時光飛逝，轉眼間我出任葉紀南校長一職已差不多一整個學年，每天都面對著沉重的文件工作、與不同持分者面談、主持及出席各式各樣的會議及議決學校各項的政策等，當中不難想像若我外出公幹一天的話，積壓如山的文書事務足可讓自己喘不過氣來，校長的工作好像每天都與時間競賽。 在入職校長時已經知道三年內需要到北京受訓的安排，在排山倒海的工作中，我最初都抱著被動的心態面對，但最後還是無奈地選擇盡早解決這個入職要求，在五月中旬，我「犧牲」了六天的工作時間，參加教育局委託北京國家行政學院舉辦的校長培訓班，重拾書包離開香港上學去，真正做到「校長也上課」的良好楷模。 縱然這個決定代價頗大，但整個學習旅程真是出乎我意料之外，實際的收穫遠遠高出我的想像，是十分值得的。

        整個課程中，讓我最意想不到的，要算是北京故宮的考察活動，其中一個講座環節，由北京故宮博物院 單霽翔院長親自主講，介紹及講解現時故宮的管理及保育思維，真是大開眼界，獲益良多。 老實話，過去參觀故宮的經驗，印象並不好，好像進入故宮前，往往花上不少時間在炎熱天氣下大排長龍購票、沒有充足休憩地方歇腳、莊嚴宮殿附近都有不少格格不入的臨時建築物，並且大部分宮殿內展館都是黑漆漆的。 所以在聆聽單院長的講座前，我對再次蒞臨故宮參觀，真是抱著保留的心態，甚至內心還有一點抗拒呢!
 

一個新知
        但從今次的故宮實地考察及聆聽過單院長的講解後，對於之前參觀故宮的既有負面印象，完全一掃而空。 近年故宮博物院在單院長領導之下能以全新姿態向外展示，當中不但保留宮內固有的中華文化及歷史文物外，而且亦能充分利用現時最新的創意及科技，把整個故宮“活生生”地呈現於觀眾眼前，例如: 運用最先進的科技來修護宮內已破損的文物，當中亦注入不少創新的思維改善環境，優化故宮內每一處的地方，務求以最佳的狀態向到訪觀眾展示。

        其中最讓我印象深刻的，要算是單院長的「以人為本」及對每一件文物尊重的管理精神。 在改善故宮的管理思維中，單院長往往考慮到遊客、員工及文物的感受，並且他對於故宮內的一事一物也瞭如指掌，而且他對員工、遊客，甚至每一件文物都十分尊重，凡事都「以人為本」，並且盡力將每件事情做到最好，我對他的認真和嚴謹的工作態度，深受感動。 單院長講解改善工程從故宮博物院入口處開始入手，他有條不紊地解釋如何改善售票處前遊客大排長龍購票的問題、思量如何能讓遊客在等候時有足夠的座位，可更有尊嚴地坐在園內，而不是大伙兒蹲下等候；充份利用現代資訊及數碼科技，把封存在倉庫內的不便公開展覽的文物，再以全新方式向觀眾展示; 一改以往宮殿內展館都是黑漆漆的環境，在不損害文物的情況下，加強了宮殿內的照明，讓遊客可更清晰地觀賞宮殿內的雕刻設計; 邀請年青人參與故宮文化研究及修復文物工作，此等安排充分照顧和尊重每個位客人及文物，大大提升觀賞故宮的興緻。

一個得著
        雖然是短短的解說過程，但從單院長的演說中，我深深感受到他作為領導者所呈現的一種風範及感染力，他展現了一份熱忱、信心和決心，讓故宮「神采奕奕」地盡展它的綽約風姿，其中單院長對於負責單位內所見的不足，並不會隱惡揚善，我敬佩他秉持客觀的管理態度，積極針對問題及提出對故宮一連串破舊立新、與時並進的有效改善方法，因此今天的故宮博物院能成為世界最具規模的博物館之一，確實令我們十分讚賞的。 今次故宮博物院的考察，令我見識到單院長的遠見及胸襟，這點很值得我們這一代的學習。 無論是學校的領導層、老師或是學生們，作為學校的一份子，我們應該時刻抱著自我完善心態，坦然地面對自己的不足，積極尋找方法改善，盡量能採取「以人為本」的精神，重視及尊重校園內每一位持分者，大家皆團結努力為學校、教學、學習等，提出不斷優化的策略和方法，加以改善，相信學校運作是可以達到持續及穩定性的發展。

蘇家樑 校長
30/5/2018

30 May 2018

     Time flies, and I have been serving as the post of Principal at YKN for about the whole year, handling tonnes of paperwork, interviewing with different stakeholders, taking charge of various types of meetings, and making decisions for school strategies every day. As a matter of fact, it was never an easy task to squeeze some time to take a break, not to mention a one-day business trip. However, it was a must for any new principals to attend a training course at Beijing within three years, and I was quite reluctant initially, but I eventually made up my mind to fulfil the entry requirement as requested by EDB and joined the 6-day training course for principals organized by the Chinese Academy of Governance in the mid of May. Out of my expectation, I found that it was so fruitful that it was beyond depiction.

     With regards to the whole course, the most unexpected was the visit to the Forbidden City, in which Dr. Shan Jixiang, curator of the Palace Museum, introduced and explained its management and environmental protection mindset. This was eye-opening and fruitful. To be honest, the impression of the previous visits to the Forbidden City was not good. For example, prior to entering, it took much time queuing, buying tickets and suffering from high temperature without any places for rest. Worse still, there had been many temporary buildings not in harmony with others, and most parts inside were black in colour. Thus, before his seminar, I was hesitant and misunderstood such visit would even put me off!

A new perspective

     No sooner had I paid a visit and listened to his explanations than I had a deeper understanding and completely got rid of the past negative impression. In recent years, a brand-new perspective had been unveiled. Under Dr. Shan’s leadership, not only could the Chinese historic relics be preserved but the latest creativity and technology could also be utilized to display in front of the public vividly. For example, the most advanced technologies had been adopted to repair the damaged relics in the Forbidden City. There were also a number of innovative measures for improving environment implemented to improve every place and assure the best condition shown before the visitors. 

     The most impressing image was the human-oriented and management principle of Dr. Shan to show respect to every item. The curator took into consideration the visitors, staff and relics while improving the Forbidden City. Besides recognizing every item and detail thoroughly, he respected his staff, visitors and relics. Adopting the human-oriented principle, he tried his best to do everything. I was deeply impressed with his seriousness and working attitude. He explained how to improve the problems caused by long queues for buying tickets at the entrance through construction works systematically and how to provide them with adequate seats for waiting. Further, he made use of modern information technology showing the exhibits that had long been preserved in the store before. He changed the dark environment in the Exhibition Museum with better lighting without damaging any relics so as to let visitors appreciate the carvings. Young people were also invited to participate in the cultural research and restoration work, which respect and cater every visitor and relic. As a whole, people were propelled to appreciate the Forbidden City.

A new gain

     Short as Dr. Shan’s explanations were in his speech, I felt impressed by his charisma and leadership. He showed his passion, confidence and determination in understanding its strengths and weaknesses. Dr. Shan tried his best to pinpoint the problems and adopted a series of new measures for improvement against all odds. That is why the Forbidden City has become one of the most well-established museums in the world that we all feel much appreciated. Through this visit, I really realize his mission and vision. This is worth learning from him. As a school member, no matter management, teachers and students, we should embrace self-improvement and seek the ways to make ourselves better. Facing any difficulties, we should uphold the ‘human-oriented’ principle and respect every stakeholder at school because unity is strength. Only by continuous improvement in strategies and methods can we achieve success in fostering stable and sustainable development.

Mr. So Ka Leung
Principal