Last week I read a story in China Daily about an NGO named Life Education and Crisis Intervention Center that co-organized a lecture series on life education with the Shanghai Pudong district government. The lectures were well attended by both parents and children. According to the report, "Chinese experts now believe skills to cope with life should be an important part of the education curriculum." I have held this very belief for a long time, and would even contend that life education is more important than professional or vocational education. The latter equips one with job skills; the former equips one with life skills.

Also in the news last week were the results of a survey that showed Hong Kong children had very low self-care skills. Seventy-six percent of parents interviewed indicated that their children could not independently change clothes, 61 percent could not bathe themselves, and 57 percent could not keep their own personal belongings in order. Sixty-two percent of children could not help with housework. The parents interviewed had children aged four to 12.

As to incentives for helping with housework, 37 percent of parents would offer money while 33 percent would offer gifts. Only 9 percent indicated they would encourage by example and 6 percent would say "thank-you" to their children. Fifteen percent would simply "order" their children to do the housework.

These figures are quite disappointing, indicating that Hong Kong parents generally have poor knowledge of the basic principles of life education.

In a family, the basics of life education reside in sharing, and there are lots of things to share: joys and sorrows, sharing the housework, food, ideas, and sharing experiences. If children somehow are aloof to housework, and have no idea about the sacrifice that others have made on their behalf, it will be difficult to nurture a sense of gratitude. Developing a sense of gratitude and developing the habit of sharing within the household will nurture love, which gives meaning to much if not all of what we do.

It is a pity that almost three decades ago Hong Kong's officials in charge of education introduced sex education in the school curriculum but not life education. Actually sex education is a natural part of life education. If children develop a deep respect for life, then they will automatically want to avoid abortions. They will therefore avoid unplanned pregnancies. They will be sensitive to others' feelings, and will not resort to violence of any kind, including sexual violence.

Presently, the Liberal Studies curriculum does include the growth and development of students, which would encompass life education. However, a reading of the materials on the Education Bureau's website shows that this component appears too egocentric and oblivious to the reality in which a young person lives. To be really useful, life education needs to equip a young person with the tools and the necessary attitude to overcome the problems that they will face through their lives, and also to ignite the sensitivity about others' suffering.

There are so many kinds of frustrations and pressures that people face. If they cannot handle these they can never be happy. The frustration could have to do with school work, or with relationships, or with one's parents. It could be financial or social. The frustration could even be trivial, but as Lin Kunhui, who founded the Life Education and Crisis Intervention Center, observed, "Sometimes a small disappointment can make them take the road to ruin." The frustration could have to do with other people's problems, as for example with unreasonable parents or nasty people that one encounters in one's life. Dealing with other people's negative emotions can be beyond a young mind. Young people need to know when they will have to seek help.

It is unfortunate that every year there have been cases of young people killing themselves. According to one of my own surveys, young people generally become less happy as they grow up. Fortunately, a number of schools have now explicitly introduced life education into their curriculum.

Life education is really fundamental to all education. After all, stamina is what counts in the long run. If we give someone a lot of knowledge and skills, but if that someone is a weakling, and lacks the courage to face a challenge, what is the benefit of all that knowledge and skills? On the other hand, if someone is strong-willed and has learnt to reflect on his weaknesses, making improvements every day, he will go much farther, and will certainly live a more fulfilling life. That is what really counts.

The author is director of the Center for Public Policy Studies, Lingnan University.

(HK Edition 04/09/2013 page1)