Wednesday Braemar 50 星期三校園50

Wednesday
Braemar
50
50
Edited by
Lucas Tse
Interviewers
Ashley Chung, Isaac Lee, Lucas Tse, Emily Tsui and Shirley Yuen
Typesetter
Benjamin Chasnov
Cover Design
Kaitlin Chan
First released in 2012
Contents
Introduction iv
Chinese 1
Sow Fun Dawson [ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Ted Faunce {, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Bin Li ^| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Anney Ku Lay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Victor Loong (\' 10 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Alina Luk " 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Sha Luo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Andrew Mumm N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Konberg Ngai ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Johnson Pak ' 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Ken Pemberton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Sylvia Roldn ; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Amy Tai , 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Tom Winderam J' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
K H Wong . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Gongming Yan )! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Abigail Yee ` 17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
International 33
David Brian | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Trina Chan H" 07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Caroline Chin H, 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Martin Cubbon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Brian Liu (' 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Brian Mulcahy ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Lucy Reading 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Tika Sing Bishwakarma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Maureen Trebilcock -) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Laszlo Varro ., . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Simon Watts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
i
Contents
School 63
Kellie Alexander N/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Kate Brashear N 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Jonathan Chan H} 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Kaitlin Chan H{ 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
Jeremy Chen H'" 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Micah Cook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
James Dunlap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Allen Frost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Vera Lummis ( 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Brian Kern . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Kolleen Ku }. 12 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Yi-Wei Liu (I' 11 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
Holly Mak 07 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Martin Matsui . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Glen Morgan ,| . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Francis Newman 14 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Kevin Quinn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Su-Mei Thompson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
Darren Tong J"` 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Denis Tse -A 15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Nico Vallone | 16 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Claire Yeo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Bok Wai Yeung 13 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
ii
.,==.,.
The two points selected by which to measure the worth of a form

of social life are the extent in which the interests of a group are
shared by all its members, and the fullness and freedom with
which it interacts with other groups. An undesirable society,
in other words, is one which internally and externally sets up
barriers to free intercourse and communication of experience.
John Dewey
Lousy Wednesday, Sweet Thursday: An Introduction
I
How do you feel about Wednesday?
Hundreds of thousands of teenagersand inevitably, astray parentshave
sat puzzled before the University of Chicagos legendary admissions prompts.
This past winter, I was one of them. The annual scramble for universities
is a highlight on many calendars; for me, the thrill has been unreal. For the
rst time, really, I held my future in one hand. (And my parents worries
in the other.) I wanted to absorb into my mind all the possibilities, to cast
a net as wide as I could and not, at the end of my undergraduateand life-
longeducation, discover I had missed out on what might have been. By
October, I was seriously considering nine countries on four continents. If I
couldnt attend every institution, I wished to at least imagine myself in the
myriad milieus. Fourteen schools, in three countries, eventually received my
application.
I interviewed at two schools during termrst Oxford in December, then
Deep Springs in January. I attempt no facile comparison here, but one facet
of Deep Springs, shrouded in December, caught my attentionownership.
The people of Deep Springs did not only coexist as a group of people, they
bought into and mutually participated in a genuine communitywhich had
to be perpetually negotiated and wrestled with, but unmistakably existed.
Each individual was granted great responsibility, which came in the dual
form of incentive and accountability. The school was coterminous with its
population; a sustained and committed dialectic between the individual and
the institution aorded each party an incredible capacity for discovery and
reinvention.
So I returned to CIS, and Chicagos question to me. Of my overowing
feelings for this Wednesday, that towards CIS was unresolved dissatisfac-
tionrooted in my belief that the place I cared about and called home
was unfullled. As I peered out o the Block Two balcony, my hopes and
disappointments of seven years congealed, along a tripartite path, into the
embryo of this enterprise.
CIS is disconnected. There may be communities within CIS, but is there
a school community? Im not sure, maybe the shadow of onecertainly not
iv
Introduction
one Id be content with. I can speak best from my experience, limited as
it is, of sta-student dynamics as a dichotomy. Students are still treated,
by most of the leadership and some of the faculty, as receiving objects in a
banking educationthe exceptions are too few, and progress too slow. The
average students capacity for interaction with both curricula and school
life is minuscule. How will kids ever grow up if you only ever treat them
as such? I perceive both inter- and intra-demographic stratication beyond
this rst dichotomy, among the faculty, support sta, administration, Board
and parents. A divorce between structural and lived experiences ensues; be-
tween strategic visions and everyday decisions, ocial syllabi and classroom
teaching, IB results and intellectual spirit. We hoist superstructure upon
superstructure, until we misconceive the birds eye view as the waterline of
reality. Segregated by our ordained positions, we rapidly spiral into multi-
velocity.
CIS is closed. Vibrant communities thrive on plurality, and yet a cul-
ture of silence festers within our walls, an attitude that, simply put, teaches
the individual to stay low, shut up and drift along without sound and fury.
Until Year 11, I was never asked to provide feedback for a class; I have wit-
nessed, personally and vicariously, the arbitrariness and non-transparency
of the so-called disciplinary procedures; and I cannot within the recesses
of my memory recollect a single sustained mode of public discourse in my
years here. (There has been sporadic and limited discourse; as the 201011
Student Council, we hosted the inaugural Town Hall, and two Academic
Honesty forums have been organized this year by our successors.) CIS runs
on a closed, one-dimensional hierarchytop-down command, bottom-up ac-
countabilitythat hampers, and sometimes forbids, organic and free expres-
sion; and a closed universe can ultimately only succumb to the gravity of its
own weight. For a more detailed reading into CIS progress, I recommend
the Human Rights Groups report, due to be released on June 12.
Most profoundly, CIS is scared. In my experience, our behaviorbe it
school policy or a students daily decisionsis overwhelmingly governed by
personal or collective specters rather than constructive hope. We have oiled
our cogs with threats and fears; now, we are afraid even of ourselves. Fear
manifests itself most starkly with the need to control; the missing pages
of this book attest to the eect of such a culture. (Some have retracted
statements, and a few have asked to be entirely removed. Many more have
expressed concern and anxiety over the appropriateness and consequences
of their interviews.) The schools policies over technology unmistakably
reveal such an inclination: punishment has been questionably meted out
for supposed infringements of the vague blog policy, the emergence of the
laptop program was in need of open deliberation and our beloved Moongate
has not a single opportunity for student inputwe spectate, hushed, as the
tides of information crash against our screens.
Unable to fully tap into the initiative and imagination of individuals,
v
Introduction
CIS today is a poor excuse of what it could be, and thus of what it should
be. I believe it is the site of spectacular waste, palpable or impalpable, in
part because we have yet to understand this: dissent is not disloyalty. It is
not skepticism, nor parrhesianot even indefatigable lamentationthat are
without hope, but apathy and servility. Dissent indeed may well underpin
the dynamic educationfor which what is learned in the classroom will
be drawn from life, and pertinent to lifeNelly Fung spoke of to Christinia
Cheung in 1982. A place without disagreement is a place without people,
and leadership of the highest order comes not from suppression but with
legitimacy. To empower a community is to invite the struggles and incon-
veniences of democracy. But I cannot imagine a better education, and in
the end, it is the only kind worth having.
We must not teach ourselves out of curiosity and courage. We must not
stigmatize expression and suocate thought. We must act not only as an
intermediary caretakera CIS education must say something more. Let us
not be shipwrecked on vanity. We have come too far to jettison our cause.
II
The primary sustainable competitive advantage of CIS is the strength
of the CIS community itself. There is, on the part of our faculty, students,
parents, governors and increasingly, our alumni, a total commitment to the
schools well beingso the Strategic Vision was introduced. If this com-
mitment survives to any degree, it does so in a fragile mold, and as the
school is now run, it may not prove too sustainable an advantage.
The pages that follow represent a cross-section of perspectives from a
particular March Wednesday in CIS evolution. (All interviews but those of
CIS parents and Allen Frost were done live on campus.) The book attempts,
however imperfectly, to capture the total zeitgeist of our so-called community
with fragments directed from neither below nor above, but inclusively, from
within. It is an attempt to salve the disconnections that cripple CIS growth,
and to serve as a preface to more substantial dialogue in the public sphere
of the school; its chapters are loose parameters to explore our identity and
progress.
Our Chinese identity informs, and is informed by, our behavioral pat-
terns. Its presence and absence dictate our self-recognition and outward
perception. Our goals for and beyond the curriculum must especially be
considered within our geographical and postcolonial context. Do we remain
aicted with what Chinua Achebe, referring to his native Nigeria, termed a
crisis of the soul? What is in place to cultivate such an identity, and what
should be? How can and should such initiatives as the CCC contribute?
I conceive of our international identity as twofold. First, what is the
international dimension of our school, or how can our international identity
be dened along other sets of axes? Are the global and local identities
vi
Introduction
mutually exclusive? Secondly, what is our relationship to all that beyond
our gates? This March, our Chief Executive was once again elected in a
small-circle election; problems on the mainland and beyond our borders are
no less insurmountable. How are we preparing our students for the world,
and serving the world with our students? The enigma of responsibility
persists; the parties to which we are accountable are indenite.
And we are a school. I have oered a sketch of my CIS experience, but
who might be held accountable? Who has been responsible for getting us
here, and who will carry us forward? The time Ive spent herebe it am-
bling down hallways, discussing in meetings the purported inappropriateness
of LGBT-related events or leading the rugby team on its rst international
tour this Januaryhas borne witness to CIS struggle with its identity: as
a sports school, as performing arts center, as the object of external accredi-
tation and internal evaluation, as an institution of myriad stakeholders and
one mission. The role of technology has recently, under the 2008 Strategic
Plan and one-to-one laptop program, become central to both policy and ex-
perience. Yet I do wonder: why do we aspire for the technology of tomorrow
when we have yet to realize the pedagogy of yesterday?
III
We are the Braemar Generation. Most of us have never known CIS
in any other locale; many have forgotten why it exists, and others have
never known. We irt with eventual self-destruction, unless we reconsider
the questions that have brought us thus far; not in closed meetings in the
Conference Room or a token assembly for the chosen few to ponticate, but
with the creation of an open space for us all, teacher and student, tall and
short, old and new, loud and quiet, to speak honestly and to solve problems.
I freely admit this book is awed and insucient. It is student-centric
in conception and adult-centric in interview content. It focuses on the sec-
ondary school in a comprehensive institution. Its chiey monolingual. The
transcription often wavers between clarity and literalness. The demographic
distribution of the interviewees is broader than that of any CIS publication
Ive yet read, but remains disproportional. But I believed in it enough to
spend months on it, and here I am, on my post-graduation vacation, scrib-
bling away. I hope you can make sense of these pages.
The road ahead will be long and hardit pains me to imagine the way
through treacherous landscape. Still, any improvement to our condition
begins in the recognition of its present inadequacy. The only path is de-
liberation, examination, and re-examination. Deep Springs gets it; CIS,
however incomparable with a school of twenty six pupils, cannot aord to
squander the dedication and ideas of its people. My time here has come and
gone. I may well be irrelevant. But you must not falter before this lousy
Wednesday, so you may welcome the aurora. I thank the interviewers for
vii
Introduction
their toil and the interviewees for each sharing a leaf of her thought; Kaitlin
Chan and Ben Chasnov, too, for lending their talents, and Denis Tse for
helping with transcription. And I thank you for caring enough to have come
this farI dispute the existence and sincerity of a total commitment to
the schools well being, but I have never doubted its importance for the
community I envision.
As I write, Lu Xuns plea reverberates within me: Save the children.
We must do so because its the only way to save ourselves, and because in
the end, they are why were here. CIS was founded for its students and the
future they will inhabitthat we must etch into our individual and collective
consciousnesses. Bloom, half hundred owers, so thousands more may nd
their voices, now and always. I bid you farewell, CIS, echoing Percy Bysshe
Shelley: Let a great assembly be, of the fearless, of the free
Lucas Tse
May 26
viii
Chinese
Chinese
Sow Fun Dawson [
I ask this as an open-ended question: how Chinese is CIS, really?
CIS is very Chinese, in a good way. Our students come from very sup-
portive families. They have many opportunities to travel, so they are cos-
mopolitan. But the families also instill strong Chinese valuesthough you
have to rst dene what Chinese means. I enjoy that the students are very
respectful, maybe because Im helping them with their university applica-
tions. They are polite and modest, though there are always a few who are
very quirkybut thats acceptable, because they are so young. They are
very Chinese in a positive way, and this actually inuences the so-called
non-Chinese qualities. I enjoy, working here at CIS, the close-knit commu-
nity where everyone helps each other. Were Chinese in our values. Work
hard, be respectfulthose are good and inuential values. I dont read and
write Chinese, and in some ways I feel lacking. Our students need to main-
tain their Chinese. Somehow in the university application process, Chinese
is put aside. Students focus more on the other subjects. But again, it varies,
and Ive seen students do the bilingual diploma and work hard to maintain
dual-language. Its something very unique to CISthe mix of the West and
the East. Its a good balance.
Again with an ambiguous denition, in your experience, has CIS
gotten more or less Chinese over the years?
I tend to look at it in terms of my role here. I have to look at the data
to think about attitudes. Though I dont have the gures, I think there
are more students now doing the bilingual diploma. Thats good you
have self-pride, youve been studying Chinese for so long. On occasion, you
see struggles between students and parents about doing second language in
B Standard. The school is putting resources for teachers like us to learn
Chinese. I really appreciate it. Its not easy especially the writing, which
is very dicult. With CIS moving forward, the school is helping us. There
are now fty teachers and support sta taking Chinese in Putonghua. We
have no excuse not to learn Chinese. This sends a positive message that
were very Chinese. Its good that the school is providing resources for us
to learn.
How has CIS changed since you arrived, and how would you like
it to change in the future?
I came in 1998. The students and parents here are very serious in their
application process. I dont see a change there. Parents are now much
more involved in the process. My own daughter, when I asked about school,
would be like its okay, mom. Theres no communication. Parents now
2
Chinese
know more about universities and do research. They will now call us and
email usI like that, so that everyones on the same page. Communication
is key. If I generalize, boys tend not to say anything to their parents. I
see that its quite frustrating. Im working much more with parents, and I
enjoy it. Sometimes they ask challenging questions and I have to be mindful
about condentiality. There are certain things that the student will share
with me, which I dont think I should share. But in general, parents need
to know some information. More and more parents are proactiveto me,
its positive. Im a mom!
For the past two years, Mr Mansueto and I have been very busy. The
school leadership realized that and we will have an additional counsellor.
We need to let the school leadership know our needs so they can better
respond in terms of providing a better service to the students. Parents are
very supportive, so its about letting the decision-making people know that
we need another full-time counsellor. I cant ask for morewe have been
given opportunities to go on training and conferences. How could we change
for the better? We need to respond to and supportive of the students. We
need to be mindful that were working with young people. We need to listen
more to what the Year 12s and 13s want. We need to nurture them in the
university application process, but we cannot do the job for them. If we
hold their hands too much, they might not have that kind of support at
university. Id like to see that the students themselves take more initiative
and do a lot more research on what they want, rather than on one level be
practical and just go for vocational coursesthis is very Chinese. It might
not be right for them at the time. A typical example is law and medicine.
Students really need to think seriously. Those courses are very demanding
and might not be at that point of time be the right decision.
Sow Fun is a University Counsel lor, and has been at CIS since 1998.
3
Chinese
Ted Faunce {,
How Chinese do you think CIS is?
We could probably spend the whole fteen minutes talking about that. I
think Chinese International School certainly has a Chinese face to the world,
so for friends and colleagues who look at our websites and school, who come
from the West or outside the Chinese culture, CIS is Chinese. Certainly
with our dual language mission, especially in the primary school, I think
we linguistically, and to a certain extent culturally, embody Chinese-ness,
which could mean a lot of dierent things; more than other international
schools, where there is an honest attempt to teach Chinese as a foreign
language. One of my rst impressions, when I rst came to CIS six years
ago, was that in some aspects, CIS was an English school with a strong
Chinese inuence. I think that certainly the administration and the teaching
sta are somewhat separatedyou have the Chinese Department and the
Western administration.
That Chinese is meaningfully embedded in CIS as a daily experience is
something that is quite inspiring, and I think weve gone to that direction.
In the primary school, there are more daily announcements that are made
in Chinese. I dont think Chinese should be a ceremonial languagethat
happens in Chinese New Year assemblyand not part of school life, and
frankly I would rather have the children not understand the language and
not do what theyre supposed to do, but to have the deep meaning that
Chinese countsnot that when it matters well say it in English and that
Chinese is of a secondary importance. Im very pleased with the integration
of languages that we have instilled. English is still the language in the
playgrounds, but there is quite a high level of integration of Chinese in
classrooms. The structure of the curriculum in the Secondary school allows
Chinese to be the most important, equal to English. Chinese is a rather
generic name and it can mean a lot of dierent things. Is it ethnicity,
language, et cetera?
In your experience, do you think that CIS has gotten more or less
Chinese?
Not for me to judge, but there have been objective standards to say that
it has gotten more Chinese. We have been using The HSK testing recently
to get an external measure of prociency. Its a very healthy thing to have
an external benchmark, and to lull a level for a meaningful measure for CIS
students.
4
Chinese
Do you think the further integration of Chinese culture is needed
or benecial to the school environment?
The goal of the CIS Mission is to have equal prociency in English and
Chinese for all students. Yes, I do think that nding ways to inspire stu-
dents to aspire to higher levels and understanding of Chinese culture is very
important. We have not reached this goal yetnot until we have students
who love Chinese and aspire to major in Chinese in university, seeing this
as vitally important to their lives in ways beyond the fact that their parents
tell them it is important. I dont foresee a day in which students in CIS
will be equally procient in both languages in the near future. However, the
Chinese Department is denitely making progress.
How have you seen CIS progress? Future directions?
This very project would not have happened ve or six years ago. One of
my rst observations at CIS are that students are delightful, polite, hard-
working, respectful. Sometimes, in my perspective, they were a bit too
docile. I think this is no longer the case, and thats a good thing. With crit-
ical thinking and independent learning, teenagers should have a little edge
to them. My hope of course is that it can continue to be done with a deep
and spontaneous love for the school and their friends and the teachers. As
the saying goes, students should strive to nd the critical balance between
not being complacent without it tipping over into fundamental negativity.
This year, the Student Council has rewritten the Constitution, wanting to
play more than just a perfunctory role in the direction of the school.
Ted has been at CIS since 2006 and has been too engrossed in CIS life to see
the time pass. He cannot imagine more interesting and meaningful work that
the leadership of CIS. His favorite times at CIS are talking with the students,
including drop ins to his oce, and casual conversations with sta. A good
day is measured by inability to attend to emails.
5
Chinese
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7
Chinese
Anney Ku Lay
First let me shed some light on my personal background (which aects
my point of view). I am Chinese and have been a CIS parent for 15 years.
I grew up rst going to a Chinese primary school in Taiwan, and then stud-
ied at American schools in Jeddah, Taipei, nally I attended university in
the U.S.. Throughout my education, I consistently studied classic Chinese
literatures, Confucianism, Four Books (si shu), Tang poetry, Song poetry,
Lao Zi, etc. along the way. So, CIS, to me, is a wonderful international
school with emphasis in learning Mandarin Chinese. The entire curricu-
lum is divided and taught in either English or Chinese. All subjects are
taught in English, including: Math, Sciences, Humanities, Arts, Computer
Technology (Secondary), Design Technology (Secondary), P.E., etc. Man-
darin Chinese is only spoken and taught in the Chinese subject classes. The
school is located in Hong Kong, not a Mandarin but Cantonese speaking
city. CIS students come from many dierent countries, ethnic and language
backgrounds. The children all communicate in English out of their own
choice and convenience. If the school community expects all the children
to communicate more in Mandarin, then the curriculum must be changed
to have the majority of subjects be taught in Mandarin Chinese, and the
time allocated to Chinese subjects must also take up a substantial weight.
Its not easy, since this is not a single language school. It is, after all, an
international school.
I do think the students at CIS have a very good foundation and under-
standing of the Mandarin Chinese language. And, it is good that the school
divides the Chinese language levels throughout 7 years of Secondary School.
Should the students ever need to use Mandarin Chinese language in the fu-
ture, i.e. working environment, or at a Mandarin speaking environment, I
believe they will be able to use what they have learned at CIS and do well.
And, they will rise to the occasion.
This is very hard to say, only because I dont really understand the
meaning of more Chinese or less Chinese.
CIS is always changing and evolving. I do hope that the children, teach-
ers, parents, administration and the entire school community stay close,
open-minded, understanding and continue to grow together.
8
Chinese
Do you have anything else to add about CIS, either on this topic
or another?
When I think of CIS, I think of all the children, teachers, Mr. Wongs
team, the security guards, the bus mothers, the secretaries, oh yes Portia, the
parents, the administrators, etc., and all the wonderful times we all shared
as individuals and collectively as a community in the last 15 years. I think
of the whole school musicals, school plays, the school fairs, sports days, how
we went to Crossroads to paint the apartments of the live-in volunteers, how
we yelled our lungs out year after year at the garage sales, and burnt our
hands making sweet popcorn at the school fair. I think of the weeks before
each school trip, how all of us parents would earnestly discuss where to nd
-20 degrees celsius sleeping bags or water shoes behind our childrens backs.
I think of how we missed the school, when we were all evacuated and the
school was shut down during SARS. I think of the many late nights I stayed
up writing to dierent teachers, working closely with each of them, hoping
that they would understand a child of artistic talent and focus studying in
a naturally competitive and academic environment. And, how closely they
worked with me. I think of all the times dierent teachers gave to each of
my children chances to excel, improve, take on leadership roles, rooms to
make mistakes, stand on the center of the stage and perform, and how happy
and satised they have been watching their students and my children grow.
I also think of how the parents held each others hands, while we shared
our worries, concerns, tears, laughters, joys and excitements secretly behind
our childrens backs. I think of all the stress we shared, yes the IB exams,
college application deadlines, just to name a few. And, how we developed
lifelong friendships in CIS because of our children. Since we are not from
Hong Kong, CIS has been our familys sole community in this city. All
I can think of are how much we as a family has learned, grew, gained and
expanded ourselves in this community. Now that my second and youngest
child has just graduated from CIS and we will not be going back to CIS, I
would like to thank the CIS community for everything it has given to our
family! Words simply cannot express our love and gratitude.
Anney is a CIS parent.
9
Chinese
Victor Loong (\' 10
On the surface, CIS tries to be as Chinese as an international school
in Hong Kong can be. The majority of the student population is Chinese.
We celebrate traditional Chinese festivals and holidays. CIS emphasizes
more on Chinese education than other international schools in Hong Kong.
Furthermore, the Chinese virtues and values of |.(.[.\.'are very
much expressed in many CIS students.
However, is CIS really that Chinese at its very core? From my own CIS
experience, all classes except Chinese class were taught in English. During
recess and lunch times, my friends and I communicated in either English or
Cantonese, which is not Chinese if one denes Chinese as Mandarin. Though
we were aware of major news and events occurring in Hong Kong and China,
our perspectives on Hong Kong and China were very much based upon our
annual project week trips, geography eldwork and weekend adventures to
Lan Kwai Fong and Times Square. Most of us live on Hong Kong Island,
rarely visiting Kowloon and other parts of Hong Kong, where true Chinese
culture is more apparent.
Can we really say that we are Chinese through and through, or even
Hong-Kong-nese, for that matter? CIS students live in a bubble on Brae-
mar Hill, a bubble shaped by the ideas of the West and lifestyles of the nan-
cially privileged. We do not know about the struggles that local students
go through under the Hong Kong educational system, nor that Mainland
healthcare services are heavily corrupt. We bathe in the glory of Chinas
economic successes, yet we are quick to criticize its darker sides, as if we
were outsiders.
How many CIS graduates would choose to stay in Hong Kong or China
for their tertiary education? Few, I presume. They refer Hong Kong as
their home, but this home is perceived from a Westerners point of
viewnancially prosperous, freedoms, international, Causeway Bay. This
is a home in which they can reside to when things get tough outside, but
it is not a home they are willing to help improve.
I dont blame CIS students though: we have been brought up this way.
Both Chinese and International are emphasized, but International
obviously carries a greater weight. But being International creates a
dilemma: we dont belong to the west, yet we dont seem to t into the
Chinese culture either; we belong neither here nor there, but are rather
stuck in between. We are bananas; our skin is Chinese but our innards
are Western.
So, just how Chinese is CIS, really? From my experience: not quite.
10
Chinese
In my past seven years at CIS, the school has stayed rather constant in
the level of Chinese-nessneither more nor less.
Other than the construction of the Language and Arts building, no other
major changes took place during my time in CIS. I do like the fact that com-
pared to Dr Blumenthal, Dr Faunce has interacted more with the student
bodyhis weekly letters are certainly longer in length. Communication
within the community should always be encouraged.
Student council members and senior students should do more. I know I
am being unfair, comparing university students with high school students,
but seriously, the CIS student council can make more impact. The most I
see of them is during the annual September election. After that, they seem
to completely vanish!
Going back to the point on being Chinese, I think that CIS can incor-
porate more Chinese cultural factors into students extra-curricular activi-
ties.
Victor graduated from CIS in 2010, and now studies at the University of
Hong Kong.
11
Chinese
Alina Luk " 12
How Chinese do you think CIS is?
To be completely honest, CIS is not that Chinese. The majority of the
students take Chinese as a second language, and I dont think they can speak
it as uently as people would expect students at a Chinese International
School. The styles and fashion that were into are not very Chinese at all,
and are very dierent from local Chinese styles. Our school in general is
very Western.
In your experience, has CIS gotten more or less Chinese?
Thatd be hard to say, although Ive been in CIS for 14 years. I dont
know how people were in Year 13 when I was in Reception. But having
been in secondary, according to the people Ive been exposed to, it doesnt
seem like people are very Chinese. A lot of students are not particularly
proud about being Chinese and I think thats something we should try to
cultivate. A lot of people wouldnt really care about Chinese studies and
speaking Chinese uently, although they are ethnically Chinese. I do think
thats something CIS is trying to adjust but culture is hard to change in a
day. A lot more attempts, the CCC, for example, are trying to cultivate and
bring out the pride in being Chinese and the love for learning Chinese, but
I dont think weve quite reached that yet.
Do you think its something thats extremely important? If you
had the resources and the power, what would you do?
Its extremely important especially because we call ourselves the Chinese
International School. I do hope that every student would have the love of
learning both Chinese and English. If I had the resources and eort, I
wouldnt know how to do it, because trying to generate a sense of pride in
your nationality and your ethnicity is a hard thing to do. But I think the
CCC is a great opportunity. For example, if I had a chance to go abroad for
a year in China to study there and continue my studies, I would denitely
take it. To have the exposure to the students outside of CIS at a local
Chinese schoolI think that would be really helpful, opening our eyes to a
dierent school culture and dierent people.
This book were publishing is putting emphasis on public discourse
and honest dialogue. Do you think these are important ideals that
CIS should strive for and how well do you think CIS is fullling
them? How do you think we can work towards them?
CIS is halfway there. When students have their own opinions, they are
allowed to voice them and we are given the resources and opportunities to do
12
Chinese
so. Students can start groups and campaign for them, gaining the schools
attention through dierent means. But its not part of the culture in CIS.
Students who are very gung-ho, out there, will do it, but its not generally
encouraged for students to speak up. There are students who are really
passionate and believe in what theyre doing that, but most of the students
are more passivewho would rather sit back than stand up and voice their
opinions. We should strive towards that because its very important for
everyone to gure out what they believe in and what their opinions are.
But I also understand that high school especially is a time for people to
gure out who they are, and a lot of people might not be uncomfortable
getting out there and putting out their opinions when they really are just
trying to gure it out. So I think CIS is a balance between the two and I do
think that public discourse, honesty and open dialogue is importantbut
then again, I think that our school should allow students who want to speak
up to speak, but not push the students who are still guring things out.
How well do you think our school actively seeks the opinions of
students or the faculty?
I cant think of too many instances, but the one instance in which I
think students should have been able to voice their opinion was the bag rule.
The rule solely aected the students, but they were never ever once asked
what they thought. I dont think it ended up turning very well eitherin
instances like that, its really important to consult the students, and also
parents, because I know that several parents had issues and concerns with
that.
Do you think thats a result of students not having a formalized
role in the decision making process?
Yes, for issues like that primarily concern students, students should def-
initely have a form or means of speaking up. That was an instance where
the rule should not have been just imposed with no questions and opinions
asked. At the same time, with the ways the rule has been relaxed and the
way that things have changed, I dont think the bag rule still exists and is
imposed on students anymore. This is perhaps an example of students not
being consultedbut after the rule was imposed, students spoke up, and
because of those students, its no longer a rule.
Alina has studied at CIS since 1998, and wil l soon be attending Stanford
University.
13
Chinese
Sha Luo
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14
Chinese
Andrew Mumm N
At rst glance, CIS looks very Chinesewere located in Hong Kong, we
have a well-established Chinese department, many ocial school documents
are presented in both English and Chinese versions, we have China programs,
our student body is very homogeneous and Asian-looking, the majority of
our families come from Chinese backgrounds. CIS is denitely more Chinese
than other international schools. Its becoming even more Chinese, which is
great because we are after all the Chinese International School.
But at some basic level, we are still really not that Chinese. I can give you
an example. During my Year 10 math class the other day, we were talking
about T;)these powers of ten in Chinese. It seemed to me
that very few students were aware of the fact that ; is a commonly used
unit in China. Only around four out of forty students seemed to really know
that. To me, that shows a lack of understanding of Chinese culture. Maybe
some of our students need to connect the dots in what theyre learning.
Its not only the students. Some members of sta are not shy to show a
certain lack of respect for Chinamainland China, in many ways. My wife
is from mainland China. On a number of occasions, Ive almost felt oended
by some of the things colleagues and students can say about mainland China.
Were still insensitive to mainland China. Personally, Id like CIS to become
more diverse and respectful towards all cultures. Id like to see it become
a unique global school where all members of our community have this deep
understanding and appreciation of Chinese and international valuesnot
just Hong-Kong-Taiwanese or British-Australian-expatriate values.
This is only my third year here, so I have limited experience in answering
that question properly. It seems, though, that CIS is denitely improving
its Chinese prole. It has been a priority to do thatI think thats good.
I do feel a lot of change has happened and is happening. But those
changesare they because CIS has changed, or because I have changed, or
because the rest of the world has changed? All these things are changing at
the same time. Its hard to control these variables and look for meaningful
correlations there.
When it comes to education, Id like the secondary school to put much
less emphasis on grades and standardized assessments. It should instead
15
Chinese
focus on inspiring creativity, innovation and true love for learning. Id like
to see CIS go forward in implementing a new paradigm of education. You
have a lot of professors of education, like Yong Zhao and Ken Robinson,
who have all these brilliant ideas about how you can make the educational
experience so much better.
I feel like we still live in the 19th or 20th centuryeducation has this
industrial approach. It frustrates me at times, to see that so many schools
are so conservative and that it takes such a long time to change things.
You see very little change in one school year. Educators and administrators
dont like changing during the school yearwhereas in companies, maybe
you could make changes at any given time. Its hard to do that in school.
When we have the summer holidays at school, teachers kind of log o
and dont really think about it. They come back and just start doing the
same thing over again. We havent really had a chance to change anything,
and that frustrates me.
This book is an eort to emphasize the importance of public di-
alogue and honest discourse. Are these ideals CIS needs to aim
for? And if they are, how can CIS work towards them?
Of course these are great ideals that we all need to aim for. Im a big
fan of open, transparent and truthful communication, even though the truth
hurts sometimes. As a rst step to improvement, we need to acknowledge
whats not working and change that. Newton is known to have said that
truth is my best friend, which I interpret as that truth never really lets you
down. Always bet on the truth, and that will take you the furthest. Who can
argue against some rational, well thought through and truthful reasoning?
Its very hard to disagree. We need much more of that in general and in
the world, not just at CIS. People need to be more transparent and truthful
about many things.
16
Chinese
Do you have anything to add about CIS, either on this topic or
another?
I really love working here, of course. There are ups and downs, as there
always are. Id say that 95% of all my students are really amazing young
people who inspire me and who keep me going. Thats really what counts
the most as a teacherthe students, who I deal with on an everyday basis.
I really think we have some of the worlds best students at CIS. We need
to appreciate that more as teachers and administrators. We need to listen
more to the students.
Andrew has been a mathematics teacher at CIS since 2009. He is Danish,
n + 1
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years old, and loves living in Hong Kong with his Chinese wife.
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n is the least positive integer for which n!(n+1)!(2n+1)!1 ends in thirty digits that
are all 9s.
17
Chinese
Konberg Ngai '

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18
Chinese
Johnson Pak ' 14
As a bilingual school, CIS is pretty balanced because it is compulsory
for everyone to learn Chinese as well as English. In regards to the Chinese
level at CIS, you cant really say its bad or good in essence. But the
Chinese level can certainly be improved, because many people, especially
Westerners, are inclined to speak English rather than Chinese at school in
their free time. Therefore, with the upcoming Chinese Center, I think this
would be a very good opportunity for students to practice their Chinese
skills and learn about the Chinese culture. And hopefully with that new
interest in Chinese culture, they would be more inclined to speak Chinese.
Has CIS gotten more or less Chinese over the years?
The China center will denitely make the CIS community more Chi-
nese, but we cant really classify because CIS is supposed to be put every-
one in the same community so that we learn from each other. Instead of
saying that CIS is becoming more Chinese, we are actually learning from
each other, and respecting each others perspectives and backgrounds. I re-
ally dont think classifying them as more or less Chinese will help the CIS
community to improve.
Do you think it should be a priority for the school to further
immerse the students into the Chinese culture?
We could do more in integrating the CIS community into the Chinese
and Hong Kong background, but in my opinion, it is pretty good right now.
For example, in the school curriculum, we are learning about Hong Kong in
History and Geography class, so we are actually learning more about Hong
Kong and where we are right now. Also, we learn to appreciate Hong Kongs
background and culture.
Do you think public discourse is an aim that CIS should strive
for? How?
This book has a very good purpose and aims for honesty between stu-
dents, teachers and leading people in the school. We could have more di-
alogue between students and teachers to really tell the teachers about the
students concern and vice versa, such as academics and other stu. There
has to be a mutual respect between these two groups.
Johnson is a Year 11 student at CIS.
19
Chinese
Ken Pemberton
How Chinese is CIS?
Is it really true that we get the government we deserveif so, perhaps we
in Hong Kong did something pretty awful in our previous lives. Perhaps the
quotation, oft attributed to de Tocqueville, has more to do with exercising
democratic rights than karma. I have, throughout the last 30 years, or so,
pondered (usually in the early hours of the morning), whether it is wise to
have the best police force money can buy (a joke), but more importantly,
whether parents, children and teachers actually get the school they deserve.
I suppose the answer to the last question is, it depends upon who you are
asking. The reason I come to that conclusion is that over the last decade and
a half that I have been a parent at CIS, during most of which I was a member
of the General Committee of the PTA, a question that has frequently arisen
in one guise or another is, How Chinese is CIS? The question is usually
followed by heated debate on such matters as the pros and cons of simplied
versus traditional, wrote versus absorption, tiger mom versus pussy cat,
literary analysis versus Oriental Daily (another joke), tutors versus go-it-
alone, IB scores, and Ivy League versus Green Mountain College.
The school undertook the Strategic Planning process in 2008 that re-
sulted in the CIS Strategic Vision that focused on ve areas, one of which was
Chinese language and culture, and made the following recommendations:
develop proposals for an immersion centre in the PRC; develop Chinese as
a medium of instruction in a wider range of subjects; encourage the CIS
community to explore new ways to teach, use and enjoy Chinese within and
beyond the school; encourage appreciation and understanding of the Chi-
nese culture; reinforce our commitment to dual-language and dual-culture
education; and devise a short clear motto in both Chinese and English. The
CIS China Centre (CCC) will welcome CIS students in another year or so.
Without wanting to sound like a cynic (which I am not), I suppose it would
come as no surprise to acknowledge that there is considerable debate within
the CIS community concerning the pros and cons of the CCC, even the wis-
dom of its very conception (I am a supporter). How ironic, perhaps, when
one considers what a massive step and, perhaps, improving standards of
Chinese for our students.
The school perseveres to forge its way in an increasingly competitive en-
vironment, in which all international schools in Hong Kong now oer Chinese
language education in a far more meaningful manner than was the case even
ten years ago. CIS continues to attract huge waiting lists, so it must be do-
ing something right. I would suppose that high on the list of many existing
or prospective parents when they considered CIS for their children would
have been the dual language education. This really was one of the most dis-
tinguishing features of the school, although its well-established MYP and IB
20
Chinese
Diploma programs, fabulous students, and attractive plant would also rate
high, alongside the ever-improving university acceptances for its graduates.
I could go on. If you are still not convinced, look up Chinese International
School in Singapore. Their public page boasts, Variety of Sports, Music
and Art Studios and Campus-wide Internet Access. Wowee!
Some CIS parents can be a pretty demanding bunch. Set aside from
the usually silent and satised majority, and silent but dissatised, there
are groups of vocal and pushy parents, used to getting what they want,
and unbridled in their ability to trample over the emotions of professional
educators. They would not be satised with the level of intellectual curiosity
demonstrated by statesman Charles de Gaulle (President of a country with
more than 246 types of cheese) when he uttered those words of wisdom,
China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese. Quite right too, but
the school operates within certain constraints. Take the IB for instance.
There are constraints in what can be taughtbecause there is a curriculum
set by the IBO, and CIS teachers, bless them would, no doubt, dearly love
to teach other aspects of Chinese but cannot do so because they simply do
not have the time to do that and to get through the syllabus (how could
they with long holidays to contend with, preceded by obligatory half days,
professional development, school closures due to typhoons, SARS, and the
like). So its tough if your child gets the dual language diploma and is well
able to recite memorized lines that would impress in a discussion concerning
literary commentary, but not be able to read the Oriental Daily. It might
stick in your throat that the best Chinese language students at CIS were not
suckled from Receptionthey norm. Perhaps they came to CIS to brush
up on their English.
Outraged parents would do well to consider IB examinations are in En-
glish, not Chinese (except one I can think of). CIS is an international
schoolit must be because it says it is. Interestingly, when researching what
an international school actually is, I read an article by Cynthia Nagrath
who concluded that amongst the requirements is an English or bi-lingual
education. It is a fact that at CIS the primary language is Englishthis is
by design.
I want to hark back to the Strategic Planning process and the Strategic
Vision because they really were a watershed in the development of the school.
You would have noted that one of the recommendations was to encourage
the CIS community to explore new ways to teach, use and enjoy Chinese
within and beyond the school. This is the key to the answer to, How Chinese
is CIS. Its really up to you. What role have you played in exploring new
ways to teach, use and enjoy Chinese within and beyond the school? Who
speaks in the playgrounds and sports eldthe studentsthey often chose
English or Cantonese, their choice. Galileo Galilei said, You cannot teach
a man anything. You can only help him discover it within himself. If you
want CIS to be more Chinese then do something about it.
21
Chinese
Compare CIS today to where it was 10 or 15 years agowere a lot more
Chinese than we used to bebut are we Chinese enough? Be grateful for
the eort that is being made, be grateful that your child is at Hong Kongs
best school. Get onboard and contribute in a constructive manner. Get the
school you deserve!
Ken is a CIS parent.
22
Chinese
Sylvia Roldn ;
As a foreign language teacher here at CIS, how Chinese do you
think CIS is?
I think culturally theres an aim to try and highlight Chinese culture, I
think the mere fact that a majority of the students are in some way, shape or
form connected to Chinese culture can only bring out any type of Chinese-
ness, if you will. However, I do think that the academic language of the
school is English, at least in secondary school. Now, I do hear the students
sometimes speak to one another in Cantonese, which I think often times
is ignored at this school. So, I guess I would have to ask, what do you
mean by Chinese? That should be my rst question. Do students listen to
Chinese music on their own? Is it something were trying to promote? I
think, within that the setting that were in, Id probably say the school is
very Chinese, compared to other schools where Chinese doesnt exist, Id say
that its relatively Chinese, but the fact of the matter remains that English
prevails. Very rarely, am I in a situation of, oh I dont understand because
everything is being done in Chinese, even with my level of Putonghua, the
burden of bilingualism is always on the Chinese native.
Now that we have various eorts to integrate ourselves further
into Chinese culture and Chinese society such as the CCC, do you
think weve progressed to becoming more or less Chinese, or more
or less the same, and do you think it will continue to grow and
change?
I think that, honestly, only good can come when you try to immerse
yourself in a language and a culture. In this case, the Chinese were trying
to promote is Putonghua and not Guangdonghua (Cantonese), then going to
a place such as Mainland China, where Putonghua is the daily language, can
only serve to benet. What I think we often dont really count on or discuss
is, what happens to students once they leave Hong Kong? I think for anyone
when they leave their home, its when they start realizing how much this or
that they are. So once students go to university, I think thats when a lot
students understand oh wow, Hong Kong living has played this formidable
part of my living, and Chinese values and culture and being at CIS has
shaped a lot of who I am. I always tell people, yes its an international
school, but I feel like I teach at a community school. I happen to be with
students whose families have had 2, 3, 4, 5 kids go through this school and so
in that sense it is a community school that does embrace and embody, at the
very least two cultures. More and more, I think were bringing more cultures,
obviously with the option of studying French and Spanish in Y7, and the
dierence service trips during project week that are other possibilities for
further cultural engagement. I think we are also in a position, as a leading
23
Chinese
school, to help others say, within the Chinese diaspora. I think we focus a lot
on going to the mainland, but what is it that we have at the school that we
can provide to others who may not have access to that. So, whether thats
working with Chinese Americans, or Chinese Brits, whose families who do
send them to Chinese schools on Saturdays. Ive been to Thailand and I see
that there are Chinese schools there and Chinese medium of instruction. So
what are we doing to engage that? Which, I think really speaks to a lot of
what we do in project week anyways. I think, the main thing is to really do
something that is meaningful, real, and that people are invested in, so that
its not just something else that we tick o a box, and say we are Chinese
because, we have Chinese language, we have a centre in China, were not
ticking boxes here. If we were to survey the students, do you feel Chinese,
what makes you Chinese?- I think, historically, theres been a sense of, well
there are these values and traditions and if I dont t into that I must not
be Chinese. For so many of our students who are ethnically mixed or have
been in foreign countries and have come back because their families have
moved back or what not, then we really need to start examining what that
is, and CIS is in a position to do that. So many people here feel comfortable
because theyre mixed and can be themselves, can be Chinese, can be non-
Chinese, really whoever they want, when they may not feel accepted in other
societies, whether its here in Hong Kong or when they study abroad when
people dont understand why they speak English when having a Chinese
face.
Seorita Roldn rst joined CIS in 2006, as the founding Spanish teacher.
Since then she has also taught ToK. Currently, she is also the proud Home-
room Teacher of 10GL in Purple House. Seorita Roldn, a native Los
Angeleno, is a dance enthusiast and linguist who embraces multiculturalism
& plurilingualism.
24
Chinese
Amy Tai , 12
I think there are two types of people in CIS. One type is the local type,
because most of them either come from local schools, or they just come
from really Hong Kong familiestheir parents dont speak English, they
just speak Cantonese. They are more Hong Kong in general, they are more
aware of whats happening in Hong Kong and you can tell that when they
hang out, they speak Canto, and when they walk on the street, they just
look like any other Hong Kong people. The second type either come from
a foreign place, or their parents talk to them in English at home. Also, in
general, CIS people are kind of wealthy, so when they hang out, they go
to high class places where they can speak English, so they dont really feel
the need to learn Cantonese or they dont feel the need to blend into Hong
Kong society.
What do you think about the various eorts that the school has
put in to try and integrate us into Chinese society, with the CCC
and things like that? Do you think thats going to improve how
were sort of divorced from Hong Kong society or Chinese culture?
To clarify rst, I think there is a dierence between Hong Kong and
Chinese culture. I think CIS is trying to make its students assimilate into the
Chinese culture rather than the Hong Kong one. In terms of international
schools, I think CIS is actually really Chinese, in a sense that all students
learn Chinese, to a pretty good level compared to other international schools.
We also often have school trips to the Mainland especially in the lower years
and I think thats good. I myself went to Hunan Project Week trip to serve
the students, who are ;. But at the same time, we were staying
in a ve-star hotel and the meals were pretty good in general. I guess, to
assimilate into their culture, doesnt mean just going to their school, for one
hour or two, just looking into it, but also trying to live with them. But I
understand how it can be impractical to live with them in like half-broken
rooms, and parents would complain.
Amy has been at CIS since 2009, and has yet to decide on what she wil l be
doing or where she wil l be going this fal l.
25
Chinese
Tom Winderam J'
Ocially, of course, its dual languge and dual culturethats what it
says in the mission. In terms of language, probably in the primary school
comes close to that, but in the secondary school Chinese becomes a taught
subject along with all the other MYP and DP subjects. It loses quiet a lot
of the Chinese-ness in the secondary curriculum.
In ethos, it would like to be more Chinese. Theres always a problem
with external examinations and universities. Im not convinced that its as
dual language as it thinks it is. Over the years that Ive been here, this has
always been an issue, and I dont think theyve ever resolved that issue.
Its trying to be more Chinese. The willingness is there to be more
Chinese. But I dont think weve really ever, as a community, got to grips
as to what that means. What does it mean to be more Chinese? I dont
think weve ever worked out an answer to that. Putting Chinese artifacts
around the school, for example, doesnt necessarily mean that the school
becomes Chinese. One example that I think is quite glaring is that we have
all of our sta meetings, all of our discussion in English, never in Chinese.
The reason for that is fairly obvious: because our Chinese teachers are fairly
OK to speak English, but our English teachers cant speak Chinese, so we
tend to default to speaking English, which is a great pity. There is also a
cultural aspect to that, because many Chinese people dont like speaking up
in large groups anyway, so we never really hear from our Chinese teachers.
What role can or will the CCC play in CIS becoming more Chi-
nese?
Thats a really dicult question. The original concept of the CCC was
that it would be the culmination of a steadily developing Chinese program
throughout the school, from the primary school, which as weve said, is
fairly strong there. Using the China Experience program to bolster the
use of Chinese by taking students into China in Chinese setting, getting
them to appreciate the language and culture, and the CCC would then be a
culmination of that before we settle down to the business of getting people
down to exams. That was the original conception. I think it has sort of
wandered o somehow, and Im not sure about how thats actually going to
work, but we remain optimistic and hope for the best.
26
Chinese
When we as a family rst came to CIS, it was a brand new building and
it was a very small school. We had 75 students in the secondary school, we
went up to Year 9, it was a very small school with a very small stu. We were
very much closer together as a group, parents, teachers, administration, all
were in the same space and we communicated all the time. Weve gradually
expanded because of our success and expanded and expanded and over-
grown our facilities and still expanded, so things have become much more
fragmented, we dont have the same contact with the students, we dont
have the same contact with the parents, and whats worse, we dont have
the same contact with fellow teachers. The sta room isnt used for that
kind of purpose. Its incredibly dicult to talk about education and to talk
about studentsto get people together. In the last few years, also, weve
headed o on the pursuit of excellence track, which is right and proper, but
the workload has increased accordingly. People are being asked to things
that are not their teaching jobs, which take time without the time being
allocated, so stress levels have increased and the feeling that were running
faster and faster just to stand in the same placea red queen kind of model
hereis more and more evident in sta and parents, and I think in students
too.
My view over my years of leading departments and working as a deputy
principle is that we must make progress, but we must make it in a careful
and controlled manner. We need to have periods when were not making
progress, just consolidating, making what youre trying to do actually hap-
pen. Once thats solidly locked in place, then you can make more progress.
If you try to make huge leaps all of a sudden, we just end up in some di-
culty and theres just too much pressure. You have to consolidate. You have
to pause for breath and reect on what youve done. See whats worked and
what doesnt workedget rid of what doesnt work, revamp that, focus on
whats going to happen next and plan the change.
27
Chinese
Do you have anything to add about CIS, either on this topic or
another?
CIS is a ne institution. Its supported by some very thoughtful people.
Most of the sta are very thoughtful, intelligent people who work very hard
for the students. It has places where its not very good, and we need to
focus on those. But by large, I think it is a world-class school. But we have
to be mindful of why we do all of this, and how we do all of this, and the
principle reason why we do all in my mind is for the students. And if we
lose sight of the students, then we lose sight of the whole purpose. So we
have to make sure whatever initiatives we are having, must be focused on
and grounded in the students.
Tom is a Science teacher and Deputy Head of Secondary (Administration),
and has been at CIS since 1991.
28
Chinese
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29
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31
Chinese
Abigail Yee ` 17
Not very Chinese. We only have like one Chinese class and its not
completely in Chinese. Im in Brand 2, and class is not taught in Chinese.
Most of us come from Western backgrounds, so were not really Chinese and
for most of us, our rst language is English.
I dont know. Its pretty much stayed the same. Its important for us,
though, to become more Chinese. Chinese is a growing language. People are
starting to speak it, even Hong Kong taxi drivers now. We could improve
the situation by having bilingual classes, so teachers dont only teach in
English.
Abigail is a Year 8 student at CIS.
32
International
International
David Brian |
I read from the mission statement: the school prepares its stu-
dents to be compassionate, ethical and responsible individuals,
contributing to local and global communities, respectful of other
views, beliefs and cultures, and concerned to make a dierence in
the world. What do you think about this statement? Does CIS
do this? How does it, and how does it not?
Lets rst take the aspect rst of local and global interaction and citizen-
ship. I think the school has done very well on this over the years, certainly
from my perspective as a humanities teacher. Weve been taking students
abroad, into China, working on social enterprise projects, every year, Project
Weeks been going on for a decade. Before that, we were taking students
abroad on dierent trips to Sabah, or Bali, to engage globally. Locally,
the Green Group, environmental group, has done lots of work. Lots of stu-
dents are working in after school activities with dierent NGOs, like Hand
in Hand, and those are student initiatives.
One of the things right now, Ms Safaya has now been appointed the local
and global coordinator. This was something identied around three years
ago in one of the Strategic Vision committees, which I actually sat on with
several parents and teachers. They identied the need for someone to bring
this all together. Just like how we have a sports and ASA coordinator, so Ms
Safayas job is to do an inventory of what were doing, in both primary and
secondary, and then from there see where we gohow can we engage more
within our local, regional and global community? Often what happens is,
say you have a new teacher who comes into my department here, and theyre
new to Hong Kong, they dont have connections and they dont know how
to get involved with, say, JA or MUN. Thats her positionto help teachers
to take forward students in this school.
From that perspective, I think we do very well. Ive worked at another
school that had done half an eort in this particular area. You can always
improve, and make those experiences more in-depth, more meaningful. And
not just for us. We have to recognize that, when we talk about being aware
citizens, its also about how we impact on those communities. Is it benecial
in both ways? Is it symbiotic? Or is it just us getting the experience?
Because if thats the case, I dont believe in that because thats just us
spending money to cart people, to look at culture rather than experience
and engage with it.
34
International
There is a widespread notion of a CIS bubble. Do you think
this bubble exists? And if it does, how might it undermine the
education CIS provides?
Ive heard it call the Braemar Hill bubble. Im very much aware of
that, having worked here for many years. This is the challenge for us as
educators. Personally, as a teacher, when I sit down and design curriculum,
Im consciously thinking about how to break down those barriers, how to
go from being a bubble into being more engaged with our community. You
got to take conscious steps in dealing with this. And I agree, if we dont
address it, it is a handicap for our students, our school. So addressing it is
getting out there and doing things in our community, whether its going on
an environmental march, or one year I remember a Year Two girl talking in
LegCo. Thats our taskwe have to work with that.
Again, the challenge is, we have our curriculum that we have to teach,
and as soon as we walk out that door, into what I call beyond-the-classroom
learning, where that real world is, then you get people within the community
saying Hey, thats impinging on my program! or Youre o on this trip
for two or three days, what about my class? or a parent will say They
should be in the classroom memorizing for a test. Well, the world is big
out there, and unless we get out and experience it, then we will remain as a
bubble. Thats a real issue, and weve got to be conscious, and get people
out there experiential learning, I call it.
When I arrived here in 1994, we were a small school. Our entire sta t
upstairs in the sta room. We had our oces there. I guess you could equate
it with small town, big citytoday were big city. When I rst arrived
here, our curriculum was not international. We had the IB diploma, but
our Year 7s to 11s did IGCSEs, which is supposed to be the international
version of the British curriculum, which I didnt nd to be very much at all,
especially from a geographers perspective. Moving away from that, weve
grown into the MYP program. Ive seen signicant improvement in what we
teach as a program. But secondly, as weve grown in stang, Ive seen the
diversity of the sta grow signicantly. It would be interesting to compare
what was the 1994 stawhere we were from around the worldand where
we are from today. Its my gut feelinglooking at my own department,
there are ten people, and we are from six or seven nations. Theres that
diversity there.
Where would I like to see it go in the future? I really see that our school
needs to keep our hand on high standards, which we do very well on, but also
on engaging students in their own learning. Were talking about the learners
voice, and how do we harness the learners voice into the teaching paradigm?
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International
Because once we start to do that, the education system starts to evolve and
be more intuitive to a 21st century scenario. Including myself, a lot of what
we do is still old-school in the sense that students listen while I teach. We
have to break away from that, and get students more engaged with their
learning. Of course, there are pitfalls when you have prescribed curriculum
with things you have to get through, especially with the Diploma. Certainly
the MYPs ve years, weve got a lot of breadth and scope that we can be
creative. And thatll come. Education is not like building a house I can
have one architectural style, then right next to it have a completely dierent
one overnight. It takes time, because there are so many stakeholders, from
students, teachers, school, board, and the community at large.
One thing is when were looking at new sta in hiring, there has to be a
component of assessing sta members good t. And what is that good t?
Is a good t a teacher who does what we wanted to yesterday? Or a teacher
whos going to be providing us with new ideas and be creative? We have
to look for that in new sta. How do you change the ethos or the character
of the current teaching sta here? Well, youve got to make it exciting for
them. Theres a professional training aspect, theres a management side,
how do we get teachers to engage themselves? Ultimately, we still have the
teacher in the classroom with the students. We rely on them to deliver that
new dynamic or shifting learning approach. Weve got to bring themas
the old saying goes, you can lead a horse to a trough but you cant force
it to drink it, we have to provide an exciting professional development in
such a way that teachers want to improve and change.
This is an interesting paradox in educationwere supposed to be prepar-
ing young people for the world out thereif you look at the private sector
out there, its rapidly changing, its change or sink and yet education in
general, not just at this school, is slow to change. Its not just a challenge
here, its a challenge at every school around the world. Keeping sta excited
and motivatedthats work, but its the rewards that come with it.
David is a Geography teacher and the Head of Humanities. He has been 18
years at CIS, 24 years in Hong Kong, and decades on Planet Earth. My
most memorable experiences at CIS are the out door ones, taking students,
teachers and parents on interesting learning excursions.
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International
Trina Chan H" 07
CIS has been successful in achieving this for the most part. It does this
mostly through community service work. It enables young students to learn
core values like tolerance, respect, justice and equality. There are many
opportunities for students to get involved from Year 7 to Year 13. From
what I recall, a few year groups are attached to specic charities. There
are also activities during Project Week that enable students to work with
orphans in Vietnam or build houses in Cambodia, for example. Theres also
the CAS program, which enables students to choose activities and set their
personal goals.
There is an area in which CIS can make some improvementsthat is, to
place more emphasis on the need for students to keep abreast with current
aairs and issues. A lot of them arent well informed and up to date with
the news and global issuespossibly because theyre busy with school and
CCAs. They dont see reading the newspaper or news online as something
that will boost their academic grade, so its not made a priority. Its great
that CIS now has a Human Rights Group. It encourages an understanding
of global issues, provokes discussion and raises awareness. Its wonderful
to see CIS students getting involved in speaking up for human rights. Its
denitely benecial for the students and moving in the right direction.
It does existits an elite school with facilities and resources that other
schools can only dream about. Most of the students here come from rela-
tively sheltered family backgrounds. Its slightly cut o from the real world.
There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The good thing is that it
provides a safe, comfortable and nurturing environment where students are
really able to develop their full potential. The disadvantage is that theres
not much exposure to the real world except for Project Week and CAS, for
example, and to people of dierent backgrounds.
When you leave school and enter university, you nd that youre suddenly
thrust into the real world. Youre exposed to people from all over the world
and all walks of life, from very dierent backgrounds. One problem with
the bubble is that, from my experience as an ex-student, very few of us are
37
International
resilient to new and challenging circumstances. I have a few friends from
CIS who went to universities in the UK who found it really tough settling
in and having to make new friends because all of a sudden youre forced
out of your comfort zone. The fact that the school population at CIS is
very stableby that I mean not many people leave CIS unless they have
tomeans that there arent many opportunities to interact with dierent
people throughout your school life. Whats important for all schools, not
only CIS, is that we should focus on building students adaptability and
resilience, just to better prepare them for adult life. Were bound to face
adversity in our lives. Its about how you deal with these situations and
how you cope that determines your success in life.
Its much more technologically advanceyouve got SmartBoards in ev-
ery classroom, every teacher has a MacBook Pro, youve got the one-to-one
laptop program, iPads in primary. On top of that, there are brieng sessions
and meetings on how to use technology to enhance learning. CIS has de-
nitely changed for the better in the area of technology. Its a development
that we should be proud of. Everything is much more ecient. There are
many new programs and software and apps which can be used to improve
and enrich learning. But we might be focusing a bit too much, or devoting
a bit too much time and money on technology. I feel that we could spend
some of that time and resources to further develop other areas, like teaching
and learning. Its important to strike a balance.
The establishment of the Human Rights Group is denitely a great devel-
opment. Young people nowadays are becoming quite politically apathetic,
as the result of extreme individualism. Its great to see that CIS students
are speaking up, becoming aware of global issues, discussing topical matters
and educating others around the school.
CIS is moving with the times in terms of technological development,
but theres still room for development in terms of promoting better com-
munication. We could have more forums or platforms to openly discuss
certain issues and give suggestions on how to improve students experiences
at school.
These are very important. They are ideals that all schools, not only
CIS, need to aim forwhether it be forums or meetings or more eective
communication between students, teachers and the admin team. Its good
to have a platform where you can speak openly and honestly about certain
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International
issues. It would be nice to hear dierent views about CIS. Its great to see
that students and teachers are so involved and committed to making changes
and improving the school.
Trina graduated from CIS in 2007 and studied at the University of Cam-
bridge. She has, since 2011, been a Teaching Intern in the English Depart-
ment.
39
International
Caroline Chin H, 12
CIS, on a practical level, does a lot of these things. Theres Project
Week, and there are so many charities out there, contributing to local and
global issues. But I get the feeling that a lot of this might be on a very
supercial level. With charities, for example, you get a huge burst of char-
ities in Year 10, when you start to get service hours. This might not be
the case for everybody, but I do know for a fact that many groups do start
because they want to gain more hours or write some of these down for their
college rsums. Essentially, when theyre advertising for volunteers, they
always mention that theyre going to give a certain amount of hours, even
before they explain what the cause is about. So on a practical level, and
whats written down on paper, its all very good. Students put hundreds of
hours into helping various issues and alleviating various problems in Hong
Kong and around the world, but the motivations behind many people are
questionable.
There is a bubble at CIS, not necessarily directly because of the school
itself. It might be because CIS has a very restricted group of students who
come from the same socioeconomic background. A lot of it comes from
parents and families. In that sense, there is a bubble because if you cant
aord to come, then you cant come. It seems obvious, but its true. If youre
from this sort of background, with many of these similar qualities, its hard
for us to become more worldly. Thats one of the purposes for Project Week.
A way that CIS can improve this is if they have a nancial aid program, so
students can interact with people of dierent economic backgrounds. So its
not just like Im pitying the poor, so Im starting a charity group to help
these poor people in these places Ive never seen before. And its not just
us helping themthey can help us a lot too.
CIS does live in a sort of bubble, but its not entirely CIS fault, though
it can be improved with a nancial aid program.
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International
Its hard for me to answer this. I dont know if I see changes because Ive
grown older and everyone around me does too, or because the school actually
has changed. When I was younger, I thought this school was amazing in
every sort of waywith all these amazing people, amazing facilities, and its
just all so cool. As I grew older, I got to see a very dierent side of itnot
necessarily a bad side, but for example, I can see that the school can be
bureaucratic. I think this stems from a fear that if we dont follow strict
procedures and guidelines, then something might go wrong or might damage
CIS reputation. This also stems from a lack of trust for the students. I know
its hard to change from saying oh you have to tell us exactly what youre
going to do. Its typical for a Hong Kong mentality, I guess. But I dont
think its necessary.
Over the years, CIS has changed. This community has acknowledged
that there are bad sides to it, so areas that CIS can improve in. In this
sense, it has improved.
Dialogue and honesty are areas any institution should strive forwhether
its a company, or an association, or a school. Honest discussion is a huge
part of successsuccess not only on paper, but producing students who can
think for themselves, having a place where dierent opinions are welcomed.
These are the foundations of any sort of modern governancethat you can
voice opinions and thats how things improve. To do this, the school should
be more open to allow discussion on various issues. It also boils down to a
trustif they allow these discussions to occur, the school isnt going to burn
down. Were not going to have huge riots. Hong Kong people are still going
to respect CIS. I dont think theres going to be a fear that CIS will become
an inecient place where nothing gets donepeople will respect the school
for allowing these sorts of discussion and being open to all sorts of opinions,
whether its from an experienced school administrator or from a Year 7.
A way to make this happen would be for the administration to release
a letter, or an email, saying that we do support these dierent opinions.
And then the school must say true to those words. On cutting down bu-
reaucracyI remember that during EE week, if you wanted to leave school,
you had to get signatures from so many people. In these cases, bureaucracy
really hinders anyones pursuits for education and to learn dierent things.
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International
Its almost like an obstacle, which is not what school should be. School
should be conducive to receiving education or developing opinions or pursu-
ing dierent areas, but a lot of times bureaucracy really aects us and has
a negative impact on this sort of feeling.
Caroline has been at CIS since 1998, and wil l soon be attending the Mas-
sachusetts Institute of Technology.
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International
Martin Cubbon
dent to be compassionate, ethical and responsible individuals,
In a world full of trite and ambiguous statements, the school statement
stands out both in its entirety which I see as a moral code and in the specic
behavior it advocates which is clear, unambiguous and attainable by any-
body. CIS does play a role in facilitating such behavior by all stakeholders
not just students. It does this through the diversity of its teaching sta,
student bodies, CISPTA organized extra-curricular activities and tolerance
of internal debate. Having attended 9 graduation ceremonies, I have gath-
ered a great deal of anecdotal evidence that there is a widespread practice
of many of the key elements of the mission statement by individuals who
have since left the school. If there are failures, they are probably because
the school does not do enough to enshrine the statement as a moral code in
the minds of the school community.
Yes, I believe CIS does live in a bubble. However, this is rst and
foremost a protective bubble. You might say that US society in the 19th
century was a bubble in which those eeing religious persecution in Europe
could ourish. It is a bubble formed by a feeling of association with the CIS
brand. It is not physical nor is it in any way orchestrated. So the question
should be is this a worthy brand with which to be associated? Is it one
which fosters tolerance, debate and innovation? I think it is and I think the
trade-os which come with being in a bubble are probably worthwhile but
they need to be kept in check. These trade-os would be a lack of awareness
of other peoples circumstances and background and hence insensitivity to
others needs. These trade-os should of course be addressed under the
mission statement.
Yes, CIS has changed considerably since I rst became associated. It has
much greater scale, has more resources, it is more condent as an institution
and this is reected in attitudes and the behavior of the students and sta.
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International
It is a fundamentally stronger institution although inevitably still has
teething problems associated with being young and ambitious. We should
be careful not to lose sight of the higher ideals to which CIS strives. To
deliver on these higher ideals, set out in the mission statement, CIS students
will need drive and determination in abundance. These traits can produce
unwelcome outcomes as in any competitive environment, this is inevitable
and should be put in context. Address unwelcome outcomes whatever they
may be but dont compromise the ideals and culture of tolerance, risk taking
and selessness.
Martin is a CIS parent.
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Brian Liu (' 12
I honestly dont know what to think about this because the nature of
every mission statement has good intentions but at the same time can be
kind of vague. When you have a community that strives to be reasonable and
accepting and embracing of all other cultures, there are a few diculties.
The case at CIS is that we are a very liberal community, but we are not
always necessarily a reasonable community. That comes with not actually
having been exposed to these dierent views and individuals, local and global
communities. CIS to some extent does do this, but its very dicult to really
take up this mission statement because its very ambitious. Its dicult to
take up because many of the socio-economic backgrounds that CIS come
from are very good, we may try to be exposed at school but were still very
insulated in our lifestyles and at home. To a certain extent, a school, CIS,
has an obligation to protect the kids from certain exposures. But in order to
really achieve this mission statement, we really has to get out of our comfort
zones and bring no pretense. That is to say, not constantly have the idea
that we come from this sort of background, they should be treated this way.
Theres a sort of entitlement, and when you want to embrace all cultures and
communities, you have to approach it very organically. CIS kids are very
well-knowledged about these issues, but we dont think too much about it.
We have to try to see if a bubble actually undermines the education at
CIS. Academically, CIS has shown an exemplary amount of success, with
recent college acceptances, CIS academic record is fantastic compared to
the world. Does it undermine the education here? I think it undermines the
mission statement. If you want to evaluate the CIS education in terms of the
mission statement, it does to a certain extent undermine the education. CIS
is academically great; kids are very good students. But in terms of really
enlightening the CIS student body on the local and global issues, dierent
beliefs and cultures, CIS still has a way to go. We can nally see that this
MS is being achieved when people at CIS start to adopt these principles as
their own. There are certain levels of of how we embrace ideas, the rst level
is advocacy but a second level is when people live by it. I dont see it happen
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International
very much at CIS. I see people advocating very loudly and very passionately,
which is great, about certain issues. But I dont see people living by them,
understanding them on a very personal level, and only a few students have
achieved this understanding. In this way, the bubble undermines the CIS
education, and people come out of CIS not necessarily incredibly reasoned.
I dont think CIS has really changed. Ive only been here for three
years, though I was here in Year 8 for a while. While it hasnt changed,
my vision for CIS has changed. I used to think the school is greatand
I still do, its wonderful and Im grateful to be a part of this community.
But there are some issues, especially with how the Pastoral team extends
its jurisdiction, and the recent changes in the student council constitution
are great. Its wonderful to see, its encouraging, edifying. The thing that
I want to change is how the governing bodies operate with each other. Its
starting to happen. When Im doing stu in student government, like SSC,
we often nd that were all stepping in each others backyards because there
was so much overlap with how CIS jurisdiction works. I dont think if its
trying to be a system where all the systems are overlapped and intertwined
such that when you try to deal with one system the whole system is dealt
with. I feel like if we dierentiate the dierent roles more, that will make
CIS more unied and ecient. Unity is achieved in how dierent tools
interact to create one product. When you have dierent bodies focusing on
dierent responsibilities, then you can have a coherent team. Maybe its
the Hong Kong mentalitywere trying to do too much, trying too hard.
Dierentiating would help the stress level, people would be more calm in
dealing with things and the school would become more ecient.
Brian has been at CIS since 2004, and wil l soon be attending St. Johns
Col lege (Annapolis).
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International
Brian Mulcahy '
The notion of a bubble could be probably applied to a lot of institutions,
not only schools. Thats largely as a result of schools in the past years
becoming much more self-conscious of their identities. For example, public
relations now is very important for a school. Branding is very important.
The institutional identity in some respects very strong, and reinforces the
notion of a CIS bubble.
There are gradations of bubble in the world. For example, if you were
to go to a school in a small town in China, you would nd that they too live
in a kind of bubble. Thats the nature of the world we live in. If students
take the opportunities that the school presents for them to interact not only
with local communities but also international communities through, say,
Project Week and CAS, the bubble is broken. It depends on the activation
and initiative with students. There are a lot of good examples of students
who have refused the bubble and tried to open up themselves to outside
inuences. You cant think your way out of a bubble, you have to act your
way out of it. Students have taken the opportunities to do that. But all
institutions, even universities, have this bubble as a natural phenomenon.
The school should be providing opportunities for students to look beyond
their horizons. CIS does that to a certain extent. It could do more. At the
same time, as students get older, its important for them to demonstrate the
initiative to break through.
Ive been here 17 years. CIS was very school when I arrived. They had
just gone through their second cohort of students. It was a young school.
It had a central area for sta. There was a lot of faculty interaction. These
days the faculty is more atomized. At that time, there was a stronger sense of
community among faculty. Its less the case now. The year I arrived, or the
year after thatthe rst time we had e-mail. That was an exciting change
to happen. The buildings have changed considerably, especially with the
Languages and Arts building. The place has grown, the student population
have grown, the expectation of parents have grown, and the curriculum has
changed. The school has improved in a lot of ways. Also, the pace of life has
quickened to the point that we dont have time for reecting on what we
dothats key to breaking through that bubble in the previous question.
Theres a consciousness created by an extremely quick pace of life. If we
were able to slow things down, we would be able to reect and value more
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of what we have.
Voice and speaking up are ne, but listening too is important. Listening
arises out of empathy people have for each other in a community. Its an
important aspect to community life. CIS has changed one hopes for the
better. Education in its institutional form will change considerably over the
next ten years. There are many things in school which hark back to the 19th
century. We need now to be exible enough, daring enough, risky enough
to change and to provide new ways of interaction. Not necessarily through
technology. Breaking down the metaphorical walls between year groups,
for examplethe ability to teach and mix classes across year groups, the
willingness to provide more to students so that they can be more creative
in their learning, loads of ideas within the voices of students and minds of
faculty that can improve the school. Attentiveness is key attentiveness to
one another.
All institutions should aim for honest and public dialoguethat should
be the ideal of all social organizations, from the smallest to the greatest.
If CIS is part of this world, then of course we should aim for that ideal.
Family, schools, governments should all do so.
For example, the way in which questions are framed and asked is key. We
can communicate for hours and get nowhere. Good communication depends
on people asking the right questions. The responses to those questions must
also be managed and moderated so that eective answers are reached.
One would hope that students, faculty and administration collectively
felt that there are platforms in this school for us to exercise our points of
view. Whats the ideal platform for students to organize themselves so that
they have a coherent voice? Not just the voice of a few people, but a coherent
voice representing the student body. Thats very important. What you nd
often is that a part of voices represented and not the whole thing. How
can you nd mechanisms to enable that to happen? People have to show
initiative, people have to participate in citizenry of the school. If they defer
or abdicate that, then they really have no grounds for complaint later.
I nd that teachers have enough opportunities to voice their opinions,
generally speaking. I can express my opinions on most things. But do we
have enough time to build coherent discussion? Thats a dierent question.
Thats the key question. Do we dedicate the time that is necessary in order
for good public dialogue to take place and be reected upon? Thats when
you slow things down for the benets of that dialogue to be seen. Its hard.
It goes back to shaping public discourse so that its ecacious and has
some sort of utilitarian benetthat decisions are made, whether by the
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Student Council, or by teacher in relation to class, or by the administration
in relation to the community. The decisions made must be well-justied,
and people must feel like they have participated in dialogue that has shaped
the decision. A large part of that depends on asking the right questions in
the right way.
Brian is an English teacher and the Head of Year 13, and has been at CIS
since 1995.
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Lucy Reading 13
The statement is really good in its intentwhat theyre trying to put
into the students is great. But at the same time, the implementation is
sometimes lacking. You can become that kind of person, but the school
doesnt necessarily push you to become that kind of person. Bake sales and
bubble tea sales, for example, dont really have any relevance to the cause
that they support. If a student said I want to do a bake sale for moon
bears and I want to make some cookies, then this school should say How
do cookies have anything to do with moon bears? That connection needs
to be improved, so that people dont just go to buy cookies because they
want cookies. Students should ask where the money is going to. Thats
what happens at CIS a lotpeople focus on short-term solutions and easy
things to do that dont involve leaving CIS.
There denitely is a bubble at CIS. Its a really small school, compared
to some others in Hong Kong, where there might be two hundred, or three
hundred people per year. Even with the year, youre in a bubble. It comes
from how were not exposed to much diversity at CIS, in terms of socioeco-
nomic diversity. Every single person here has either a driver or lives in a
big at on Hong Kong IslandCentral, the Peak or something like that. I
dont really know anyone who isnt part of the expat or Westernized com-
munity. CIS doesnt do that much to make it a Hong Kong school. Its a
very international, but we have barely any contact with actual people from
where were supposed to be coming from. Weve just become a bubble. We
dont have Hong Kong culture, we dont have American culture, we dont
have particular countrys culture. Its bizarre, and its hard for CIS students
when they leave. Even when I go to summer camps, its already a huge con-
trast. I nd it very dicult to suddenly t in with people all over the place,
so I think CIS doesnt really prepare you for that kind of diversity.
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I came to CIS in Year 6, completely against my will. I didnt like it at
all. It took me a year to get into it, but when I came into the secondary
school I liked it. I thought everyone was very nice, and didnt have any
problems with it. Slowly, as you get older, you start to see the faults with
everythingI dont think its just CIS. Its denitely become frustrating in
the past few years how everything seems to be a problem. Its very common
now to hear all your friends complaining about CIS. Its very demotivating,
to be at a school where youre hearing people say how they hate it all the
time. Its gone from happy to unhappybut I dont think its because of
CIS, and more because of people growing up. I dont think its fair to say
that CIS has changed much. To me, it hasnt changed much, and only the
people have.
CIS could become much more culturalif we had more festivals, more
fun activities. It gets way too stressed at CIS. This has an aect on everyone.
For example, at lunch today we played music at school. Thats a good way
to make people happy. Maybe if we had certain assemblies designated to
dierent groups where they can hold these things, rather than making it
such a hassle to do something like that. Maybe, for example, if we had a
Spanish club that would come and do dancesbut it wouldnt be something
people were pulled to, and people just wanted to go. If there was just more
of a thirst for that kind of feeling within CIS, that would be great.
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Why do you think that thirst isnt strong, and how can it be made
stronger?
There isnt a thirst because its such a mesh of people here. People
arent really patriotic about their countries. I dont think they realize that
they have something to oer to other students. Because its not promoted,
people dont think about giving that. It would be quite easy to implement.
We need someone to come to CIS, who is passionate, who has real vision,
who incorporates the students, to make it a generally happier place. Not
necessarily a more successful place, not necessarily a place where everyone
gets the best grades, but a place where stress isnt an issue. Where students
have been brought up to know how to cope with stress, where students are
able to know that studying is not the most important thing. Thats a tiny
fault of CIS, that its so academically drivenIm not saying it has to be
more sport-driven, but just generally less academically-driven. People might
actually do better in life after CIS if they had broader passions or just any
passions at all. Its very dicult to do the work at CIS, meet the pressure
thats put on you, not feel like youre falling behind and still do things out
of school.
Lucy is a Year 12 student at CIS.
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Tika Sing Bishwakarma
Yes, of course all our CIS students are safe here. We have a very good
environment here, and our maintenance sta and security sta very much
look after our students. I hope we can do well.
Actually, I have no words on how CIS should change in the future. But
I started working at CIS in 2000. Since 2000, during these long years, there
have been so many changesbefore, and now. Our students are very honest.
We can often talk to students, and they will listen to us. So I think there
are no problems.
Tika is a Security Guard, and has been at CIS since 2000.
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Maureen Trebilcock -)
Its a very worthwhile statement, and it covers the huge entity of edu-
cation, from the private and the individual to the global citizen, and thats
what international schools are all about. Aspiring to be a bilingual school
in Hong Kong is really at the cusp of what education really is all about in
2012. Its a lofty statement, but its worthwhile to state these things, and
recognize that we are in a global community.
I think there are ve things that young people need in this day and age.
We aspire to cover all of them, in terms of good judgment, breadth of vision,
self-awareness, responsibility and curiosity. We want them to have a sense
of wonder about the world, and also to be humble in certain ways. The
experience at CIS is not about reaching a destination, which is a successful
graduation in Year 13 and going on to your wonderful chosen university, but
the years that you are preparing for the world ahead. The journey has just
begun, and CIS is part of that journeyan important part. The journey is
life, really, in all its wonders and joys and sorrows.
Yes, there denitely is a CIS bubble. But dening it is another thing,
and whether its a good thing or a bad thing might not be the right question.
We all live in a bubble, we all live within ourselves, our families. Most of
you live in very wealthy families, an environment that provides with most
of the material things that life can provide in Hong Kong. Youre chaueur-
driven, well-dressed, in all the latest gear, you can go to the latest movies,
you travel the world, you compare airlines the way kids in other parts of the
world are completely unable to even think about. So teenagers in even other
parts of Hong Kong have to contend with abusealcohol, drugs, violence,
poverty in some ways. On the surface, from the students here, it costs so
much to be here it has to be a bubble. But I think we all live in a bubble.
I live in a bubble because Im an expat in Hong Kong, and I engage myself
as much as I want to with China, with Chinese and with Hong Kong, but I
go home to my apartment that is pretty standard, I eat pretty normal New
Zealand food. I irt with the culture here, but I go home to my own family
and my own culture. I feel as though Im in a bubble here tooits quite
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an interesting idea. Between the connes of teenagers within parental and
educational limits, the bubble exists.
It doesnt necessarily undermine your education, in fact I think it broad-
ens it. Because youre able to do and pay for all these extra-curricular types,
it broadens your education. So you folks can pay to go on Project Week,
not camping like other kids do in an up-the-road kind of thing. Youre able
to go anywhere in the world. The art students are not going around the
galleries in Hong Kong next week, theyre going to Spain. Thats huge. If
thats the bubble, then lets have the bubble.
CIS has to work very hard to give you young people an education thats
outside the bubble. We play at itfor example, the Year 9s went to Cross-
roads a couple of weeks ago and we played at being poor, we played at a
poverty game. Unless thats taken on board and followed up and the Year
9s are given other experiences, thats all it isjust play. Being aware is one
thing, but Project Week, again, for a week or ten days you build houses or
you paint. Again youre just playing in it, not living in it. As long as youre
aware that the other side of life is darker and uncomfortable and restrictive,
and you are privileged, and you have responsibilities as a world citizen to do
something about it, then I think weve succeeded, and not just in terms of
checkbook charity but in terms of being sensitive to your aiyees and helpers,
sensitive to the beggar on the street, sensitive to old lady whos trying to
push her cardboard trolley across the street. Humility is a big part of it.
or another?
Ive been a teacher in a classroom, like all my colleagues, and later on
in my career I specialized in teacher librarianship. Its given an opening
to work with everybody, to support and value all the subject areas. The
library here at CIS is becoming integrated into MYP and the IB programs,
and used as a valuable resource by teachers and students alike. Id like to
see that more.
I nd that my main purpose is to have as broad a collection of books as
possible. Thats supported by the English department, but it would be good
if we were supported by the other subject areas. We use the focus weeks, for
example. Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Week is coming up, so
we promote reading and literature on that theme. Feminism we just had
that theme and discussion. A library in the 21st century isnt just books.
Its digital as well, and Id like to see a lot more access to the digital tools
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that we have. We need a bigger space. We need screens. We need areas for
collaboration. We need areas for performance. Its all part of becoming a
21st century library. Were getting there, though we havent arrived yet.
Maureen is our Teacher Librarian who has been at CIS since 2009. She has
had a career in various teaching positions of responsibility and administration
in secondary and university educational institutions in New Zealand and
Beijing.
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Laszlo Varro .,
The statement is greatfantastic. That should denitely be one of our
major goals. Are we doing it? There are countless examples where we try to
educate you. We have community service, we have Project Week, we have
eld cleanings, we have No Car Days. I tend to be more critical. I always
like to point out whats not there, hoping that by pointing out the negative
sides we can improve.
My main concern is that this is all add-on. This is not really part of
our education. Its not part of any subjectperhaps you can argue that
geography is an exception, but Im not completely familiar with that. Id
like to see it more be part of what we do, not an after school activity,
not a weekend program, not a week o to distant places where we do a
bit of cleaning or dig trenches and come back and forget it. Thats the
main point. We should do it, and we should do it a lot more. Do I see
a solution? Honestly not. This society here is so crazy about measuring
performanceget the exam grade, be number 1 pianist, whatever you guys
do in your free time. All these others are not necessarily appreciated as
much as I think they should be. Im not saying that theres no solution.
But I dont see a quick x. Perhaps we just have to keep on what weve
been doing. Sooner or later, the message might get throughwho knows?
I have to start with a preamblethat I have obvious limitations in an-
swering this question. My Cantonese is nonexistent. I know very little about
society other than what I can access through English-language papers and
a couple of movies. Is there a bubble? Based on what I saw from my chil-
dren, yes. They went thirteen years through here. 99% of their friends,
acquaintances and activities were through CIS. Is that good or bad? I dont
know.
The bigger picture about this isnt just the CIS bubble. Its a private
school bubbleor whatever we call these schools, independent or private.
Ive been wondering whether its in the interest of the ruling classes in Hong
Kong to maintain this set-upWe are the rich people, lets have rubbish
public school, so that anyone who cant pay will get this lower level education
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and our children will go to these schools and maintain this separation of
classes. Hong Kong is one of the richest cities in the world. If the issue of
public education could be solved anywhere, this should be the place. But
its not solved. After fteen years here, I keep asking why not.
Have you been to a Band 5 school? Have you walked by a Band 5 school?
Occasionally I just hop on a bus just to go somewhere Ive never been. I
walk around and I just look at some of those schoolsmisery. There are
good local schools, but how many people can get into those? You see on
the news all the time that people stand in line, looking at my kid in, my
kid out?, after traveling for so many hours. Why dont we have fantastic
schools in this city for everybody? Surely theres enough money. Partly I
speak against my own interest. My interest is in this well-paying school with
fantastic, selected students. If there is a bubble, perhaps theres a bigger
bubble than just the CIS bubble.
Ive been here 15 years, since 1997. It changed in every possible way.
When I came, it was a relatively small institution. I used to know the pri-
mary school teachers. We had recess together, we ate lunch together. Now,
I cant hope for that. It has become a huge, almost industrial institution.
There are so many people who never bump into each other, who never see
each other, who really have nothing in common. I know it sounds really
bad because the big thing is education is common, everything is for your
best interest. But I just dont see people any more, even in the secondary
school. There are science teachers I never see. They dont come up here, I
dont go there. There are no places to socialize. We just dont have time
to socialize. It has become so time-consuming to maintain what the school
expects us to do. I used to have free time. Not any more. With MYP,
the amount of paper work we have to produce has increased tenfold, fteen-
fold. That takes time, and sometimes that takes away time from teaching
or preparation from classes. Id say its the biggest change.
You guys are exactly the sameexactly as good as youve always been.
It doesnt mean that students are no longer as fantastic. Its the amount
of time and work we have to dedicate to maintain the same level, and just
the size of the institution. After a while, as the size changes, it will have
an impact of how we can operate. Were running out of classrooms, for
example.
or another?
Just yesterday I emailed a very good friend, an American guy who used
to work with me in Mexico. Weve known each other for 20 years. For a
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while, we lost contact. He retired and moved back to the US. He was like
hey, I found you again, is this email still okay? I responded yes, Im still
in Hong Kong. He was very surprised, because he had always classied me
as a person who does ve or six years in a place then moves on. Thats how
I used to classify myself. To some extent, Im also surprised that Im still
here. But thats to the credit of the school, of the city, of the students, right?
The fact that Im here must mean that Im happy. I look at the negative
sides and Im critical occasionally, but the fact that Im here means that
this is a good place. As long as teachers are here, thats a sign that they
like whats happening here. Ultimately, what would you do if you didnt
like the school? Youd move on. There are so many other institutions. As a
mathematics teacher, I would easily nd a job. But I like it here. You guys
are great.
Laszlo is a Mathematics teacher and the Head of Administrative Services,
and has been at CIS since 1997.
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Simon Watts
Its quite a lofty statement. Its quite a high idealwanting people to be
productive in the outside world but also aware and helpful of other cultures.
Thats a really good goal to have. Some students denitely aspire to do that,
and denitely do get there. There are a lot of kids who do lots of charity
workand meaningful charity work, not just the token bake sale. Thats
where I think we fall down a little bit, especially in Project Week, which is
something Ive been involved in as a coordinator for the past couple of years.
We have trips that go away and do servicekids think eating lunch at an
orphanage is service. Its sort of a tokenistic approach to service that Im
trying to get away from, and make sure the service that we do is ongoing
and sustainable, rather than a week in Borneo and taking kids to a zoo and
then going home. I think that paints a wrong view of what service is to the
kids.
Having said that, I really like how Year 7, 8 and 9 have the same charity
all year, particularly Operation Smile. Its really close to home. It basically
helps people on their doorstep, and Mrs. Chadwicks been able to continue
that into Project Week. Another initiative has been started by Mr. Comp-
ton on Habitat for Humanity, and Ms. Safayas doing a lot of stu as well.
Were making an eort. I dont think its there, I dont think were meet-
ing that goal like what the mission statement says, especially not for every
studentits very dicult.
Especially in the older years, in the DP, it becomes more of a me-rst
kind of attitudehow am I looking out for myself, to get into the best
university, get the best grades, and the surrounding community might take
a backseat, which is totally understandable given how much pressure there
is on you guys to succeed. I also think that it would nice if we stick to
China, as were the Chinese International School. We do a lot of stu in
Southeast Asia, but it would be cool if we could do more for those in need
in China.
I do think it exists, the students here all come from a very similar back-
ground, and a similar amount of privilege growing up. They have similar
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expectations on where they are supposed to go after CIS. Its quite reected
in the social groups at CIS. Until they get older, they dont have much con-
tact with kids in other schools. I think Year 11, 12 and 13s start venturing
outside the realm of the CIS bubble.
I also think, to a certain extent, teachers are in that bubble as well.
Sometimes I think: oh my gosh, this student is bugging me. And then I
think about students I used to teach in New Zealand. At least these kids
arent trying to steal my shoes. I just have to slap myself and think: Ive
got it really good here, and whilst there is a bubble, the bubble is great for
the kids because it gives them so much ambitiontheyre always trying to
succeed higher and higher.
But my homeroom loves hearing me talk about stories from the farm,
things I did growing up, things likeyou never learned to ride a bike. And
those sort of life skills, even just cooking a meal, might not hinder them
academically but might put them on a back foot socially. But its nothing
they cant get.
Ive only been here four years, but in these years theres been a transition
especially in the leadership team. I think its actually developing positively.
Theres a push within the school to get away from as much assessment,
because I think the amount of assessments the kids face is crazy. And the
way things are reported, and the way kids are assessedthe amount of that,
and the meaningfulness of their assessmentsare being addressed, which I
think is really good.
But again Ive only been here for a little while, so a lot of the change has
more to do with how Ive gotten used to things rather than how the school
itself changed. Its changed positively, especially the sports program. When
I rst got here, there was nothing going on as far as sports. But now I get
an update every week about a team thats won this and qualied for that.
The creation of a Sports Director position, which Mr Mallens been doing,
and new uniforms, which is something kids take pride in, have been a little
more interesting.
I know a guy came here from an Ivy League university a couple years
back. He was saying how applicants who come to universities now are, as
far as academics go, at such ridiculous levels, so universities are looking at
things like sports teams, like what theyre involved in outside of school, to
dierentiate between whos an interesting person and who might just be all
brain.
Id like CIS to change with assessments. Ive got a Year 10 homeroom.
Ive been their homeroom teacher since Year 7 and I love them to bits, but
they are just working nonstop and studying for a test every week. How many
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times do you need to test a kid? Id like the focus to become more on learning
than on assessment. Maybe if you didnt do assessments in the rst half of
the year, and it was all about what youre learning, all experientialbut
that takes a while, and a bit of change of culture is needed. Chinese
International School, everything that entails, with the more Asian school
of thought of rote learning, of hammering lessons into people, and a more
Western side, of more experiential and laissez faire learning. And its weird
because the Western style is looking at how it can replicate the Asian style,
and the Asian style is looking at how it can replicate the Western.
Being a largely Western faculty, as far as sta goes, in an Asian school,
were in a good position to cut down on a middle path between the two.
Because the kids are so driven, I can try any lesson plan, and I know the
kids are going to give it a go. The students are easy to get along with.
Yes, to a certain extent. With major changes, there needs to be trans-
parency as to whats happening and how decisions are made. I know there
are a lot of people who want to be involved in every single decision, but a
leadership team is there to lead. So sometimes they lead, and you should
follow. And thats just how it has to happen, otherwise nothing will get
done. My dad always says that a camel is a horse thats been made by
committee. So basically your initial vision could be entirely compromised
if you let too many people in on something. I understand that public dis-
course and public forums are important, but there are times when leaders
just need to lead, and thats just the way life is.
My dads an anti-bureaucrat and has been a hippie for most of my life,
but I can see where strong leadership comes in. If youre making a decision
about how the curriculum is delivered, then sure, you need to make sure
parents, teachers and students are aware of that. To be fair, I think its
gotten better within the school since Ive been here. I think about the ve
years I was teaching in New Zealand, with gang ghts and stabbing, and
people getting stu stolen. So coming here is like paradise, I love it, the kids
are great, and weve got a great sta here. Teachers here are really great.
Sometimes its a case of people not really aware of how lucky they are. Its
a really positive environment here. Maybe a little insulated, so maybe try
to spread the wings a little. But otherwise, I cant really complain.
Simon is a Physical Education teacher, and has been at CIS since 2008.
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Kellie Alexander N/
According to its mission statement, CIS encourages intellectual
curiosity and independent, critical and creative thinking, seeking
to inspire students to a lifelong love of learning. What do you
think about this statement? Does CIS do this? How does it, and
how does it not?
We give students an amazing array of opportunities to inspire a lifelong
love of learningnot only in academics, but also in things like MUN, or
the Human Rights Group, or sports and music. We seek to give students a
balanced approach to learning, across the regular academic elds and also
across all those things they might do to balance their lives as adults. As an
adult, I have my job. But then I go out and play netball, I play my musical
instrument. Thats a way to meet people, to relax and to nd the enjoyment
and balance in my life. In giving kids lots of opportunities, we try to inspire
them to be balanced individuals in future life.
Thats dierent in other schools. I taught at an American school before
where students, outside of academics, are asked to commit to one activity.
If youre in the volleyball team, youre in it for a season and then you
commit to four days of training and a game per week. Its a much narrower
approach to balance. From my own kids experience, they can be somewhat
overburdened at times. We give kids lots to do. Theyre constantly engaged
in numerous activities throughout the week. But by giving people these
opportunities, they get to try dierent things. For instance, you might be
in the orchestra, play in the rugby team and do MUNon top of that, you
also have your academics.
My daughter is going into Year 7 next year, in which shell be taking
nine subjects. We oer dierent types of academics, and dierent types of
subjectsshe can try all of these in Year 7, and hopefully nd what she likes.
Learning is about inquiry. I nd that CIS students do ask questionsand
sometimes the hard questions. Sometimes CIS students do challenge us as
teachers to really think. As a teacher, I think of myself as a facilitator for
thatIm happy for students to question, to take leadership, to try dierent
things. My role as the expert, so to speak, is not to talk and talk. Teaching
is very dierent these days. Its about giving kids opportunities to develop
things they love.
You can see this with the kids in choirtheyre learning to conduct, to
run rehearsals, to develop the inspiration and the knowledge which they will
carry onto university and later. Thats where I get my real thrill. Ill see
kids come back in a few years and say oh look, Im conducting the Kings
College choir. Even if Im an account now, but I still really love to sing in
a community choirthats a balance and a pursuit, even though it might
be completely dierent from the career.
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A school is a setting to nurture students not only academically
but also personally and socially. How does CIS fail and succeed in
creating an educative space for healthy and holistic development?
Ive been teaching for almost twenty years. I have an emotion about
CIS that makes me love this school. It makes me want to stay here for a
long whileand there are many other teachers who have stayed for a long
time. Its a love of the kids, of the students. I cant really tell you what
makes me love the CIS kids so much. They will talk to you as a member of
their community. I feel very close to my classes, very close to my colleagues.
There is a keen sense of school prideprobably even more so than when I
was in secondary school.
Weve got something very special. One unique thing we have is continu-
ity. Kids come right through reception all the way up. It gives more time to
see and to know them. We also teach across a broader range. At Shanghai
American School, I taught in the high schoolwhereas here Im teaching
Year 7s right up to Year 13s. I see kids over and over again. I feel like I
dont just know their names, but I actually know the kids.
Our school encourages kids to inquire, to ask, to speak to adults with
respect and with a sense of purpose. Theyre not shy. Theyre not afraid to
speak to adults, or to speak in front of their peers. When I meet alumni,
theyre happy to come up and say, Hi, I used to go to CIS! When we have
assembly, people like to get up in front of a crowd and speak.
The types of people here are achievers. We dont have any behavioral
problems, and that really helps. When I rst started teaching, I taught in
inner city London. It was like being a prison guardyou are just managing
individuals, who take away from those who want to learn. We dont have
that here. We can actually teach. We can help every individual develop,
because everyone wants to learn.
Theres been a push to work on the Pastoral system. Having the home-
room with the same group of kids creates a community. I dont know too
much about it, because Im not a homeroom teacher. But I know from
my colleagues that some homerooms are really tightI dont know how
that helps or hinders them knowing kids outside of the homeroom, although
theyre in dierent subjects with dierent kids. That home base creates a
sense of safetyyou know that your homeroom teacher will always be your
advocate.
CIS students work really hard. They dont get enough sleep. I dont
know where the push comes from. When I rst came here, I had kids who
presented things far beyond the expectations. Many students go over and
beyond. Ive worked hard in my classes to really explain my expectations,
give them examples, and give them time in class rather than homework all
the time.
Ive worked to ip my classroomto reverse what might be done at
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school and at home. As an examplein a Year 7 Bollywood dance unit.
Instead of coming to class and preparing their dance moves, I send them
links of Youtube to watch. They go home and work on their choreography
there. When they come to class, they might be doing their reection, or
have already got the moves so they can use the class time better. That has
helped me create less homework. We can all seek to do that a little bit.
Having my own two CIS students, one in Year 3 and one in Year 6, I worry
for her future. Shes staying up quite lateby the time shes in Year 9, will
she get any sleep at all? But thats partly because shes working very hard
on her Chinese, and also partly my fault. As a CIS parent, we want to give
kids more tutoring and more activities. Shes swimming, shes playing rugby
and doing gymnastics as well. We create a bit of tension that wayI dont
know if its completely healthy. Weve got a new counsellor this year, and
it will continue to grow. I think there are so many kids here who just want
to go in and say Ive got so much work, I just cant handle it. Creating
those opportunities for people to let loose is important.
We dont always have down time here. Thats the case for any business
person these daysyoure always switched on, on your mobile, your Black-
berry, your computer. Its going to be a challenge in the future. When do
we switch o? Perhaps CIS students arent good at switching o, and we
need to give them more opportunities and a space to do that. If youve got
a free period, for instance, is there a space where you can go to switch o,
or are you expected to be studying during that time?
How would you like CIS to change in the future?
I want to be around a long time. Id like my kids to go all the way
through CIS, because its a great place and theyre going to get a fantastic
education. Those academic and time pressures do worry me. I would like
to see a better balance of the assessment tasks so that were not doing more
than is required. Looking at other IB schoolsif were creating way more
assessment tasks, are they benecial to students? In the past years as a PE
department, weve tried to look at that. What can we cut back and balance
to achieve our goals without overburdening students?
School spirit and pride have developed since Ive been here. Id really
like to see that further developed. It was really nice to be down at primary
this morning where Year 5s and 6s did a ash mob. Its great to see ev-
eryone pumped and excited. Id like to see more of that excited feeling at
assemblies. Perhaps some of that can be developed by working hard on the
House system, maybe with more House activities, and more pride through
the Houses. It will be nice to see spirit throughout the year rather than just
on Sports Day and Activities Daythat might be at chess competitions, or
music competitions or Battle of the Bands. School pride, denitely.
There are plans to change the physical facilities, to make the cafeteria
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and library more central. The cafeteria is a bit of a mess right now its
hard to get in, get your lunch and get out. By developing those physical
spaces, people can come together and get to know more people. There
are a lot of things Ive seen that are already developing. There are many
more support structures for students, like a new counsellor. Were getting
a new University Counsellor. Those support services for students are really
important when were so stressed and busy in our daily life.
In terms of sports and music, Id of course like to see those grow. For
my choir, I want it to become an all-encompassing group for people to come
together and just have a sing. Its a little highbrow at the moment theyre
fantastic singersbut Id like to see it grow bigger so the good students can
support those who are just learning to sing. As far as sports go, Id like
to see more team pride. That might mean a presentation of uniform if you
make the team and a little ceremony, maybe within the team given by the
coach and captain. Certain teams have a strong bond, but not all. Being
part of a team is a lifelong learning experienceyou can learn to work with
others, to compromise, to appreciate the skill sets others bring to balance
your own. Its all about communication and teamworkif you dont have
that, you miss out in later life.
There are always things you can improve, but those are the three things
important to meschool spirit, proper rewards for participation and a bal-
ance of the workload. Its a great school. As a parent, Im really happy for
my kids to be at this school. As a teacher, I love my job, and I love the
students and what they become. I love that students will say hello to you
in the corridor. I love that students will say hello to you in Central, or
that alumni come running up to say hithat we still maintain that sense
of community beyond CIS.
Kel lie, since 2009, has worn a number of CIS hatsteacher, parent, coach,
choir director, and soon to be Director of Sports and Activities. She loves
the gym and shes the go to person for workout of the week. She has
been known to make some of the recent graduates vomit during attempts at
her Winter warmer workout and she likes to wear penny tees with mottos
such as Your workout is my warm up and Strong is the new skinny.
She is a CIS lover and supporter and her teaching goals and hopes for the
future of Sports and Activities are 100% student focussed. I have no hidden
agenda, she says, I just want this to be a great place for students, and for
their participation in activities and their school spirit to feature strongly in
their school memories, like they do mine. I loved school. I guess thats why
I never left!
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Kate Brashear N 14
how does it not?
With regards to the statement, its a good aim. As far as CIS is con-
cerned, Im not sure if CIS achieves it. In some ways it does. But for
example, with reections, theres a lot of work that just has to be done,
instead of work that explores or is there to engage with a love for learning.
Theres a lot of time-ller work, and a heavy focus on grades which is sort of
unavoidable, I suppose, which detracts from intellectual curiosity. In some
classes you have to learn what you just have to put down to get the grade,
as opposed to what you can actually get out of the assignment, or what you
want to get out of it, and how you can take things further.
CIS is very much classroom bound, and that denitely takes away from
that aim. You just feel that things are for the classroom, stay in the class-
room and dont really have any connection with the outside world.
CIS is very academically focused, so things like sports and music tend to
get overlooked. Theres an aspect of not-valuing things outside of academics.
Also, a lot of the time, youre encouraged to go back to academics and to
leave personal and social things for outside of school. Most of the time,
things like CHOICES really dont seem worthwhile. You dont really get
anything out of them.
Ive been here since Reception, so thats quite a long time. Has it
changed? Theres been a lot of development, as in physically building new
buildings, putting new technology. As an environment, Im not sure it
has changed. It has always felt the same as me, other than buildings and
the eld, I havent noticed much change in the atmosphere. Recently, the
changes with the spirit squad and the Honor Code, and the idea of trying
to build community spirit, it has been a big change for me, and Im not sure
if its positive or not. Its a very dierent approach to school. Everyone
is pretty proud and happy to be at CIS, but the idea of making that more
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public and visible in the form of having a mascot, having a cheerleading
squad, is a big change.
A lot of these recent initiatives are just not necessary. One-to-one laptop,
especially, just isnt needed. It seems to be more of a gesture for show, to
show that we can do this, were a big modern school, and we can. The
school has been very stable for a long time and now changes are coming
in quicklyI dont know if its because I used to be in Primary and didnt
notice anything, but it seems that there are a lot of changes coming in
at this time, both from the students, like the Student Council, and from
administration and their side. Im not sure what to make of them yet.
Any group needs to work for those, and CIS is denitely included in that.
Going back to the rst question, its part of being an adventurous learner
with a love of learning. We pride ourselves on being an international school,
and if theres no dialogue going between dierent people, then nothing really
comes out of that. From a student perspective, there has to be that dialogue
going on if we want to learn.
Its important for any institution to have honesty and dialogue so that ev-
eryone knows whats going on. The academic focus means that often theres
not much dialogue about anything. Everyone does their work by themselves,
and gets that done, but theres not much dialogue between studentsoften
theres more dialogue between teachers and students than among students.
Also, with the changes coming in recently, there hasnt been much dialogue
between students and everybody else. There are these big initiatives, but
often we dont know whats going on. We dont know what the purposes are,
and we dont know how its going to aect us. CIS should try to open things
up for discussion. More discussion has to take place about everything, from
important things to more everyday things, to issues in classrooms to how
the school is developing.
Kate is a Year 11 student at CIS.
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Jonathan Chan H} 12
how does it not?
If you look at CIS, you see a lot of top students who get into good
universities and are really intellectuals in their own way. But I dont think
they are really products of CIS. CIS is an extremely exclusive school, and
the pool it chooses from is already really good, so the quality of students
is relatively high compared to other schools. But to say that CIS itself
promotes lifelong curiosity and learning is a stretch. Its partly because the
IB itself is pretty broken as a system the IBMYP system, that is, which
just doesnt work at all.
I do think that CIS has quite a few good teachers, and teachers are very
important to learning. At the same time, we do have some not-so-good
teachers. Its not only the teachers who dampen the curiosity, though. In
general we sometimes get complacent. Its not that easy for a school to be
intellectually stimulating. Personally, I think that if you had access to a
library and went there every day, youd be more stimulated than you would
be here. Teaching quality uctuates between departments, and even within
departments. Sometimes youre stuck with a teacher for a long time. So
for me in the sciences, I was stuck with some teachers who werent that
good, and it dampened my curiosity for a long time. Im really interested in
the sciences, and Im probably going to pursue it at the college level, but I
never really was that curiousI was curious, but it was severely dampened
throughout my MYP career.
It goes back to the rst question about intellectual curiosity. A lot of
peoples personality and how they interact socially is really linked to their
intellectual curiosity. The problem I think with CIS is that, on the one hand,
youve got a lot of inherently good students, extremely talented people in all
these subjects, but there isnt a mix of dierent backgrounds, so in that sense
CIS also fails because even though it attracts top students who themselves
are already intellectual, the lack of dierent backgrounds set the personal
and social education backwards.
That said, Ive heard of schools where the bureaucracy is even stronger.
In the recent years, weve seen some victories for the student body, and I
think that itself is a plus for CIS. As bureaucratic pressure at CIS lessens,
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its going to be better for personal and social development.
I arrived in reception, so Ive been here for 14 years. Ive seen reception,
Ive seen primary, Ive seen secondary. I actually used to quite like CIS,
because when I was younger I used to think a lot of people were almost
infallible. I looked up on a lot of my peers and teachersit was an innocent
perspective. I bought into the image that CIS tries to make. Over time,
Ive seen more of the darker side of CIS. Thats the main thing. Of course
there were many physical changes. I remember CIS looking very dierent
back then.
Id like to see a better-informed use of computer technology in class.
Im a pretty strong advocate for computer science education, especially at
a younger age , around Year 7 or Year 8. CIS could benet a lot from that
if they do it right, and I dont think theyre doing it right as of now. I have
a lot of ideasbut that would be what I would like to change the most.
First of all, the CT program that IB developed is just not good at all.
Programming has to be much more important at a young age. We should
start programming in Years 7 or 8. CT is sort of a joke these days es-
pecially at Year 11 or Year 10 level. The Mac system that a lot of people
didnt likeit has its merits, but in general it didnt really work out as
well. I dont know what I think about the one-to-one laptop program. But
I hear a lot of people say look at them, theyre all just gaming. For me,
a lot of how I learned computer science stu was just at home, gaming ev-
ery day. But I came to use the computer really well. Gaming has a lot
of professional computer sciences these days. Games themselves are a type
of creation that you can only associate with computers. When you play it
every day, you get curious in a lot of dierent things that a computer game
has, and from there its just a really good pathway towards dierent forms
of computer science education. But maybe thats just me, because Im re-
ally interested in computers. Some people could be interested in computers
through the one-to-one laptop system, and some might not. Its a waste
of money, maybebut we shouldnt discard it completely. Some parts or
some forms of that concept deserve merit.
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or another?
Maybe CIS could start one hour later every daythat would be better.
A lot of things boil down to the IBI dont think its the best system in
the world. I dont know of a better system, but many schools, well-regarded
by people I know, dont have the IB or AP but have their own systems.
Jonathan has been at CIS since 1998, and wil l soon be attending the Uni-
versity of California, San Diego.
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Kaitlin Chan H{ 13
how does it not?
To some extent, CIS can blamed for the grades-culture that weve fos-
tered. People often complete work more inclined to be graded highly as
opposed to what theyre personally expressing or responding to the curricu-
lum. But its up to a students personal attitude towards school to decide
whether they want to be truly expressive, or truly gain something from it.
It is possible to go through high school and do well, but not be intellectually
engaged and thinking deeply and considering complexities and alternatives.
I feel like a lifelong love of learning should be fostered independently, in the
sense that its a persons drive. If theyre driven to work hard and study
hard and be really engaged with the topic, theyre gonna have that lifelong
love to learn and discover things. Or they can be apathetic, uninterested,
and I doubt that theyll have lifelong learning. I dont think the school is
responsible for this.
But independent, critical and creativeall those factors are en-
couraged by the school. The CIS curriculum is not entirely textbook-based.
Were usually asked to consider alternatives or to respond to the topic in
a personal ways. When people read the mission statement to me, I might
cringe a little because it sounds just so full of ideals. But those parts you
mentioned seem to be supported by the school.
The methods that CIS uses to promote this do seem sort of standard,
almost like its from a brochurein the sense that it often goes like, join
school teams, be interested in a cause you like, or join the schools art
team. But if people actually engage with the school community, these are
what helps them mature socially and learn about what theyre interested
in doing. Although it may seem cheesy to be encouraging people to do
activities and sign up for things, this approach is what helps CIS students
become well-rounded and holistic. Most CIS students I know do a variety
of things. Theyre usually not solely driven to one thing because they like
to be constantly learning, be constantly creative. CIS does foster a pretty
encouraging atmosphere.
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When youre younger, youre not really aware of the schools adminis-
tration and bureaucracy. So I dont really know how that has changed. But
if you look at the old yearbooks, when CIS was small, it was more concen-
trated on the dual-language learning. It really encouraged the importance of
both English and Chinese, as opposed to either. That was more of the core
philosophy at CIS when I was younger, or when CIS was in its foundation
years. As CIS has expanded, it has become more exclusivenow we have a
reputation as an elite school in Hong Kong, or as a really expensive school.
It has a reputation to maintain. Instead of being represented by our stu-
dents experiences and stories, it feels that were represented more by our
IB results and our rankings. Its become more quantied and numerical.
Its become like a nancial enterprise. More and more I hear about how
people pay to get into CIS. It has become more commercial, as opposed to
learning-sided. Its less emotional than it was before. The CIS atmosphere
has become more of this drive to get to the top and be the best. Its more
numerically competitive in that sense.
As a kind of creative person, when I rst came to CIS I thought that I was
an outcast. I couldnt do anything because art at school was more like you
have to do this. I felt really insecure about the fact that many roles at CIS
were gloried, but the stu I was interested in seemed isolated or strange. I
hope that CIS students in the future will have more opportunities to engage
in the arts. As an artist, I feel like art is really stied at CIS. Its become
more of a yeah, Ill take art because its easy and I can chill. Art is not
really encouraged as something that people can be really passionate about.
A few initiatives student have tried to pitchthat Ive tried to pitchfor
creative ventures at CIS still feel really dreamlike and whimsical as opposed
to something more concrete. Art doesnt necessarily get the school results.
Were not like a track teamwere not going to get people best times. The
school isnt entirely sure what it has to gain by fostering a more encouraging
arts program. But there is so much potential for art to be more of a love at
CIS than a subject.
Sports has developed so much at CIS. We have a mascot. Theres a lot
more team support, a lot more reaching out. CIS teams y everywhere and
do everything. Thats really great, and if we had that program for artists,
that would be awesome.
I would denitely say that these are aspects of CIS which require im-
provementnow, and continually. If you think about all the rules and
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regulations that are continually enforced yet without preliminary student
discussion or backingI would say that CIS really needs to work on this
area. Student nd it dicult to think of themselves in connection to the
rules. Students are interested, but if students had more opportunities to be
engaged in policy-making and the atmosphere at CIS and the restrictions
and rules, then people would feel less like oh, its teachers and administra-
tors and us. The whole school would be working towards a more unied
environment of democratic decision-making.
Even with the one-to-one laptop program, which is supposed to be an
education-based initiative, Ive already seen so many abuses. Students ab-
solutely ignore their teacher. This is not the teachers fault, because its
hard to control a student if they have to use a computer. The school, even
though they kept mentioning the program, just talked about the program
like it was already there. Once it happened, it was just like okay, it hap-
pened. I wasnt even surveyed. I didnt even have an outlet for opinions
I have about face-to-face discussion and the importance of a classroom dis-
cussion environment as opposed to one with laptops. We had a discussion in
Year 11 English, with Ms Parker. We were all talking about how important
it was for us to really engage with each other in this discussion format, how
the class grew together as a whole, and have an environment where everyone
can express their views. Im not saying that laptops kill this wholly. But
laptops do provide this ostracizing environment where everyone is attached
to this entity. There isnt as much of a sense of discussion or ideas in class.
A quote I once heard that has stuck to mewherever you are, you have to
be all there. So if you are somewhere else, you cant really be intellectually
engaged in class. This is especially important for, say, English or History.
or another?
CIS is great in the sense that it has all the resources and facilities to
really empower and equip someone. But at its core, it still needs to work on
transparency.
Kaitlin been at CIS since 1999. Her greatest achievement thus far was
completing Super Mario Brothers II and III (IIIs 8 worlds were solved
within a single week!) She hopes this wil l enable her to absorb Luigis the
Plumber of Justices qualities of agility, strength and heroism. She would
like to extend her thanks to CIS and Kanye West/Daft Punk for making her
work harder, better, faster and stronger.
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Jeremy Chen H'" 15
how does it not?
Having been at CIS since Reception, Ive experienced it fully. This isnt
really an environment that I nd comfort in, that I nd a place where I
can completely express myself. Its rather a place I tolerate. Its almost
like theres this politically correct trend of thinking. People become narrow-
minded in thinking that theyre open-minded. Its one thing to say these
thingsits another to act this way. I believe that CIS has not completely
acted this way.
We have classes like Enrichment, and guest speakers come in. But a lot
of the things CIS tries to teach us are completely one-sided. They dont
actually give us all the facts. Theyre trying to make us believe what they
say. Outside of the classroom, this seems to have really aected the students
here and their way of thinking. It has completely changed them.
A recent examplethe whole KONY thing. Everyone just started get-
ting really into it without realizing what it is, what they were trying to say,
or what they were standing up for. Again, CIS has ended up teaching a
really one-sided method. I dont know if this is actually what they intend
to do. I hope that they will change this some day.
CIS has helped me grown in a way it has not intended to. It has helped
me deal with the more narrow-minded people, or with certain situations. Its
more like theres a correct method of acting a certain way, and Ive learned
the hard way that you have to be that way in order to achieve some sort of
academic success here. Most people who come to CIS are overprotected by
CIS. They arent well-informed. Theyre almost incapable of thinking for
themselves to an extent. They lack a certain exposureeven though CIS is
a really informed place.
Im not sure anything has really changed since Ive arrived. Ive been
dealing with the same people, the same kinds of people in terms of peers and
classmates. As far as teachers go, they have pretty much been the same.
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Sure, there are the exceptional few that might have made an impact. But
not much has changed, really.
I would like students to be given more freedom to think. I feel like
theres some sort of oppression here, where were limited in our freedom
of thought. CIS is trying too hard in being this open school where people
are open-minded that somehow theyve caused the opposite eect where,
again, theres a trend of people saying and believing in whatever is politically
correct without truly understanding it.
They are denitely important. What youre trying to achieve with this
book right here is a good method of approaching this. By introducing a
larger variety of new ideas would already make a big dierence. In practically
doing this, Id say we should change the style in which CIS teaches its
students. CIS seems to have this really good reputation in Hong Kong as
one of the best international schools. A lot of the times I really wonder if
it lives up to this expectation. There is so much in CIS I could criticize
aboutbut the problem is, no-one can actually be bothered to do anything
about it. No-ones willing to do anything, no-ones trying to change this. CIS
doesnt provide the student with enough freedom to approach the learning
process in a way that you might nd better or might want to. Its like you
either follow my way, or you get a really bad grade. Theres no questioning
that. Theres no open discussion to that. Theres no criticizing that. At
times, it becomes really unreasonable.
or another?
At the moment, I feel like CIS is ignoring a lot of its problems. Its
just turning a blind eye. And if this continues, CIS will not maintain its
standards as the good school its expected to be or once may have been. As
far as I know, its overrated. But again, Ive been here since reception, and
I havent really been at any other school.
Jeremy is a Year 10 student at CIS.
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Micah Cook
how does it not?
It does do it in some ways. There are a whole lot of things that give
students the chance and the ability to tap into dierent subjects. We have
some pretty creative teachers, which should develop, in theory, the idea that
students should be lifelong learners. This sort of intellectual curiosity can
certainly be tapped within individual classes.
How its not donetheres a limit to the amount of classes a student
can take. So even if a student was intellectually curious about a subject,
like psychology, its not oered at our school. In general there tends to
be so much emphasis put on grades, by the students, by the parents and
sometimes even by teachers, and that can kill curiosity in some ways. So,
for example, you end up studying for a test instead of looking for a general
idea about whats going on in the world. Im consistently surprised when
I ask CIS students, oh so what do you think about whats happening in
Syria? and they have no idea what Im talking about. There can be an
isolation, as students see the small picture of university as their idea rather
than the large picture of being globally aware.
There are two parts to that issue, if you really want to think about it.
Firstly, how much responsibility does CIS have to do that? And secondly,
how much are they achieving? There are some initiatives that have gone
forth, but part of that responsibility lies with the parents. And how much of
that responsibility lies with the school? In general, education has been push-
ing forward as being more and more school-centered, and that we do need
to have well-rounded students who understand many dierent thingswe
want them to be safe, to be educated, to be diverse, to understand these
ideas.
How much a school is able to do in this area is partly dependent on
culture and partly dependent on how much the parents are allowing. Does
CIS try to do it? Certainly in some aspects they do, and in some aspects
they fail miserably in doing that. How much of that is their responsibility?
Thats another question. We do want social responsibility and we do want
to help them develop as individuals, but how much a student is willing to
develop personally, how much theyre willing to open up to sta, for example,
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is very much individual. Its very hard for a school to force those issues.
I dont think it has changed much, since Ive only been here about eight
months, but I would like in the future for a more organic idea of partic-
ipation among teachers and students. They want to make changes, but
fundamentally its dicult to do that. I dont know where that resistance
comes from. Im not going to say its the administrations fault, because the
administration actually does sometimes support certain ideas. But between
the support and implementation of these ideas, theres a diculty in making
them happen. Im surprised at the number of bureaucratic obstacles you can
have within a school thats only this young25 years! I came from a school
that was 125 years old, and when I came here, Id heard that it would be
relatively easy to make changes, that we still have that ability. But it seems
like weve walked into a certain content, a certain way of presenting things
and a certain way of doing our schedule, which isnt necessarily conducive
to great educational experiences and great learning for our students. But
changing it doesnt seem to be much on the table. Its not that theres a lack
of discussion on how to do that, and what would be best practice it might
be time limits to what we can do. But its just not changing as rapidly as
it could be and not evaluating itself in ways that would be benecial for
students and teachers.
I fundamentally disagree with the view against organic growth of ideas
coming from bottom-up. I dont see the point, because thats exactly what
we do want. In order to foster that, we need to create stronger organizations
for teachers, and stronger organizations for students, for them to be able to
express what they believe. That requires much more active participation,
and more of an active push from students as well as teachers. And I think
its happening. If you look at the new forums set up by Andrew Mumm and
Claire Yeo, youll see that they actually are trying to get teachers to discuss
the controversial topics at CIS.
There is a feeling that theres a lack of voice in what we can actually
do. We have a lot of control over what we can do in our classrooms, but
a lack of voice in where CIS is actually heading. For a school that prides
itself on being on the academic cusp, CIS needs to evaluate itself a little bit
more, and the best way to do this is through their sta, because they have
a variety and wealth of experience that can be a huge benet to CIS if given
the opportunity.
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And I think the students as wellthey come from diverse views, diverse
backgrounds, with a lot of dierent ideas that are oated around, and they
generally have a desire to make an impact and lead policy. And they see
how these policies are directly implemented for them. So, if we institute
policy without allowing student feedback, without an evaluation of whether
it works or not, if we dont do pilot programs more often at dierent grade
levels, receiving not only teacher but also student feedback, how are we going
to grow as as an institution?
Micah has been at CIS for what seems like more than a year. His many
accomplishments include touching his toes, speaking Spanish to people that
dont understand him, and sleeping eight hours on weekends.
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James Dunlap
how does it not?
I believe in general it does. No institution is perfect, but in our experi-
ence many of their teachers at CIS have successfully encouraged this, and
the leadership, notably Dr. Faunce, is committed to it. In the case of our
children (Isaac and Chloe), the results have been much as I have hoped, and
they both have these values. Of course thats not all CISs doing: my wife
and I have a lot to do with it, and so do friends (theirs and ours). Last but
not least they themselves have decided what kind of people they want to
become and to be.
I think here too CIS has largely succeeded. Our kids have had many pos-
itive and educational experiences not just academically but also personally
and socially. Our kids have made friends with many ne people (includ-
ing yourselves!), and school activities (in their case particularly music) have
been a big thing for them.
I might add that positive here doesnt just mean experiences which
are pleasant and fun at the time, it can also include things which werent
much fun and were dicult to deal with (life will always have its share of
those), but from which you learn and grow. Our kids have had those, too,
and people at the school (teachers, sta or their friends and fellow students)
contributed to the positive outcome.
One concern I have always had is that the great majority of CIS students
are from pretty privileged backgrounds, so the school social environment is
a bit of a bubble in which they mostly pick up values and a sense of what is
normal in terms of living standards and daily realities which is pretty far
up in the clouds, but the students themselves may not realize that and tend
to take it all for granted. For that I dont blame the students: its human
nature to regard what you are used to, your own experience, as normal.
And the school cant do too much about it other than try to expose students
to some out-of-bubble experiences, e.g. the project weeks and community
and service requirements, but those have their limitations.
I went to public schools in Canada as a kid where I was exposed to a
bigger cross-section of society at school than you lot at CIS are, and my
wife, like most Hong Kongers of her generation, was poor as a kid and
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went to public schools with lots of other poor kids. So were both aware
that CIS is unlike what we experienced as kids in this respect. You cant
really blame CIS for this, but we have always made considerable eorts to
make our children aware, both by talking to them and by giving them other
experiences (both in Hong Kong and on holidays) that the world is a much
bigger, less wealthy and more diverse place than just CIS would make you
think.
I agree that those things too are important and that CIS should aim
to promote them. Again, CIS isnt perfect (nobody is), but on the whole I
think it has done pretty well under this rubric too. There can sometimes
be conict or tension between the many dierent school goals or functions
(e.g. public dialogue / democratic values vs. administrative eciency /
maintenance of rules & discipline), and dierent perceptions of these, such
as in the bag rule debate, of sainted memory, but even that didnt end
too badly.
James is a CIS parent.
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Allen Frost
I just wanted to say that its pretty easy to be critical of CIS. Certainly,
the questions invite a kind of critical response. However, I want to note that
the school was an excellent employer for the three years I was there. I worked
with some really intellectual and passionate colleagues and taught some
incredible, talented, motivated, generous, kind students. Its important to
keep this in mind as you enter this exercise. I guess this is all to say that
I am hesitant about biting the hand that fed me. But I will answer these
questions to the best of my ability.
how does it not?
CIS encourages all those things. It encourages them even in the context
of having to produce the highest scores on all the dierent tests and ex-
amsmoderated, samples, MYP, IB. It would be pretty cynical to say that
CIS encourages intellectual curiosity only as its going to benet students in
MYP or IB assessments. Knowing a lot of the teachers that I worked with,
we both understand that its necessary to have those values or those habits
among students in order to do well academically. But most of the teachers
I worked with really did believe that all those things were really important,
and actively strove to instill those values and attitudes in students.
CIS instills those values in a number of ways. I had the privilege of
attending a couple of weekends away, like with the geography class to Tung
Ping Chau. I got to go with Year 10 onceit was science, geography trip,
where the students were having to produce results but were also given ex-
traordinary freedom to gure out how best to arrive at those conclusions,
how best to complete those assignments.
Certainly in the English department, we were constantly encouraging
students to read wildly, to ask questions, to consider the things we were
reading even though at the end you had to produce a piece of writing that
was supposed to be good. I really do think that in the classroom, a lot of
teachers are really hoping that those critical thinking habits will carry past
the immediate event, which is MYP or IB.
Is CIS successful in inspiring students to a lifelong love of learning? I
dont know. I was wondering when I was reading this whether there have
been any longitudinal studies of CIS students. That is to say, asking students
right when they graduate about certain habits or attitudes towards learning,
and then asking them at the end of their university career, then maybe
a couple of years into a job they have. Its really easy to say, Im an
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independent thinker, I love learning, but how do you really measure
those things? Its really hard. The cynic in me recalls conversations Ive
had with CIS students who have gone on to university and beyond who,
to me dispiritingly, have entered into the business world or nance. Its
like oh, you were such a great artist or mathematician. Its too bad that
these habits are gone, but I cant expect every CIS student to go on to be
an independent painter and activist, or writer, or English teacher. Its a
measure of the trust that CIS places on its studentsthat hopefully the
values it tries to teach will in fact will out. That is to say, they will manifest
themselves.
With all those glittering generalities about curiosity, independent think-
ing, being creative, its important to remember as well that CIS is a fairly
young school. It was created to serve a very certain need students in
Hong Kong who want to get the kind of education in a Western model.
Certainly the International Baccalaureate, like it or not, is a Western model
of education. They want to get those skills to get into the universities of
their choice, but also they want to engage with Mainland China. They want
to be able to speak Chinese and to be part of that culture. So there is a
kind of outcome CIS wants for its students. To demand that students at
CIS both fulll all those obligations out of a very specic place and time
and to have all of these glorious ideals of about curiosity and independent
thinkingwhich remind me of the Athens of Socrates timemaybe thats
a pretty tall order. I generally think its going on at this school, and I hope
that it is reected in its students even after they leave.
To me, the students at CIS were incredibly social. The school very
much provided that space for socializing. I think of the dozens of trips that
students are able to takeboth academic and more social events. Sports
teams, arts ensembles, clubs, activitiesit seems that this school is really
a place where students were not only learning in the classroom but also
developing friends and thats borne out by students who have gone on to
university. Their CIS friends are the closest friends they have. Youve asked
about the CIS bubble. Yeah, theres a CIS bubble. Its weird that a lot of
CIS students seem to stick together even once they go to university far far
away, but perhaps thats a testament to the really close bond that they form
at CIS. In that sense, it absolutely succeeds in creating a space for healthy
and holistic development.
One downside would be the work pressure. I knew a lot of students who
got burnt out on the work they had to dopages of pages of writing that
were required. I dont know if that ever manifested itself in detrimental
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personal behavior. It doesnt seem like that was too much of a problem.
I really dont see many places where CIS fails in that sense. I really do
think its a healthy and holistic place. Sure, people were spending their
entire nights working on projects and not sleeping. Thats not goodbut in
general, I think students leave the school having been very grateful that they
spent their time there. They dont resent that kind of academic pressure.
And, if anything, perhaps this is a sad factthe academic pressure they felt
in high school sets them up very well for a university setting.
How would you like CIS to change in the future?
Thats quite a big question. What I sense from recent students and those
of you who are putting this volume together is a movement which is to say
that okay, this school is a place where largely people with a lot of money
can go, theyre smart, they work hard, but its not cheap, and because of
that theres an expectation for alumni to succeed in ways that are measured
often times nancially. What I wonder is, should the school continue to
cost so much? If its not going to cost so much and open itself to people
who couldnt aord it otherwise, where is that money going to come from?
Could it maintain its prestige? Youre really seeing this clash between the
pure academic values that an elite school would oer, and the democratic
pressures to open itself up to be more meritocratic, which is going on in a
lot of places in the world. It will be a tough decision. Im not sure what the
powers-that-be have to say about this.
Would I change much? No. More English lessons, for sure. Were
cramming to get those in. Having left the environment, I can see all the
good that goes on there. The one thing I would change, or add, would be
more encouragement to students after they leave CIS to come back to Hong
Kong or stay elsewhere in the world and think really seriously about the
type of education they received at CISin relation to China, in relation to
the United States, in relation to Europe, and to really think about what it
meant to have that education. The students at CIS are equipped with the
resources, nancial, intellectual, social, linguistic, to be searingly intelligent
critics of the world we live in today. I would hope that students at CIS leave
not only with their IB diplomas, but also with the sense that they really are
launching into a world that they can master and change for the better.
Allen taught English at CIS from 2005 to 2008. He is now a graduate student
at Stanford University.
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Vera Lummis ( 14
how does it not?
I feel like CIS used to do it more in Years 7 to 9. As Ive gotten older,
education on the person as a whole and everything outside of academics has
disappeared. And our school does really little on activities that involve all
year groups. Outside of the Human Rights group and other student groups,
our school needs to have more programs that create curiosity towards other
cultures. They try to do this in CHOICES but it doesnt work. If they want
to do that, they need more speakers. They need to talk more about global
issues in CHOICES. All we do is discussion without our own groups, so we
dont really get any new ideas from CHOICES. The main thing is that the
school needs to have at least whole-secondary programs and initiatives.
In times like Project Week, the most obvious development comes in. But
again, our school needs to spend less time in class and give us more free time
to pursue other interests. If youre very involved co-curricular, you start to
get really busy because you have to use all this outside-of-school time to do
these projects and organize those activities. The school should give us time
specically to do that, maybe one day of the week when we dont have last
period and thats when all the groups can have their meetings and students
can talk to teachers. Boarding schools have set times for students to ask
teachers questions but we dont here. I think its important to have more
important outside of CIS come here. Its getting better, thoughthere are
more speakers, like Anson Chan and others who come.
In general, I feel like I learn more from my peers than from the school.
But I guess thats natural. Through Year 13stheyre the ones who inspire
younger people. As in, younger people go to the charity groups Year 13s
make, and it sort of follows that pathbut maybe not so much from the
school. And I dont know whether they can do that through teachers or
through activities.
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The spirit thing has denitely improved. With the celebration of the
25th anniversary, the school was suddenly so proud and happy for a little
bit. Also, I feel like Dr Faunce is starting to look at long term goals, and
hes trying to work towards those goals. In his school circulars, he talks
about CIS in the long term, though maybe some of what hes doing right
now doesnt necessarily point to that. All these new initiatives, like nancial
aid, are starting to pop up and you can tell that the school is denitely on
a path. There are a lot of students who want to participate and help, so
thats good. Its grown I dont know, though, in terms of the voices of
students. I dont know how student voice has grown. This years student
council is doing really well, theyre fostering dialogue between school and
students more, way more than in the past years, but I dont know if, in
terms of the say students have in how the school is run, CIS has grown.
Vera is a Year 11 student at CIS.
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Brian Kern
how does it not?
I have to say, rst of all, that Ive seen very few schools that really seem
to take their mission statement that seriously, in terms of looking to realize
and implement it.
Does this place inspire intellectual curiosity? I like to think it does, in
parts. I certainly think certain teachers do, and I certainly think certain
students do. I dont nd it to be a school that, as a school, does that. I
dont nd it to be a school that really takes ideas very seriously. I think its
a school that has a great urge to control. And you see this in the public
discourse. If you take assemblies, one of the things that surprised me when
I came to CIS was that you have very irregular assemblies, and when you
do, they are invariably to, its a ritual, to celebrate Chinese New Year, or
the Holiday season in December. And theyre highly scripted. So the school
does very few things that encourage students, or for that matter facultys,
intellectual curiosity as an institution.
Another school I worked at had what were called Global Concerns Day,
which happened ve times a year. Those were days on which there were no
classes, and you focused on a particular global concern, whether it be poverty
or activism. I thought those days were good in terms of focusing on a global
concern, but I thought they were good because they encouraged people to
develop curiosity for things and use their intellect. Often times, classroom
activities can seem somewhat articial and somewhat divorced from the
real world out there. I think its good for a school as an institution to
have a public discourse where students are doing those sorts of things as
part of the general schedule.
I dont see how the school is doing this in an intentional way in the
classroom, either. Weve got this thing called collaborative planning time,
which was supposedly started, I understand, to encourage teachers to plan
and work collaboratively. But the whole thing is prescribed from on high.
So time after time after time, were given certain things we have to do by
the school and told to do them. I nd that soul-deadening. That, to me,
would be a perfect space to encourage the intellectual curiosity of teachers.
And yet it doesnt get done. Its a purely bureaucratic event. If youre not
encouraging the intellectual curiosity of teachers, then what do you expect
them to do in the classroom? Of course, what results is that teachers who are
intellectually curious inspire that in students, and teachers who for whatever
reason may not be as much tend not to.
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At the end of the day, one of the huge challenges I nd this school faces,
like any institution of a certain size, it nds that it has administrative and
bureaucratic prerogatives. In other words, youve got to get things done,
youve got to make the school run, youve got to schedules for the school
buses, all that stu that has to be done. And the problem is those things take
over, and all this stu about intellectual curiosity becomes de-prioritized.
At the end of the day, I think its because the school has leaders that dont
emphasize those things enough and dont listen to students and teachers
enough when students and teachers take initiative that might help with
that.
What does healthy and holistic development mean? Im not sure Im
a very good person to ask this question, because I dont have as much
experience in these areas at CIS. I can tell you a few things. One is that Ive
not been at a school where I have such distant relationships with students
as I do in CIS. Thats not across the board. I have good relationships with
many students, but I nd the relationships here to be more distant. I nd
students probably needing teachers less than they do at other schools, and
thinking of teachers less as the sorts of people they would go to with any but
academic problems. I miss a bit of that engagement. Im not a homeroom
teacher, and Ive never been asked by the school or the pastoral oce to give
my input. At my last school, I had a group of ten advisees that I followed.
I really enjoyed that, and I found it really eective. The adviser was the
go-to person if the advisee had academic problems or other sorts of problems
outside academics.
When I came here, I was very confused about how the system worked. I
nd that, again, you have homeroom teachers who seem to mostly be used
for administrative purposes, and nd that theres not the time or culture
for focusing more on the support of people. I dont think Ive got a lot of
experience there, and from my perspective, Im wondering how successful
the school is in that area.
or another?
Where to beginI perceive CIS to be a school with a lot of resources,
sometimes I think obscenely many resources. The last schools I were at
before I came to CIS were literally started under mango trees in Southern
Sudan. They started even before they had buildings for schools. Quite
often, the students were involved in constructing the school. I nd the
income inequality that you see in Hong Kong that CIS is complicit very
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deeply disturbing. I think its part of an unfair society, and in Hong Kong
I spent a lot of time with people who are on the other end of that income
inequality, so I see what income inequality for those people. That makes
it a little bit dicult to come to CIS every day and see what people here
have. I nd it even more dicult because, with so many resources, comes a
great deal of responsibility. Im not so sure CIS as an institution takes that
responsibility seriously, and Im not so sure it helps students here understand
what that responsibility means. CIS sits up on top of Braemar Hill, and in
so many ways I nd that symbolic of this school. Its a school in the clouds,
and I nd that a pity because it could be so much more than that with the
resources that it has.
The other thing is that, not only does it have a lot of resources, but it
lacks decision-making processes and structures that are inclusive and allow
people at CIS to take part in decisions that have to do with how CIS pri-
oritizes spending its resources. Coming from the perspective I do to CIS, I
thought I had a lot of things to contribute here, and over my three years
here Ive become more and more disappointed that it seems that theres no
way to contribute those things. And for me personally, thats a bit of a
bummer. But it also has to do with feeling that a lot of these things are
things that dont exist at CIS now and would be very useful to the education
here.
If I could say I have one hope for CIS, it would be that it would develop a
culture in which the need for clear decision-making structures was recognized
so that all the great ideas and initiatives here can actually be judged and
discussed and debated. It has to do with that lack of public discourse I was
talking about. On so few occasions here have I been in meetings with the
faculty where we were really talking about real things and important things
that would lead to some kind of conclusion, some kind of decision. In a
way, what happens is that this school has so much money it just doesnt
know what to do with it, and it doesnt allow priorities to be discussed and
debated, and the result is youve got very few people making decisions that
have large implications for the school as a whole. And those decisions are
not well considered. Many of them are ones with big capital outlays, and I
think to myself, it can only be a school thats so wealthy that doesnt need
to think so much about whether the money it puts on things is being used
wisely and is going to achieve the objectives it sets out to, that would invest
so much in such programs that were decided by very few people and often
not even the ones who are the educational experts at the school, which I
think the faculty are.
At the end of the day, I would expect a school like CIS to be a much
more vibrant and with-it place than it is. It seems that in many ways, its
quite content with appearances and, as long as its churning out students
year after year with certain IB grades, it can consider itself successful. I
think thats a bit of a pity, among other reasons, because there are a lot
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of great teachers and a lot of great students, and the school doesnt have
ways into tapping into that energy consistently and eectively. It leaves the
school a worse place than it could be.
Brian is an English teacher, and has been at CIS since 2009.
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Kolleen Ku }. 12
how does it not?
Teachers and, certainly, students try themselves to embody this mission
statement. But as always, the school can do more to promote this indepen-
dent curiosity by focusing less on grades and more on creativity and true
intellectual engagement.
Its really up to individual classes and teachers, and the way theyre
taught. Also, intellectual engagement is a question that spans beyond school
and into the individuals interest, so its hard to purely judge how the school
as an entity contributes to that when there are so many factors at play. For
example, the school is good in that it has so many art resourcesthe art
room, art curriculum. Just speaking from personal experience, these are
pretty excellent. There are always school plays, school musicals, and the
lm labs great. These are all successes of this school, particularly in terms
of sta, who I know are all really dedicated and engaged.
The establishment of the CIS Writing Center has led to focus on the prob-
lems of extra tutoring, in that tutoring often isnt inspiring but rather like
cram sessions of facts and details, even with external copy editing. The Writ-
ing Center is great in that it provides peer-to-peer advice and does things
at a much more fundamental levellike teaching grammar and structure
rather than just editing peoples grammar.
One of the most pressing issues that has been recently brought up is
the lack of LGBT programming in our schooladditionally, the suppression
of it. This is really sad for a school that such great Pastoral care, where
theres so much emphasis is placed on making CHOCIES and Enrichment
work, when such a huge population of the CIS community is being ignored.
Thats a huge failing on the schools part, and should be remedied as soon
as possible.
A lot of new policies have been implementedsome to no avail, like the
bag rule. Of course, theres now a China Center. Im not really sure how it
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has changed, considering that I had a really dierent position in this school
when I was in Year 7 as to I do now. I feel personally much more engaged
now than I was before. I dont know if this is a change or just me realizing
more.
But there is denitely a lack of direct routes for students to engage with
faculty and administration. For example, I would certainly like to talk to
teachers about the one-to-one laptop program, or academic honesty, or the
China Center, but aside from the Academic Honesty Forum organized by
the Student Council, there havent been any ocial venues to do so. This
is a big change, in that there are so many policies being implemented but
still no direct method to contribute. Id like more interaction and direct
representation for students, and teachers too.
Denitely. The CIS community is great in that were all really engaged
and passionate about making CIS a better place, which is why there is
already so much discourse. But now Im sensing a disconnect between con-
versations between students and teachersa disconnect between those kinds
of conversation and the higher administration and Board of Governors, who
are ultimately in charge of the big decisions at CIS. To create a more wel-
coming and supportive environment, and to create a CIS that everyone is
proud to be a part of, are really importantthat each and every person at
CIS has a say in the running of the school.
Kol leen has been at CIS since 2005, and wil l soon be attending Columbia
University.
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Yi-Wei Liu (I' 11
how does it not?
The mission statement is worthy of the aspirations of any top-tier school;
it would be dicult to argue that encouraging intellectual curiosity and a
lifelong love of learning is detrimental to students anywhere in any school.
I think CIS tries hard to achieve its mission and succeeds in many ways. The
schools prestigious reputation, students high test scores, and graduates
career successes is objective evidence that CIS is doing something right. As
I hold no expertise in education, I have no specic recommendations to give
to CIS, but I believe the school should continue to look for ways in which it
could better achieve its mission.
I think that any academic institutions primary focus should always be
the healthy academic development of its students. That said, I think CIS
succeeds not only in providing students with an intellectual academic en-
vironment, but also in giving them a vibrant community. During my last
year at CIS, many people argued that CIS didnt have enough school spirit
and pointed to the low attendance of supporters at school sports events.
Yet the close connections that remain between the class of 2011 and the CIS
community as well as the friendships within our graduating class suggest our
eld trips, Project Weeks, inter-house activities and study sessions helped
nurture a real sense of community and school spirit.
CIS has been and needs to continue working towards fullling its respon-
sibility to have public dialogue and honest discourse. A proud school like CIS
has nothing to gain from keeping secrets. CIS can work towards these ideals
by furthering interaction between the administration, sta and students, by
involving parents, students and sta in the schools decision-making.
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or another?
As a student of CIS, I found, or pretended to nd, many faults with
CIS. Only as a graduate can I really appreciate how much it has nurtured
me both academically and socially.
Yi-Wei graduated from CIS in 2011, and now studies at Swarthmore Col lege.
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Holly Mak 07
how does it not?
CIS denitely tries to do it, but critical thinking is dicult as there
seems to be a culture of competition and meekness in the student body
that prevents students from coming out and being the individuals that they
are. This would require a lot of condence, which is sometimes lacking in
our students. Many of them would rather brush things under the carpet.
There is a strong motive to do excel in everything, to be the top student.
The mission is well-intentioned, but the school does not foster that entirely.
However, I notice there is a dierence between my generation and your
generation: todays students seem to be more outspoken and are involved
in a huge range of things. The fact that you guys are writing this book is a
testament to how you are distancing yourselves from what is normal.
This is a tricky question. Im completely ambivalent. CIS kids are really
driven to become successful, and expectations from parents and the school
reinforces this. The school oers a lot of opportunities and CIS kids are well-
known to be involved in many things, but real interest and true passion are
hard to foster here. Students are more concerned with CVs (community
service, charity work). Ive read many personal statement drafts recently
and theyre impressive, painting images of perfect individuals in terms of
academics and extra-curricular activities. This risks being generic in persona
and identity. Also, a lot of young kids at CIS always look very tired. They
are so hardworking, sometimes unhealthily so. It can be detrimental when
grades become a measurement of self-worth.
As you know, Im an alumnus and I graduated in 2007. Four to ve years
on, I feel like CISs really expanded and developed its name/brand. Teachers
have become younger and I suppose Im a testament to this. Its exciting.
The technology here has changed much, with all these huge screens, Mac
PCs in the multimedia room, and whatnot. The one-on-one laptop program
is another instance of technological change, and Im again ambivalent about
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it. I recognize that technology is a force to be reckoned with and will be
prevalent in many years to come, but I dont think its a good idea to give
it to kids so young when they are at critical ages to develop social skills.
Its certainly hard to navigate that with a laptop sprung on you. I dont
think students are aware of why they are given these machines. I think that
perhaps students in Years 10-11 should get the laptops rst. Just some small
details: Ive noticed that the attention of the Year 7s and 8s Im teaching is
shifting a lot more, which makes critical thinking a challenge. The other day
I was teaching kids to write limericks, and saw a girl type nd words that
rhyme with Spainexactly what I just asked them to do-into the Google
search engine. Its such an impulsive thing to do to ask for an immediate
answer without thinking rst. The results are more important than the
process of inquiry. This happens on a day-to-day basis and not just in the
classroom, as students use the computer at school and at home day and
night. This is particularly problematic in the study of English, in which
quiet meditation without mediated assistance is key. Its not like it must
dominate the learning. I often feel a bit uneasy in the classroom as I feel
like Im in a competition with the laptop. Students automatically prefer to
pay attention to the screens. There is this rabbit hole that leads them to
whatever they try to nd. I nd that nowadays I have to reiterate a lot
more. Its quite infuriating. Im also worried about students health: their
eyesight and posture. But of course, technology is a very useful tool when
used appropriately.
I would like to see more open communication. There is some disconnect
between teachers and students as well as between teachers and administra-
tors. Using the one-on-one laptop as an example again, no extended discus-
sion on whether the benets outweigh the disadvantages were undertaken.
More of teachers inputs should be included as it aects their day-to-day
life. Openness is lacking, and CIS could denitely improve in this area.
Also, in a perfect world there would be less an emphasis on grades and
assessments. Students always ask whether they are graded on this task or
not. Kids at their ages are supposed to be boundless in their curiosity, and
too much focus on grades is stunting that. But I recognize numbers are
a common language that teachers need to use. I nd it troubling that I
sometimes think: this student is a 5, and that student is a 6. There should
be more emphasis just on learning in the future. One more thing: the way
Project Week is organized. The way students choose which trip to join
seems they are just ipping through a catalogue. I believe many of them go
on the trips with an Im-an-international-school-student- so-Im-entitled-to-
this-opportunity kind of mentality. Its like privileged individuals visiting
places of the underprivileged. I think the school could invite more ideas of
students to enhance real engagement. This doesnt mean going to places
more exotic; it could be just making change in Hong Kongs local commu-
nity.
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There should really be a space or a platform for the voices of students.
The Student Council is one such platform, and students are becoming more
proactive these days. More opportunities should also be given to teachers
to communicate with the administration. Just meeting once a week for 15
minutes, and mostly just for announcements, is not enough. There should
be more opportunities to discuss things. We dont necessarily need to have
solutions, but just an atmosphere of openness so that you know you wont
get into trouble with Big Brother. As a student I just wanted to get on with
my things and get out of CIS. Look where I am now! Now senior students
are dierent; they seem to care a lot more.
Hol ly is a member of the Class of 2007 at CIS. Her passion for literature
led her to pursue a degree in English and Film at Kings Col lege London,
and a Masters in Film at the University of Warwick. Since then, she has
returned to her alma mater to teach. Her favorite memories from her time
at CIS include MC-ing the Christmas concert in Year 2, and dressing up as
Sailor Moon for the Studio 54 alumni party.
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Martin Matsui
My rst contact with CIS took place ten years ago when I enrolled my
daughter Madeleine in Year 3. That was ve years after Hong Kong had
reverted to its motherland. Since that time both CIS and the people of Hong
Kong have changed and my written reection dwells upon their common
evolution.
We have seen many physical changes in both our school and Hong Kong.
New buildings have arisen and the population of city has increased. The
students literally have grown.
The aspirations of Hong Kong people have also evolved: their expec-
tations about the governance of their city have grown. This weekend will
mark the third time a small-circle will pick our next chief executive. Since
the departure of the British, Hong Kong people to an increasing degree want
to have a say in how their government is selected; they want to know more
about their Special Administrative Region. At the same time there are in-
creasing calls for transparency and there is a belief that the government
should be in some way answerable to its citizens.
I think a similar change in mood has taken place in CIS. CIS has be-
come a larger institution with more sta, students, and facilities. I think
partially in response to these changes as well as the maturation of the idea
of citizenship, parents also want to understand better what is happening to
our school and its management.
Now the subject of governance is complicated and, as we have seen in the
past year, controversial. So in this short reection I propose a much simpler
and easier to achieve objective. I would like to see CIS follow best practices
and carry out the recommendation of the Law Review Commission of Hong
Kong on the topic of disclosure
2
. Let me explain more. Last June the Com-
mission issued a consultation report on charities. Their Recommendation
stated:
(1) Registered charitable organizationsshould be required to le
an auditors report and nancial statements
(3) The auditors report and nancial statements submitted by
charitable organizationsshould be accessible to the public.
So just as the Hong Kong government publishes its detailed nancial state-
ments and budget, CIS parents would have access to CISs nancial state-
2
The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong was established in January 1980. The
Commission considers for reform those aspects of the laws of Hong Kong which are referred
to it by the Secretary for Justice or the Chief Justice. Members of the Commission are
appointed by the Chief Executive of HK SAR.
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ments which for some reason are not available to these interested readers.
(Parents of the English Schools Foundation in Hong Kong already have
access to this information for their schools.) My own view is that the publi-
cation of these statements will eventually become mandatory so CIS could
conform now to accepted best practice for transparency and disclosure. In
short parents standards for CIS have kept pace with the higher expectations
we have set for our Hong Kong society. My proposal would help CIS meet
these rising expectations.
Martin is a CIS parent.
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Glen Morgan ,|
how does it not?
Any school has a mission statement like that, or a philosophy that they
try to teach by or learn by. However, these types of statements are always
very dicult to live up to. At CIS, we do a pretty good job. We try our
best, and thats all we can ever do in trying to meet these things. Often with
mission statements, the aim is set high. But that doesnt mean we shouldnt
do our best to reach that. Because of the curriculum we have, especially in
the MYP where my main teaching is, theres a fair attempt to help kids to
develop their curiosities and learn in that matterto solve problems, gure
things out and therefore be aware of other things.
In terms of being international citizensthats a tricky one. We cant
mark that or grade that. The proof of that comes after our students leave
school, in what they are in the world and how they act in the world. Hope-
fully, if we treat them fairly, if we show them how to learn and that we
enjoy learning ourselves, those values about learning will be infused into the
student. Maybe the student doesnt know it at that stage, but when theyre
25, or 28, they can fall back onto those strategies that weve taught them
at school. Its very hard to measure, and its a subjective thing.
CIS has very attentive students in class. Theyre very disciplined. They
come from disciplined families, have had a lot of tutors. Theyve been
pushed from a young age to study really hard. In some ways, that blunts
intellectual curiosity. Theres a great value placed on achievement that
means results, and that means learning certain information in a certain
timeframe. Creativity is sometimes blunted in those situations. Its a risk.
As a parent or a teacher, we have to be more trusting that results dont
mean everything. If we allow students to be bored, for instance, at dierent
times of their lives, they will actually nd activities to nd in their own lives
and make up games. Its that creativityand the boredom, actually, that
stimulates that ability to be creative. If we teach constantly about content,
then were too result-based.
CIS succeeds fairly well here, but we do have a big risk. Were very
achievement-based, we want kids to get in the best universities, so we some-
times run a ne line with the holistic development. I would like to see a lot
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more kids involved in the Hong Kong Award for Young People and other
activities like that. But often, students arent able to participate at a higher
level because their parents dont want them to be missing school or academic
work. Thats what I mentioned earlier having a little more trust, that if
students are out gaining a more holistic education, they will succeed in the
long run. Its a matter of trust.
It has changed a little bit in that were moving towards a philosophy
of sending Year 10 kids to China for a year. Its an interesting educational
concept. Its not a new concept, but it has incredible potential to change
kids lives and to provide them with an experience for a more holistic educa-
tion. Thats a really big change on our horizon. Schools always change very
slowly. Thats to be expected. Rapid change can sometimes cause problems.
Id like CIS to continue to try and do the little things that a school does
well a little bit better. CIS is a very special school with a lot of kids with
a lot of talent. Sometimes, because of that and also because we have a lot
of special teachers as well, Id like to see us focus more on normal, ordinary,
hard-working teachers and hard-working students. That will show value in
themtheyre the people, particularly the teachers, who make a school run.
Theyre prepared to do the jobs that are not so popular. They are good
school peoplethey like hanging around kids, they like being with kids,
they like taking kids on excursions, and they like kids in general. We can
try to focus on employing people who are those kinds of people rather than
necessarily special people. Special people may be able to do special jobs,
and have special talents, but sometimes they might not want to do more
normal school things. We should be careful with that.
And then Id like to see us keep going with a push to try and maintain
a holistic school. Id like to see a greater emphasis on HKAYP and support
that more. Id like to see us educate the parents more, in terms of getting
involved with CISPTA, getting them to be more aware of the risks of living
in Hong Kongover-tutoring, over-homework-ing, over-sheet-working the
whole time, which dull the creativity in kids. We could do some work there.
We could recruit with a focus in mind for good school people, as Ive said.
Id like to see us start oering scholarships to kids who may be academically
bright but otherwise wouldnt be able to have access to an education like
ours.
Heres a wild ideawe send lots of kids overseas on Project Week, but
I think weve missed the boat a little bit. Theres a lot of stu in Hong
Kong that we dont focus on. Theres huge need here, and we often focus
on our own needs. Id like to see us working on those local issues. We could
actually send teachers to schools that need help and pay the wage. Maybe
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we could send one teacher every year to a foreign school thats really poor.
We could pay their wage to be at that other school.
or another?
Id like to see us build community within the sta. Theres so much
pressure from the top-down to do special things and to do extra jobs that
the sta feel like theyre on a treadmill. They therefore become less engaged
and communicative within themselves, and therefore I dont think they teach
as well. Id like to see us try to build that more, because it would impact
the students. Id like to see us try to encourage the students to focus not
on their own needs but on other peoples needs. For instance, instead of
expecting people to respect us because of something about me, I should just
treat everyone with respect.
For instance, we could go on a CIS picnicstudents and sta together.
We have a day o school and we go on a picnic. The community building
that we do comes from Project Week and camps. I really love those, and
thats part of the reason why I chose CIS. I tried to start up a Project Week
thing at my school in Australia, and we couldnt. When I was looking at
international schools and I saw Project Week and camp week, I saw a school
that valued those things. When I say Id like us to focus on local issues as
well, I still support fully the idea of going away for a week. Maybe we could
have another week when we just work for people in Hong Kong. One of the
risks we have is that mostly our demographic is from very rich families or
very academic families. We dont have a lot of exposure to normal people.
A lot of our kids come from cars with drivers. A lot of our kids have never
been to a public housing estate. They dont have friends who live there.
They dont understand that 60% of Hong Kong lives in public housing, yet
were the 1% at the top. When we run around school getting all upset that
someone doesnt respect us, its sort of hypocritical. I dont know how we
teach that. Its a valuethats the part that Im grappling with myself.
Our students are quite naive in some regards. Its good to be naive, but its
also good to not, because of the naiveness, treat everyone else as lower class.
Everybodys equal, and because of our helpers and aunties doing everything
for us, weve got people who dont know how to sweep up, how to butter
their bread, how to peel their oranges because theyve never had to. They
have a dierent life experience, and that experience can sometimes be selsh.
Glen is a Design Technology teacher and the Head of Year 7, and has been
at CIS since 2007.
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Francis Newman 14
how does it not?
It certainly tries to do this. In many classes, it succeeds to a certain
level. But there is certainly space for improvement. CIS can continue to
inspire this love of learning that its supposed to inspire. Particularly with
this part of the mission statement, it needs to encourage students more. It
needs to encourage them to work and do better than theyve done before.
To give one example, the Personal Project does helpCIS does well
in the PP. It really encourages students to do something they enjoy doing,
something that they really want to do. This helps to inspire love of learning.
But, for example, they could try to make it more focused to a particular
subject. So we dont just specify on one detail, but look at the area around
what were interested in. This would help to inspire a growth of learning.
It succeeds. Its a very diverse place, with lots of dierent opinions,
both from the student body and from the teachers. It really makes for a
welcoming place. When I came in Year 7, there was never any time when I
felt particularly lonely or unhappy. Its an environment where people with
dierent ideas, who have come from dierent backgrounds, are welcomed.
One thing it could work on in this area isalthough we have a diverse
range of students and teachersmaking it even broader. Particularly with
dierent backgroundsnot just countries, but places within countries. It
could also foster more of an enthusiastic attitude to learning more about
other placesand indeed, about the places you come from.
CIS has changed in terms of some of the details. There are many teachers
who have left and many new ones who have come. Some of whom are doing
a very good job, and some who arent as good as their predecessors. On
the whole, its been growing well. The sense of community has continued
to growthe CIS community is very close-knit. People from within the
community really need to, when they change, change with the group. And I
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think the group is changing. The CIS community generally changes for the
better.
CIS has changed in details, but overall as a school, it hasnt changed
dramatically. The mission statement and the way in which classes are held
hasnt changedand thats quite good.
In the future, CIS needs to just continue improving generally. There are
no individual areas which are drastically bad. Having said that, we do need
to work on languages. Chinese need to be taught in a more student-inclusive
and useful way, so that the language can actually be usedwhen people go
o to the China Experience Program, or the China Center later. There
arent really any other changes that need to be made, but just general and
gradual improvement.
There is quite a lot of dialogue between teachers and students. One
area that does need to be worked on is with younger students. There is
a big dierence between the bottom end of the secondary school and the
older students. There needs to be more dialogue between the older students
and younger students, and a more uid transition coming from the younger
into the older years. Between teachers and students, its quite uid. Were
generally quite transparent. We need to make sure this is always true,
because its not always the case. But on the whole, were doing quite well
on that.
or another?
One very important thing is development through the years. Its very
important to remember not to treat each year as a dierent step. Sometimes,
Year 7s to 9s, Year 10s and 11s, and Year 12s and 13s are kind of separated.
There needs to be an easier transition. We need to make the younger years
more included in what the top end of the school does. Its dicult, that issue,
because generally speaking the older students are better at leading either
after school activities or in the classroom. But what might help would be
more leadership opportunities for younger studentsmore events where the
younger students show o what theyve done to the older students, not just
the other way around. As long as the older students respond positively,
which I expect they would, then that could be accomplished.
Francis is a Year 11 student at CIS.
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Kevin Quinn
how does it not?
Probably the only way I could think about this question is locally that
is to say, within classrooms. I would want to suggest that I am sure this
kind of environment is fostered on a school-wide level, but I cant honestly
say that there is any demonstrable existence of ways that CIS wants to
foster that kind of environment beyond putting it in its mission statement.
Thats not to suggest that CIS is not doing that on a larger scale, but the
only way I can answer that question is to think about it locally. Certain
teachers, certainly, and probably the majority of our teachers, because they
are teachers, know that its philosophically and morally what it means to
be a teacher, is that whatever your discipline, you have to also remember
that it extends beyond just the subject that youre teaching, and in fact has
to do with what your students take away philosophically from the subjects
they study. Exposure, for example, to certain kinds of problemswhether
theyre problems raised in literature, in scenarios you can get in economics,
what we study in history and the way we study it, problems in language
that we might study in Chinese, all of those things play a role in how we
can foster a kind of lifelong learning desire in students.
I have to say, again, that though it shouldnt be, my experience at least
has been that that is fostered much more on a local level at CIS.
That seems to be the goal at large. I wouldnt suggest that CIS is failing
in that, but I do think there are some formidable impediments to reaching
that goal. For example, even changing the academic environment so that
its not so focused on numbers is a huge thing to be done with regards to
nurturing an education environment which is academic, which is not to say
performative or based on bottom-line results. If you want people to love
learning for learnings sake, and for the inevitable salutary eects it has
on your personhood, then you cant be obsessed with what a collection of
numbers means to a student. Ive spoken to several teachers about thisfor
example, the MYP doesnt have any space in it for anything other than the
nal product. Things like quality of contribution to a classroom discussion,
and eort, and involvement, and enthusiasm for the subject, are things which
I dont think are negligible and yet the MYP, despite much of its grandiose
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verbiage about its commitment to lifelong learning. If you evaluate students
solely on bottom-line products, thats a conict, philosophically, with the
ethos that you are espousing. There are ways that CIS logistically could abet
this kind of thing rather than just fall in line with the prevailing concerns
about what numbers kids are getting. Some of that is due to ways that
parents feel about this. Theyre small things. What if we didnt publish
numbers in this way? What if we got rid of numbers until the DP program?
What if we allowed students more choices within the DP program to be the
extent that it is possible?
We have to model, as teachers and administrators, this behavior for
students. We cant, for example, be afraid of students who think freely
and openly and elastically about issues, even when we disagree with them.
Because thats part of the educational process. You dont learn to think
by having everyone either agree with you or shutting down because they
disagree with you. We can model how we learn to think creatively and
comprehensively and critically by allowing for those kinds of opportunities,
giving kids more responsibilities, in which they have to use their thinking
to drive outcomes. All of that, I think, contributes to these environments
which we say we want. But Im not sure we always put our money where
our mouth is.
We have very much so a lot of work to do in that regard. I cant be
presumptuous and try to speak about what peoples frames of minds are,
but I can respond to behavior that I see, which suggests to me sometimes
that there is a paranoiac fear of open thought, for whatever reason. I dont
really quite understand it. Maybe the fear that hearing too many voices
is an impediment to getting what you want done, which actually I think
logically is not true. People fall in line with decisions much more willingly
when they feel like theyve been heard. Its much easier you dont agree with
as long as youve had the chance to express what it is that you think about
it. Thats a major area, and frankly, something that runs from the sta to
the students. Its interesting, as an American, because I was told about CIS
before I came here that it was the best school in Hong Kong, and that it was
a very worldly urbane sort of place, and certainly Im used to that. But there
have been several frightening moments in which the school, if not run, but is
often nds itself operating, is frightening similar to what I would expect in
Mainland Chinathat kind of anxiety over a multiplicity of voices, a knee-
jerk reaction to commotion and to unsettlement and disagreement. Critical
thinking inspires in you a willingness to hear people who disagree with you.
I actually sort of enjoy that. What it should do for you is make you either
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reconsider what youre thinking or have something more developed to say
in response to disagreement. But your rst response should never be This
is what we think, we dont want anybody, so therefore dont talk to me
about it. Thats juvenile, to put it plainly. Educational institutions have
a responsibility not to be that way. As it relates to CIS, theres a lot to be
developed.
Im not a student, so I cant speak for students. But I do know students
whom I talk to a lot, who echo the same sort of sentiment. Im always really
impressed by our students when they collectively start talking about issues
that are important to our school. Thats something we should be proud of,
rather than be suspicious of.
How has CIS changed since you arrived?
I had ideas about how the place would work upon arriving here. I will
say that its not what I expected. There have, though, been moments where
I think, with students, that there have been more opportunities for students
to share their opinions on a number of issues. But its beyond just creating
a space for people to talk. Its really more about what you do once people
have spoken. Theres a way that you can pander to anybodys need to
share their opinions by simply letting people speak, but if you dont actively
engage with what theyve said, its kind of insulting. Its like Now theyve
gotten to say something, now we can move on. I dont know if I see any
improvements markedly in that aspect.
or another?
My main feeling about this place has to do with the fact that I dont think
CIS is capitalizing on the immense opportunities it has to really be a leader,
certainly in the East, in Asia, in China. To really stand out, and really be
innovative and be on the forefront, this school doesnt have to run people
might expect it to. I try, for example, to have my classes to be like that,
and I feel like it would be a very dierent place if students felt enfranchised
like that all the time in that way, and if our sta felt enfranchised in that
way all the time.
Kevin joined the CIS English department in 2010 having come from a rather
bohemian life in New York and stil l hasnt gotten used to the humidity.
Nevertheless, he is stil l quite happy in Hong Kong. When not eating poutine
in LKF, he is most happy reading and writing.
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Su-Mei Thompson
how does it not?
Overall, CIS does a good job of encouraging intellectual curiosity and in-
dependent, critical and creative thinking. Prominent recent manifestations
of this include last terms Year 2 project celebrating festivals from around
the world to Mr Comers inspired and inspiring Primary poetry drive. The
Year 2 project required each student to select, research and present on the
historical, religious and cultural signicance of an international festival. By
all accounts, the projects were thoughtfully and thoroughly researched, the
accompanying materials were colorful and creative, and the bilingual pre-
sentations were condent and motivated by a generous spirit of peer to peer
knowledge transfer.
In addition, I was privileged to be an advisor to the Year 13 organizers
of TEDxYouth@CIS in December which saw parents, teachers and mostly
students come together and deliver a series of inspiring monologues on Tech-
nology, Entertainment and Design and ideas worth sharing. The event was
a moving celebration of determined leadership on the part of the organizers
(Year 13s Denise Wong and Ben Chasnov), individual courage on the part
of the presenters, tremendous teamwork on the part of the production vol-
unteers, and generous appreciation by the enthusiastic audience of parents,
teachers, siblings and fellow students.
While CISs sports and performing arts facilities could be further en-
hanced, I really commend the school for its eorts to celebrate individual
and group achievements in music and sports.
From the thrilling spectacle of Primary Sports Day to excellent school
productions like Balzac and The Little Seamstress to The Emperors Nightin-
gale, CIS scores highly in terms of setting a high bar for non-academic as
well as academic achievements. Both Balzac and The Emperors Nightin-
gale were impressive in their presentation of hard hitting themes to do with
censorship, loss of freedom, materialism, human frailty and death. Sepa-
rately, the Schools excellent Learn to Swim program has helped both our
daughters metamorphose from stubborn landlubbers to condent and happy
swimmers.
In addition, CISPTA has been trying to do its part with a revamped
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Speaker Events series that over the last 18 months has invited outspoken
commentators like Emily Al and Anson Chan to speak to CIS parents, teach-
ers and students on democracy and governance in HK.
We have only been part of the School for the last three years. In that
time, there have been at least two very striking developments:
The successful launch of the Annual Fund and the IT enabled learn-
ing it has facilitated especially for primary. As a non-native speaking
Mandarin family, we really appreciate the recent emphasis on self-
motivated Chinese learning through a dazzling array of online plat-
forms like Quizlet, Pleco and Soundcloud.
The development of the Schools plans for the CCC: Love it or hate
it, the CCC is an innovative feature which further burnishes CISs
credentials as a pioneering institution for bilingual learning.
or another?
The CIS Annual Fair is a beacon of the wonderful things we can achieve
we all pull together as a community.
CIS has more potential to leverage the parent cohort for real world
expertise and seless service.
Su-Mei is a CIS parent.
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Darren Tong J"` 16
how does it not?
Certainly, CIS devotes a lot of resources in the name of achieving this
goal. We have the Annual Fund, thats been allocated to many such ar-
eas as teaching excellence and technology, particularly the one-to-one pro-
gram. Whether it has achieved to inspire students to a lifelong love of
learningthats another story.
CIS really needs to focus on building the relationship between grades
and the actual work they do. Sometimes, according to IB rubrics, things
are marked very much according to the rubric. Some who have put a lot
of eort, or who actually understand the rubric but didnt follow the rubric
letter-to-letter, do not achieve very high. There needs to be more exibility
when it comes to grading. This way, students can be inspired to think and
learn more, rather than just think about technicalities and achieve grades.
Teachers should be allowed to give students personal assessments rather
than following strict rubric. This is what CIS could do to inspire lifelong
learning besides spending lots of money on laptops and other things.
If you look at the dierent programs set in place by the school, like
CHOICES, enrichment and homeroom teacher support, they aim to inform
students on social choices, health choices and personal choices. On whether
its being successful. In my experiences, CHOICES has not really been
successful. Beyond LEAP coming in and intimidating us with facts, and
not really reaching out to the core of the issue or the hearts of the students,
the impression students have gotten from CHOICES dont greatly have an
aect. Theyre just fun to mess around in.
It becomes desensitization, I think. Once you have too much of it, not
much happens on enforcement level or a personal level, when teachers talk to
students face-to-face on incidents like disciplinary procedures, for example.
Without this to back it up and just excessive CHOICES sessions, it becomes
less eective. There should be less CHOICES sessions and more focus on
building the teacher-student relationship. Teachers should not just academic
teachers and punishers, but someone who actually helps students and not
create a culture of students versus teachers. There are a lot of things that can
be done to improve this. Teachers can rst of all not shout at students while
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they scold them. Disciplinary procedures is a large factor. Not necessarily
the written procedures, though Im not sure if theyve written anything
down. Its the character of the current administration, the character of
the current teachers that collaborate to create a hostile environment. If
somebody is in trouble, they pull you out of class, they divide you from
other people who were accused of the same thing. The impression you get is
that the purpose of any disciplinary procedure is like that of a prosecutor,
but thats not how it should be the case, the teacher should be there to help
the student, Ive experienced this myself in many cases. They actually use
tactics with intent to draw out more information or deliberately cause us to
create inconsistencies. This isnt a very good approach, and it distances us
from the teachers.
If you think about it, Im sure there must be some sort of guidelines as
to which rules to follow. But either these are so vague that they dont even
help, or theyre not followed at all. The students dont know what to expect,
because dierent teachers have dierent sets of rules, because they dene it
themselves. A lot could be done to make sure its more uniform. Whether
its to clarify the rules, or even a better approach, to have teachers not to
go their own way and intentionally create a hostile environment.
I arrived in Year 5. I havent been here long enough to see any long-term
change, which we would typically see in changes in teachers and administra-
tion. Most of my years have been spent under the current administration.
What I feel personally is a turn for the worse. Im not sure about the cul-
ture previously, but when I entered secondary school, it was less of a hostile
environment than it is now. Over the past three years, there have been
personal dislike for the administration, and sometimes some people in the
Pastoral oce, because certain incidents and blunders that continue to show
students that teachers have a disconnection with the students or arent in-
tending to help them. If I draw a specic incident, the bag rule, there was
no sense of trust, the administration just blitzed it on the students and
didnt consult the student council, which it was obligated to consult. The
respect for the rules and principles that students have, and the respect for
them as human beings who actually do have good ideas has not been shown
in this administration. Its generally been, oh, we know its not popular,
but we know whats best for you. I think its not a very good approach.
They should build a stronger administration-student and teacher-student
relationship. So, as a change, it has gone for the worse, though Im not sure
what happened in previous years.
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or another?
As a concluding comment, what kind of change Id like to see: not
necessarily a change of personnel, that would enforce the idea of students
versus teachers. If the current people in the administration want to remain
credible and respected by students, they need to take their views seriously.
When they make a rule, they stick by it: they dont enforce it when its just
convenient to them, or when its deemed appropriate. The administration
should build up that sense of relationship and trust.
Darren is a Year 9 student at CIS.
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Denis Tse -A 15
how does it not?
CIS does try to inspire students to a lifelong love of learning. But the
pressure put on students, mostly by parents, repels this aim. Because par-
ents put too much pressure on students to get good grades, the students no
longer learn for knowledge but for getting high marks on test. Once school
is over and there are no more tests and scores to provide motivation, stu-
dents will no longer want to learn anymore, because they have always just
been learning for the sake of marks. But CIS does encourage intellectual
curiosity. For example, in English class, my teacher does not give me an
ocial interpretation of a book or poem, but encourages us to participate in
class debate. He tries to support every one of us, even if our interpretations
are dierent from his. Yet, in History, one of my teachers reminds me of
some parents, because he only teaches what the tests going to be on. When
one of my classmates asked a question, he did not reply because, you dont
need to know that, its not going to be on the test.
CIS nurtures students socially with a wide range of co-curricular activi-
ties, such as rugby, football, orchestra and the Human Rights group. This
is very good for the social life of students, because they get to meet students
outside of class. This broadens their exposure and also develops the student
holistically. These activities not only nurture them academically but also
help bring out other interests of the students.
CHOICES and homeroom sessions are a bit limited. They only teach us
three or four topics per year, and it all repeats. I think Ive only learned
about anger management, stress management and eating disorders, but
there is much more that we can learn about, and I think we can make
much better use of this time.
There was the timetabling change, but I dont really mind about that.
There was the bag rule, which I think was quite nonsensical, because theres
no point not being able to carry your bag into the classroom. In the future,
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Id like CIS to be more exible in their uniform policy, or perhaps give strong
reasons why there is a uniform policy, because when I asked my teacher why
I have to wear proper uniform, my teacher did not give me any reason and
simply said its school rules. The school has to justify the uniform policy
in order for students to accept it.
or another?
CIS has a very good atmosphere compared to other international schools
in Hong Kong. There are no bullies at CIS. Most students are friendly
and nice, and most of them have an underlying love for knowledge. They
also arent too focused on academicsmost of themso thats a good part
of CIS. But there are some areas of improvement for CIS. For example,
the timetable should be more exible. The students should get to have
more say in what classes they take. I dont think Computer Technology or
Design Technology should be mandatory in Year 10. Perhaps they should be
electives. Maybe some other subjects such as World Issues and Philosophy
should be introduced into the school curriculum.
Denis is a Year 10 student at CIS.
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Nico Vallone | 16
how does it not?
CIS denitely is one of the more dedicated schools. We can all see other
schools where students arent actually learning anything, where they openly
disrespect any school policy. I can say that CIS is denitely one-up on those
schools in this way.
Encouraging curiosity and critical thinking is something thats very hard
to do. It requires a more in-depth view of the mind. The MYP is doing
that pretty well. Were genuinely interested in the things were learning
aboutits not just some random stu that has no relevance to us. In
History, for example, we dont study topics that dont aect us. We dont
study the American Revolution as much as we do the Chinese Mandate of
Heaven. Its relevant and lets us relate to it better.
It may just be my personal mentality, but I do like to learn a lot. I
have a list of encyclopedias in my room that I read to get myself to sleep
at night. I cant provide an unbiased view on this. But by exposing us to a
lot of things that make us curious and independent, CIS does help us love
to learn.
The school is a very good, and I like it a lot. It nurtures us well academ-
ically. But on a social level, I have a few qualms. Every school has disci-
plinary procedures when things go wrong and someone needs to be punished.
CIS has a little bit of a bad track record with this. Its mainly because of
what I think is the very vague wording of the Honor Code. Let me read
it to you: As a member of the Chinese International School community, I
commit to act with honesty, responsibility and integrity at all times. I have
read the CIS academic honesty policy and I understand the consequences of
dishonest conduct. I take full responsibility for all my actions in this regard.
I pledge to uphold this Honor Code in my life inside and outside the school.
What we can see immediately is that its very vague. The boundaries be-
tween honorable and dishonorable are not incredibly clear-cut. Theyre hard
to understand. Theres no ne line that you have to be on one side or the
other of. Its an ineective way of dealing with the academic honesty situa-
tion. By requiring students to sign before every single assessment, it begins
to lose its specialness. Although its a safety net, it just becomes less and
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less of something we respect, and more of something that we just sign and
dont understand.
I have a few more concerns. The use of the words responsibility and
integrity is inappropriate in this context. The problem is with the po-
tential abuse. Teachers control the interpretation of these words. One
teachers denition might dier extremely with another teachers interpre-
tation. There will most likely be a lot of unintentional abuse of this rule
because its just so vague. The teachers are using it to force values that
they deem responsible on students. However, this is a minor point. I
dont think its really happening at CIS.
Another part is intentional abuse, which involves sta members delib-
erately manipulating the Mission Statement to suit their own needs. Its
something to watch out for. Making it more explicit and clear-cut would
be a very large improvement in this aspect. I know a friend called Darren.
He was on the Friday Morning News team when there was a big contro-
versy over thatbasically, he came up to me one day and said that theres
this gigantic problem surrounding the broadcast of the Gadda footage and
the Yue Yue footage, both of which were somewhat violent and disturbing.
But they put a disclaimer in front of them. After putting this up, there
were a few complaints from Year 7s to Mr Alexander. He came over to the
Friday Morning News team with Mrs Rossiter, and said a bunch of state-
ments, probably through anger and not thought out as much as would be
idealstatements such as it violated the mission statement, the footage
they had shown was not in normal use, the Friday Morning News teams
was not working very hard, by including a clip of Gaddas death and
the NTCs celebration they were glorifying death. There were other accu-
sations like these that werent entirely thought out or reasoned. The Friday
Morning News team had to write out a reection that they had to hand
in to the secondary oce. What we saw here was an intentional abuse of
the Mission Statement. Someone saw something they didnt like, they in-
terpreted as not acting with responsibility or integrity, and in turn these
people who didnt really do anything wrong had to have a hard-copy note
in their folders. The Friday Morning News team tried to refute all this and
get themselves out of the mud. It was a really long process, but what would
have been a lot better is if the Statement was much clearer with less gray
areas than there are now.
I joined in Year 4 from California. I didnt really see much change from
Year 4 to Year 6, mainly because it was a long time ago and its hazy right
now. But I have seen a lot of improvements in the curriculum. I tend to learn
a lot more, to be more curious in the later years. I wasnt as interested in
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Year 4 to Year 6. This may the schools doing or just my own development.
In Year 7, 8 and 9, we did see a lot of changes in school policy. There
were a few new policies put in, like the bag rule and the Acceptable Usage
of Laptops policy. All of these things came o a well-meaning idealto
improve the CIS academic life and to help us learn. These are well-initiated
and they do help us learn, but I do think that theres a need for greater
transparency. If something major has to be changed, the entire school should
be consulted so they know exactly whats going on and make suggestions to
it.
or another?
CIS is a very nice school. Im very happy to be here. The problems which
I talked about are large problems, but Im glad that CIS has managed to
overcome many of the problems faced by other schools right now. Theyre
managing to take the initiative and launch new programs, such as the one-
to-one laptop program. The laptop program is very nice. It kind of works
with the bag rule, if you know what I mean. A lot of the stu we have to
carry to class are large heavy textbooks or binders or color pencilsthings
that could be done away with if the laptop program was put in place. The
laptops reduce the need for textbooks and for binders. The only time when
we need to be really physical would be in subjects like Art or Math, in
which its hard to write down all the notation on a word processor. The
laptop program gives us with a versatile platform with a variety of dierent
applications for almost all of our classes. It reduces the general weight of our
bagsbut right now, because it hasnt really been implemented, the laptop
is just another thing that we have to carry around. The documents inside
our bags arent as heavy as the laptop.
Nico is a Year 9 student at CIS.
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Claire Yeo
how does it not?
I love the idealism of that statement. Its exactly why Im a teacher.
What is a school? Its people. How would it do this? By having amazing,
interesting, passionate, unusual people who are teaching. The crucial success
of the missions statement depends absolutely on the teachers in an individual
and possibly eccentric way. You need diverse teachers, but also uniformity
in only one senseexcellence. Total intellectual and individual excellence.
Im looking around right now at the people I work with daily. I walk
into that room every morning and I marvel at these amazing people around
me. Ive never worked with such an amazing department. Just like Brian
Mulcahys playthe way he inspires kids with creativity, whimsy and indi-
viduality. It shocks me. Every time I speak with all my colleagues, Im like
my god, theyre so good and interesting.
Its so dicult to assess an institution save through its individuals. I
can start with me. A teachers present and crucial role is modeling behavior
and an approach. I would hope that I try to inspire people by getting them
to feel as passionately as I do about the signicance of literature, about
ideas, about rigorous and critical questioning, about fearlessness, about the
necessity never to self-censor and not to censor other people. Hopefully,
a school as an institution does not drive but follows in the wake of the
teachers and the students. In order to be great, a school has to someone or
people running it. A great school runs itself, through the passion of the
students and teachers. The institution has to ask itselfhow can I help that
happen? Youve got this great ideahow can I help? Its not to obscure,
not to conceal, not to take credit. Its to enable silently.
A school should oer opportunity and space. Again, Brian Mulcahys
plays and Brian Kerns Human Rights Group are enabling, structurally and
personally. These enable student power and develop opinions and explore
aspects of students personalities. The school has transformed with the
Human Rights Group and even the CIS Writing Center. I look around here
and just see so many examplesMr Phan has enabled a whole group of
students to teach each other. You cant be egotistical. Youve really got to be
so humble before other people. As a teacher, youve got to give everyone else
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the credit and be generous and expansive. Its not always possible. But its
really noble and beautiful thingto enable other peopleand it gives great
energy. The students have a lot of opportunitiesset up stu, get money
for it and the freedom to dictate their weeks. With LGBT weekwhile I
dont think it should be as controversial as it is, theyve found a way of
negotiating. Its so energized and really gives you hope.
I arrived here eight or nine years ago. The students are a lot more politi-
cized. Thats so important in Hong Kong especiallylook at our elections.
The kids are a lot more engaged and demanding and cognizant of rights, as
they should benot just passive, but actively questioning and expressing.
This is vigorous and protable in terms of development, personally, socially
and intellectually. This has coincided with the advent of the Human Rights
Group, which I do see as a moment in history made possible. I look at
my Year 12s and 13sIve always loved how the students are so thoughtful
and inspiring for meand just hearing the level of discussion and analy-
sis, and self-criticism and criticism of the world around them, theyre more
demanding about the world they live in.
Womens dayhow extraordinary! Its like this never existed in Hong
Kong. I loved seeing this suddenly, as a huge feminist. Im like oh my god,
I havent even thought about this for years. Seeing these kids provokes and
reminds me that these days come up. They want to live in a space thats
full of debate and criticism and dicult questionsand they actually create
that space. I was shocked when I rst got here. My Year 13s really couldnt
care less about the politics here. I was devastated. Thats really changing
as the Hong Kong situation becomes more intolerable, also reecting a local
groundswell.
or another?
I keep saying to all my friends, I cannot leave this place. I love my
colleagues so much. What is it about our students that they always say
yes? You ask them to do something, to think about something, and they
always will. That is so preciousCIS should just stop and say we have
these amazing students and hopefully, amazing teachers, and be proud
of that. And always refer back to the teachers and students when were
planning things. The school needs to be self-eacing and focus on teachers
and students and their energy. Thats the engine, not the trappings.
Claire is an English teacher, and has been at CIS since 2002.
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School
Bok Wai Yeung 13
how does it not?
The CIS mission statement, for me, is really nothing more than a sign in
front of the school gates and in the rooms. I feel that the actions of the school
so far do not really reect the mission statement. I see in the Human Rights
Group and the Student Council many initiatives which I feel appropriate for
our school setting really being shot down for whatever concerns the school
might have. When it comes to academics, CIS approaches it well. CIS
students do really well in their subjects, and do foster learning, especially
in the Diploma Program, when we select our courses. However, in terms of
student-led initiatives, the school has yet to improve in this sector.
Ill dene this as the development of ones integrity, perhapsmorals and
decisions based on how one feels. We have a CHOICES program towards a
very linear path in terms of progression on their choices in many dierent
areas such as bullying and so on. In terms of developing the self in a holistic
manner, the school lacks in thatits really doing things by the book. Only
issues inside the CHOICES curriculum are dealt with. Outside of academics,
students are often just left alone. They interact with one another without
teacher intervention.
The school also has an approachthey only act on issues when students
report them, rather than actively trying to nd out whats wrong. I see
that, sure, you talk about anti-bullying, you talk about respect, and so on.
However, unless these issues are actually reported, the school doesnt really
do anything about them. If there is a taboo or overwhelming culture in
which certain individuals in a year group are isolated, the school will not
really act on this. They will just sideline it and observe the issue. The
school should be actively encouraging and supporting students, but at the
same time also allow a certain responsibility on the students part.
When it comes to many of the schools messages, in terms of how one
should feel or one should act, it has to work towards a more active role in
cultivating students.
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I rst came to CIS in Year 7, and it was because my previous school
didnt really oer what we viewed as a credible secondary curriculum. When
I rst came in, it was a huge cultural shiftin the sense that students here
were more relaxed. Their lunches were one hour long. Theres a lot more
room for socializing and being with other people here, and for me thats a
huge shift. But comparing now to what the school was like before, I have
to say that much hasnt changed physically, in terms of facilities. However,
in terms of mantra, theres a change in the attitude students have towards
the school. Thats the biggest change so far. Maybe it was because I was
younger, and I didnt really understand the overarching issues of student
and teacher leadership, or the Board of Governors. As Ive progressed,
I feel that students seem to have a much better understanding of whats
going on in the school and the changes being madein policy, for example.
Students are a lot more aware of the happenings in our school, and thats
a positive change as students should be actively participating inside our
schools decision-making and be in the loop about whats going on.
CIS should develop a more student-based approach, instead of teachers
just talking in front of a whiteboard, for example. Teachers should actively
try to suit the students needs in a classroom setting. Students should also be
actively engaged in their learning. A weakness of teachers sometimesand
this is very hard to dois a lack of encouragement to students to work hard
on a subject. In the MYP program, its much more easy to get put o a
subject at a very young age. And after the MYP stage, just never touch it
again. Students may leave school with a very bad understanding of what
the subject really is. A great example is CT, which has a really bad image
in my year. In Year 7 we learned word processing and spreadsheetswe
only realize later that CT is nothing like that. But the damage is already
done. And the people steer o the subject entirelybecause theyre afraid,
and because they think its a waste of time. In cultivating student interest,
thats a huge issue. Teachers shouldnt be afraid to show students what the
subject relay is past the curriculum, to interest students so they will also
give it a try. If a student isnt motivated, its not surprising if they sit in
class and not participate at all.
Another thing, in terms of school rulesthe school should actively un-
derstand and base their policies on the needs of the students, rather than just
coming in with something new and just implementing it. Students should be
consulted. The student body consists of around a thousand students. Since
they are really aected by these rules and policy changes, they should be in
the loop regarding how decisions are made. That needs to change. There
should be a more tolerant behavior towards discussion these with students.
The administration should not be afraid. The generation today is a lot more
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School
liberal and understanding. The school should, instead of just setting things
in stone, always ask students and discuss with them. The heavy sentiment
over the past few years result from forced decisions being made.
or another?
CIS as a whole is a really great experience. I dont mean great as in just
something you see on a reection. For me, its been a really eye-opening
experience, simply because the people I meet here are really culturally di-
verse. Even teachers are culturally diversethis has really impacted the
way I think and the way I interact with people. There are just so many
ideas that ow around in this school. That has been a really big factor in
shaping the person I am today.
Bok Wai has studied in CIS for the past 6 years. He is a rm believer of
the ying spaghetti monster, but is perhaps more known for looking at issues
with deviating views from what is considered commonplace.
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