School issues (chinese school)

Hi!


I know there are a few non Asian parents with their kids in Chinese schools so just wanted to get some outside opinions.


my child's teacher sent her today to another class (one level below) with the reason that my daughter hadn't finished her homework or had forgotten to bring some book or whatever the day before.

No need to tell you my reaction, especially that I had discussed this before with the director who had assured me that such practice was not being done in their school.. but apparently 10 min later she agreed on sending my daughter to another class.


what do you think of this?

have you already experienced soothing similar?

any word of wisdom in such case?


thank you!

Cara,


Had hoped to hear from you;-)

Thank you for your input and glad to know that you had never heard of this.


For the rest, basically the same here: handbook to sign everyday – although I don’t read Chinese but would still check…

She also was in the homework tutorial for non-Chinese speakers but it changed a bit this year so I didn’t enroll her. Besides, it wasn’t a guarantee of homework being done - she would leave many days at 7pm with home work still to be done… and this would make school days from 8am to 7pm so a bit harsh for little kids...


I still ask her to go to the library to start her homework before I pick her up, but obviously, she would wander around most of the time


And yes, I would check everyday and ask my daughter whether she has everything or not.. but even she’d tell me ‘this or this’ is missing..

anyhow, asked for a meeting with both director and teacher so hope to be able to understand a bit better ...

My daughter is 7 years, in year 2/primary 2.

Forgetful? Not more than any other kid I guess.

Slow/not concentrated, yes – and if nobody is behind her, everything takes ages...


But here class ends at 4.45pm on most days (extra classes were added for reading and ‘tutorial’ / 3 times a week + at lunch time!!) so tutorial doesn’t start before 5pm and goes until 7.30pm. They also aren’t really behind the kids, would let them play around so..


Anyhow, already had a talk with the school.

The reason given was that the primary 1 class was the nearest class to the primary 2’s one..and they wanted to take the child out of the classroom to finish the home works..

And that I am an ‘over-protective’ mother!!! It is always very easy to put the blame on the parents….


So teacher still maintained it was a good approach.. I still disagree (suggested to make use of the recess time).

I am however amazed to see that teachers won’t question more themselves but well…


‘funniest’ part: neither headmaster or teacher had/have their own kids in the Chinese stream……

Hi Cara and Alouette, do you mind sharing with me which schools your kids attend as my daughter will be in K2 next year and we want her to go to a Chinese school but have no idea where to start. Could you ever so kindly PM me some of the schools you looked at so I can start my research? People have given me a couple of names but their kids don't attend them so would read about your experiences. Thank you.

Michelle,

Three of my children, P1 to P6, go to Rosaryhill School on Stubbs Road. They love it. We can't say enough good things about it to give its' credit due.

You will not regret a decision to put your child in a school where the children attending all seem happy and full of energy. That should be your guide.

I find unconvincing the discipline system that may be within a liberal international / British system. Consequently we send the children to Chinese school knowing that they and their peers will be managed to ensure optimum learning, politeness and respect for learning.

The teachers in our school are directed by a headmistress who appears to care specifically about her staff and the academic progress of the children.

It seems perfect for us and our children.

Any other info needed, let me know!

Thanks Lotus,

I actually attended Rosaryhill School for one year when I was a kid before we relocated to the UK and it was REALLY hard to get in. Since coming back, I was told that the standards have dropped significantly but it seems to not be the case from your experience. Are the subjects taught in Cantonese or English? I would love to look into it more based on the fact that you have had a great experience. Where will/ did your children go after P6?


Thanks!

Thanks Cara. Much appreciated.

Our 4 children all attend/ed chinese primary schools they started with no chinese as we returned from Australia. We found that the after school homework class was just a type of after school day care so we now have 2 tutors. We schedule the tutors to come after school for homework and weekends to catch up on any extra work or studying for tests. They check the handbooks, tick off the homework as done and go thru the text books for corrections.

They also do computer work such as planetii the school math website. Its not expensive my previous one was a trainee teacher and she worked with us for 2 years but now works in a school full time. One of my current ones is a form 6 who received A grades found on the db88 hk website $60/hour (I did look on the expat sites but they were way too expensive this site is around $60-90/hr there is a bit at the top which changes the site from chinese to english) I wrote my ad in english and she responded.


Two hours each day Mon-Fri would be enough for 1 child's homework. One of the children had a huge amount of homework finishing at 10pm for about 3 nights after that I wrote a kind note to the teacher saying it was too much and she would complete the extra the next day. We focused on organizing her homework schedule (we would open her homework on every page for every subject as per the handbook and stack it before the tutor came) and gave small breaks.

The tutor is here for 6 hours today where I rotate the children and there's a reward at the end (bowling at the clubhouse is a great deal breaker and gives them some exercise)


It sounds a bit extreme but plan on having some fun days over chinese new year so the books will go away except of course if there is some holiday homework and will then schedule the tutor for a day or two before they go back to school.

Our eldest has been lucky enough to attend a private secondary school in Ma On Shan where they teach in english.


The chinese schools are a bit extreme but the teachers ask them to do a lot of competitions such as English Speaking and they earn merits which makes the teachers happy and evens out the occasional red mark in the handbook

Michelle,

The school, Rosaryhill, seems to have very high standards and the teachers ensure that the children work really hard. There is a great deal of homework. Maths is taught in English and is demanding, and Chinese is spoken in the Chinese subjects classes. Spanish is taught as well as Mandarin and Cantonese. My children read novels constantly, so we are not worried about the English curricula although, I presume that it doesn't compare to Kellett for instance, but my children are not suffering in their grammar or English theory.

My eldest daughter is at an all girls secondary DSS local school. I prefer single sex education for teenagers, but from what I have observed at Rosaryhill, the secondary school children seem to be respectable and well-behaved, charming and I am comforable with my children being within the same complex as the aided secondary school.