We can take pride in our students and learn from them

I was among several guest speakers who were invited by the alumni association of the Master of Arts in Chinese history at the University of Hong Kong to speak at its annual award ceremony last weekend. But the best speeches were from two award-winning students who had just graduated from high school and are now first-year undergraduates.

Their enlightening speeches and the eloquence of their delivery made me really proud.

Their star performance is firm proof that our schools are still turning out excellent students. Both were born in Hong Kong, educated at local schools, taught the local curriculum and accepted into local universities. Their speeches displayed admirable sophistication in structure, analysis and vision. They are comparable to the best students anywhere in the world.

We must not fall prey to the superficial yet popular view that our education system has failed badly and that anxious parents are herding their children overseas. In the face of these two students' performance, the claims sound more like myth than truth.

The two top students came from separate secondary schools. Yet they both attributed their keen interest in Chinese history to inspiration from their respective subject teachers. It shows that irrespective of whether a subject is on the core curriculum, capable teachers can and do inspire their pupils to take a genuine interest.

The conventional wisdom that no pupil would take a subject seriously unless it is tested in open examination, and with grades that count towards university entrance, does not hold universally.

Other than their teachers, both students also praised the open learning culture of their schools. Such openness nurtures a spirit of self-study and promotes independent thinking, placing the pupils in good stead for tertiary education thereafter.

Another key factor in their success is an early start in reading and a habit of reading widely. Through extensive reading on history and other subjects, their minds have been exposed to the wonders of the wider world, beyond their daily routines.

Their intellectual curiosity has been aroused. Their quest for knowledge goes beyond what the curriculum calls for. They learn how to see matters from multiple perspectives.

They gradually build up their capacity to analyse and to understand complex issues, including the fact that the verdict of history, Chinese or not, is seldom singular.

All this learning eventually feeds back to their formal study and to the way they manage their lives. They come out on top in both their public examination and their own growth process through the difficult period of adolescence.

There is a lot we may learn from these students. We need responsible and accountable schools. We need conscientious and inspiring teachers. We need to build up reading habits early. Above all, we need an open learning culture so our young people may grow up to be worthy adults of independent thinking.

Lam Woon-kwong is convenor of the Executive Council