Your school is thinking of introducing a new policy requiring all S1 and S2 students to join at least one school team. However, the suggestion has evoked a strong reaction from some students. You are an intern reporter for the Young Post and have just attended a forum involving representatives from parents, teachers and students. Write an article describing the viewpoints and arguments of the different parties. Give it a title.
Should all S1 and S2 students join one school team?
Controversy has sparked over the latest hot issue in its ABC Secondary School-whether it is a must for all S1 and S2 students to join at least one school team. As opinions vary, the school has decided to hold a forum involving parents, teachers and students to talk on this issue. Interestingly, all the parties have their own valid grounds.
Under the new policy, all S1 and S2 students are required to take part in at least one school team. There are no special requirements for joining school teams nor any constraints on what type of team, like the English Ambassadors, Basketball Team, Debating Team and so on. It is alright as long as students join at least one of them. However, the biggest opposition is from the parents, who believe the policy should not be implemented.
One of the parent representatives argued that the time needed for participating in an extra team for their own child is unbearable. ‘Our children are quite stressed as there are lots of homework, quizzes, and projects to be completed every day. They’re already fed up with the tremendous workload already.’ She argued that the children simply could not cope with an extra activity. Furthermore, the mother is worried that her child will suffer from even lower results in exam. ‘My child is fundamentally not a smart kid. He’s already used plenty of time to do his own academic work, not to mention the tutorial classes, remedial lessons and the like. If he’s forced to join one more school team, I’m quite sure that he cannot pass the school tests anymore.’ Apart from her child’s experience, she also shared other similar examples of S1 and S2 students, stating that her son is not an exceptional case.
Several student representatives also spoke in the forum. Surprisingly, students had mixed comments and viewpoints on this issue. An S1 student, Tom Chan, thought that the new policy should not be in place. He said that he had a lot of school work to do every day. After finishing his daily work, he still has one hour or so for leisure time. However, he doubts whether joining a school team would be useful as he has no interests in any of the school teams available in ABC College. The other student, Mary Chan, seemed to love the policy very much. ‘As an S2 student, I witness so many S1 and S2 students being “slaves” to academic work. They’re just too dull every day. If they cannot find something they like, I’m afraid that they will soon find their school life boring and not meaningful.’ Mary believed that the school will kindly reduce the students’ ‘workload’ in exchange for the extra time spent on school teams.
The teachers backed the policy with no surprise. Miss Anne Chan, the vice-principal of ABC College, feared that student would be even busier when they are promoted to higher forms. She explained that students in the upper forms have always been so stressed as they do not have other activities to do except preparing for the public examination. Because of this, she strongly recommended all the S1 and S2 students to join at least one school team while they still have the chance. Another teacher, Miss Sally Cheung, is concerned about the student’s all-rounded development. ‘A school is not just a machine that churns out quality students who can excel in academic aspect only. Rather, a school should care for the comprehensive development of every student. They need to learn skills that cannot be found in textbooks, such as generic skills, that enable them to really step out to society.’ She is quite certain that by joining school teams, students can acquire extra and useful knowledge in their training and competitions.
With so diversified opinions, ABC College will hold a voting session to determine whether to implement the policy or not. As this issue will continue to stir up rounds of debates, it is hoped that each party will understand one another and find a balanced and holistic approach to resolve the issue. Young Post will keep you posted.
Leung Wing Tai
6E 2015-16