1 March 2025

March marked the school anniversary on 2 March; we celebrated our 30^th anniversary in 2024, and entered our 31^st. Each year, we have a show in early March, showcasing the strengths of students on stage. But it is the cooperation and coordination off stage which makes the show possible.  So, a big thank to everyone who have participated in the School Gala over the years. Every year, we make new mistakes, but then we become stronger.

 

March also celebrates International Women’s Day. The earliest recorded function was held in New York on 28 February 1909. In 1922, Vladimir Lenin declared that 8 March should be the official day to commemorate women’s march to demand bread and equality. Although the present-day version of the day is more on celebrating women’s responsibility, fairness and wisdom, the notion of equality continues, and Chinese virtues for all.

 

We must not be confused equality with differences; we need to embrace both. Men and women do have different roles in the society, to say the least, men can never imagine the joy and pain in carrying a baby during pregnancy.  We used to have stereotypes for both genders, for example, textbooks used to have pictures of males as doctors and females as nurses. These pictures began to change in the mid-80s.  Still, some professions attract more men than women, and vice versa. For example, monster truck drivers or construction crane operators may be appealing to men for the physical strengths needed, while public relationship and human resources officers may attract women better for their thoroughness and attention to details. But then again, I can be a tad over-generalized.

 

I do enjoy, however, opening doors for ladies, or seeing them home safe. That’s what gentlemen do, and that’s what ladies should be treated. There are etiquettes and decorum that I would like to continue to follow in our Chinese way, much like some traditions, not to mention regulations. Even when there is equality, I would like to continue practising proper manners, not because others are ladies, but because they are human beings.  Everyone deserves to be treated kindly.

 

Anson Yang