I have a friend of mine who’s a teacher in a primary school

Uhuh

In Tuen Mun and I visited her one day and talked to, er, her about some of her students and I was surprised to find how much homework and assignments and how many different classes they had to do and er, I just think, I dunno, I’m now beginning to feel that Hong Kong system is, the system of education is just overloaded.

mmmmmm….

The, the students have to do too much work and basically, they’re just doing what they need to pass.

Mm

And, er, they’re not really learning much

Interesting, I mean, does the teacher herself approve of the system? I mean, the, the kids have no choice, they’re, they’re put there…..

Well, I don’t think she approves of the system, but I guess she’s a new teacher and er, she’s feeling her way, er, you know about and so…..

Look, surely, she, she would have gone through the system herself

Oh yeah, yeah….

What is her own view about the system?

She, she agrees that, er, she feels let down by the system actually, it’s kind of, I think that…….

Because she didn’t get to university?

No, actually she went to the university

She did

She went to Canada and……..

Oh

And did a degree in Canada, came back

Sure

Er, but I think, well, one thing that she complains about is, is that it’s too, they specialized too early like that

Umum

She needs to, she either had to be, do a science stream, or, or, or it was literature.

At the age of 14 or something

Is it that early?

Yeah yeah, when they, you know, the system in Hong Kong is um, five years of secondary from the age of 12

Uhuh

Um, to 17 and then 2 years of what we call matriculation, that is university preparation.

Right

And most, most schools sort of, require their students to choose either Arts or Science when they move up to Form 3.

So, how old are they when they choose?

Form 3 is, so they have to make a decision when they are 14 and that’s for life.

I didn’t know about that…..

I think, there, there are channels for you to move back from one stream to another like, only if you do well in both, if you do

Ahah…..

Poorly in both, you, you’re out….

Well, I don’t know, I kind of like, I was brought up in a system where, you certainly weren’t streamlined that early.

Umum

In fact, I don’t think it was until university that you were streamlined. Even then, even in university, you’re encouraged to get a sort of broad……..

Yeah

Education

Where was that? In Australia?

That was in Australia.

Ok

I mean, that had the, that had the benefit that you were so you had a broad education but it had the, I think it had a bit of, er, drawback in that you, you didn’t start thinking about what you wanted to do.

You put it a bit too late

Until after……

Yeah, yeah

The university, I mean, er like you were saying, these people have decided, you know, when they’re 14. What sort of streamlining…that’s about 10 years in front of me

I mean, I, I myself was a, a vic, I was a victim, quotation marks, I chose, I went to a sort of prestigious school, and so I ,er……

Er, victim

Being in the, in the top group, because I went a boys school, I mean the theory goes if you’re in the boys school, if you’re good, you do science, only the, the, the softies go to the other stream

What about business, that…..

We, we only had Arts versus Science at that time, that was 20 years ago

Oh

Mm, more than 20 years ago

Hm

25 or whatever. And so naturally I chose science and I, er, hm, but then, I began to lose interest when I was in Form 4 and F.5 and before the what we call the certificate exam, I lost most of my interest but I still did pretty well in my O-Level exams and then my family wanted me to study Biology and go on to study medicine.

Oh, I see

Go to study the, the profession

They wanted you to be a doctor.

Yeah, yeah, exactly, er, I sort of, I wasn’t very sure, I was only 16 and I said, I sort of um, er, conformed to my parents wishes.

What, what did you think? Did you, did you have any urges to…..

No, no, no, I mean going back of course, I, I, I’m, I’m in agreement with you, I don’t go for early specialisation.

Mm

Because as I said, at 16 you don’t even know yourself, you don’t think about your career.

Right

That was still way ahead, um, and what do we know about ourselves at the age of 15 …..

Right

Or 16 except, er, we like football whatever. So, the going back, I, after one month of studying biology at A-levels, having to cut, cut up cockroaches and dogfish….

And rats

I gave up, yeah, and I, I then sought my parents’ consent, I transfered to the Arts stream

Right, right, right

And started studying Chinese literature, Economics which I like

Ok

And then I never looked back so I’m now a language teacher but I, I am all for the Australian system of late specialisation, you mean, well…..

But, but then….

Not too late though…..

But then if you look, but then, I, I, I kind of, I’m caught between, I see, I see good points and bad points

Yeah

I see like, er, er, for example my wife’s friend who, who’d gone through the Hong Kong system and some of my other, my wife’s others friends, they’re all, they’re all professionals, you know, they’ve gone through the Hong Kong system. They’re, you know, they, they’re nurses, they’re teachers, they’re doctors, er, while you know my friends who went through the Australian system are, um, you know, I think I’m, oh well I’m the scientist but er, you know, um, er, I’ve got, I’ve got people who are, who are, you know…..

Sort of……

Not…..

Still unsure….

Still unsure, they’re not, they’re just, that is you know, in sort of middle level things and they’re not up,

Mm

as high as, hm, as the Hong Kong people are

Um

So you’re seeing…..

Well, you’ve gotta strike a right balance on things

Yeah

I think awareness about career paths, you can develop it early, like, like when they are in senior secondary, but the actual specialization, I, I would say students are still deprived if they are limited in their scope at secondary school. Some of our students at HKUST

Right

They study science all their lives, you ask them about literature, history, and geography….

Yeah, yeah, yeah

They’re totally ignorant and they say, "oh it’s none of my business. I’m a science student."

I am a scientist.

Yeah

Well, but that, this brings us to this university, doesn’t it? This is the University of Science and Technology, it’s…….

Exactly

It’s kind of the, the epitome of the specialisation in this sort of university.

Yeah, like, Yuk, Yuk Shee Chan was saying one time he took a taxi ride to the university and then the taxi driver asked him what school, what subject he teaches, he said, "I’m in business school" and the taxi driver said, "but this is a science university. How come there’s business?"

Probably called it management science.

Yeah….