雙語社評齊齊聽

英語 (足本收聽)

普通話 (足本收聽)

【明報專訊】WHOLE-DAY SCHOOLING is now the norm for all primary schools in Hong Kong. However, going through the Primary Schools Profiles 2015, our reporters found that some schools have deviated from the original purposes of whole-day schooling. This may be considered together with the controversy raging around the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA) for schools, which some parents regard as being monstrously inimical to children's physical and mental development. However, an examination of what our whole-day schooling has developed into shows that, if parents want their children to learn happily and grow up healthily, they must not turn a blind eye to the way schools teach their children.

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全港小學已經實施全日制，本報記者翻查《小學概覽2015》卻發現部分小學偏離了全日制的原旨。結合近期吵得沸沸揚揚的全港性系統評估（TSA）爭議，有家長形容TSA為戕害子女身心成長的怪物；不過，檢視全日制現狀，折射家長若要子女快樂學習、健康成長，那就不能不關注學校教導學生的問題。

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Whole-day primary schooling is one of the few important educational reforms introduced by the SAR government after Hong Kong's handover which enjoy public support, and no resources have been spared and more schools have been built for its implementation. The idea of whole-day schooling is to let students spend more time at school so that they may benefit from more diverse learning experiences, which, as the Education Bureau web page says, "may include programmes for promoting reading to learn, moral and civic education, national education, religious education, students' physical and aesthetic development, the use of information technology for interactive learning, cross-curricular learning and other learning experiences to enhance students' whole-person development and lifelong learning capabilities". In addition, whole-day schooling is expected to foster "student-teacher relations as they have more interactions which facilitate counselling work and behavioural modification and improvement". Regrettably, the reality has fallen short of the expectations.

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小學全日制是回歸之後特區政府教育改革的重要政策，因此投入大量資源、增建更多學校，是少數獲肯定的教改政策之一。全日制的目的，原本要讓學生有充足時間享有更多元化學習經歷。正如教育局網頁介紹，「無論是推廣閱讀的活動、德育及公民教育、國民教育、宗教教育、學生的體能及美學的發展、運用科技資訊的互動學習以至跨界別學習及其他學習經歴，都可增強學生的全人發展及培養其終身學習的能力」，並「可讓師生之間有更多的互動，從而培養更深厚的師生關係，及促進輔導和行為修正及改進的工作」。不過，現實發生的事並非如此。

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First, the Education Bureau expects whole-day students to spend an average of about seven hours a day at school, but in reality some students have to be at school for more than eight and sometimes up to ten hours. Second, the authorities expect that, with the implementation of whole-day schooling, students may, in addition to having their lessons, finish their assignments at school, so that after school they may engage in other activities at home for their physical and mental well-being. But in reality students have to do a lot of assignments at home.

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首先，教育局預期全日制學生一般每日留校7小時，現實是部分留校超過8小時，甚至10小時。其次，當局設想實施全日制之後，學生在學校完成每日學習並做完功課，放學回家就可以做有益身心的活動，不過，現實是學生回家後要應付大量功課。

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What is more, while the Education Bureau expects a one-hour lunch break for students, our reporters found that some 60 primary schools give their students only 30 or even less than 30 minutes for lunch. There are parents who point out that, to drill students for the TSA, some schools hold special tutorial sessions during lunch time. Now it is of utmost importance for school children to grow up healthily, and it is totally unacceptable that some schools, heedless of their students' health, do not even give them enough time to eat.

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另外，教育局原要求約有1小時在校午膳時間，本報記者發現約60所小學的午膳時間只有30分鐘或更少。有家長反映學校為應付TSA操練，要求學生在午膳時間補課。其實，學童健康成長較任何事都重要，現在竟然有部分學校不讓學生有足夠時間進食；如此無視學生的健康，絕對不能接受。

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Some parents, knowing how their children are taught at school and seeing the numerous assignments they have to do at home, are calling for the abolition of the TSA for primary three students. It is perfectly understandable why they take exception to the TSA, but have they considered the root cause of the problem? There are plenty of facts to show that the problem lies neither in the TSA nor in the policies or measures adopted by the authorities. Schools are obviously the real problem. If parents are more vocal as to what they expect of schools, they will be better able to free their children from the shackles of distorted schooling methods and endless assignments. Otherwise, schools will continue to drill their students for other purposes even if the TSA is scrapped.

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有些要求廢除小三TSA的家長，知道子女在學校的學習情况，看到子女放學回家後仍然要應付恍似做不完的功課，因此對TSA反彈是完全可以理解，只是家長們有沒有思考過孰令致之？如今有大量事實證明，關鍵不在政策措施或系統評估，顯然是在學校。若家長多點表達對學校的意見和訴求，就更有望把子女從不正常學習和功課的桎梏中解救出來。否則，即使廢除了TSA，學校照樣會有其他的操練。

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明報社評2015.10.26

Presented by lecturers of Hong Kong Community College, PolyU and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University

Dr KWOK, Frieda Yuk-yin

Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/details.php?id=110&lang=eng

Ms QIU, Tina Wei

Assistant Lecturer, HKCC

www.hkcc-polyu.edu.hk/staff_directory/social_communication/details.php?id=367&lang=chi

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