Thoughts on 2020 Education in Hong Kong - A brief thought on online education and the HK education situation.
With the Covid-19 outbreak which is now effecting students and parents on a global scale, many of us educators, students and parents alike are coming to terms with the real impact on our daily lives. In Hong Kong most schools and kindergartens are using online portals and computers to issue homework, school projects and even providing live streaming online classes since the start of 2020. Much of this education is compulsory, scheduled and overpriced, which leaves us thinking is this really the best for our children?
In 2007, Gates, the former CEO of Microsoft, implemented a cap on screen time when his daughter started developing an unhealthy attachment to a video game. He also didn't let his children get cell phones until they turned 14. (Today, the average age for a child getting their first phone is 10.) [1] Research has found that an eighth-grader's risk for depression jumps 27% when he or she frequently uses social media. [1]
On the other hand, it could be said that delivering educational knowledge in a safe and virus free environment is a must. Without online education, the generation of children currently in the school system would be drastically set back by not participating in any form of education during the first quarter of 2020. This comes hot on the heels of the school closures due to the public demonstrations which disrupted Hong Kong during 2019. Straight-line, an online class provider, lists 15 benefits of having online classes, which include, “a large variety of classes to choose from”, “it doesn’t cost much”, and “you can customise your learning environment”, just to name a few. [2]
While these may be true for older students who have the freedom to select which classes to attend online, is it also true for Hong Kong students and parents?
I leave you with this thought, whether you have expensive compulsory classes or you have the choice to select the classes you wish in a comfortable learning environment, does the increased screen time for us the educators, parents and students outweigh the priceless wisdom and knowledge being shared?
Happy Lemon Tutors strives to provide a happy and enjoyable learning environment in all of their classes, with the majority being conducted face-to-face, offline. The HK tutor company prides itself in providing diverse classes which focus on students’ needs.[3]
[1] https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/bill-gates-and-steve-jobs-raised-their-kids-techfree-and-it-shouldve-been-a-red-flag-a8017136.html
Interesting thoughts on face-to-face vs. online education, thanks for sharing!