“I’m so Great!”

Conrad Ho

It was a sunny Saturday in March. The Lion Rock stood in stark contrast against the clear blue sky. Though the skin was still feeling traces of coolness in the air, the warmth of Spring was already seeping through from the inside. It was a good day for a country hike but Amy and myself was enclosed in an air-conditioned room for a sharing session with other parents whose children had joined a primary school.
As I listened, I got an idea why Hongkong parents were spending so much time and effort to drill their children in all sorts of extra-curricular activities, to put together huge albums of resume for their children, even to move home and jog along routes where school principals jogged, too, for impression. Most was not ambitiously striving for a win, but just aiming at not being left behind too far in the societal competition.
There was a father who gave a very honest account of how he had chosen a primary school for his girl. With a broad smile, he said he just wanted his kid to enjoy learning and socializing in her school. Before the interview with the school principal, he told his girl that they were going to play with the principal of her future school. She might decide she would not play with the principal again if he was not an interesting playmate. During the interview, he told the principal that this was his girl in her “original version”. Nothing was disguised. “Admit her only if you believe she is the type for your school.” How bold!
My own yardstick of choosing a primary school for my kids was straightforward, i.e. experiential learning so that the process was enjoyable; the contents, memorable; and the insights, practical. About 2 weeks ago, Yu Yat built a table and a chair with wooden blocks. It was interesting to me because the chair has a back, which never appeared before. He told me the reason. Several days before, as he was playing the piano, he leaned back for a rest but forgot the piano stool had no back support. He fell flat on his back, and he was dizzy for quite some time before he could stand up again.
In early April, our whole family went to Northern Guangdong for a hike in the mountains. We came to a steep rock cliff several hundred metres high. We had to walked down 2 flights of stairs carved out from the rock surface with a gradient of 850. They led us down about 40 metres to a monastery at the middle of the cliff. I went first, with Yu Sum in my arm. After getting there, I looked back up. To my surprise, I saw Yu Yat coming down on his own, one hand holding his mum’s.
I saw his legs shaking, his little hand gripping the rail really firmly, face and neck flushed with blood, and panting hard. Still, he insisted to make his way down, carefully and successfully. When he was there, I kneeled down and asked, “How does it feel?” One hand on his heart and sweating profusely, he looked at the cliff he had just scaled, with a face full of excitement, and murmured, “I’m so great!” This type of learning can only be acquired in the field, never in a classroom. Once it was in your blood, it would always be available for the rest of your life. 