the future. So, if you are thinking of making teaching your profession for life, please make absolutely sure that you are willing and able to commit your whole heart and soul to it before jumping into such a noble and demanding commitment. Let us examine in detail the ideal requirements of a competent teacher. First of all, teachers must have an affinity and aptitude to deal with the young. This would imply that teachers should have a patient and caring disposition. They

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must also be generous with their time. Expect to be bordered by your students even after classes where the formal learning process is going on. This is because teachers are not only responsible for imparting knowledge on the minds of students but also concerned with their personality and character development in co-operation with their parents. It is equally important to educate students in knowledge as well as in their morals. Students must be taught to be responsible citizens apart from being compassionate human beings. It would be most dangerous to teach students knowledge without instilling a sense of duty to themselves and to society as a whole because power ( that is knowledge ) without control ( that is moral responsibility ) would be potentially destructive.

Secondly, teachers must have a sense of mission because the education system is not run on the commercial principle implying that the pecuniary remuneration cannot be comparable to the commercial sector which operates on a profit motive. Without a sense of mission and generosity, mediocre teachers may tend to cut back on their time and commitment to their students to an extent that is commensurate with the limited financial rewards teachers are getting. This kind of commercial attitude has no place in the education profession. Once you begin to have such an urge to measure the efforts against the remuneration, it is time for you to consider quitting your job so as to prevent yourself from making a fool out of yourself as well as your students. As soon as such an attitude has developed in you mind, you would be wasting both your own time and that of your students if you continue to engage in teaching. The real reward from being a good teacher is to see the tangible results of your dedication materialize in producing successful key personnels in different walks of life who were once your students. If you are lucky enough, you may have lent a helping hand in the emergence of one or two Nobel Prize winners. That would be the pinnacle of your success. Failing this ideal situation, the mere thought that you have not produced any student who is a menace to society can be a source for satisfaction. Even such a scenario would be a consolation. That means that, at least, you have prevented the breeding of criminal elements in society.

Thirdly, teachers must have the virtues of fortitude and perseverance. In the Chinese tradition, educating the young has very often been compared to planting and nurturing a tree. There is a Chinese saying that goes like this :- “ It takes ten years to nurture a tree to maturity but it will take a hundred years to complete the education of men.” The meaning to be read between the lines is that it will take generations ( a hundred years are about five generations in duration ) to instil wisdom and good habits into the minds of the population. One properly educated generation will have positive influence on the next until the ideal moral standards can take roots in society after a number of generations. Therefore, teachers must have confidence in their mission and must persevere in their noble goal of shaping the minds and souls of their students. Do not expect immediate results for your efforts. The fruits of your labour will ultimately be reaped by society in the long run. Such belief and conviction has to be constantly refreshed in your hearts and minds to provide energy and support for you unceasing struggle in this vital mission.

Within my limited experience from our voluntary education project in China, my friends and myself have also endured some of the agony and enjoyed some of the esctasy in being teachers. We made it a point to request a verbal undertaking from the older students ( in year 8 and 9 ) to assist their younger schoolmates in their studies the same way as we have unconditionally helped them, especially in their English language skills. Most of them have subsequently honoured their promises. The agony we experienced had surprisingly come from the school administrators some of whom are Communist Party members. The students themselves were very eager to learn but the only trouble was the limited resources provided by the state run schools. Once we tried to hold English revision classes in the evening in preparation for public examinations which were very important to the year 9 students' future working careers. The school administrators objected on the grounds that they had to switch off all the lights at the officially set time of 8 p.m. to save on electricity which is quite expensive in China. So, we had to offer to pay for the extra costs out of our own pockets to get the evening classes going. There were other incidents like sporting equipments for which official funds had already been approved 2 to 3 years before but had not been made available due to the unexplained disappearance of the funds in question. The reader should be aware that

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there are no independent audit systems in China both at the governmental and the private enterprise levels. This is the working of absolute power in action. The party cannot tolerate the operation of an independent auditor whose power to investigate into financial affairs of the state would be tantamount to asking the party to give up its monopoly on absolute power which it has always been guarded with great jealousy. So much so that the party was willing to risk everything including its reputation and credibility to turn the army against its own people as it did on the 4th of June, 1989. True to my earlier statement of the adverse effects of not recognizing the rightful place of the individual in society, such totalitarian system of government will and does affect the livelihood of the people, even little people who are the future of our society. The only thing to be done in this particular case was again our own money that saved the day. Fortunately, we also experienced the ecstasy when our efforts were recognized by the students and ordinary members of the local farming community ( who are mostly parents of the students we helped ) by having been invited to participate in their local mid-autumn festivities of songs and folk dances followed by simple but delicious local cuisines. It was an experience that I would find great difficulty in forgetting. Now that some of my friends had been successfully appointed to the provincial People's Consultative Committee whose responsibility is to make annual recommendations on local governmental affairs including education, our work has been made a lot easier. That is the political reality that the school officials have no choice but to face! So, this is the story of my own adventure in Chinese education. Suffice it to say that even within the seemingly monotonous process of teaching, one can still become the richer in spirit despite the meagre financial rewards offered to the professional educators which is the rightful and honourable name I prefer to call all teachers. So, three cheers for teachers all over the world including my mother from whom I had the benefit of her guidance !