Girl On Fire
May Chow, a 33-year-old, born and raised in Hong Kong, was named "Asia's Best Female Chef 2017". In a recent video interview, she expressed her frustrations and resentments against the Hong Kong education system and the traditional value system.
Becoming a chef has always been her childhood dream. However, her parents are not supportive of it because "it is really hard work, and it is difficult to make a living being a cook." "The restaurant is not where a girl belongs. Doing that kind of work, she would mess up her hands and no guys will want her. Maybe she should just find some comfortable office job or simply get married." This kind of rhetoric, not surprisingly, does not sit very well with May.
After fulfilling her parents' wishes by getting a degree in hospitality management in Boston, May went on to study culinary art. She worked for different chefs who all agree that someone with her talent and temperament is much better off running her own restaurant -- which she does and has become quite successful.
As May lamented, the educational system in Hong Kong does not elicit curiosity or encourage creativity. Young people have no sense of what their interests are. All they are told is that, for a good prospect, they need to get into financial management because that is where the money is.
It is ironic that, in a city that is so famous for its food, Hong Kong does not have a system to train professionals for the food industry. There are some miscellaneous programs in trade institutions, but they are treated as placement for those who cannot make it in regular schools. "It is almost like special ed," says May Chow. "People have no respect for creative professions. They think that being a cook is a hard and lowly job."
Traditionally, Chinese people admire scholastic intellects -- perhaps because, historically, these people were in the ruling class. Artisans and craftsmen are the inferior class. "If they have brains, why do they have to rely on their hands for a living?"
Many of May's assertions kind of hit home for me. I cannot agree with her more. Say, many people thought it was a joke that I wanted to learn Aikido because I was a woman. Plus, "learning a martial art like this has no value. It is a waste of time and resources."
After I came to the US to live, I became an art framer. I did not even want to let my Hong Kong friends know about it because I already knew what they would say. As I expected, a few of them screamed at me, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF?" Even some customers said to me, "Why do you do a job like this? You should go back to school!" That was when I told them, "I thought about that, but I really do not want a PhD." They must have thought I was some kind of dropout.
Last weekend, I met Carson again at an annual Master Gardener event. This boy has been coming since four years ago when he was eight. He loves everything about plants. To support Carson, his father, Stephen, has been taking him to gardening events all over the place. "It is interesting, but I am definitely not so into it like Carson is. It makes me happy that he has found something he loves." Stephen says with a big, warm smile.
In a country like the US, Carson's passion for plants can easily lead him to all kinds of plant-related education. If he wants, he can get into many plant-related careers with good prospect. In a society where different fields of knowledge and skills are valued, there is plenty of room for young people to explore their interests and follow their dreams. It does not have to be "financial managers" or "the failures".
If I were born in the US, I swear I would never have squandered my youth in business school . . .
Becoming a chef has always been her childhood dream. However, her parents are not supportive of it because "it is really hard work, and it is difficult to make a living being a cook." "The restaurant is not where a girl belongs. Doing that kind of work, she would mess up her hands and no guys will want her. Maybe she should just find some comfortable office job or simply get married." This kind of rhetoric, not surprisingly, does not sit very well with May.
After fulfilling her parents' wishes by getting a degree in hospitality management in Boston, May went on to study culinary art. She worked for different chefs who all agree that someone with her talent and temperament is much better off running her own restaurant -- which she does and has become quite successful.
As May lamented, the educational system in Hong Kong does not elicit curiosity or encourage creativity. Young people have no sense of what their interests are. All they are told is that, for a good prospect, they need to get into financial management because that is where the money is.
It is ironic that, in a city that is so famous for its food, Hong Kong does not have a system to train professionals for the food industry. There are some miscellaneous programs in trade institutions, but they are treated as placement for those who cannot make it in regular schools. "It is almost like special ed," says May Chow. "People have no respect for creative professions. They think that being a cook is a hard and lowly job."
Traditionally, Chinese people admire scholastic intellects -- perhaps because, historically, these people were in the ruling class. Artisans and craftsmen are the inferior class. "If they have brains, why do they have to rely on their hands for a living?"
Many of May's assertions kind of hit home for me. I cannot agree with her more. Say, many people thought it was a joke that I wanted to learn Aikido because I was a woman. Plus, "learning a martial art like this has no value. It is a waste of time and resources."
After I came to the US to live, I became an art framer. I did not even want to let my Hong Kong friends know about it because I already knew what they would say. As I expected, a few of them screamed at me, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO YOURSELF?" Even some customers said to me, "Why do you do a job like this? You should go back to school!" That was when I told them, "I thought about that, but I really do not want a PhD." They must have thought I was some kind of dropout.
Last weekend, I met Carson again at an annual Master Gardener event. This boy has been coming since four years ago when he was eight. He loves everything about plants. To support Carson, his father, Stephen, has been taking him to gardening events all over the place. "It is interesting, but I am definitely not so into it like Carson is. It makes me happy that he has found something he loves." Stephen says with a big, warm smile.
In a country like the US, Carson's passion for plants can easily lead him to all kinds of plant-related education. If he wants, he can get into many plant-related careers with good prospect. In a society where different fields of knowledge and skills are valued, there is plenty of room for young people to explore their interests and follow their dreams. It does not have to be "financial managers" or "the failures".
If I were born in the US, I swear I would never have squandered my youth in business school . . .
I don't know, Meipo, there's a lot of that same pressure in Montgomery County schools and often, the "bad" or "dumb" kids are the ones they stick in the hortichlture classes. Parents are just as bad and think horticulter means mowing and weeding and minimum wages, and discourage their kids from taking classes. Kids are fast tracked into AP classes and Global Studies at a young age and pretty much locked into a specific trajectory all through middle and high school. How sad that we've gotten to this point where students, children, cannot even take the time to explore their interests so that they may find a career that utilizes their talents and abilities what ever they may be.
ReplyDelete