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教育王國 討論區 國際學校 Letter from ESF to parents
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Letter from ESF to parents

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471
發表於 12-3-15 10:53 |顯示全部帖子

To   :      Parents with children in -

ESF schools;
Discovery College;
Renaissance College;
Kindergartens; and
ESL Sports

Dear Parent

ESF Lions Football Incident

I am writing to you because there has been a good deal of understandable concern about an incident during a football match organised by ESF Educational Services Limited (ESL), an affiliate company of ESF, which is not subvented, and whose board I chair.  The match was an Under-12 game between ESF Lions and Kitchee Escola.  A ten-year-old player (we have established that he is ten, not eleven) was videoed making a kick that contacted the head of a Kitchee Escola player.

Let me say first very clearly that ESF and ESL deeply regret any injury that was caused to the young Escola player.  The Chief Operating Officer of ESL, Ann Pearce, wrote on Monday to the boy’s father and the Head Football Coach has also written to the Chairman of Kitchee Football Club expressing their regret.  We accept the disciplinary action that the Hong Kong Development League Association has taken.  I understand that the parent of the injured child has referred the matter to the police and we will cooperate fully with any police investigation.

However, we are also concerned about the impact on the young ESF Lions player of the very public posting of an edited video on YouTube showing these events.  By Tuesday afternoon, only 72 hours after the match, there had been more than 20,000 views.  Under the film clip a large number of comments had been posted, making aggressive and threatening remarks about the ESF Lions player and his coach.  From Sunday evening ESL had been asking Kitchee Football Club to use their good offices to request the removal of the video.  ESL approached the Club because there is no ready central access to YouTube and we did not know the name of the person who had posted the film.  As the film clips (now two of them) were still being shown on Tuesday morning and the number of views and comments was growing, ESL asked its lawyer to write to the parent who we believed had posted one of the clips and the Kitchee Football Club Chairman to press our request for the removal of the film clips.  The lawyer’s letter makes clear our concern about the injury to the Kitchee Football Club child and is designed solely to get the video clips closed down because of the distress that the offensive comments were causing to the ESF Lions player and his family.

We have also commented about our disappointment that the Hong Kong Development League released its findings to journalists, from whom we learnt of them, before making them known to the ESF Lions player, his family, the coach or ESL and without an explanation of what the ‘disciplinary action’ would constitute.

I am very sorry indeed that parents have been distressed by this incident and I repeat my own deep regret that a child who played for the Kitchee Escola team was injured.  All of the adults involved in physical sporting activities, managers, coaches, referees, spectators and parents, have a responsibility to teach children fair and responsible sporting behaviour and ESL is committed to the highest standards in that respect.  Appropriate action will be taken to deal with this incident, but, as we do that, we have also to ensure that criticism of a ten-year-old who made a serious mistake does not get out of hand.

I ask for your support in allowing us to manage the follow-up to this matter in a firm and appropriate way but out of the spotlight of the social media which is too harsh an environment for a child to be exposed to.


Yours sincerely,


Heather Du Quesnay
Chief Executive Officer, English Schools Foundation
Chairman, Board of Directors, ESF Educational Services Limited


cc    :       ESF Board of Governors
                Committee of School Council Chairmen
                Principals
                ESF Senior Management Team
                ESF Education Team
                Ann Pearce, Chief Operating Officer, ESF Educational Services Ltd
                All Staff – ESF and ESL

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474
發表於 12-3-15 22:24 |顯示全部帖子

回覆:Letter from ESF to parents

Thanks for sharing



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王國長老


6361
發表於 12-3-15 23:36 |顯示全部帖子

回覆:Letter from ESF to parents

本帖最後由 edea 於 12-3-16 08:33 編輯

I think the CEO was shifting public's attention onto the adverse comments against the ESF boy.  Nothing substantial about how the boy and the school would face the victim and apologize face to face.

Has the violent kid ever apologized in person? Has he said sorry from his own mouth? I am looking forward to hearing this!  I hope he is really sorry for what he did.

Issuing legal letters was very stupid indeed.  Why couldn't ESF communicate with Kitchee in the first place? Why must they got lawyers involved?  This was simply a threatening action, wrapping this up by beautiful excuses such ad kid must be protected from criticism.  I am really disappointed with the CEO.  Her words were rubbish,



點評

宏媽  我在香港普通學校工作, 如有人未經同意拍攝學生片段放上網, 校方一樣會追究法律責任. 否則, 學校都會被家長問責.  發表於 12-3-16 00:06
宏媽  The person issuing the letter is the CEO of ESF, not the principal.  發表於 12-3-16 00:04

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93
發表於 12-3-16 00:06 |顯示全部帖子
回復 edea 的帖子

Agreed with your view. The CEO is afraid to lose her job and really wants ESF "out of the spotlight from social media"•

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2282
發表於 12-3-16 09:52 |顯示全部帖子


1238
發表於 12-3-16 12:16 |顯示全部帖子
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3260
發表於 12-3-16 13:27 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 OKmom 於 12-3-16 13:51 編輯

After I have a read of the letter again, I have a different view, I support the ESF CEO in handling this case:
1. ESF CEO has stated that both ESF and ESL has expressed deeply regret to the injury of the boy, the Chief Operating Officer of ESL wrote to the boy’s father and the Head Football Coach has also written to the Chairman of Kitchee Football Club expressing their regret.

2.  I agree the boy who kicked should face disciplinary action, he should apologize to the injured boy in person, but it doesn't mean he has to be a spotlight in public, ESF  just want to avoid 'cyber bullying'. And the letter says that ESL did first contact to request Kitchee Football Club on Sunday evening for removal of the video clips, but not successful.  The video clips together with the growing threatening comments are still shown in public on Tuesday Morning, that's why they then approached their lawyer to write to them to ask for the removal of the clips. In terms of stopping 'cyber bullying' which can deteriorate rapidly in just even one day, they have to take prompt action.

3. The injured boy's father has filed this case with police, the video becomes an evidence for the police to investigate, this is the right way to make use of the video clip. The boy must learn a lesson for making this serious mistake.

4.  The letter does not mention if the boy and his parents have apologized or not to the injured boy. As a ESF CEO, she has stated here how the organisation did when handling the case, but she doesn't have to state the details what the boy and his parent did, we are all outsiders here, the boy might have apologized already, who knows? and I agree the boy has to apologize to the victim but not have to be in public, right?


I hope the injured boy will recover soon, and the boy should apologize to the victim and correct his behaviour, we should give a child a chance to make corrections, right?  As a parent, we have to teach our children the right value, avoid such aggressive behaviour, and learn to apologize after making mistakes.


點評

supermummum  Totally agree with your points  發表於 12-3-16 23:38
宏媽  Strongly agree, I hold the same point of view!  發表於 12-3-16 14:00

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4747
發表於 12-3-16 14:00 |顯示全部帖子
回復 OKmom 的帖子

There are still many clips of this video on youtube and more people post comments...so obviously those legal letters are not useful at all, but only draw more negative consequence.   Just wonder if there is really any legal consequence to the youtube videos publishers?
I agree very much with you that the boy needs to apologise to the victim and compensate him but no need to report to the public.  I believe the police will investigate into and handle the case according to law and take it to court as appropriate.

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3260
發表於 12-3-16 14:08 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 OKmom 於 12-3-16 14:09 編輯

回復 WYmom 的帖子

So this is the dark side of internet world. That's why ESF CEO tried to stop this cyber bullying by taking prompt action before it is out of hand, but you see situation proves that cyber bullying can deterioriate very rapidly...


1377
發表於 12-3-16 16:15 |顯示全部帖子
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471
發表於 12-3-16 16:48 |顯示全部帖子
回復 kenfu 的帖子

Who changed the first game result from Loss 16:0 to win 3:2 ?? Ans : ESFI don't think the school will do something as stupid as this.
There must be an inside story. I doubt if the coach reported accurately,
or if they have mistakenly put the result of another game for the result of the losing game.
Of course, if the true story is that the school did it on purpose, it is VERY VERY wrong.

Who want to avoid public to know this incident ?? Ans : ESF
ESF for sure knew that it is impossible to avoid this incident being publicized,
it was already on the news by the time they ask for stop posting the video.
I believe that what they are trying to do is to minimize the harm on everybody involved.
Who will benefit from the video being uploaded on internet anyway?
There are so many witnesses for the incident, so it is not hard to find witness for the accusation against #2.
So, uploading the video on internet will just make the incident more complicated, and it is a
lose lose situation for everyone.

The "Must Do" is issuing legal letter or asking the ESF # 2 apologize to the injured child ??
Agree

If the world doesn't have the youtube or other medias, I think ESF will not do anything.
I am a teacher in a local school myself, I do not believe any teachers or principals will do nothing for such incident.

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OKmom  Agree.  發表於 12-3-16 23:56

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3260
發表於 12-3-16 16:58 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 OKmom 於 12-3-16 17:25 編輯

回復 kenfu 的帖子

I don't think that publishing in YouTube or criticisms on Internet will help. The more positive approach is to leave it to the parties involved to resolve and the police to investigate for further legal action. I'm supporting esf CEO to request for the removal of video clips, the ESF did contact the club to remove the clip first, but it was not successful, then they ask lawyer to write letters. This sounds reasonable, when cyber bullying is deteriorates rapidly in just a few days, so this must be handled promptly.
The boy must apologize to the injured boy in person, but did he do it yet? We don't know because we are all not involved, the boy does not need to do it in public.



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宏媽  agree  發表於 12-3-16 17:28

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93
發表於 12-3-16 19:31 |顯示全部帖子
ESF does not have intellectual rights of the clips. Also, the clips was filmed at public place and covered a punch of people (not just the number 2). If it is illegal, the police already asked YouTube to take them down.

Agreed that there should not have cyber bullying, but the clip did give some ideas of how bad the incident was and raise awareness of parents.


893
發表於 12-3-16 19:47 |顯示全部帖子

引用:ESF+does+not+have+intellectual+rights+of

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3260
發表於 12-3-16 19:59 |顯示全部帖子
ESF CEO stressed a few times in the letter that she concerned about the impact of the Youtube videos on the boy, as all those aggressive and threatening criticisms in public do a lot of damage to the kid, it unavoidably results in cyber bullying.  ESF requested for the video close down because of the above reason. This is fairly reasonable. This video serves best as an evidence for the police's investigation, we are all aiming that the boy should face some disciplinary actions, apologize (he did it or not?) and other compensation, but all these are just between the parties involved, they don't have to become the spotlight in public.

We don't really need those video clips published in public to remind us, in contrast the videos caused damages more than a reminder, right?  As parents, we must always teach our children the right values.

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Ciz  Can't agree more!  發表於 12-3-16 21:52

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170
發表於 12-3-17 00:37 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 easydad 於 12-3-17 00:42 編輯

We all know kids can be wild but there is a limit.  Right after the kicker made the blow, as a responsible parent, I would jump in to apologize and offer medical checkup/follow up.  This would the be least I could do.  Instead, the coach yelled at the parents like nothing happened.  Later, ESF even got lawyers involved instead of a sincere letter to request for youtube removal.  (Thou this won't work on internet.)   In the letter from CEO, the incident was phrased as "making a kick that contacted the head of a Kitchee Escola player".

Education is more than just feeding book knowledge.  It is also about value and character building.  I fail to see how I can pass my kids to a bunch of people with such mentality in mind.  

BTW, I am shocked to see there are people still agreeing to ESL's approach to this incident after they really watched the clip....  Imagine how we would react if the victim were our kid.  Again, there is a limit for everything ...

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王國長老


6361
發表於 12-3-17 01:10 |顯示全部帖子

引用:+本帖最後由+easydad+於+12-3-17+00:42+編

原帖由 easydad 於 12-03-17 發表
本帖最後由 easydad 於 12-3-17 00:42 編輯

We all know kids can be wild but there is a limit.  Righ ...
well said and totally agree with you.



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3260
發表於 12-3-17 09:24 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 OKmom 於 12-3-17 11:19 編輯

No one thinks the boy's behaviour is acceptable in the match, he really did make a serious mistake, he would face disciplinary action, no one denied it, and I can't see ESF CEO denied it either. But the point is, will publishing in youtube and aggressive/threatening comments on internet help this incident? The answer is definitely no, it just unavoidably and eventually ends up cyber bullying, it really does a lot of harms. What actually are we aiming to see? We all just want the boy should face disciplinary action, apologize to the victim, and compensate for victim's medical fee, etc. But why it should be done in the spotlight of media?? ESF CEO stressed they did FIRST attempt (without lawyer's letter) to request Kitchee club on Sunday evening for closing up a video clip, unfortunately it's not successful, and it turned out 2 video clips posted in youtube. Every one agrees cyber bullying is also not acceptable, right? Cyber bullying can deteriorate very rapidly, even just in a day, so it's really very reasonable that ESF CEO take a prompt action and a firmer approach to stop this from deteriorating (hopefully), she just tried to stop this without delay.  ESF CEO states in the letter that the lawyer's letter just reflects their concerns about the impact on the kid of the videos and request them to remove the videos, what is wrong about it?? Unfortunately, the video clips are still not removed, it really proves that once cyber bullying starts, it is really hard to stop.....this is the concern of the ESF CEO.


Regarding the boy's parents, no one here said that the way of his parents' handling the incident is right, at least they did not teach their son to apologise or  follow up at once,  they have to and will learn the correct parenting from this incident to avoid this happen again. Regarding the coach, I saw the coach yelled at the parents and I also saw a few parents physically shoved the coach, so who started it and how did it start?  If the coach was proved to be rude, he will face his disciplinary action too. They (boy, boy's parents, victim, victim's parents, the coach, and/or the other parents involved) are the ones who need to resolve this conflict(apology or whatever), this incident has been filed to the police, investigation will be carried out, but again do they have to resolve it in the spotlight of media??

Anyway, why don't we leave this for the parties involved to resolve?  Any disciplinary action, apologies and compensation are within them, not us, right??

As parents, we have to setup a model (including stop cyber bullying), in order to teach our children the right values. We also should teach children to do the right thing and confess when they made mistakes, but at the same time we should give them a chance, right? Actually, I think that boy might have emotional problem, he might need to seek for consultation.


Just an example, if a kid misbehaved at a school, let's say he hit another boy intentionally in his class, the teacher would normally resolve this between the boys and their parents, or if still not resolved will be escalated this incident to the principal and then the police, right? Do we need to tape it and publish it on youtube for everyone's to judge or criticize?





點評

宏媽  I was thinking about: What if this boy is an SEN student? What if this boy is an orphan or comes from a single parent family, and his guardian found it hard to teach him?  發表於 12-3-17 20:09
宏媽  Agree -> Actually, I think that boy might have emotional problem  發表於 12-3-17 20:08

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1217
發表於 12-3-17 11:05 |顯示全部帖子
If a school kid did such a malicious kick intentionally at someone's head in school ground, he would have been suspended right away and very likely kicked out of school!
I am not condoling cyber-bullying, but I do feel that ESF has not faced up to the serious nature of their student's action.

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3260
發表於 12-3-17 11:17 |顯示全部帖子
本帖最後由 OKmom 於 12-3-17 11:30 編輯

Really happy to see that most of you here are against the cyber bullying.

ESF CEO did stress that the boy made a serious mistake and appropriate action will be taken to deal with this incident, and there also will be disciplinary action. Perhaps the school will give a severe warning to the kid first, or will suspense him, or kick him out straight away. Anyway, the boy will face disciplinary action for sure, but just not in the spotlight of media, that's all.