Teach Unlimited Breeze (Sept 2014) Bulletins Dream Pursuing Project Celebration and Whole Theatre Performance at Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School On July 2, program mentors organized a closing ceremony of the Dream Pursuing Project (DPP) at Caritas Fanling Chan Chun Ha Secondary School. Five DPP participants, who had received individual coaching in the past few months, shared their learning experience and dreams on stage in front of all F.3-F.5 students. Their efforts and improvements were recognized by rounds of warm applause from the audience. We were also honored to have Gilbert Tam, director of TUF, presenting certificates to all participants. Another highlight of the day was the drama performance “The Sims (模擬人生)” by the Whole Theatre, which TUF had engaged to custom-develop an inspiring program for all TUF partner schools. It was a great show that had inspired many in the audiences. During the crew’s sharing, students were motivated to strive for a better future.
Student Motivated by Genuine Care and Encouragement Cuore
OUR PEOPLE Roger Ng, Ph.D Chairman Tony Wong Vice Chairman MANAGEMENT TEAM Winnie Yip Fong Director of Operations PROGRAM STAFF Chloe Chan Patricia Chan Francesca Chu Addi Chung Fiona Fung Shelly Ku Kevin Lee Michelle Lee Hazel Wong
K was going to repeat Form one. Lying on the desk were an English textbook, some old English notes, and the literature reader Romeo and Juliet. It was a hot Saturday afternoon in July. For the first time, K and I went for a walk outside of the school at his request. He kept asking me questions and taking notes. “Can you read Romeo and Juliet to me?” He asked, although the book is way too difficult for him. “How amazing it is that I have walked with you for three hours!” K exclaimed at the end of our meeting. He texted me that night, tried to form a sentence with simple English, “I very happy today.” K has been my mentee for ten months and he came to Hong Kong from the mainland a year ago. He lives with his aunt’s family instead of his parents. He was regarded as a trouble-maker in school. He shows no interest in study due to his poor English level compared to other students. He is also suffering from a low self-esteem and has pretty much given up on himself. Nonetheless, we developed a good rapport very fast as he felt my care. I invited him to join my small class, in which he could pick up English basics step by step. He began to show interest in English and even invited his friends to join my class later on. On some Friday afternoons, I spent time playing basketball with him and his friends. After that we went home together by bus. He always revealed deeper feelings and expressed his interests and aspiration with me on the way home. It was not easy to inspire K’s motivation and sustain his persistency in studies. According to his teachers, he had to repeat Form one mainly because of his poor learning attitudes rather than his learning ability. To avoid hurting his self-esteem, I reminded myself to be very patient and optimistic every time we met. I tried to comfort and encourage him by telling him that he got lots of good qualities and potentials, “Repeating Form 1 may be a good chance for you to pick up basic English again so that you can learn effectively in the future.” Under my encouragement, K accepted this fact and his learning attitude was changing gradually.
By Patricia Chan, Program Mentor