Interview
Q:
U.S.-style and Chinese boarding programs are
very different. Can you please elaborate on your
role as Dean of Student Life? What are some of your
specific duties and responsibilities?
A:
For the Dean of Student Life, your day starts early and ends
late. The day is not a 9-5 job. The Dean of Student Life is
involved in all aspects of school life, both on and off campus.
Students will see me in the role of school leader talking to them
about community standards, ethics and responsibilities. They
will see me as a disciplinarian, when necessary, I’ll be involved
in after school and residential life activities and I am responsible
to give them gentle reminders when their behavior, attitude or
effort needs improvement. I spend time with students in the
dorm, and I work with student leadership development programs
such as student council and clubs. I work with students in their
extracurricular activities such as music, art, sports or afternoon
activities. I attend school events like concerts, plays and games.
The Dean of Student Life has a presence in all aspects of the life of
a school. You must have that sense of how students are growing
in school to really do your best as a dean.
I am responsible to make sure that every student has not just an
educational plan, but a personal plan; one that parents are very
involved in and includes future goals and current activities. We
hope to assist them in their discovery of what they are passionate
about and of things they do not even know that they are interested
in. This is one great thing about boarding schools, students have
the opportunity to try so many new things, experience different
aspects of life and try so many new things.
Graduation celebration with
advisee, Keoni Colson, from
Hawaii, USA
Q:
How will Keystone help students meet the
challenges of the boarding lifestyle?
A:
This will be interesting. Our dorms are set up so that
students will have at least one roommate. We will provide
a residential curriculum to help students manage the transition
to communal living. At home, they may already have experienced
communal life with their parents and grandparents. But getting
along with a roommate who may not speak the same mother
tongue and who may have very different habits and interests can
be a challenge and we will assist students to manage issues that
arise. How do you develop new friendships and connections with
your teachers or dorm parents? Boarding schools force students
to do think and engage in ways that may be new to them. Perhaps
they will consider that my way of thinking is not the only way of
thinking? I could look at an issue this way, instead.
Students have an opportunity to learn new skills from their
roommates and hallmates. They might see their roommate
studying a certain way, for example, and work to adopt this new
habit. Conflicts will occur. There are some times when students
do not agree. For example, one student is talking to