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Szeto Wah
Being an educator is better than being a politician
By Angy TseThe chairman of Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China, Szeto Wah, prefers being an educator to a politician.
The 71-year-old chairman said he does not have a great passion for politics.
However, as an enthusiastic teacher and member of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, he thinks he should help fight for democracy in Hong Kong.
He was elected as a legislative councillor in 1985, 1988, 1998 and 2000. He devotes himself to democratic activities.
Before becoming a politician, Mr. Szeto was a primary teacher and a school principal. In 1973, he founded the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union.
He taught in two Hung Hom public primary schools. Most of his students were from poor families. He helped some students pay school fees to further their studies.
Mr. Szeto has been an educator for 40 years. He regards being an educator as a meaningful career. He is happy to see his students growing up and gaining status in society. But he does not see it as a success.
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“The biggest success of a teacher is seeing his obstinate students become well-behaved,” said he, “and seeing them make contribution to society.”
Apart from being a politician, Mr. Szeto is also a columnist. |
He has been writing for Ming Pao since May 1997. His articles are published in the newspaper every three days.
Mr. Szeto is serious about writing. He tries his best for each article.
Said he: “Every article has to be perfect in order to draw readers’ attention, since my articles don’t appear in the newspaper every day.”
There are various topics covered in his columns, including politics, economics, literature and so on.
“People of different ages read newspapers, so I write from politics to children’s stories,” said he.
Like today’s students, Mr. Szeto used to hire a tutor to help in his own studies when he was young.
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He paid $50 per month in tuition. That was a large sum at the time. One could buy dozens of books with the same amount of money.
After one month, he stopped the tuition. “We can’t rely on others. We should learn by ourselves,” said he.
Since then, he started to read on his own and later developed an interest in reading Chinese literature. He became interested in writing in Primary 5 because of winning an essay writing competition.
He said it is hard to recommend what to read to others, because different people have different interests and reading experiences.
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But he emphasized the importance of careful reading to improve writing skills.
Mr. Szeto said reading has become a kind of entertainment these days. Many young people read for leisure. Some read only comic books and love stories.
Whatever they read, he advised students to study the theme, organization, introduction, transition, ending, character portrayals, and vocabulary of each article.
“You have to ‘mumble’ the passage to get its nutrition,” said Mr. Szeto.
Moreover, Mr. Szeto recommended Hong Kong students bear in mind the virtues of diligence and determination.
“Work hard and always strive for progress. Be able to bear hardship and never give up,” advised he.
