佛教黃允畋中學校長 歸園「畋」居 活在當下

2013年8月26日(星期一) 信報 佛教黃允畋中學校長 歸園「畋」居 活在當下

中學的時光總是難忘的，那是由小學雞變成熱血青年的重要階段，也是告別無憂無慮的日子，首次體會到殘酷競爭的階段。去年八萬多DSE（中學文憑試）考生爭奪一萬多的大學學額，banding低的學生要圓大學夢更渺茫了。 佛教黃允畋中學校長郭耀豐希望師生們懂得活在當下，在中學時建立目標，培養好的人生態度，為自己尋找踏腳石，而大學僅僅是其中之一。「人生路上，事無大小都踏實去做，放下過去，放眼將來，自然會有愜意的人生。」這只是郭校長其中一個人生格言。 三十年前，郭校長來黃允畋中學面試前，在舊校當了三年主任，時任校長劉顯奇問：「進來升職的機會不大。」郭校長回答：「主任的職位是教育過程的必然報酬，但教育才是我的使命，是一生一世的。」一晃眼三十年過去，郭校長今年五十九歲，明年就要退休了，「那只是崗位上的退休，我將繼續教育的事情。」 十年前成為學校的第二任校長，2006至07年度學年推行教育改革，改行三三四學制，郭校長頗支持改革，但覺得第三組別的學校最重要的是，讓同學們學會規劃自己的未來。 「我們中一至中三已經教他們建立目標，培養良好的人生態度，讓他們明白自己是未來社會的人才，中四就知道該走那條路。」 「我總跟學生說規劃不是單一的，有很多不同的選擇，一定要給自己找踏腳石，不能直接上大學就讀基礎文憑，繞一圈也能上大學，問題是你願不願意踏上去而已。去年，我們有四十多位學生讀基礎文憑、副學士，九位上本地大學，七八位上內地大學。我要他們明白社會不同了，將來一定要不斷進修。」 為學生找踏足點 郭校長承認學校或培養不出狀元來，但進入社會的學生都是見得人的。上周六訪問時剛好是中一迎新日，「我跟他們說過去的事情，你們不能要回來，未來的你也能規劃，但最重要是活在當下。我對老師也這麼說，不要告訴我你過去多威風，不要告訴我有什麼宏願，有什麼理想請在這裏實踐。其實只要每個人活好每一天，其實就很好了。我為社會帶來更多正能量，如果我踩低自己的學生，不肯定他們，社會會很麻煩。」郭校長說。 在郭校長眼裏每位學生都有亮光點和加強點，學校和老師的責任就是發揮亮光點，改善學生的加強點。 「我跟老師說一定要相信學生是可以改變的，如果沒有這個心，就不可能做到任何東西。有的老師會說：這幾個小孩怎麼突然轉性，無端端交齊功課？衰仔平時那麼頑皮。其實我知道他們心裏是甜甜的。」 學校大多收成績較差的學生，郭校長想起第一年當校長遇上幾位大阿哥。「他們來自區內同一小學，打爛燈掣、粗口罵老師的都有。最好笑是第一天開車出去，在路口看到其中一位抽煙，翌日集會我四處找人，他第一個站出來自首。他說我從小學就抽煙，我說那是小學的事情，你進來就是新生，你也想自己開心，你不戒掉，它拿走你的身體和錢，很傻！」 「我後來跟校工說要擴大義工團隊，讓全校都是義工，校外探訪老人院，校內做班長、聖約翰救傷隊等，通通計算服務時數。他們以前沒有自信，找不到落腳點，不知道自己也能幫別人。他們做得很開心，其中一位姓李的同學，累積了一千小時，後來班主任還讓他當班長，說他一定能收齊班費。後來他不想破壞班長形象，粗口少說了，脾氣也小了。」 義工服務改變學生 李同學中五畢業時拿到社會服務署的金獎，會考拿到一分去讀中專學校。「後來竟然有法國環保公司請他，老闆問有什麼理由要請他，他拿出義工的資料說：『第一我肯為別人服務；第二我很真誠，生氣就生氣，開心就開心，但我很少發脾氣啦！』後來公司要他讀IVE課程，合格則公司給錢，不合格要自費。後來我們相遇，他說一定要在學校裏拿到獎狀送給我。」 兩個月前，李同學影印了獎狀送給郭校長，還親手設計了一個表框。「打爛燈掣那位呢？後來說小學時代有事情就怨他，才打牆發洩，又是義工服務改變他；他最想做警察維護法紀，可惜他身體有毛病當不了，不過我很開心。那位抽煙的學生現在跟人家一起開餐廳。」 看到學生的上進，讓郭校長很滿足，老師也更有工作動力，「所以不只是老師用生命影響學生的生命，學生的生命也能影響老師，是立體的。」 郭校長稱黃允畋學校是「畋園是我家」，「老師六點出門口，有的做到晚上八九點下班，如果學校沒有家的感覺，會很痛苦的。」 教員室的設計也很特別，每位老師都有自己的間隔空間，每個位子都布置得很生活化，有的主題是海洋，有的放滿高達模型或毛公仔，儼如商場裏的小商店。學生看到老師的桌子，肯定更把老師當朋友。 每年三月第一個禮拜六是學校的校友日，讓校友重返母校與老師話舊，「我在這裏三十年了，有的學生都帶着自己的孩子回來，最高紀錄有五六百人，每層樓都擠滿人，還會播放當年的片段，很熱鬧。第一年教的學生快五十歲了，我有時跟年輕的老師說學生比你還老。他們回到以前的課室，有頑皮仔還叫我郭Sir：來，講堂課來聽聽。哈哈！」 郭校長還是很有膊頭的「領導人」，當老師擔心某些課外活動需要很多錢，他會說：「錢的事情我去找，只要把錢花在學生上就好，你只管教好學生，其他的事情我想辦法。」該校今年第二次奪得教育局和青年學會合辦的創意思維比賽冠軍，有機會去美國參加世界賽，「老師說出去比賽要十多萬，行嗎？我說你不要想這些問題，最後我們拿到全世界的第五名！我不希望學生因錢的問題，錯過一些體驗的機會。」 積極推動課外活動 今年學校也參加九龍倉的起動計劃（Project WeCan），學校的合作夥伴是有線電視。「我當時跟九倉說：我們都經歷過中學生活，人生只有一次機會。如何讓經歷變得豐富，讓學生裝備好，更有自信？」郭校長把計劃的資助放在提升學生的英文能力，以及幫助學習能力較差的學生。 郭校長希望同學更積極參與課外活動，於是半學期調整一次活動，希望參與的同學和老師能發燒地玩，難怪他們的中國舞、校園電視台、街舞等都很成功。 「我跟老師說失敗乃成功之母已經out了，要說成功是建築在成功之上，每一個小小的成功都能讓學生有更豐盛的人生。」 郭校長有很多格言和管理智慧，比如法理情和三角領導的概念。 「處理任何事情，都要考慮三個角度：情理法。單看情不行，只看法則會硬梆梆。學生哀求我們給機會，這個就是情，但我罰你是應該的，這是法，但之後我也會給你講理。」記者問情理法有沒有先後次序，郭校長頓一頓說：「沒有，要看個別情況，只能說因應不同事件，三者的比例不同而已。」 「掌握好的話，每件事就能處理得好。比如最近有一位學生過身了，是骨癌。他讀了兩年中四，由於出席率不足必須留班，後來要求升讀中五，同學也很照顧他。我說沒有問題，在這種特別例子就不用考慮法例。我教自己的兒子也這麼教，做任何決定都要考慮這三個角度。」 校長的三角關係 說畢，他拿起筆在記者的筆記本上畫一個正三角形和倒三角形，「校長在考慮發展和資源分配時，位置應該在尖頂上，那樣才能看得遠，能照顧學校不同的部分。不過當學校出了事情，校長就是倒三角形下面那點，要一個人挑起所有責任，校長一定不能絲毫推卸責任。把這兩個三角合起來，你看看是什麼？……星星！這就是校長的角色。」 郭校長1979 年畢業於中大，還是學生會的會長，閣員包括一些現任政府的官員和政黨主將。不過，他選擇了透過教育服務社會，「我自己的定位是管好一家學校，這就是我畢生的理想。我跟老師說理想不用太大，一生一世做好本份，那樣貢獻就很大。一個國家只有一個總統，管好學生影響力不大嗎？會不如政黨嗎？」 「有老師說有的家長很麻煩，我說麻煩的讓我去處理，他們已經活了四五十歲，要改變很難，我們何不把家長的範圍擴大？你們看不到現在就有一千多位未來家長嗎？這就是你們要改變的，六十多位老師教好一千多學生，將來就有一千多位好的家長，千萬不要小看自己。我們學校很少掛橫額，這些學生和家長就是我們的橫額。」 郭老師不愧是服務三十載的教育人士，他這番話是給教育同仁的最佳鼓舞，千萬不要小看自己的社會角色和重責。 穿短褲的校長 郭校長是喜歡笑的校長，對老師和學生都體貼，「校長不用板起臉，那個職位已經給了你權威，讓自己親切一點吧！」他每個月都會寫校長家書，分別給老師、學生、家長、舊生。 老師生日那天桌上都會有張卡和即食燕窩，那是他做副校長時開始的，一開始老師不知道是誰，後來才知道是校長的心意。有人戲稱校長錢真很多，他卻說：「人需要的東西不多，最花錢的是你想要的東西。不過，我太太總說我不善理財。哈哈！」 校長室門後掛着他和太太的合照，那是最不矚目的位置，座位面向的牆壁掛滿獎狀，還有李同學的黑白獎狀。郭校長對師生的慈悲來自父母的身教，他小學住油塘，後來在慈雲山的屋邨一直住到大學畢業。「就是慈雲山十三太保那裏。」他說。 「五兄弟姐妹，兩個姐姐，與爸媽擠在兩百呎的家裏。我爸爸小學畢業，媽媽小一畢業幾近文盲。我從他們身上學到很多東西，我爸爸很勤奮、很節儉，但相信一個人要不斷追求知識。我弟弟也是大學畢業，妹妹也是中學畢業，那個年代不容易了。」 深受父母影響 爸爸年輕時是清道夫，我和妹妹課餘幫人家倒豬餿，「後來爸爸覺得這樣下去不行，到我小六時候，他跟人家合資開屋邨小酒樓。」就這樣，家庭的情況有改善，郭校長也考入中文大學，畢業後投身教育，這對於重視教育的父親來 ，肯定倍感安慰。 「媽媽很慈祥，心地又好，總想着別人的好。所以我總在學校說，為何重視義工活動？就是希望他們學會回饋社會，人生必須有部分時間是服務社會的，就算離開了學校，有機會也要幫忙別人，這是從媽媽那學來的。」 基層的出身也令郭校長更加與眾不同，「有一回周末，我穿着短褲在旺角走過，突然聽到有人大喊：校長！那次我去附近作運動，當然是穿短褲啦！每次家教會旅行，我都帶太太和兒女出席，現在兒女大了不想去，但我太太仍然陪我一起參加。」 然而，他也有嚴厲的時候，比如遇上不負責任的老師，「我要他們想當初為何進這行。有孩子的，我問他們如果你的孩子遇到這樣的老師，你會怎麼想？」 很多人誤解了活在當下的意思，覺得要Hea對眼前事，不要那麼執着，其實意思是放下過去，好好把握這一刻。 撰文︰吳雄 攝影︰郭錫榮 部分圖片由受訪者提供

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500395_162-57592028/7-college-application-mistakes-to-avoid/?fb_action_ids=10102340278654623&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_ref=fbrecT&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210102340278654623%22%3A558912600835690%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210102340278654623%22%3A%22og.recommends%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210102340278654623%22%3A%22fbrecT%22%7D

7 college application mistakes to avoid

• Comment
  /
• Shares/
• Tweets/
• Stumble/
• Email
• More +

(MoneyWatch) The college application season has officially begun. 

The newest version of the Common Application, which more than 500 mostly private colleges and universities use, is now available to high school students who are eager to get a jump-start on their applications. Whether teenagers begin now or wait till the fall, it's important that they make an excellent impression with their applications. It's all too easy, however, to make mistakes. 

With that in mind, here are seven application mistakes that the California Institute of Technology advised teenagers attending its summer academic camp to avoid.

1. Leaving any section of the application blank

Failing to provide information about why the applicant wants to attend a particular school paints him or her in a negative light. An applicant claims to be interested in the school, but has nothing to show for it. 

• Study: best students travel the farthest for collegee
• 11 ways to fix what ails colleges
• What's wrong with America's dream colleges?

2. Not sharing activity details

Teenagers need to share details about their activities. For instance, don't assume that an admission rep will know what being president of the math team entails. A math team president could share that he led daily practices and facilitated local and regional competitions. The more detailed the description, the more useful the information.

3. Expecting your stats to do all the talking

Applicants shouldn't assume that a school will be eager to accept them because they have great standardized test scores, grade point average and class rank. Beyond academic profiles, colleges want students who will become a part of the community. 

Here is what Caltech says on this point:

Applicants should take special care to address how they will take advantage of the college's resources to develop themselves both in the classroom and in the community.... Admissions committees cannot derive your potential community impact from GPAs or class ranks, so applicants must make cases for themselves as people as well as students.

4. Submitting application materials under more than one name 

Only use your legal name when completing a college application, and instruct your counselor and teachers to do the same. By using variations of a legal name, your materials might be filed in different places. 

5. Asking unfamiliar teachers to write recommendation letters

Teenagers should only ask teachers who know them well enough to write about their specific abilities. The more a teacher knows and respects a student, the better the letter is likely to be. What's important is for the teacher to be specific about what he or she likes about the students. Details, details, details. 

Students should also give teachers plenty of advance notice about the recommendation request.

6. Submitting late application materials, or failing to submit them at all

Applicants won't be considered a good admission candidate until a school has all the necessary paperwork. The documents typically include: 

- College application
- Application fee or waiver
- Supplemental application (if applicable)
- Letters of recommendation
- Secondary school report
- Official college transcript (if applicable)
- Official SAT/ACT scores
- SAT subject test results (if applicable)

7. Writing a short or hastily written supplemental essay

Students applying for schools using the Common Application will typically have to complete secondary essays that might include answering some variation of this question: Why are you applying to this school? They need to provide well thought out answers. 

These essays also provide applicants with an opportunity to share more information about their extracurricular activities and their passions.

© 2013 CBS Interactive Inc.. All Rights Reserved.

Confessions of an Application Reader

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/04/education/edlife/lifting-the-veil-on-the-holistic-process-at-the-university-of-california-berkeley.html?pagewanted=all&_r=2&

A HIGHLY qualified student, with a 3.95 unweighted grade point average and 2300 on the SAT, was not among the top-ranked engineering applicants to the University of California, Berkeley. He had perfect 800s on his subject tests in math and chemistry, a score of 5 on five Advanced Placement exams, musical talent and, in one of two personal statements, had written a loving tribute to his parents, who had emigrated from India.

comprehensive, review, an admissions policy adopted by most selective colleges and universities. In holistic review, institutions look beyond grades and scores to determine academic potential, drive and leadership abilities. Apparently, our Indian-American student needed more extracurricular activities and engineering awards to be ranked a 1.

Now consider a second engineering applicant, a Mexican-American student with a moving, well-written essay but a 3.4 G.P.A. and SATs below 1800. His school offered no A.P. He competed in track when not at his after-school job, working the fields with his parents. His score? 2.5.

Both students were among “typical” applicants used as norms to train application readers like myself. And their different credentials yet remarkably close rankings illustrate the challenges, the ambiguities and the agenda of admissions at a major public research university in a post-affirmative-action world.

WHILE teaching ethics at the University of San Francisco, I signed on as an “external reader” at Berkeley for the fall 2011 admissions cycle. I was one of about 70 outside readers — some high school counselors, some private admissions consultants — who helped rank the nearly 53,000 applications that year, giving each about eight minutes of attention. An applicant scoring a 4 or 5 was probably going to be disappointed; a 3 might be deferred to a January entry; students with a 1, 2 or 2.5 went to the top of the pile, but that didn’t mean they were in. Berkeley might accept 21 percent of freshman applicants over all but only 12 percent in engineering.

My job was to help sort the pool.

We were to assess each piece of information — grades, courses, standardized test scores, activities, leadership potential and character — in an additive fashion, looking for ways to advance the student to the next level, as opposed to counting any factor as a negative.

External readers are only the first read. Every one of our applications was scored by an experienced lead reader before being passed on to an inner committee of admissions officers for the selection phase. My new position required two days of intensive training at the Berkeley Alumni House as well as eight three-hour norming sessions. There, we practiced ranking under the supervision of lead readers and admissions officers to ensure our decisions conformed to the criteria outlined by the admissions office, with the intent of giving applicants as close to equal treatment as possible.

The process, however, turned out very differently.

In principle, a broader examination of candidates is a great idea; some might say it is an ethical imperative to look at the “bigger picture” of an applicant’s life, as our mission was described. Considering the bigger picture has aided Berkeley’s pursuit of diversity afterProposition 209, which in 1996 amended California’s constitution to prohibit consideration of race, ethnicity or gender in admissions to public institutions. In Fisher v. the University of Texas, the Supreme Court, too, endorsed race-neutral processes aimed at promoting educational diversity and, on throwing the case back to lower courts, challenged public institutions to justify race as a factor in the holistic process.

In practice, holistic admissions raises many questions about who gets selected, how and why.

I could see the fundamental unevenness in this process both in the norming Webinars and when alone in a dark room at home with my Berkeley-issued netbook, reading assigned applications away from enormously curious family members. First and foremost, the process is confusingly subjective, despite all the objective criteria I was trained to examine.

In norming sessions, I remember how lead readers would raise a candidate’s ranking because he or she “helped build the class.” I never quite grasped how to build a class of freshmen from California — the priority, it was explained in the first day’s pep talk — while seeming to prize the high-paying out-of-state students who are so attractive during times of a growing budget gap. (A special team handled international applications.)

In one norming session, puzzled readers questioned why a student who resembled a throng of applicants and had only a 3.5 G.P.A. should rank so highly. Could it be because he was a nonresident and had wealthy parents? (He had taken one of the expensive volunteer trips to Africa that we were told should not impress us.)

Income, an optional item on the application, would appear on the very first screen we saw, along with applicant name, address and family information. We also saw the high school’s state performance ranking. All this can be revealing.

Admissions officials were careful not to mention gender, ethnicity and race during our training sessions. Norming examples were our guide.

Privately, I asked an officer point-blank: “What are we doing about race?”

She nodded sympathetically at my confusion but warned that it would be illegal to consider: we’re looking at — again, that phrase — the “bigger picture” of the applicant’s life.

After the next training session, when I asked about an Asian student who I thought was a 2 but had only received a 3, the officer noted: “Oh, you’ll get a lot of them.” She said the same when I asked why a low-income student with top grades and scores, and who had served in the Israeli army, was a 3.

Which them? I had wondered. Did she mean I’d see a lot of 4.0 G.P.A.’s, or a lot of applicants whose bigger picture would fail to advance them, or a lot of Jewish and Asian applicants (Berkeley is 43 percent Asian, 11 percent Latino and 3 percent black)?

The idea behind multiple readers is to prevent any single reader from making an outlier decision. And some of the rankings I gave actual applicants were overturned up the reading hierarchy. I received an e-mail from the assistant director suggesting I was not with the program: “You’ve got 15 outlier, which is quite a lot. Mainly you gave 4’s and the final scores were 2’s and 2.5’s.” As I continued reading, I should keep an eye on the “percentile report on the e-viewer” and adjust my rankings accordingly.

In a second e-mail, I was told I needed more 1’s and referrals. A referral is a flag that a student’s grades and scores do not make the cut but the application merits a special read because of “stressors” — socioeconomic disadvantages that admissions offices can use to increase diversity.

Officially, like all readers, I was to exclude minority background from my consideration. I was simply to notice whether the student came from a non-English-speaking household. I was not told what to do with this information — except that it may be a stressor if the personal statement revealed the student was having trouble adjusting to coursework in English. In such a case, I could refer the applicant for a special read.

Why did I hear so many times from the assistant director? I think I got lost in the unspoken directives. Some things can’t be spelled out, but they have to be known. Application readers must simply pick it up by osmosis, so that the process of detecting objective factors of disadvantage becomes tricky.

It’s an extreme version of the American non-conversation about race.

I scoured applications for stressors.

To better understand stressors, I was trained to look for the “helpful” personal statement that elevates a candidate. Here I encountered through-the-looking-glass moments: an inspiring account of achievements may be less “helpful” than a report of the hardships that prevented the student from achieving better grades, test scores and honors.

Should I value consistent excellence or better results at the end of a personal struggle? I applied both, depending on race. An underrepresented minority could be the phoenix, I decided.

We were not to hold a lack of Advanced Placement courses against applicants. Highest attention was to be paid to the unweighted G.P.A., as schools in low-income neighborhoods may not offer A.P. courses, which are given more weight in G.P.A. calculation. Yet readers also want to know if a student has taken challenging courses, and will consider A.P.’s along with key college-prep subjects, known as a-g courses, required by the U.C. system.

Even such objective information was open to interpretation. During training Webinars, we argued over transcripts. I scribbled this exchange in my notes:

A reader ranks an applicant low because she sees an “overcount” in the student’s a-g courses. She thinks the courses were miscounted or perhaps counted higher than they should have been.

Another reader sees an undercount and charges the first reader with “trying to cut this girl down.”

The lead reader corrects: “We’re not here to cut down a student.” We’re here to find factors that advance the student to a higher ranking.

Another reader thinks the student is “good” but we have so many of “these kids.” She doesn’t see any leadership beyond the student’s own projects.

Listening to these conversations, I had to wonder exactly how elite institutions define leadership. I was supposed to find this major criterion holistically in the application. Some students took leadership courses. Most often, it was demonstrated in extracurricular activities.

Surely Berkeley seeks the class president, the organizer of a volunteer effort, the team captain. But there are so many other types of contributions to evaluate. Is the kindergarten aide or soup kitchen volunteer not a leader?

And what about “blue noise,” what the admissions pros called the blank blue screen when there were no activities listed? In my application pile, many students from immigrant households had excellent grades and test scores but few activities. I commented in my notes: “Good student, but not many interests or activities? Why? Busy working parents? And/or not able to afford, or get to, activities?”

IN personal statements, we had been told to read for the “authentic” voice over students whose writing bragged of volunteer trips to exotic places or anything that “smacks of privilege.”

Fortunately, that authentic voice articulated itself abundantly. Many essays lucidly expressed a sense of self and character — no small task in a sea of applicants. Less happily, many betrayed the handiwork of pricey application packagers, whose cloying, pompous style was instantly detectable, as were canny attempts to catch some sympathy with a personal story of generalized misery. The torrent of woe could make a reader numb: not another student suffering from parents’ divorce, a learning difference, a rare disease, even dandruff!

As I developed the hard eye of a slush pile reader at a popular-fiction agency, I asked my lead readers whether some of these stressors might even be credible. I was told not to second-guess the essays but simply to pick the most worthy candidate. Still, I couldn’t help but ask questions that were not part of my reader job.

The assistant director’s words — look for “evidence a student can succeed at Berkeley” — echoed in my ears when I wanted to give a disadvantaged applicant a leg up in the world. I wanted to help. Surely, if these students got to Berkeley they would be exposed to all sorts of test-taking and studying techniques.

But would they be able to compete with the engineering applicant with the 3.95 G.P.A. and 2300 SATs? Does Berkeley have sufficient support services to bridge gaps and ensure success? Could this student with a story full of stressors and remedial-level writing skills survive in a college writing course?

I wanted every freshman walking through Sather Gate to succeed.

Underrepresented minorities still lag behind: about 92 percent of whites and Asians at Berkeley graduate within six years, compared with 81 percent of Hispanics and 71 percent of blacks. A study of the University of California system shows that 17 percent of underrepresented minority students who express interest in the sciences graduate with a science degree within five years, compared with 31 percent of white students.

When the invitation came to sign up for the next application cycle, I wavered. My job as an application reader — evaluating the potential success of so many hopeful students — had been one of the most serious endeavors of my academic career. But the opaque and secretive nature of the process had made me queasy. Wouldn’t better disclosure of how decisions are made help families better position their children? Does Proposition 209 serve merely to push race underground? Can the playing field of admissions ever be level?

For me, the process presented simply too many moral dilemmas. In the end, I chose not to participate again.

Ruth A. Starkman teaches writing and ethics at Stanford and, from 1992 to 1996, taught writing at the University of California, Berkeley.

BERKELEY ON BERKELEY ADMISSIONS

“In general, we have an incredibly successful story to tell about our process,” said Amy Jarich, who has been director of admissions at the University of California, Berkeley, since September.

In an interview, Ms. Jarich responded to some of the issues raised by Ruth A. Starkman in her essay on the training of outside application readers and Berkeley’s admissions process — a process Ms. Jarich calls transparent. (Freshman selection criteria and reports on comprehensive review can be found on Berkeley’s Web site.)

“The training process is tried and true,” she said. “We try to do consistent training that helps people understand the policies and also the practice.”

On the application examples used in training, she said, “we intentionally pick the trickiest cases to norm with, aimed at generating discussion,” after which many new readers have to adjust their scoring.

Noting that reading applications is “an art,” she said that Proposition 209 was a challenge that created the need for readers to separate out in their minds race, ethnicity and gender. “Other factors, like reported family income, do not make the decision for us, but they do inform us as we read in context.”

“We’re very sensitive to the fact that we want to pull in a socioeconomically diverse group,” she said, naming several programs in place to help students graduate.

To further diversify, the chancellor has set a goal that 20 percent of students come from outside California, she said. Calling the in-state/out-of-state argument “so political,” she added: “It’s hard to close your mind to it, but in the review process it’s not a factor.” Nor are candidates compared, she said. “Nobody should say we have too many of one and not enough of another.”

“The student reports to us their G.P.A., and shows us every strength and every marker,” she said. Readers in the application-review stage should not consider “anything that’s out of that student’s control.”

A version of this article appeared in print on August 4, 2013, on page ED10 of Education Life with the headline: Unnatural Selection.

How to deal with bullying

I read this book today. This is not just a story about bullying, but it also tells reader to learn about bullying. Why does it happen?
How to deal with it?
How to help kids being bullied.

http://www.trudyludwig.com/mybook_kidding.html

康熙來了 2013-07-12 DJ說話好聽唱歌也好聽?

今天康熙請來的都是DJ, 跟做電視節目的人比起來，他們謙虛和很懂得說話，也不會把場面弄得很尷尬！ 讚！！

http://taiwanvs.com/%E5%BA%B7%E7%86%99%E4%BE%86%E4%BA%86-2013-07-12-dj%E8%AA%AA%E8%A9%B1%E5%A5%BD%E8%81%BD%E5%94%B1%E6%AD%8C%E4%B9%9F%E5%A5%BD%E8%81%BD/

Blog in the past?

曾經我每一日都會寫網上日記，一切的日記都留在open diary的帳戶裡
每當我百無聊賴， 我就會想起這個帳戶，我會再一次登入， 除了看自己的日記，亦會看加在favorite中朋友或其他人的日記。
其中一個人，我從我中學就閱讀她的日記，我並不認識這個人。但因為看她日記的關係，好似我已認識她很久，她是一位小學英文老師，曾在普通小學和私校任教。最初看她日記的時候，她男朋友是一位德國人，她成了第三者。我從來都不討厭第三者，或許是因為小時候常看張小嫻的小說， 她總把第三者描寫得偉大而深情，敎我不能恨她們。她早已離開德國男，交了幾個男友後，終放找到了結婚對象，最近還當了媽媽！恭喜恭喜！不過最近她的日記的確大量減產，大概照顧小孩也很忙吧！
另一個，是gay 的。他的語文能力很強，學習多種多語，留學美國，讀農業科。看他的日記，我明白很多同性戀者只能偷偷摸摸，他們面對最無耐的問題是：〝幾時帶女朋友出黎俾我地見下呀？〞如果親友見過〝女朋友〞，仍可如常地談笑風生？
哥哥也曾寫過網上日記，我們移民了，他把他當初自已在香港的生活記下來。哥哥是一位很堅強的人，但有時也有感性的一面。感恩他有很好的妻子，他也將成為爸爸了！
我喜歡寫日記，我並不喜歡看自已從前的日記，因為悲觀的我總把很多壞感覺記下來。每一位回看自已的一記，總會暗暗罵自已笨，為什麼這樣也要不開心。

Homesick, 請不要再找我！

Life is Missing Something?

對上一次講幾時可以再搬屋， 估唔到呢件事有可能變成真，仲要係自已gei 屋， Will see what happens!
今晚同同事出去飯野，因為Melissa要搬去Boston。Betty 車我同同事返parking lot， 佢係一位單親媽媽，個女同個仔都讀梗大學，佢同女去左巴西交流，佢同Betty講畢左業返美國，之後就會返去巴西生活。Sarah 說：“You will know what kind of life you want to have when you are at college. ” That's quite true.

Life is missing a something? 最新gei 中文書, 話劇, 電台節目, 港產片，演唱會，同朋友飲野 <--曾經我得閒最愛做gei 事情，變得好遙遠

搬屋

初中的時候，經常看張小嫻小說，每一個男女主角都是自己一個人住，每一次他們搬家，都有一個悽美原因。從此就很嚮往自己一個人住和經常搬家的生活，在美國，我搬過好幾次家，可惜每一次都住在同一社區裡。
其中一個人說，搬屋可以體驗不同的社區的生活，這也是我嚮往的。三藩市就是和洛杉磯不一樣。我也很喜歡搬屋的感覺，總是會覺得會有一個新開始。
什麼時候可以再搬屋？

一樓一古：搬屋我有無得揀？

http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/supplement/culture/art/20130610/18290963

鴨上Scholastic

平時去開Scholastic 幫d Specialist 買野， 見到張相咁熟面口，香港嚟ga wor！！都算個攝影師影得靚la！

Duck, Ahoy!
http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3758097

興趣可以當飯吃

經常聽到有人說 “要跟著你喜歡的興趣去找你的職業，錢就會跟著你”，也有人說，“興趣不能當飯吃”。最近，我都在想想那一個才是對。最後，我想到的是，要看你的興趣是什麼，才能知道興趣能不能當飯吃。

朋友們都愛追電視劇，打電動，這些當然是不能當飯吃的喜好。其實上什麼班對他們來說不重要，只要下班後，他們能看電視和打電動就好了。做銀行也好，做會計也好，他們都沒所謂，賺到生活就可以。

有些朋友從小就愛寫文章，愛幫住別人。長大後，他們當醫生，當記者，實在是無可口非。他們是工作於娛樂，因為他們享受他們愛做的事情，樂此不疲。

朋友們，你是那一種興趣呢？

Homesick Homesick

每一次從香港回來都會HOMESICK，症狀包括：

1） 投訴美國的一切 （parking， work， driving， food，no friends）

2）埋怨到要哭（主要都是因為事業停滯不前，不知去向如何）

3）再不停塞滿自己的時間表，為了沒有時間想自己有多寂寞和空虛

irving parking 難搵到顛， 真係唔明點解買支豉油都要兩個人去，就係為左唔駛搵位泊車

聖安娜西餅，瑞士卷，簡單又唔漏，無得食啦。。。

Move!

I will be moving to a new and a new desk tomorrow!
My new desk will be 3 times bigger than the one I am having now. I hope I can be more productive!
Hope all setup will go well tomorrow.

How are you?

今日不知道為什麼把自己的微博拿出來看看，都沒有發現原來自己曾經有過的想法
譬如說，我從第一天就不太愛那一份工作，我一直作下去，都忘了自己原來一早就沒看好那份工作。

很多人都很愛在FACEBOOK, Instogram 放照片，讓他們個FOLLOWER 知道他們去了哪裡，做了什麼事情，對我來說，這些食物和地方帶給他們什麼感受才是最重要。有一次，補習學校的實習生從芝加哥大學回來探望我們，每一個人都問他學校怎麼樣，只有我一個人問他生活怎麼樣。他說只有我一個人這樣問他，他問我為什麼，我說：“我不太在乎你在學校怎麼樣，我關心你過得如何。” 當然我最後還是有問他學校如何，但他最想要瞭解是他有沒有生活得愉快和充實。

我在上課中，認識從英國來同學，她住過洛杉磯和三藩市，她說洛杉磯的人只關心你認識誰，住那裡，擁有什麼東西，三藩市的人才想認識你是誰。只要你認識他是誰，你就會他擁有什麼和認識什麼人。其實我很怕，也很不喜歡去舊同學聚會，原因一樣。或許有人以為認識一個人身邊的東西，才能瞭解一個人是怎麼樣吧！

快回去香港了！很想知道朋友都過的如何。

Character First

最近在公司的電郵裡面收到一個關於如何培養小孩品得的信件。

http://www.characterfirst.com/

我並不是要替這一家公司賣廣告。當我看到這個電郵的時候，我有一點生氣，天啊！品得這個東西需要付錢教的嗎？當然，我們可以告訴小孩什麼是對，還是不對，但品得這樣東西，是要從小孩自己的經驗和判斷力來培養，如果小孩遇到困難的時候，家長都幫他們解決，小孩哪有解決問題的能力？最重要還有讓小孩有一個學習的榜樣，如果大人只告訴小孩不要講髒話，自己卻每一天都在小孩面前罵髒話，這樣子，小孩不單止會學，還要學的更快！

說實在，當我看到這家公司要培養的品德的時候，我發現很多都是聖經裡面的屬靈果子。美國人，你回到聖經裡，不就好了嗎！？這家公司還有在中國，台灣，澳洲等地區有分店，教導家長和僱主如何培養小孩和僱員的品德。願意花錢的顧客，別忘了也要有“言教不如身教”的心！

加拉太書

5:22		聖 靈 所 結 的 果 子 、 就 是 仁 愛 、 喜 樂 、 和 平 、 忍 耐 、 恩 慈 、 良 善 、 信 實 、
5:23		溫 柔 、 節 制 ． 這 樣 的 事 、 沒 有 律 法 禁 止 。

洛杉磯

因為男朋友外公生日的緣故，我們再有一次去洛杉磯的機會，我們跟上一次一樣，都是開車去。去洛杉磯的那一程，因為我的車實在太輕了，我感覺自己好像在坐飛機，所以有一點不舒服。過了三分之二的路程，就由我來開車。暈的情況就沒有這麼嚴重。

這一次的安排還蠻充實的。有跟洛杉磯的朋友見面，有跟男朋友的親戚碰面，有去買衣服，有跟教會的導師吃早餐，我還試了一次泰式按摩。其實我本來就知道自己不能被人家按摩，但我又沒有試過，就試一下，結果我都沒有放鬆下來。這些玩兒，是一次就好了！

跟了一些朋友碰面，他們都好像有不同的原因不喜歡美國的生活。總覺的在美國生活欠缺了朋友或發展的機會。這也是我的感受。希望他們回到香港可以好好發展！

雖然整個旅行有一點累，但是可以見到不同的朋友，還是很滿足！

行山

星期六，跟男朋友和他教會的朋友去Mt. Diablo State Park 行山 （這是男朋友為我預備的情人節活動）

完全沒預料到行山可以這麼辛苦

上去的斜坡斜得這麼厲害，有好幾個地方我們要爬上去的

路又很窄，旁邊就是懸崖了，感覺挺危險。 

下山的時候，路又很斜，又一些地方要滑下去

風景是不錯啦，但是我們趕著要在天黑前下到山，都沒有時間好好觀賞風景。

雖然是辛苦，但也是一個很寶貴的經驗。

沒走過這麼難走的山，也不知道自己能完成這個體力的考驗

當中很感謝神的帶領，又美好的天氣，又很好的同伴，我們雖然很辛苦，都沒有埋怨，互相幫助和支持完成這次旅行；在我們需要幫助的時候，又有兩個熱心的行山者帶領我們走過最難的階段。也要很感謝男朋友一路上的照顧，包容體力差的我

是日雅虎香港的標題

其實這個不難了解，看到以前的同輩都比自己好，誰會開心呢？
不過我也看到很正面的回應，有一些人說，因為臉書才看到平時不多見朋友的生活，看到他們生活的愉快，他也很高興！

瀏覽臉書 1/3更不滿意自己生活

路透倫敦11日電）德國研究發現，看著臉書上的朋友遊山玩水、跟另一半耍甜蜜或是叱吒職場，可能會讓1個人難過、寂寞。

德國兩所大學的聯合研究發現，臉書使用者嫉妒心蔓延，使擁有10億以上使用者的全球最大社群網站臉書，也成了前所未有的較勁舞台。

研究人員發現，1/3的人瀏覽臉書後，更不滿意自己的生活，而且只看而不發文的「潛水」使用者所受影響最大。

柏林洪堡大學（Humboldt University）資訊系統研究所研究人員克拉斯諾娃（Hanna Krasnova）說：「許多人瀏覽臉書時產生嫉妒情緒，因而感到孤單、沮喪或憤怒等負面經驗，而且人數多到讓我們驚訝。」

克拉斯諾娃說：「就我們的觀察，部分人會因為這樣停用臉書，或至少減少上臉書的頻率。」

洪堡大學和達姆斯塔（Darmstadt）科技大學（Technical University）發現，度假照片最容易讓瀏覽者恨得牙癢癢，約一半以上的臉書使用者會嫉妒朋友發表在臉書上的度假情景。

社會互動則是引發嫉妒的第2大原因。使用者會比較自己和朋友誰的生日祝福多，以及自己發表的照片或文章得到多少「讚」和回應。

研究人員在名為「臉書上的嫉妒心：生活滿意度的隱密威脅」報告說：「被動的查看臉書會引發令人不快的情緒，使用者主要會嫉妒他人擁有的幸福，以及度假和社交生活。」

報告發現，35歲左右的使用者最傾向嫉妒他人的家庭幸福，女性朋友則較可能嫉妒別人的外在吸引力。

這些嫉妒感會讓部分使用者進一步誇耀自己的成就，或呈現自己更好的一面。報告顯示，男性朋友傾向在臉書上吹噓自己的成就，女性則樂於展現自己的美貌和社交生活。

研究人員在兩份研究中共訪問600人，並據此發表研究結果。中央社（翻譯）

瀏覽臉書 1/3更不滿意自己生活

Update

被拒絕過後，是時候更新一下

其實elle 比cosmopolitan 更好看， 每早回到辦公室，也要看一會才做事
計劃四月回港兩星期，我己經興奮得不得了，一直在計劃要去哪裡和買什麼。
男朋友比我沒興趣多了，但沒辦法，他還是要回去一下！嘻嘻！

一月就這樣過去了，在懷疑和自責中渡過
感覺上今年會過得很快， 完了13年，會有成就呢？
感謝sandy 在13 年帶的週會， 要自己寫下resolution。 除了這樣， 她還叫我們寫一封信給2013 年尾的自己，看看想法有沒有改變。
我把這張紙放到記事薄中，常常提醒自己，不要把目標放棄

倉頡字典
http://www.ecj.hk/cjdict/cjdict.aspx

報稅

是時候報稅了！
才發現自己賺的這麼少，真的有點覺得對不起父母，
明明當會計可以賺比較多，他們就會有比較好的生活，卻要走教育的路，但走也沒有走的正確。bu shang bu xia.......
shi bai

2013年完成的第一本書

2013 年看完的第一本書是“那年，我們吸了毒”。

今天心情不好，平是我可能讀一本小說，把自己躲進另一個世界，心情可能好一點

家裡剩下沒有讀的小說就只有這一本，從八點就開始看，大概兩個小時就完成了

感覺很多。這是真實故事，一個社工把她遇到的寫出來。

吸毒離我很遠，我連吸毒的朋友都沒有吧，所以我有一點覺得這個好像是另一個世界

但他們戒毒後的孤單，我並不是不理解。他們每一天上FACEBOOK，上到都沒有朋友再更新再下線，我相信不少人也有這個經驗吧！

離開毒癮的確很難，要有很大的決心，因為他們戒的，除了那個會不停找你的癮，還要離開曾經渡過不少好時光的朋友，不然，又會回去吸毒那條路。不少青少年走上吸毒的路都是因為缺乏家庭的關心和教導，有些更是出生富裕的家庭，可見，時間和關心不能忽略。

這本書，雖然是社工寫的，但一點都沒有提到社工如何幫忙他們，她希望讀者能注重和聆聽曾吸毒者的心聲。

我一邊看郭富城的演唱會，一邊看這本書。郭富城身材依然很好，舞變簡單多了，聽到很多熟悉的歌曲，不錯

這幾天

剛剛過了馬德路德金週末，活動很多，很充實，好像有外出旅遊的感覺
I feel like I had VACATION! not Holidays.
我到了TPUMPS 喝奶茶，有點太甜了，下次要點綠茶。

今天看討論區，發現SUEDE 出了新歌！除了悲情曲，偶而我會聽聽別的，SUEDE是我從中學開始有注意的樂隊，他們的唱腔跟其他樂隊很不一樣，他們好像用鼻子和喉嚨一起唱。
SUEDE-BARRIES

今天，我工作的部門參加了一個工作坊，教我們遇到難題的時候如何改變自己的心態去面對。這個工作坊教人如何表達自己的想法 （不加任何解決辦法）和如何用別的方法去看一個問題。這個WORKSHOP 也可以幫人排解壓力。

明明之前想到很多西要寫， 隔了幾天，什麼都忘記了！

Hotmail

I have 3 Hotmail account for my personal use. Actually, I think Hotmail does a good job in developing email functions. If you have one, try their "Sweep", it automatically delete all emails from the same email addresses. It helps me a lot to delete email advertisements that I only went to that website to purchase once!
Another function that I like is that it can import emails from your Gmail and Yahoo email account. I can simply check one Hotmail and read all my emails from multiple email accounts! I don't even have to remember many passwords.
Other than importing emails from other email server, it can also link all my Hotmail email accounts together. I open one Hotmail account when I was in junior high, then I opened another one when I was in LA. I opened the third one for my personal finance stuff, such as banking and stock. I like to separate my business in various accounts.
I also like gmail because it keeps all email with the same subject in a chain, and it has google drive, blog, readers...all these kind of stuff.

I hope eblogger won't delete this post, and I don't mean to do advertisement for Hotmail. :)

Ipad BB

在FACEBOOK 上，看到有一些朋友已經成為爸爸媽媽了！他們都在FACEBOOK 展示他們小孩可愛的照片，有些胖旁的，有些眼睛圓圓的，有些表情趣緻的，我的確很替他們高興！能夠年輕時候當爸爸媽媽，生活也添了不少趣味！

可是我看到，還沒夠兩歲的小孩卻開始用ipad，有些家長還以為小孩很聰明，年少就會玩蘋果產品，其實這樣會對小孩成張有影響。ipad 和電子遊戲的畫面太快了，小孩腦子裡並不能處理這麼多的信息，對於腦細胞造成影響。為什麼小孩還是這麼愛玩了？因為這些很快的圖片和聲音能為他們帶來興奮，就好像有些人吸毒的時候，有興奮的感覺。也說明為什麼有些人一玩電動就停不下來。

而且，小孩需要發展身體大小肌肉，溝通，音樂，語言，認知的能力， ipad 能做的並不多。

參考文章：
Is it Okay to Let Your Toddler Play with the iPad?

Parents Urged Again to Limit TV for Youngest

開學了

我又一次把自己上課的時間表搞亂了，原來要多拿幾堂課才可以拿到PERMIT，那一張表真的寫的很模糊！又沒有寫清楚到底哪一些才是SCHOOL AGE的班！很討厭！


蘋果股票撐不住了！


禮拜天，男朋友跟我說，他在BART上看到有人只穿三角褲的人。原來那一天是NO PANTS ON SUBWAY DAY。 美國真的無奇不有，在這裡住了七年，對於某一些習俗還是不明白。到底為了甚麼呢？而且，那天還很冷呢！大概只有兩三度吧！
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/No-Pants-BART-ride-on-track-for-Sunday-4188091.php

天氣很乾

GOOGLE PLUS變得很複雜，我都不會用了。
這個冬天，天氣還蠻冷的，而且很乾。我的皮膚變的很敏感，不是癢，就是長了一點一點紅的。塗上多少潤膚霜都好像沒用。很討厭！還是我真的變老了？

正在猶豫什麼時候要請假，回香港。
今天一早起來，不曉得為什麼想要開一家小小的補習社，一家有責任心的補習班。每一個學生都要知道自己學了什麼，才能回家。學生老師比例不多，最重要是學生有進步！感謝媽媽在我小學的時候把我的讀書習慣好好培養出來。我小學的時候是我學東西最多的時期，也是我基礎打得最穩固個時候。沒有媽媽每天監督我作功課和複習，我現在也不太會讀書。真得要感激媽媽！

普通話：乾－GAN

不夠睡

其實這幾天並不忙，可能是太早上班了
我發覺自己太早是沒辦法想東西，我早上總是糊裡糊塗
明明不該錯的，我還是不小心犯了錯
咖啡不是沒有用，但是自己泡的咖啡又不夠濃，提不了神
每一天買一杯咖啡開支也太多了
是我睡不夠吧，一天只有六個半小時，早點睡會有用嗎？

最近發現，ELLE 比 COSMOPOLITAN 好看

學普通話

又一次想要寫日記的念頭，
擁有了opendiary的帳戶很久了，

自從他把我的中文日記都變成亂碼，

我對它就沒有信心了。

一直在尋找好用的網上日記，好像都沒有找到好的

直到朋友介紹這個日記，我會嘗試用一用，不好的，在找找別的好了

我過了一個很糟糕的年尾，心情都沒了

不想去的聚會真的不要去

不要勉強自己，道不同，不相為謀

我都在用普通話寫日記，我真的要好好練普通話

問題：如果用MAC的拼音輸入法打中文，看到有一些字在下一頁，應該如何按才能到下一頁呢？

還有，我最近都在尋迷zookeeper 這個遊戲，雖然有點舊，但還蠻好玩的！我反應太慢，跟男朋友一齊玩，贏的機會多很多！(^ ^)