Community topics
Written by: Zeng Fengting
2021-06-29 19:04
Last update date: 2021-06-29 19:05
The government abolished the "designated schools" policy in 2013 to encourage ethnic minorities to study in mainstream local schools, but the school-related measures have not yet fully kept up.
A Pakistani mother who settled in Hong Kong 12 years ago tried to get her son into a mainstream school, hoping that he could adapt to local life early. However, she encountered various problems and finally decided to help her son transfer to a non-mainstream school to continue his studies.
She lamented that since the school’s classmates and teachers are not familiar with their culture, under the cultural differences, the children are like aliens in it, and it is difficult to blend in.
She hopes that the government can strengthen the training of teachers. In addition to understanding their culture better, it can also actively become a bridge for communication between students of different cultural backgrounds and help promote inclusiveness.
Najma, who is of Pakistani origin and has two sons, settled in Hong Kong 12 years ago.
When she first came to Hong Kong, she was busy finding a school for her son, Gao Xia, who is 3 and a half years old.
Najma came to report for the first time and was unfamiliar with life. Due to the language barrier and the lack of information, he arranged for his son to enroll in a local kindergarten recommended by a friend.
After Gao Xia entered the school, although there were only two ethnic minority students in the school, because the teachers had more experience in dealing with ethnic minority students, Gao Xia was better able to integrate into the school environment at that time, which also laid the foundation for his Cantonese.
Najma, who is of Pakistani origin and has two sons, settled in Hong Kong 12 years ago.
She believes that even if minorities want to enter mainstream schools, the existing information is not circulating, making it difficult for parents to find a suitable school.
(Photo by Zeng Fengting)
Gao Xia's brother was not as lucky as he was. He had a bad memory while studying in a local kindergarten.
Najma recalled that at that time, his younger brother cried and said that he did not want to go to school almost every day.
Najma tried to learn about his learning environment at the school, but was repeatedly rejected by the staff, and she was not allowed to check the class situation in the classroom. "My brother was still young and didn't know how to tell me what happened at school."
When Gao Xia's younger brother (left) was in kindergarten, he had a bad experience, which made Najma worry about letting his son go to the local school.
(Respondents provide pictures)
This experience made Najma worry about letting her elder son Gao Xia enroll in a mainstream elementary school, fearing that the same situation would happen again.
Later, after being introduced by a friend, he chose a primary school with more minority students.
But when talking about the future, Najma worried that her son would not be able to integrate into Hong Kong society in the future, and finally Najma decided to let Gao Xia try to enter a mainstream English middle school.
The opacity of cross-regional school selection information makes it more difficult to move when you are in high school
But the whole process was not as smooth as expected.
When Gao Xia was preparing to enter secondary school, the Najma family needed to move from Sham Shui Po to Sha Tin. After moving to the district, it became more difficult for Najma to grasp the information of the secondary schools in the district. "I feel so confused. The primary school gave me a booklet with a list. But I don’t know how to choose, plus it’s cross-district, and the elementary school teachers don’t know much about the situation in other districts, so I don’t know who I can ask."
When Gao Xia (left) was promoted to secondary school, his family had to move from Sham Shui Po to Sha Tin.
Najma (right) hopes that Gao Xia can enter mainstream schools. However, the lack of information flow has become an obstacle to school selection. In the end, she needs to write to the government agency to find out what schools can choose.
(Photo by Zeng Fengting)
Najma felt very confused during the process of finding a middle school for her son. She tried to search for information on her own, and she also asked some organizations that help minorities, but she also failed to grasp what schools are suitable for Gao Xia to study.
She believes that the English information in the existing schools is too fragmented and opaque, making it impossible for her to start.
She finally chose to write to the government agency for inquiries. At that time, the relevant departments provided the English secondary schools in the two districts for Najma to consider. She then took her son to the two secondary schools to find out.
Unexpectedly, after seeing them, one of them has been trying to dissuade Najma, "The teacher gave me the feeling that I wanted to refuse, and kept telling me for different reasons, saying that Gao Xia was not suitable for their school."
Minority teenagers' personality changes dramatically after entering mainstream schools
In the end, with no other choice, Najma could only choose another suggested secondary school.
The school is very friendly to them and is willing to meet their needs, but the school has no experience in accepting minorities in the past.
Gao Xia became the only and the first minority student in the school.
From a school with more ethnic minorities to an environment full of Chinese faces, Gao Xia, who was only 13 years old at the time, was at a loss as to what to do, and his personality turned from outgoing to taciturn.
What made Najma realize that the problem was that Gao Xia actually took the lunch box she prepared home many times intact.
Even if she asked, her son only used different reasons to excuse him, and refused to tell the real reason.
Gao Xia's grades have also fallen sharply, and she is very worried about her indifference to the originally anticipated fasting month.
"Because we need to eat halal food, I was wondering if the food in the lunch box made other students feel novel, and then kept asking him what it came from, which made him feel bored and chose not to eat to avoid being asked."
To pave the way for a transfer to a cram school was rejected
Najma then reconsidered whether Gao Xia was suitable for studying in a school dominated by locals. Just as she decided to transfer her son to another school, she encountered another difficulty.
Transferring requires a grade of B+ or above in the main subjects, but Gao Xia's grades declined and failed to meet this standard. Najam hoped to find tutoring opportunities for him to improve his grades.
Because of his poor grades, I wanted to go to tuition, but the tuition agency said that he would not accept him because his grades did not meet the standard.
Pakistani mother Najma
However, some tuition agencies refused to accept the tuition because Gao Xia's grades did not meet the standard. "It was because his grades were not good that I wanted to find tutoring, but the tuition agency said that he would not accept it because his grades did not meet the standard."
Najam felt helpless about this. "Maybe they thought it would take more energy to teach Gao Xia, so they said no."
In the end, Najam found the middle school where Gao Xia was enrolled. After his son attended the school, his personality gradually became brighter and his grades returned to the standard.
Urge to train teachers to understand the culture of ethnic minorities
Even though his son is not going well on his way to school, Najam still believes that some mainstream schools are very dedicated to assisting minority students to integrate into the learning environment, but the supporting facilities have not kept up.
She believes that minority students mainly need greater support in language and culture. If schools can strengthen their Chinese ability for minority students, such as adding additional Chinese lessons on the school day before summer vacation, and imitating non-Chinese students in daily school days. In mainstream schools, teaching is divided into classes at the level of students, which is believed to make it easier for them to keep up with the progress of Chinese.
As for culture, she believes that it is particularly important for teachers to understand ethnic minority cultures first. Therefore, she recommends that the Education Bureau assist teachers to receive regular training. She believes that when teachers understand their culture, it will help them to deal with ethnic minority students’ matters. Sensitivity can also drive the entire teaching atmosphere and reduce the isolation of ethnic minority students. "When other students ask ethnic minority students some cultural questions, the teacher can also help answer them."
I went to find the activities of different organizations in the market, but most of them are full. I hope that those community activities can let everyone (different ethnic groups) participate.
Pakistani mother Najma
In addition to expecting the government to increase support, Najam did not give up any opportunity for his son to integrate into Hong Kong after his son transferred to a mainstream school.
She has been actively looking for suitable activities for her son in the community, but because most of the activities have a small number of places and the first-come-first-served basis, it is difficult for her to sign up. "I went to find activities from different organizations in the market, but most of them are full. I hope Those community activities allow everyone (different ethnic groups) to participate."
By chance, Najam got acquainted with the Jockey Club Multicultural World Heart Leadership Program, which gave Gao Xia, who is currently in Form 4, the opportunity to meet Chinese and non-Chinese students from different schools. She believes that through activities can promote Gao Xia’s understanding of different cultures. Have a preliminary understanding to help him integrate into society as soon as possible.
The organization recommends that the school organize activities for different students to participate together
The Jockey Club Multicultural World Heart Leadership Project is organized by the Love Walk Foundation. It aims to allow Chinese and non-Chinese students from different schools to participate in the participation, increase students’ knowledge and practice of cultural IQ, and promote Chinese and non-Chinese youths Know and cooperate with each other.
The plan is to assist them in multiple areas, such as skill development, community participation, international and cultural experience and the promotion of social unity, hoping to help build a multicultural society.
Huang Jinghong, co-founder of the Love Walk Foundation, suggested that schools should set up some related activities to involve teachers, ethnic minorities and local students. For example, let them visit cultural places in person, so that all three parties can have a deep experience and understand each other’s culture. .
(Respondents provide pictures)
Eva Wong, the co-founder of Ai Walker Foundation, has come into contact with many ethnic minorities in the promotion of inclusive culture. She believes that under the current education system, encouraging ethnic minorities to attend mainstream local schools is Good thing, only when different situations arise, there are gaps in the implementation process, which makes it difficult for them to integrate.
Huang Jinghong suggested that schools should organize some related activities to involve teachers, ethnic minorities and local students. For example, let them visit cultural places in person, so that all three parties have a profound experience to understand each other's culture.
In addition, the school can also provide a platform for some ethnic minority students with higher abilities to share their own culture inside/outside the school, such as serving as cultural ambassadors and trying to get them to introduce the school to the outside world during the open day. You can also have teachers in the morning meeting. Under the leadership, use Q&A to form a sharing culture with other students.
Huang Jinghong believes that through the interaction of different activities, the self-confidence and skills of ethnic minority students can be increased, and other people can be exposed to their culture through another channel, laying the foundation for the construction of a culturally inclusive society.
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