Letters | Hong Kong paying the price for an education system that doesn’t teach youth how to agree to disagree
- Differences of opinion are inevitable, but our schools aren’t teaching young people how to express their divergent views in a productive way
The recent protests in Hong Kong reflect an epic deficit in our education system: the lack of emphasis on teaching respectful communication.
This does not come as a surprise, since our education system has long focused on memorisation and written proficiency, with little emphasis on communication. For example, during Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) group discussions or university entry interviews, which are supposed to be a test of oral proficiency, what students say is often scripted and unauthentic: “I agree with your point, but ….”
In class, I try very hard to encourage students to speak up about what they think. With a few exceptions, almost all Hong Kong students make no attempt whatsoever to communicate. They sit at the back of the lecture hall, stare at their computer screen, and don’t say a word. How do we expect them to articulate their views clearly and respectfully in society when they seldom do so in the classroom?