Room for Improvement

When I was still a teacher, one of my favorite remarks on a student’s score report was ‘There is room for improvement’. It was to encourage better efforts in his work. In fact, I found this applicable to all students, even those who deserved praises for their excellent performance. 

Some may find me too demanding, always expecting more instead of being satisfied with what the students have done, however much or little it is. From my point of view, however, to encourage students to work harder does not imply dissatisfaction with their performance. Rather, it is to convince them of their potential for pushing themselves beyond their limits. Without added efforts, their academic progress will not only be stagnant but will even be reversed gradually. The Chinese saying that a boat sailing against the current will either advance or be driven back still holds good. One must keep charging ahead or he will inevitably be going backward. 

The importance of seeking improvement can also be viewed from a different angle. I am very particular about students leaving time for checking their work before turning it in. The proofreading enables them to find out what is lacking and to correct the errors. This can do them good in terms of enhanced work quality as well as training them for life.  

Personally, I find this a very good life attitude. There is indeed room for improvement in various life situations, be it such a trifling matter as leaving a facebook message or one as significant as finalizing a legal document. My experience of writing for a weekly column is more than enough evidence. My usual practice is to write the draft of an episode one week before submission. During the week, I check it several times. Each time I read it again, I find the need for some modifications and ultimately, the final version is the one I feel most assured of. This is perhaps what ‘room for improvement’ actually means.  

Another piece of evidence concerns my experience of an English-to-Chinese Diploma in Translation Exam, which consisted of three independent papers and lasted for seven hours in total with short breaks in between. The papers were very substantial, keeping my pen racing till the last minute, leaving only five minutes for the proofreading. Frankly, I am not satisfied with my performance and doubt if I can secure even a pass. I did manage to do the factual translation but if there had been more time, I could have structured my writing to make it seem more like natural Chinese.  

It is thus evident that in our work as well as in life itself, we should always spare time and efforts for better performance. Whatever and however well we have been doing, there is always room for improvement.

Civism in Macau as I see it

With more time at my disposal since my retirement, I have been going out more often. I thus see more of Macau than I used to. I also observe Macau’s people more carefully and intentionally. I have got a sketchy impression of how they behave in public, and how strong a sense of civism most of them have. 

A ride on a Macau bus is seldom a pleasant experience nowadays especially when it is crowded with people standing even in the forbidden area near the exit door. But it is also on the bus that I have been treated a few times with respect and kindness. I felt surprised and embarrassed when, at the announcement by my Macau Pass (the electronic bus card) of my status as a senior citizen, I was first offered a ‘red seat’, one of those specially reserved for the needy. Though reluctant to disclose my age, I thanked the kind lady – seemingly a Filipino - and gladly accepted the offer. I have gradually noticed that people usually keep the ‘red seats’ for the intended passengers and offering the seat is on the whole a usual practice.  Another example of good civism I observe on a bus ride is that most of the passengers are willing to alight at the rear door except when the bus is so fully packed as to leave no moving space all the way to the back.

People have also got used to waiting in a queue for the lift. The lifts leading to the different floors of the government hospital are frequently used. There are people paying visits to the inmates and those going for medical treatment. A long queue is often seen especially during the rush hour. Imagine what chaos would result if people refused to queue up in order. A queue is also often found at the entrance to the lift bringing people up and down the footbridge across the main street near Delta Bank. This way, people won’t feel anxious about not being able to use the lift as their turn will come somehow. 

Of course, there has been complaint about queue jumping and passengers carrying big-sized luggage onto the bus. These are, however, rare cases. Complaint about people not lining up at the bus stops is justifiable. But as I see it, it is not easy to arrange waiting passengers in lines as the bus stops are used by different bus routes at the same time. Besides, Macau’s streets are crowded and narrow. To stop the bus at the right spot to let passengers  in and out  poses great difficulty. So the cause of the problems lies not so much in people’s lack of civism as in the city’s lack of good planning. 

On the whole, Macau’s citizens have a rather good sense of civism. There is, doubtlessly, room for improvement, which depends greatly on better education and  more efficient government guidance.