Teaching as a profession brings out the best leadership transformation
Recap of the fireside chat “Teaching as future leadership” at Teach For Hong Kong Education Forum 2023 on 30th September
As in the title above, Mr. David Day (Chief Executive, Tin Ka Ping Foundation) highlighted leadership aspects in a teaching role during a panel discussion at the Teach for Hong Kong Forum for Future Education 2023 on 30th September 2023. One should not ignore that leadership impact is essential for students and teachers.
Alongside David, we were honored to have other esteemed guests highlight the vital value of Teaching as Future Leadership in the session, including Ms. Karen Cheung (Trustee and Strategist, The D. H. Chen Foundation), Principal Li Kin Man (Salesian of Don Bosco Ng Siu Mui Secondary School) and Ms. Linda Wong (Fellow 2023-24). The session was moderated by Mr. Ernest Wong (Board Director of TFHK; former TFHK Fellow; Clinical Psychologist at HKFYG).
Starting with the role of teachers in preparing students for the future, the panelists soon delved into the essence of education in an ever-evolving world: fostering the intrinsic values of students. They believe that nurturing students’ intrinsic values is vital as it not only contributes to their personal growth as individuals but also their long-term engagement and contribution to society. Developing students’ inner virtues lies in the hands of compassionate and capable teachers who can not only understand the needs of their students but also bring new perspectives to their teaching.
Ms. Cheung stated:
“We employers should not only look at academic accomplishments but employees’ personal values, their integrity and their work attitude. We have to look at whether they are good people. Strong character traits are what matter.”
Mr. Day underscored:
“When teachers become companions of their students, they are able to bring them hope,…Teaching as a profession brings out the best leadership transformation in both Fellows and students.”
For teachers to serve as students’ companions it starts with cultivating self-awareness and empathy. Principal Li and his team are known for creating supportive and inspiring learning conditions for students. He witnessed that education is centered around students but always starts with teachers. Only with strong self-awareness can teachers gain a profound comprehension of their own motivations, perspectives, and biases and can subsequently extend their understanding to their students, parents, and colleagues. He explained:
“Understanding the rationale behind a student’s action is important. And teachers can only understand others by practicing understanding themselves through a habit of introspectively asking ‘why’.”
Teaching is a leadership journey. It takes an effective teacher's self-awareness and empathy to grasp the needs of students and empower them to realize their potential. Linda, a Fellow representative and an HR Manager before joining the Fellowship, stressed this point with her experience teaching for the first month.
“I spent time getting to know each of my students, understanding the reason behind their behaviors and reactions. Only then can I further help them imagine the small steps they will take to grow.”
We at Teach For Hong Kong believe that teaching resembles leadership experience beyond self-awareness and empathy. Moreover, nurturing leaders to shape education is the center of TFHK’s vision of advancing education equity. In our view, this process is two-fold. We believe that (1) the promotion of education equity requires compassionate and capable leaders in all sectors collaboratively affecting change and (2) exposure to the forefront of education, serving, and connecting with students with an underprivileged background are the best ways to nurture leaders who can drive systemic change.
During the discussion, the speakers also raised the importance of making learning visible to prompt discussions among teachers on improving students’ learning experiences. Visualization of students’ learning progress is also a reflection of his/her values. Learning visibility not only allows students to understand themselves confidently but also allows room for discussion and reflection on how to bring in new perspectives to education that can benefit students.