Holistic Care Offered by College General Education
The word ‘education’ is derived from its Latin roots ‘ex’ and ‘duco’ which mean ‘to bring out’ and ‘to lead’ respectively. Altogether it means ‘to draw forth from within’. The essence of education lies in inspiring students from within to unleash their potential. Prof. Dinky Lau, Dean of General Education of S.H. Ho College, remarked that College General Education aims at building students’ reflective capacity and learning community. She said, ‘Instead of pouring knowledge into students’ heads, our curriculum design helps ignite students intellectual thinking skills through experiential learning. The mutual support they’ve experienced in the process helps them nurture invaluable friendship and acquire knowledge. What they will acquire is far beyond the grades printed on their transcripts.’
GESH1010 Orientation and Outreach, entering its 5th year, is designed for freshmen to consolidate their experience in the course and innovatively express their in-depth reflection on their dreams, college and university lives through artworks co-creation. The College showcased students’ final productions from the course in March. Their artful exhibits including a Whac-a-Mole game, video clips, pop-up books, T-Shirts, board games and model display were showcased on the first floor of Chan Chun Ha Hall.
In the closing ceremony of the exhibition, four selected groups presented to the invited guests, College members, instructors and classmates their co-created artworks. A group described their university life as a maze and each university students as a maze runner. In face of the university life criss-crossed by diverse choices, they need wisdom and courage to make decisions with their limited energy and time. Some students wrote lyrics and recorded their singing in their music video. The lyrics resonate with students’ wish to lead an unregrettable university life by sticking to their dreams and realizing a brighter future.
The team which designed a Whac-a-Mole game expressed their aspirations towards university life and the self-breakthrough process while choosing among myriad of options. A student reflected that the randomness of the game symbolizes the many transient opportunities in hostel life, some of which might have a gulf between aspiration and reality. The mallet held by a game player means occasional setbacks. But what’s more significant is to overcome the obstacles with confidence and courage. As long as there are fellow travellers in the journey, they can motivate and grow with one another.
Freshers’ Fest has marked the grand finale of the GESH1010 course, but the struggles students experienced throughout their reflection process and the discoveries inspired by their teachers and peers could yield lifelong benefits.
