On Education

1. FADE IN

2. 
   

3. Act 1

4. 
   

5. EXT. TRAIN CAR - 12:00

6. 
   

7. Crowded. Peter is in thoughts.

8. 
   

9. PETER (V.O.): I'm going to a business lunch - the theme is on education.

10. 
    

11. Pausing.

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13. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Many see education as the key to success and the most important tool to change the world.

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15. Recalling.

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17. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I spent many years, studying the concept, structure and particulars of knowledge on Philosophy and Law.

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19. Pausing.

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21. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I and my family members can only practise law in Hong Kong with all the requisite qualifications.

22. 
    

23. Thinking.

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25. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How to steer education strategy these days?

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27. Act 2

28. 
    

29. INT. GRAND HYATT - 12:15

30. 
    

31. Peter is seated in a round table at a corner.

32. 
    

33. PETER (V.O.): I'm early.

34. 
    

35. Pausing.

36. 
    

37. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The host is taking over a committee chairmanship. The other guest is the immediate past chairman.

38. 
    

39. Pausing.

40. 
    

41. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They're career educationalists in the public and private sectors.

42. 
    

43. Pausing.

44. 
    

45. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): At my age, I'm content to play a supporting role.

46. 
    

47. Tapping NightCafe Creater on his phone screen, Peter creates a cubism work.

48. 
    

49. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): It's a lot eye-appealing than a photo of a business lunch.

50. 
    

51. MONTAGE OF THE BUSINESS LUNCH.

52. 
    

53. A. The HOST and the other GUEST arrive.

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55. B. They chat and chat while having lunch.

56. 
    

57. END MONTAGE

58. 
    

59. Leaving, Peter is in thoughts.

60. 
    

61. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I've learned a lot from them about education in Hong Kong and elsewhere.

62. 
    

63. Pausing.

64. 
    

65. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Essentialists think that there's a core set of knowledge that students need to learn to succeed in life.

66. 
    

67. Pausing.

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69. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And the knowledge such as science and technology should be taught in a structured and rigorous manner.

70. 
    

71. Pausing.

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73. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Progressivists emphasize the development of the person, including one's emotional, social and creative development.

74. 
    

75. Pausing.

76. 
    

77. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): And the students should learn by doing while tutors act as facilitators rather than as experts.

78. 
    

79. Recalling.

80. 
    

81. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): In my primary and secondary school days, I picked up some essential knowledge in an unstructured fashion.

82. 
    

83. Recalling.

84. 
    

85. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): My undergraduate studies at HKU was a manifestation of the idea of essentialism.

86. 
    

87. Recalling.

88. 
    

89. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): My LLM studies at UCL and senior executive programs at Harvard were progressive.

90. 
    

91. Pausing.

92. 
    

93. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): How about the study of my BA in Philosophy and my first LLM as an external student of London U?

94. 
    

95. Pausing.

96. 
    

97. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): While the syllabuses were structured, the experts were book authors I had never met.

98. 
    

99. Pausing.

100. 
     

101. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): I only knew I was on the right track when I passed the degree exams!

102. 
     

103. Act 3

104. 
     

105. EXT. TRAIN CAR - 14:30

106. 
     

107. Crowded. Peter is deep in thoughts.

108. 
     

109. PETER (V.O.): Education is one thing, but being educated is another.

110. 
     

111. Thinking.

112. 
     

113. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Being educated means being open to new ideas, even if they challenge one's preconceived notions. I seek knowledge for its own sake.

114. 
     

115. Pausing.

116. 
     

117. PETER (V.O.)(Cont'd): Being truly educated is a lifelong journey, one that never really ends.

119. FADE OUT

120. 
     

121. THE END