After 12 years at the helm of an elite boys' school, Terence Chang Cheuk-cheung has seen enough 'monster parents' to make even a veteran headmaster cry. Instead, he will have a laugh.
The 63-year-old plans to celebrate his retirement as headmaster of the Diocesan Boys' School by doing two nights of stand-up comedy in which he will share his most incredible pupil-parent anecdotes.
Although Chang writes a newspaper column, served on the Arts Development Council and worked as an adviser to the New People's Party, the shows on July 12 and July 13 at the Kowloonbay International Trade and Exhibition Centre represent his first attempt at stand-up.
He said the comedy routine would serve as 'self therapy' after four decades as an educator, a period during which parents have grown increasingly worried and, at times, overbearing.
'In the past, I would never see parents get so involved in their child's school affairs,' said Chang as he strolled through the 143-year-old school's colonial building in Mong Kok, greeted by waving pupils.
'There was a young pupil who scraped his knee in a sports game,' he said. 'There was a tiny bit of blood, but we notified the parent who insisted we call an ambulance and we refused. In fact, the child himself got up to play immediately.'
There was another time when a pupil was injured in a fight. Years later, the child's parents tried to sue Chang. They said their son's fingers hurt and he could not play violin. The case was dropped, but it left an indelible mark on Chang's memory.