Summer in Hong Kong is usually a hot, wet and steamy time of year.  As you can by the photo above, showing the peak of Ma On Shan from the College on Friday morning this week, we have been enjoying superbly clear, though quite warm, weather.  In other words, the weather has been uncharacteristically pleasant for this time of the year.

For me, the past week has been a time to try and catch up on the multitude of tasks that arrived on my desk during the couple of weeks of term, but which had to be left unattended because of the pressing nature of other matters (such as students graduating!).  I spent most of yesterday (Saturday) in my office, working alone and uninterrupted, and as a result I am almost as up-to-date as I need to be.

Having time to work without so many interruptions is pleasant, but it is not really the essence of being a School Principal of course.  I remember many years ago as a young Principal, chatting with one of my very experienced, elderly colleagues about the sheer number of interruptions we experience in a typical day.  I remember saying that I had expected that with seniority the proportion of discretionary time I would have should have increased, but I had found the opposite to be the case.  I have never forgotten his wise words to me at the time, which I have tried to put into practice ever since.  ‘Yes”, he said, “I used to get frustrated by all the people who kept interrupting my paperwork, until I realised that those people were my real work, and the paperwork was what I did to fill the times between their visits.”

One of the nice things about working without so many interruptions, however, is that I do have more time to think and reflect.  I sometimes think it would be wonderful to have what I call “feet on the desk time” - time simply to think, reflect, plan and meditate.  I am sure that the task of leadership would be more effective if such time were possible to find on a regular basis, but the sad reality of schools is that it is seldom feasible.

This week, as I have been catching up with e-mails, finalising offers of places to National Committees, preparing reports, corresponding with parents, and so on, I did find the time to watch a few TED videos on the side of my laptop screen.  I always find these stimulating, and one in particular this week caught my attention.

Only four and a half minutes long, the theme of the talk was the world’s apparent mania to learn English.  Presented by entrepreneur and inventor, Jay Walker, the talk tried to explain why two billion people around the world are trying to learn the English language.  Focussing especially (but not only) on China, and featuring fascinating video clips from around the world, he addressed an issue that has been troubling me for some time as Head of a United World College - are we guilty of some form of cultural imperialism by making English the lingua franca of our everyday operations, our teaching and even our socialising?

I thought Walker’s summing up offered some very useful insights as well as huge reassurance:

“So is English mania good or bad?  Is English a tsunami, washing away other languages?  Not likely.  English is the world’s second language.  Your native language is your life.  But with English you can become part of a wider conversation.  A global conversation about global problems.  Like climate change or poverty.  Or hunger or disease.  The world has other universal languages.  Mathematics is the language of science.  Music is the language of emotions.  And now English is becoming the language of problem solving.  Not because America is pushing it.  But because the world is pulling it.  So English mania is a turning point.  Like the harnessing of electricity in our cities, or the fall of the Berlin Wall, English represents hope for a better future.  A future where the world has a common language to solve its common problems.”

I recommend watching this talk - it lasts only 4 minutes and 30 seconds - but it is very powerful and affirming for those of us involved in international education.  The link is http://www.ted.com/talks/jay_walker_on_the_world_s_english_mania.html.