2018年9月1日

We are celebrating our silver jubilee in 2019. If a person was born in 1994, he would be 25 years old next year.  Freshly graduated from university, perhaps armed with a master’s degree, he marches into a new phase becoming an integral part of the work force in the society.  He would contribute his expertise and intelligence, form his own family, and plan for his next generation. That seems to signify the preparation for others’ well-being.

 

Like it or not, a lot of words and ideas we use nowadays have had religious meaning.  The word “jubilee” in Hebrew actually means 50; the academic gowns we wear at various graduation ceremonies were once the dress code for monks of major religious groups. Universities only taught theology and philosophy in the old days, and so on.  Academic knowledge was once mostly intangible, rather than practical for winning bread.

 

While parents choose schools carefully for their children at different stages, one of the beliefs that they have is how these choices will land their children on a desirable job. That wasn’t the situation in the old days when learning is simply a life duty. With lifelong learning our government has been promoting, I am sure there is one thing or two that we can always learn, whether we are enrolled in a school or not. We can learn to manage time well, we can learn to do calligraphy to amuse ourselves, we can learn a musical instrument, and the like.

 

At the beginning of the school year, I would like students to learn well at school, but I would also like you to have a hobby or two, and make it your lifelong duty to enrich and amuse yourselves.  That would be your gift to yourselves for the school anniversary.

 

Anson Yang