Our Girls

Quotes

Mr. Tang Man Wai

Senior Master
HYS

During the consultation period of HYS turning to direct subsidisation, many if not most would have doubts, "Considering the accomplishments of HYS in all aspects, staying the course seems the most sensible way. So why change? Why should we turn to DSS?"

I have always thought that "Proper is the greatest enemy of Excellence" . Contentment has always been the obstacle to success. With less and less resources available, HYS has to adapt in order to survive. The simplest, most easy way to survive would be to eliminate all school-based curricula, so that we can maintain our public exams record. Or, we could switch to DSS to secure more resources, to maintain and improve our teaching standards and to organise more co-curricular activities. But of course this would not be an easy path, since many still have the rigid idea of "DSS serves only the richest" , hence to consider HYS turning to DSS would be a redundant act. Some even criticised the proposal as being the first step to turning HYS into another school for the aristocracy.

My reason for supporting HYS turning to DSS is based on my moral principles in education as well as a past experience that touches my heart.

The secondary school I studied in, although not as diversified as HYS, still offered a wide range of co-curricular activities, with renowned teams for such sports as basketball and fencing. My school also maintained an excellent academic record, with a public-exam performance comparable to that of HYS. However, during my senior years, the school board decided to cut most of the co-curricular activities due to decreasing resources, and students were discouraged from participating in extra-curricular activities. Although I did not know why, I felt that something was just not right.

My school opted to cut back on co-curricular activities to focus resources on the academic performance of students. With fewer resources available, the school believed that maintaining pleasing student scorecards would be enough. And yet the results went the other way, and the students' grades began to decline.

The situation at my old school still haunts me today. During those formative years there, I met the best teachers, made life-long friends, and I acquired some of the most treasured things in life. And yet with one conservative and regressive decision made in the face of hardship, my alma mater lost its former glory. And now HYS is facing the same turning point. Limited resources is making us choose between "Retreat" or "Change".

We can cancel all co-curricular activities, and as long as the students' scores stay up, HYS can remain as one of the best schools. However, this is not only an irresponsible action towards our students. It is also a waste of their talents. From my observation, our girls are all capable of greater things, so how can we not strive to maintain all existing activities and give them the room to develop to their full potentials?

The case of my alma mater has made me realise that our attitude determines how high we can reach. I keep reminding myself that losing a fight beats winning without trying. As a responsible educator, we should never hold ourselves back in the face of an ever-changing world; we should never be afraid to change; we should never take the easiest path there is. “Retreat” by giving up what we should strive to protect is not a viable option for HYS. We should pledge to uphold the holistic education and the loving environment that none but HYS can provide.

My impression of HYS when I first came here was that any and all who came to this school, teachers and students alike, could get along so well under one roof, and that no one was judged according to their background or where they came from. HYS creates such an atmosphere for our students that they can interact with different members of the society in their daily lives, so that they can learn to respect and learn from each other by osmosis, and to master the abilities to care for and appreciate others. As I reach out to HYS alumnae over the years, I find that they all cherish such harmony among people of different backgrounds in our school, where such a loving culture is deeply rooted in their mind that they would extend that notion of altruism to all members in our society. This character is unique in HYS and makes us stand out from other grammar schools. This is one of the reasons why I am so proud of us.

This caring culture is highly praised as one of our core values. When the DSS option was initially proposed for HYS, I was rather reluctant as I was afraid of how it would affect our core values. I was worried that without adequate finances, this harmony which has taken decades to build would easily be destroyed. But I was relieved when our School Council proposed to set aside 30% of tuitions for fee remission and scholarships for all students in need. The proportion of subsidies would allow HYS to ensure students from all backgrounds to enter, and that we would enrol students not according to their background, but their abilities, conduct and character. All students, rich and poor, could get into HYS if they met our requirements. As such, our altruistic culture would be preserved.

Some might measure our enrolment in terms of monetary value, and question why some parents would have to pay tuition to help other girls. In my opinion, it is difficult to determine who the beneficiaries are, and surely education should not be measured by money alone. Our caring culture has been an effective module of education in HYS. The decision of 30% tuition support would keep this module viable, and preserve the harmony and respect among all members of HYS, and would thus cast a positive influence on the values and characters of all our students.

We are all aware of the fact that the "30% out of the tuition for fee remission" system requires a lot of effort and commitment from our management. We will prove to the parents, students as well as the community through action that such a commitment is not just a slogan. We will show any potential student who wants to join HYS that we measure merit based on conduct and character, not family background; and we hope to teach our students that social integration is the tenet for national prosperity and global citizenship.

We understand the difficulties on this path as well as all the challenges and barriers ahead. Yet however tough it is to proceed, as long as we share our experience wholeheartedly, and remain open-minded towards new ideas, "the Lord will be at our side and will keep our foot from being snared". I believe that our Lord will watch over HYS, and as we lean on Him and give our school up to Him, the Lord shall guide us through.