HK Needs More Unsung Heroes

Even though people keep telling me what happened for the past couple of years was not my fault, there was still a big part of me that felt otherwise... Either way, there was one thing for sure right this instant: what holds for me in the future is highly up to me right now, and I must take charge of the reins and make up for the time lost... it is up to me to rebuild the life that I once had, or maybe an even better one, one that serves not just me or people I know, but the community and an altruistic cause. And hopefully there is one thing I can address:

Observing the education industry in Hong Kong in comparison to say Canada or Australia, the moral values infused to children by both teachers and parents here are so different (in psychologist Kohlbergs's terms) very Pre-conventional i.e. highly reward and punishment based. We tell kids they can have a sticker if they are good or will be standing at the back of the class if not. These kids, including me up till a very late age, grow up thinking that whatever we do, it's for a very egocentric reason. I study, so I can go to college. I use my manners with a waiter because I don't want them to spit on my food. I mediate domestic disputes because I don't want them to light up a fire in my building.

Very rarely do we teach our children to be Post-conventional i.e. altruistic, thinking of the bigger picture. How many of us in Hong Kong grow up thinking I study because knowledge is what sustains human civilization, or that we should be cordial with waiters because they deserve that dignity. How many of us are educated to recycle, to donate, to be unsung heroes of our society? But it's these unsung heroes that we need so our world can flourish.

Out of all the schools of Psychology, I believe in the Humanistic Approach the most: Roger and Maslow's celebration of human choice, creativity and self-actualization is more profound than Freud's lack of empirical study or Skinner's mechanical conditioning theories.

My biggest fear is no longer whether I accomplish my dreams and pursuits or whether I have reached my potential, but whether I have contributed to my community and society.