Anthony J. Solloway

Ex oriente lux?

Mr. Solloway worked for half a decade as an English teacher in Hong Kong, and he did not like what he saw.

He channelled his anger into this passionate book, a laudable cause. Unfortunately, the result is also somewhat lamentable. Mr. Solloway's book was published by an internet publishing house that did not seem to have edited his text. "The current writer", as Mr. Solloway describes himself, uses a style very much like spoken language, and the result is a rant that is sometimes on the brink of being pedantic.

On the positive side, the book gives an insider's view of a school system that seems a continuation of the imperial examination system of the Middle Kingdom. Outsiders often critisise Northeast Asian societies for a lack of innovative power, producing employees that are good at obeying orders and only leaving the office after their bosses. The Hong Kong school system as Mr. Solloway describes it will certainly not change this pattern. Based upon rot learning and rewarding excessive hard work over ability, the system produces adults that are good at using standard processes for solving practical problems, but lack curiosity, creativity, and, to the author's opinion, a healthy interest in the opposite sex.

Although teachers often use microphones for teaching (!), they have a tough job with lots of hours of grading pupils and sitting in meetings, organised by seniors, who, if they are high enough on the bureaucratic ladder, get government allowances to send their own children to schools overseas.

For another review, please read http://biglychee.com/blog/2010/02/01/review-%e2%80%98does-it-have-to-be-like-thi....… (mer)