Seventeen primary school teachers went on a Teacher Work Attachment (TWA) in Hong Kong and discovered the common cause of educating the next generation transcended all language and cultural barriers.

We are often so caught up in our daily work that we tend to overlook the need to reflect. It is appropriate to pause from time to time and take a look at other organisations to broaden our outlook and experience as well as gain fresh perspectives on education to enrich our students' learning. We had this opportunity during the December holidays.

Teachers from Singapore (all holding flowers) with the Principal and Vice-Principal of Hong Kong’s Salvation Army Lam Butt Chung Memorial School.

Seventeen of us from Canberra Primary, Clementi Primary, Princess Elizabeth Primary and Yangzheng Primary, went on an exciting Teacher Work Attachment (TWA) to Hong Kong’s Salvation Army Lam Butt Chung Memorial School. We were all excited about embarking on a journey of learning and sharing in a new educational environment. As we stepped foot in Hong Kong, we were rewarded by the sophistication of this dynamic city and its magnificent skyline.

Our learning journey started with a sharing session by the host school’s management and teachers. They gave us an insight into Hong Kong’s education system and their school curriculum. It was amazing to find that educators, though hundreds of kilometres apart, speaking different languages and operating in different systems, shared the same challenges in their teaching mission: impact of globalisation on education, character development of pupils, curriculum revisions, school-based curriculum, adoption of alternative assessments, and marketing of the school, amongst others. It was an eye-opening experience to witness first-hand, a Hong Kong school’s approach to meeting
these challenges.

In spite of the language barrier, the Hong Kong pupils readily took to the lessons.

Passion for Learning
The most challenging aspect of the TWA was communicating with our hosts and the students. Cantonese, Hong Kong's official dialect, is also the medium of instruction in many primary schools. Initially, we were quite apprehensive as we had to co-teach with our counterparts. It appeared daunting as we were also requested to pitch our lessons at an appropriate level to suit their teaching context. However, our worries vanished in no time. Although the students were not proficient in English, they were very keen and excited to use the English language to communicate with us.

We were also impressed with the passion and drive of our Hong Kong buddy teachers. They were not only eager to share their teaching strategies and classroom management techniques, they were also open to trying out best practices of our schools. We were most impressed by the teachers’ personal touch and interaction with their students. Their emphasis on relationship building and student management deserves much praise. It affirmed our belief that no matter where you are, a successful and effective educator is one who has the passion to inspire, engage, nurture as well as the ability to touch the hearts of young learners.

Teachers from both countries bonding over lunch in the school’s canteen.

This TWA has indeed been a fruitful and memorable journey for us. It provided an opportunity for us to be immersed in a different learning environment and gave us an insight into how curriculum is planned and delivered in another country. We also had the chance to learn and share teaching strategies, resources and classroom management techniques with our Hong Kong counterparts. The sincerity of our hosts, their meticulous and thoughtful planning of the TWA programme, touched our hearts deeply and showed that friendship transcends borders and cultures.