CHAPTER I
QUALITATIVE AIMS
FROM the beginning of our deliberations we were conscious of the fact that more was required of us than a statement, however detailed and comprehensive, of what the quantitative aims of the new education policy might be. We therefore spent some considerable time discussing the kind of society our children might be living in when they have completed their schooling, the kind of skills they should be given a chance to develop, and the kind of social training they should receive so that they could become good citizens of our community.
2. In our view public education has three traditional areas of responsibility: to the individual, to his society and to the cultural herit- age of mankind. As we see it, education should strive to develop individuals who are curious, imaginative and creative, who will have an appreciation of their cultural heritage, and an awareness of the moral, social and aesthetic values of our present day society and of the role they can play in its improvement. Inherent therefore in our overall aim of education is the efficient development of intellectual, vocational and inter-personal skills relevant to the individual as he takes his place in Hong Kong.
3. This led us to consider the content and the form of education to be provided, in the light of the individual aptitudes and interests of the pupils concerned viewed against the economic and social needs of our community. Children are not all born with the same degree of intel- ligence, aptitude and application. What is suitable for one pupil may be totally unsuitable for another. Furthermore the matter is complicated by the fact that the intellectually bright are so often the most proficient with their hands. Merely giving the less intellectually gifted more and more practical work is not a complete solution to the problem.
4. It seemed to us in our deliberations that the fundamental point was that public education must seek to achieve a blend of interest, that public education though mindful of the needs and wishes of pupils and parents should be so framed that the requirements of the community
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