Kelly Kwok (CIS):

Up until the age of 14, I attended a local school. Then, my parents and I heard about an interesting opportunity from Chinese International School where Year 10 students were invited to live abroad in Hangzhou, China, for one academic year. This was when I took a chance and enrolled in CIS. From then, I have been studying at an International School for three years. For me, I can clearly see the differences between the local and international school systems. This is why I got involved with ‘One Education, Two Systems’, because I believed in the message of the film. I wanted to use this experience as an opportunity to show and tell others that there are many things we can learn from each other across the two school systems.

在我十四歲前一直在本地學校讀書。之後，出於向往能在杭州住校學習一年的機會，我轉入了漢基國際學校十年級，開啟了國際學校三年 學習的生涯。對我來說，我很清楚本地學校與國際學校體系上的區別。而我之所以加入到 “一學兩制”的拍攝工作中，就是因為相信這部影片要表達出來的意義。我要用這次參於的經驗來告訴大家：即便你對目前兩種學校體系並 不陌生，但仍然有許許多多的事情是可以互相學習的。

 

Brian Law (ILC):

In the two days of exchange, I noticed that everyone was able to get along very well. As I got to know the CIS Students better through taking classes with them, my perception of the International School students also changed. I realized that the CIS students were very friendly and we were able to become good friends. At the same time, I was able to see that International School Students were not more relaxed in terms of their academics. In fact, they all studied just as hard as us and were just as stressed as us. I must also admit, I can see that International School Students have a must more global mindset, they are more aware of and engaged with the international community. They must have had opportunities to study abroad and develop their world view at school. As for their language skills, their english is very fluent but they can work on their chinese. Finally, in terms of the different syllabus and styles of learning we have, there does exist a few big differences. I noticed that Local Schools adopt a question and answer format while International Schools tend to push students to be analytical and creative in their writing and thinking.

在相處的兩天當中，大家相處融洽，在帶領他們體驗各種本地學校課堂的同時，令我對國際學校學生有新的認識及了解，改變了自己以往的觀念。 CIS學校的學生其實十分親切，並非我想象般冷酷無情。原來他們的學習生活並不如坊間傳言輕鬆，其實他們也必須認真讀書。不過，無可否認，國際學校學生的確比本地學校學生更具國際視野，由於他們接觸外地的機會比較多，能去到世界各地交流學習，令他們視野較為廣闊。至於語言方面，他們的英語自然是十分順暢流利，中文則較為遜色。另外，就學習模式而言，兩種學制的學習模式就存在較大差異。本地學校較為著重於書本上的知識和答題技巧，而國際學校則需要學生透過思考與撰寫文章來學習及訓練創意思維。

 

Yu Ying Ngai (CIS):

What I noticed most about the local and international school systems is the difference between global and local mindsets. At my international school, we are always encouraged to look beyond the city of Hong Kong — to China, to the America, to the UK. We study the history of other countries much more than our own. This has it’s advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it means that we are taught from a young age to be global citizens, that our actions can
make a difference on the world stage. But at the same time, it makes us less invested in and knowledgeable about Hong Kong, our roots, our home town. This is what the local school system is really good at: Developing a sense of belonging and pride in Hong Kong. This experience has really opened my eyes to the idea that in order to be effective global citizens, we must first start with ourselves and our local community.

我認為本地學校與國際學校兩種體系的區別來源於本土化和全球化的思維模式。在國際學校體系里，我們總是被教導要放眼全球，不要局限於香港 — 如中國，美洲，大英帝國。我們學習其他國家的歷史遠比學習自己的歷史要多。這當然有其優點，同時也有短處。一方面，我們自小就被要求成為一個世界公民，我們的目標是將來站在世界舞台上去改變世界。但另一方面，我們同時對於香港，我們的根，我們的家鄉卻缺少了關注和了解。這正是本地學校優勝之處：培育起了對香港的歸屬感和自豪感。這次的經歷給了我如下的啟示：要成為一個真正的世界公民，首先必須把自己於本地社會緊緊聯系起來。

 

Kenneth Chan (ILC):

This experience was a great opportunity for me to learn aboutInternational Schools. One on hand, I realized the misconception I had of them having no stress was completely wrong. On the other hand, it made me reflect deeply on Hong Kong’s education system which gave me a few great takeaways. First, International School students have the same academic stress as us. They have to hand in a lot of reports for different subjects. Although this is different from the many tests we have to revise for, they still have to spend a lot of time researching and writing these reports. As I was filming the exchange, I could not help but notice the large number students who were working on their laptops writing these reports during break time. Second, International School students are good at creative thinking. For example, in a science experiment I was part of, they would first receive general guidelines from the teacher on how to perform the experiment, then they would use creative thinking to create their own ways to carry out the experiment. However, I do think that this way of teaching makes International Students lack the knowledge and theoretical understanding of the topic that Local Students have. This is something we can share and teach each other. In general, the exchange has expanded my understanding of a different system,
allowed me to make more friends and I look forward to more collaborative opportunities.

經過是次拍攝活動，我對國際學校有了不少新的體會，一方面打破了國際學校學生沒有學習壓力的既有看法，一方面使我反思當下的教育制度，得益甚大。其一，國際學校的學生其實同樣有龐大的學習壓力。他們要提交大量各科目不同的報告，雖有別於本地學校操練試卷的模式，但他們卻要花大量時間於網上搜集不同的資訊去完成報告，我在拍攝過程中不時看見學生在休息間捧著手提電腦完成作業。使我明白到他們的學習模式並非一般人認為那麼自由及輕鬆。另外，國際學校教育以學生創意，實踐為主導。例如拍攝過程中一次有關emzyme的實驗，他們會先參考老師給予的大方向，然後自行計劃實驗的詳細步驟，實驗完成後老師才會解釋有關原理，而當中的學問雖然本地學校的課程亦有所涵括，但卻沒有實踐當中知識的機會，殊為可惜。總括來說，是次拍攝使我拓闊眼界，不僅是上述得著，同時認識到不同國界的朋友，擴闊了我的社交圈子，希望往日仍有同樣的機會，更加深入地瞭解國際學校的學生。

 

Ailene Lung (CIS):

In I first became interested in this topic some time before I got involved in this documentary. I am a competitive swimmer and twice a week, I would go to training with students from all over Hong Kong. My local friends used to tease me all the time about how my international school life was so relaxed, how my school work was easy. I would laugh along with them, but inside it would make me angry because I knew that it was not true. I tried hard at my studies and I resented the fact that my friends had such a misguided impression of how demanding my school life can be. I also began to wonder whether they were right; whether local school life really is so much harder. This experience has been so valuable because it has given myself and others the chance to experience first hand what it is like to be in each others shoes. I am so pleased to discover that we are not so different after all and that there is so much we can share with each other.

早在參加這部記錄片工作之前，我就對這個主題有興趣。作為一名遊泳運動好手，我一週兩次的訓練夥伴來自全港的學校。本地學校的同學一直取笑我，說什麼國際學校的生活如此輕閒，功課又是那麼容易對付。我嘴上也就一笑置之，但內心總是為這種完全的誤解而生悶氣！要知道，本地同學們這種妄顧事實的印象，對我這樣學習上拼命的人來說是多大的傷害！我甚至開始迫切想弄明白，也許他們沒有錯，也許他們在本地學校的學生涯就是苦得可怕。參加本次交流和拍攝的經驗對我可謂價值連城，因為我能有機會親身一探究竟，其他人也能夠設身處地體會對方。更高興的，我們最後發現各自的世界其實沒有那麼不同，而且還有那麼多的地方可以相互學習和分享……

 

Brian Siu (ILC):

This experience has really changed my opinion and impression of International Schools and Hong Kong’s education system in general. Before, I thought International School students were very lazy. I thought they were students who were just wealthy enough to avoid public exams. In fact, when I was there, I did see some students on their macbooks, surfing the web as if the teacher was not there, paying little attention to class. However, it was only after engaging with the International Students that I realized I was wrong about the above. In Local Schools, the focus is on the grades and our traditional style of learning is the result of our test based syllabus. On the other hand, in International Schools, the focus is to develop ways of thinking that are beyond the textbook, research skills that are relevant to college
and life beyond. This taught me that we cannot judge each other on the different ways we study, instead we need to understand and appreciate our differences in order for us to learn from each other.

在這次交流活動中，我不論是對國際學校還是香港的教育制度都有更深入的認識并且有所改觀。起初我對國際學校的印象是學生十分懶散，家長用錢去令兒女避開公開試，而事實上我在 CIS上課時，也發現有為數不少的學生用自己Macbook上網，無視老師的存在，就像不關心學業，更不關心自己的前途。但和 CIS同學交談後我才驚覺我對他們確實存有誤解。傳統學校雖然注重學生學科上的成績，但卻因讀書只為考試而為人詬病。反之國際學校注重訓練學生有自己的思維方式，更重視學生日後如何與大學洽接及投身職場，而非只着重書本上的知識。學生也不是不緊張自己的將來，只是國際學校與傳統學校兩者的教與學模式不一，這與我起初眼中的國際學校有不少相異之處。

 

Nicholas Berry (CIS):

When I first signed up to work on ‘One Education, Two Systems’, I thought I already had a pretty good idea of what local schools were like. Stereotypes exist for a reason and everything points towards local schools being very conservative places with lots of rote learning, limited creativity and strict teachers. I thought they would have no fun at all, at least not at school. So when I spent some time at ILC, I was surprised to learn that there are actually many good things about the way they learn. I noticed that everything is explained very clearly and this helped me a lot in my own learning. I also realised that their school life is a lot of fun — quite lighthearted and very friendly. The students spend a lot of time interacting with each other physically whereas at my school, we areoften stuck behind our computer screens. This experience has been really valuable and helped me realise that I should more open minded and open to learning from others.

在我當初決定加入‘一學兩制 ’團隊的時候，我自認為對本地學校已有充分的認識：那是一塊嚴格刻板之地，功課繁重，死記硬背，缺乏創意，師道尊嚴。我甚至想象出了那種的煩悶枯燥，至少在校園里如此。所以，當我在沐恩中學待上一段時間之後，我驚訝地發現，他們在學習中其實有著許許多多美妙的地方！每個學習步驟和內容都解釋得那麼一清二楚，這些對我課後自習幫助頗大。我還發現本地學校的生活豐富多彩，輕松友善，同學們很多時間面對面在一起互動交流。而我們在自己校園的時候，往往都沉浸在各自的電腦屏幕里。這次難忘的經歷幫助我意識到，我應該用開放的心態和更開放的思維來向別人學習

 

Hoby Ho (ILC):

First, being on this exchange has shown me the differences in a Local and International School education system. In Local Schools, it is more centrered around the teacher guiding us through textbook material. In Intnernational Schools, it is more orientated around the individual, a more independent style of learning. For example, at CIS, the student is responsible to identify what one does not understand themselves and ask the teacher themselves instead of waiting for the teacher to cover all the material. Second, this exchange has made me change my overall impression of International School students. Before, I had the impression of them being lazy and hard to get along with, only now have I realized that this was not true at all. It was easy getting to know and befriend International School students. In some ways, it was even easier to make friends with them than other local school students. This was because they were very polite and friendly to me the moment I stepped into the school. Finally, they were not lazy at all. During breaks, they would be in their resting area studying or in the library revising.

這次的活動主要令我了解到本地學校與國際學校在教學模式方面的不同。本地學校主要是以老師直接教授書本知識為主，而國際學校則主要是由同學自己去學習思考。遇到有不明白時才去請教老師，而並非由老師直接向他們講述書本中的內容。另外，這次的活動亦令我對國際學校的學生改觀。在活動前，我對國際學校學生的印像是懶散和難相處，但在活動過後卻發現與預期大有不同。國際學校的學生不但不難相處，甚至比本地學校學生更易相處。當日我一進校門，他們便很有禮貌地招待我，並且還親切地帶我參觀學校。可見他們並不難相處。他們亦非懶散悠閒地上學，他們每個人都會在休息時在休息室中處理自己的作業和工作，有些甚至會到圖書館溫習。