Hong Kong students are bookish and examination-oriented. They learn everything by rote and, sad to say, they don’t seem to have understood what they have memorized. Students pay too much attention to their examination results too, as they all know that these results determine their future. The upshot of this is that Hong Kong students are ignorant of the knowledge outside books
In view of this disheartening situation, the introduction of civic education into the primary and secondary school curriculum seems to be a sine qua non if the education system is to foster a well-rounded student. This civic education should encompass a variety of topics so that during their school days, students will not only absorb knowledge from books but also know what is happening in the community and how to behave well. Hopefully, this can help them develop a good personality too.
Hong Kong has always faced many changes. Often, the changes happen so fast that, if students do not have the basic skills to understand what is happening around them or have a good sense of judgment, it will be very difficult for them to keep pace with society after they leave school. For instance, it is often said that the majority of Hong Kong students do not have even a basic understanding of politics until recent demonstrations or so-called “umbrella revolution”. But in this era, a subtle political change in Hong Kong can lead to a totally different future for them. If Hong Kong students do not have the ability or desire to ascertain the implications of Hong Kong’s legislation, or what rights they have in society, how can we expect them to pave the way for Hong Kong to have a rosy future? This kind of future depends very much on intellectuals who have more than book-learning on their resume.
Besides politics, students should be instilled with right moral concepts so that they will be concerned about other members of the community. As a Chinese proverb goes, “everyone cares about his own business, but takes no heed of others”. The last generation has been deeply influenced by this instinctive kind of thinking, so Hong Kong people are usually considered to be selfish and indifferent to others’ sufferings. Our education system can take the lead in changing this by giving students proper guidance concerning social ethics.
We can see that the advantages brought by the introduction of civic education are many, and it should not be confined to the current batch of students. Adults should also receive civic education. Once in a while, Hong Kong people join hands to help the needy and protest injustice, but it takes a catastrophe for this to happen. Civic-mindedness should be observable daily as a quality of every Hong Kong citizen, not just something that comes to the surface occasionally. Therefore, it is time for us to revolutionize our approach to education if we want to ensure a brighter outlook for Hong Kong.
Zhan Yichun 6B
HHCKLA Buddhist Ching Kok Secondary School
