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Give students chance to 'learn by doing'

The article 'Life lessons prove class act' (Young Post, September 30) showed how students at Roong Aroon School in Bangkok 'learn by doing'. They are taught life skills by local people. Instead of just sitting in a classroom with a textbook, the students go out into the fields, for example, to grow rice.

I agree that 'learning by doing' is very important. What these Thai children learn from hands-on experience will make a deep impression on them.

The Hong Kong government, too, should encourage schools to provide such opportunities for students. Parents should also take part in more outdoor activities with their children. Then the children will gain a better understanding of the real world.

There's no doubt students will benefit from a more diversified learning environment.

Lau Hing-mei, Tsuen Wan Government Secondary School

From the Editor

Thank you for your letter, Hing-mei. While classroom learning is very important, there is so much that you can learn from the world.

Perhaps one of the most important lessons at Roong Aroon is 'green living'. Unlike in Hong Kong, where people tend to recycle only if and when they remember, students at the school actively protect the environment, learning to recycle at a young age and helping to deal with the school's sewage system when they are older.

The school's setting, by a lake surrounded by trees, adds to students' appreciation of the planet. Rather than staring at concrete buildings through the classroom windows, they see the beauty of the natural world. Of course, they are in a unique position; such a school in Hong Kong might not be practical. But the lessons we could learn from our surroundings - whether they relate to the environment, social awareness, self-development, health and so on - are priceless.

Open your eyes and your mind to what is around you; there are new things to learn around every corner.

Karly, Deputy Editor

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