Website: 【東周刊】專欄：蓉蓉樂道 - website
Date: 2015 February 4
When Steven told me he had opened a tuition center with his family, I was not surprised at all because I knew that had been his biggest wish. Met him way back in 1993 but our close contact was not until early 1999. That year Steven’s mother passed away leaving Steven inconsolable in his grief, locked in despondency. At his lowest point he read a passage in the chapter on death from the philosopher, Teacher Tang Jun Yi’s book, “Experience of Human Life”《人生之體驗》. “The death of a loved one is an indelible pain. No philosophy can comfort you nor is there any need to look to philosophy for comfort because this pain is part of life [..] This is the period when your own morals will emerge. Henceforth, you will learn to treasure your surviving loved ones with a greater display of love. Henceforth, you will take life with a greater responsibility.” Suddenly, Steven saw the light. Teacher Tang’s words had inexplicably enlightened him on the true meaning of life and death. This epiphany alleviated the hurt in his heart. He re-opened the long shuttered windows, welcoming back the sun rays into his bedroom and he got back to work.
The power of written words was that strong. Thus, "I want to be an educationist” became Steven’s new goal in life. Steven has no desire to enter politics - his work as an actor remains his primary occupation but outside of that he will focus his energy onto education. “I like to promulgate education, nothing is more important than education. Education can surmount everything. Education can even surmount politics.”
Steven's family knows his wish. Two years ago his younger sister came across an interesting and innovative teaching material, incepting the idea in her mind to open a tuition center. Seeing the educational benefits of the program, the whole family decided to invest jointly in establishing the “I-Study Learning Center, opting to open their first center in the Tai Wai district in New Territories. The center grew rapidly with its ever increasing number of 400+ students and 20 teachers, and has now outgrown its capacity, hence, the decision to branch out in Fo Tan. The branch is bigger than the main so can accommodate more students.
Currently, the majority of students in I-Study came from the international schools. The “I” encompasses multiple denotations: be “innovative, be “interactive” and “internet” as a teaching tool. Besides the academic curriculum, the school also actively encourages creativity in their students. The classrooms are painted in different colors such as light green, light pink, light yellow, and it also has a graffiti wall for the students to draw whatever they want, so as to foster a relaxing learning atmosphere for the students.
Steven is very happy and satisfied with the rapid growth of I-Study within the two years. “The learning center is a joint investment between my relatives and me. My eldest sister, my sister and my niece manage and run the school business. They are doing an excellent job. We hired experienced teachers from Australia and England. I am the school chancellor responsible for marketing the school. Presently, plans are in place to branch into Shenzhen and other cities in Guangzhou. Our developmental goal is to branch out into the mainland market."
Where does Steven Ma place his love? Not on top of the mountain or in the depth of the sea, instead he chooses the path of education. An ambitious ideal, good!
********************************************************
related 2015 news with pix
Credit mag scan source as labeled
![[偷笑]](http://img.t.sinajs.cn/t4/appstyle/expression/ext/normal/19/heia_org.gif "[偷笑]")
In the future there will be many more new challenges to face! Not very hardworking, just more hardworking. Add oil to myself! ![[奥特曼]](http://img.t.sinajs.cn/t4/appstyle/expression/ext/normal/bc/otm_org.gif "[奥特曼]")
