Effective August 2015, Dr Paul Wood will serve as the new Executive Principal of YK Pao School’s Secondary Division. On his fourth pre-visit to campus, Y10’s Lucy and Clementine from students newsletter Pao Weekly were eager to ask him questions regarding his plans as well as the upcoming IB Diploma Program (IBDP).
Q:Dr Wood, what excites you most about being the new principal at YK Pao School?
A:I think what excites me most is the fact that Pao School is a young school. I have spent a lot of my career in well-established schools where traditions are set and it can be challenging to try new things, but at YK Pao School, many things are happening for the first time. I am looking forward to helping the school solidify its identity. Being the principal for a school’s first graduating cohort is very exciting as well. All of the students I have met are wonderful and it’s great to work at a school where students are committed to learning, approachable and good-natured.
Q:What is your aim for Secondary Division? Where do you want to lead the school?
A:My first aim is to familiarize myself with what has happened in the past few years. I need to have a detailed understanding of where the school is now before I can help it move forward, but my educational goals are always quite similar: Everyone should be committed to achieving excellence and that includes students, staff and of course, myself.
My other priority is joy. It can be easy to forget that a place of learning can be a place of great joy. I think learning is great fun and I know for some students that the pressure can become too great that they forget the joy of learning, so I am hoping the Secondary Division campus will be a place of great enjoyment.
Q:You have vast experience with IB. What are your plans for developing the new IB curriculum at Pao School?
A:The IB curriculum demands students to be independent learners. This can be quite challenging for some students. One of my goals is to ensure that we are giving our students the opportunity to become independent learners. For the curriculum, we will need to prioritize resources, people, rooms and equipment to decide which courses best support our students.
Another interesting challenge will be to define how Pao School students distinguish themselves from others. The IBDP itself is fixed in many ways, so how do IBDP candidates at Pao School distinguish themselves from those around the world?
My hope for the years to come would be that when applications are received at universities around the world, admissions officers would have a clear idea of what it means to have attended Pao School and what its students excel at.
Q:What are your suggestions for students to face those challenges?
A:This is my fifth IB school and for the past 15 years, I have seen students go on to success and happiness, but those who excel tend to be students who are able to pursue their interests.
For students in Y11 and Y12, it should be about the quality of activity, not quantity. Some students try hard to demonstrate excellence in too many areas, and I understand it can be tempting if you are considering applying to a good university somewhere around the world, but I have seen universities react more positively to a student that is very passionate and pursuing excellence in a more concentrated range of things. He or she could be an outstanding journalist or an outstanding volleyball player. Pursue your interests and aim for excellence!
Q:The IB will mainly be taught in English and many students might find it difficult to cope with IB English. How can they prepare themselves?
A:The best way is to keep reading and listening, and practicing and speaking English wherever possible. I completely understand this can be tiring if it is not your first language. You cannot do that for 18 hours a day. One of the interesting challenges in any bilingual program is to not only maintain and develop a home language, but also reach academic excellence in English.
When it comes to social sciences, history, economics or psychology, all those courses tend to be difficult for English language learners because sophisticated argument is required and although students are perfectly capable of that argument in their home language, they need to be able to explain it in English.
I have no doubt that Pao School students will have great success with the IBDP, but they need to be balanced in their approach. Balance, one of our school’s core values, is extremely important in the IBDP where you have to juggle many different things. Perfectionists will often struggle more and it is a life skill to know how much is enough and what is good enough in the IBDP.
Q:You mentioned “Balance” as part of Pao School’s goals in their whole person education. What do you think are the main keys to contribute to a whole child’s development outside the classroom?
A:I think the idea needs the support of students and their families. I would hope that if a family has chosen Pao School, it would be because they agree with that goal. It is natural for students to focus too much on the academic side. Students who are balanced in their lives, take good care of themselves physically and emotionally, and who have a positive attitude, will be successful academically. I understand that a wellness activity might be perceived by some as a waste of time. The challenge for all of us is to build a school community that acknowledges and supports these activities. We need to dedicate time and effort to discussing the importance of “wellness” and “balance” and doing things that support them. I hope that the students and teachers, families and parents will think: “That’s time well spent.”
