Newman College 2 Cliff Road Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon THE true meaning of education is to help every student get through the difficulties he or she encounters in both life and studies. Merely labelling a student as 'difficult' and not doing something about it is not helping the student or fulfilling the purpose of education, says Newman College principal Chu Man-chor.
'For an educationist, one of the greatest satisfactions is to see a student turning from 'bad' to good,' Mr Chu said.
'Several years ago we had a student who was a constant disturbance in class. Most teachers suggested expelling him. When I found out that his parents were not in Hong Kong and he was living with a blind grandmother, I said we should give him another chance,' the principal said.
The school assigned a teacher-counsellor to help the student to 'get 'back on track'. The former student is now the manager of a company.
'Success stories like that, with a happy ending, are a teacher's greatest reward,' the principal said.
In a bid to deal with discipline problems, the principal has devised a 'whole-school approach' in four stages.