CONTENT
How did you feel about the last issue? Did the size of it scare you off? After it had been published, I was a bit worried whether most of you had the patience to read through it, so I have decided that this issue would be slightly shorter. I hope you will find the content interesting. The size of readership seems to be growing. Now readers of WYHEUR include most of the e-mail-reachable-graduates of the 1981, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 classes and a few Wahyanites of the other classes, including the 1994 class. You are welcome to send me e-mail addresses of other graduates who would like to subscribe this publication. Please also give me feedback (about the length, content, format, etc.) so that I can improve the quality of WYHEUR (and so that I know it is read!).
Thanks to Pan Ng ('94), the format of
this issue is more reader-friendly than it was before. WYHEUR
is going to be posted on WWW soon, watch out! -J.K.T.
| UPDATE SECTION |
A NEW SUBJECT FOR FORM 6 STUDENTS
The School authorities has in principle
approved to offer a new AS-level subject, Liberal Studies, at
Form 6 coming September. This subject is designed to help liberate
the minds of our students by having them study a wide range of
issues that impact on their daily lives. Its primary aim is to
help students to develop skills rather than cramming more knowledge
into students' minds. Students taking this option will have to
choose two of the six listed modules, namely Hong Kong Studies,
Environmental Studies, Science Society & Technology, The Modern
World, China Today, and Human Relationships. The content areas
outside the traditional A-level syllabuses. The subject aims to
increase students' awareness of themselves, and to cultivate a
critical awareness of the society in which they live, and the
way that society relates to an ever-changing world.
This annual event was held in the Wanchai
Sports Ground in January. Since this was the first athletic meet
organised under the new house system (lifelong house membership),
organisers were determined to foster more communal participation
in the event. There was an opening ceremony and a parade on the
heats day, and a similar ceremony with the singing of the school
song on the final day. One new record was created: D Grade 4 x
100m relay.
DEBATE OVER "GROWTH THROUGH RESPECT" AND DISCIPLINARY CONTROL
Several days after the Athletic Meet Finals, our teacher Mr Martin Ho posted a big poster on an exhibition board. The poster consisted of many photographs depicting examples of irresponsible and disrespectful attitudes and actions of Wah Yan Students on the Athletic Meet in Wanchai. In the photographs, students (with their eyes covered by black ink) were seen lying on benches, reading books, leaving rubbish around, sleeping on benches, failing to behave properly in the tuck shop, etc. In the article accompanying the photos, Mr Ho related these findings with the failure of the implementation of the school theme of the year, "Growth Through Respect". Mr Ho's poster prompted strong reaction from the students on the Wall of Democracy. One F.7 student criticised Mr Ho of focusing on the bad points of the students and resorting only to punishment to solve their behavioural problems. The student pointed out that Mr Ho should use more positive means to change the students and to implement "Growth Through Respect". Another F.6 student who responded on the Wall drew similarities between the Discipline Board and the secret police of totalitarian states. He stated that Mr Ho's actions of taking photos to collect evidence to publish the "crimes" of students made students feel that they were constantly under secret surveillance.
Mr Ho has not yet responded.
Meanwhile, two rare incidents of deliberate
damage of school facilities occurred in the campus recently. One
of these was the damage of a computer in the teachers' working
room in the Gordon Wu Hall. A rebellious attitude towards disciplinary
control by the school authorities is a suspected motive behind
these incidents.
WAH YAN HAS ITS INTERNATIONAL REFEREE
Mr. Anthony Ip, our P.E. teacher, has passed an examination with flying colours to become an international basketball referee. He has been coaching the Wah Yan basketball teams and serving as referee for local basketball matches for many years.
Will we see Mr Ip running around the
Olympic basketball courts in Atlanta later this year? "Not
so soon," he replied. Probably he will be asked to serve
in the preliminary rounds before he gets enough experience for
Sydney 2000.
REPEAT VICTORY FOR WAH YAN TENNIS TEAM
(The following is an excerpt from the South China Morning Post Young Post, Feb 7, 1996)
Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, edged past Diocesan Boys' School (DBS) to win the inter-school tennis league championship for the second year running. Both Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, and DBS finished the round-robin competition with six wins and one draw. However, Wah Yan retained the league title with a better set difference. The two teams drew 4-4 in their keenly contested encounter. Victory was in sight for the young and skilful Wah Yan boys as they led 502 in the final set in the best of nine sets. DBS, however, clawed back to tie the game at 6-6 without any tie-break and the match was deadlocked at 4-4. Despite crushing Island School 5-0 in their last match, DBS were two sets behind Wah Yan and had to be content with the runners-up spot.
Wah Yan's coach Anthony Ip attributed the team's success to the vigour and determination of the young players inspired by third-former Wayne Wong, a budding star in local junior tennis competitions.
"Wayne won the Nike Open Junior Championship in December last year and attended a training camp with other top junior players in Australia before the Australian Open," Ip said.
"Captain Remy Lie teamed up with Wayne and the pair didn't even drop a single set in the competition. The team consisting of Secondary One to Four students are confident to repeat the feat next year," he added.
Both Wah Yan and Diocesan scored convincing
victories over expatriate schools South, Island School, German
Swiss and Hong Kong International School to establish their domination.
BUDDHIST, MUSLIM, PROTESTANTS & CATHOLICS PARTICIPATE IN CATHOLIC WEEK
The annual Catholic Week was held in January 1996. The theme this year was "Respect Between Different Religions", an extension of the school theme of the year "Growth Through Respect". There were two inter-faith dialogue meetings, during which our Buddhist teacher, Miss
Priscilla Lo, an Islamic teacher from
Islamic College, and Protestant students were invited to share
their faith with Catholic teachers and students. These meetings
represent a breakthrough in religious activities in Wah Yan and
are likely to be continued. On the last day of the Catholic Week,
over one hundred students and teachers prayed for the victims
of inter-religious conflicts around the world, especially those
in the Balkans. About $9,000 was raised for those in need in Bosnia.
WAHYANITES CHALLENGED GOVERNOR ON RADIO
(The following is extracted from two articles which appeared on Sing Tao Daily and the South China Morning Post on February 7, 1996)
The Governor Chris Patten chat with 150 senior secondary students when he attended the Youth Forum organised by the Radio Television Hong Kong yesterday. Discussion topics included political, social and educational issues. The more interesting questions were asked by two boys from Wah Yan College, Hong Kong, who challenged the governor on sex education in Hong Kong. Simpson Wong Leung-hang, a sixth-former of Wah Yan College, asked the Governor: "As you are a father of three daughters, what advice would you give to local parents concerning the teaching of sex education at home?" The Governor said that Kate, 23, Laura, 21, and Alice, 16, learnt about sex at school.
"I think that my wife and I have been very lucky at this," he said. "Our daughters have been to schools which have been very good at teaching them ... the biological facts about sex from their time at primary school to their time at secondary school."
Wong's classmate Derek Cheung Ho asked Mr Patten how the government can prevent the use of using pornographic means to advertise in the media.
[Simpson Wong is the chief editor of
the STAR and Derek Cheung, the Student Ambassador of Wah Yan 1996,
is the president of the Student Association. The SCMP interpreted
the Governor's reply to Wong's question as a disclosure of the
fact that the Governor's daughters "received sex education
from their school teachers, not from their parents". The
SCMP article prompted a response from the Government House the
following day. The spokesman stated that the article was a complete
misrepresentation of what the Governor said at the RTHK forum.
-Editor]
Teachers of Wah Yan were surprised to be surrounded by students in the morning of February 9. The students were asking for the teachers' signatures: but they were mostly junior students, not F.5 or F.7 students. They were collecting the signatures to produce a valid entry form to take part in the Teachers' Bingo game, a new item of the Teachers' Day this year. A large wheel which carries names of teachers was spinned during the variety show, and students who got signatures in a row received electronic calculators as prizes.
The quality of the variety show this
year was quite high. There was a new set of stereo microphone-amplifier-speakers
system which cost over HK$40,000. The MCs were very fluent and
they knew how to control the atmosphere. Most important, many
graduating classes managed to present a good performance, and
some did it very sincerely. The whole show, however, was marred
by the performance of a F.5 class, which used most of their programme
to criticise their former form-master.
DISCIPLINE AND FREEDOM IN WAH YAN - by John K. Tan
Many of those who have studied in Wah Yan put freedom as a core element of the Wah Yan Spirit. The school allows considerable freedom in the use of the campus (especially during weekends), in studies and in the organisation of activities. Most of those who have taught in Wah Yan would probably say the same. Teachers do not have to sign in every morning while those in many HK schools need to do so. Teachers also have considerable freedom in teaching.
Freedom, however, is tied with responsibility. The responsible use of freedom is characteristic of a mature, educated and moral person. In a community or an organisation, when freedom is used irresponsibly or abused, disciplinary measures are necessary to protect the interests of those affected.
The Board of Discipline was created in the academic year 1982-83, when I was in Upper Six. I remember the comments on the new body given by a classmate in the documentary movie I shot at that time: "The BOD system is functioning well now. I hope members of the BOD will not overuse their power." The fears of my classmate now seem to come true in the eyes of many senior students, as revealed to me through informal chats with them, during consultative meetings with students, on the Wall of Democracy and, unfortunately and symptomatically, in recent incidents of deliberate (and likely rebellious) damage of school facilities.
It is still not totally clear whether what the students see as the problem lies at the school policies, the implementation of these policies, or both. Or are the students themselves the problem? I believe that only a small minority of our students have real behavioural problems. Disciplinary rules are absolutely necessary to ensure proper functioning of the school, and that the interests of students and teachers are protected. Problems arise:
How can past students of Wah Yan help the present ones in this area? Those who have sons in Wah Yan should teach them the responsible use of freedom at home and in school. Those who have opportunities to meet present students can remind the latter of the same and share their joy and satisfaction they experienced when they were granted freedom and they used it successfully and responsibly.
The present situation reflects that our students are quite passive in expressing their discontent about disciplinary control in the school. The students only speak up when the school authorities invite them to speak (e.g. in the recent consultative meetings) or when the severity of the problem escalates. While this passivity is understandable (students may think that individual action may lead to revenge), the lack of communication between the school and the students on school policy matters only worsens any existing problem. Past members of the exco of the Student Council can encourage the present exco to take more initiative in their role as a channel of communication between the school administration and the students. The present Student Council seems to focus too much on the organisation of activities and overlooks the emotional needs of students who were unhappy about certain things of the school. The Student Council should not merely be a working committee on extra-curricular activities. Readers of the WYHEUR who have worked in student unions in universities should know this better than I do.
The Hong Kong government has created
the post of an independent ombudsman to receive complaints from
citizens. (This post is currently held by a former WYK student,
Mr Andrew So Kwok Wing.) If a similar position is created in Wah
Yan, the person holding it should be independent from the school
administration and should be acceptable to and trusted by both
students and the staff. The ombudsman can provide feedback on
school policies to the school administration. He/she is a person
whom students and teachers can confidentially turn to when they
are afraid what they will say about the school will lead to revenge.
What are the qualifications of becoming such an ombudsman? I think
this ombudsman should at least have the experience of studying
in Wah Yan - he should be an alumnus.
Dear John Tan,
I found that the issue of WYHEUR becomes longer and longer, more material was included in the issue and made the issues more interesting. Meanwhile, I would suggest that the layout of the issue would be also important to arouse readers' interests. How about if you could forward the issue to me before publication, so that I can modify the layout and then forward back to you and send it to the others?
Don't forget to let me know if you have any plans to put the issue onto the WWWeb. :> Thank you.
Pan Ng
(Thanks to Pan for his generosity. -J.K.T.)
Dear John Tan,
I appreciate you work!
It's nice to keep Wahyanites to keep informed about events of our Alma Mater.
Lyncoln 92