What’s the point of Hong Kong end-of-year school assemblies? Quite a lot, as long as they aren’t blown out of proportion
A parent complains their child hasn’t been taught anything new for weeks as his school rehearses for assembly, but as long as they don’t become competitive such events do hold lessons for children, an ex-teacher explains
A Hong Kong parent writes: My son’s primary class has been practising for an end-of-year assembly to perform to the whole school. The rehearsals have gone on for weeks and all teaching seems to have come to a halt. My son is quiet, so he doesn’t have a main part. He knew the songs weeks ago and only has one line to say. He’s lost interest in school and seems to have done very little work in the past few weeks.
Putting together an assembly or any kind of major performance for a whole school audience takes a great deal of time and can cause angst for everyone involved. Whether the results are worth all the effort, possible stress and disruption to normal schooling is questionable.
How much each individual gets out of these experiences depends on the child. Pupils who, like your son, have smaller parts may be uninterested and some may find it challenging or even excruciating to perform in front of their peers. On the other hand, students who love drama and performing may see these assemblies as one of the highlights of the school year and revel in the chance to show off their skills.
Why can’t Hong Kong primary schools teach music properly for pupils who want to learn an instrument?
Learning to speak and perform in front of a large audience and working co-operatively as a group are important skills for your son’s future, both at school and in the workplace. As well as giving less confident or shy children a chance to stretch themselves in this way, these performances give all students a valuable chance to focus on the arts as an integral part of the learning process. Drama, music and dance are subjects that, sadly, seem to have suffered in terms of being allocated time in the curriculum.
Schools perhaps need to make sure these class assemblies are kept in perspective and don’t grow out of all proportion. The danger comes when they turn competitive and teachers feel that such events reflect on them as professionals and feel pressure to make them more and more elaborate.