I refer to the Provisional Legislative Council's recent deliberations regarding a 'Teacher Recognition Day' in Hong Kong.
I wholeheartedly agree that there should be a special day when Hong Kong honours its teachers who have made tremendous contributions to our society throughout history. Teachers deserve much-needed recognition for they encounter many difficulties in the classroom including high student to teacher ratios, disruptive students and limited resources.
Teachers have demanding responsibilities with often only limited support.
My concern lies with the arguments surrounding the reasons why there are problems in the schools of Hong Kong. Some people, including a few members of the Provisional Legislative Council, have argued that human rights education in schools is a major reason why students disrespect teachers and misbehave in the classroom.
Clearly some members of the council do not have a good understanding of the nature of human rights education. It teaches students that every person deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
Human rights education is multi-faceted, in that it encourages not only individual rights, but more importantly, individual, familial, communal, and global respect and responsibility. Promoting human rights education, in which a mutual respect exists between teachers and students is invaluable to schools and to society in general. In recent years, the Hong Kong Government has recognised the importance of human rights education and has developed a civic education curriculum that includes human rights education.
