I don't intend to be one of those Asian Tiger parents, pressuring my kids to be at the top of their classes. It may be idealistic, but I would want them to develop a love for learning, and not feel like doing homework is a chore. Learning Mandarin isn't one of my main goals in sending them to Chinese school; I'm more interested in the academic habits and discipline aspects.
I do have my reservations; sending them to a Chinese primary school wasn't an easy decision for me. Yes, I'm well aware of the perception that Chinese schools develop kids who are lacking in EQ, who are afraid to speak up and express themselves (although isn't this the case with SK kids as well?), and etc. But I believe that we can try to counter this, or help to develop their confidence through other means/programs. *
QUOTE(Strawberry<3 @ Jun 22 2016, 06:33 PM)
Talk from my real experience.
I studied in Chinese school from kindergarten to standard 2. I could speak Chinese but my English was 0.
Then I got transferred to International school. It was hard for me at first but I slowly picked it up and improved. Within a year can speak English fluently. So don't worry, kids can learn and improve quite fast.
Strawberry<3: Can you tell me a bit more about your experience at the International school? Other than the English, how did you feel, compared to the other kids who came from International primary schools? Did you feel like you had to work harder to catch up? Any difficulty adjusting to the change in the medium of instruction? (Chinese to English)
QUOTE(kpfun @ Jun 23 2016, 08:41 AM)
Should not waste the opportunity of studying in Chinese Primary School. My in-law, sent their 2 kids to Chinese Primary School, and 2 were not. All the 4 kids were educated up to, at least, first degree, but, very much different in behaviour.
Simple as that, the two, without Chinese education, are taking their parents in focus, very much less than the other two.
kpfun, I'm interested to know a bit more about the kids you described. Can you elaborate on the difference between the kids who were from Chinese-Ed background vs. the ones who weren't? I didn't quite understand what you meant by "taking their parents in focus"
QUOTE(thesoothsayer @ Jun 22 2016, 10:44 PM)
If you're from an international school and can afford to send your kids to one, obviously you're quite well off.
I was only able to attend an International school because of my dad's employment benefits. And if I send my kids to an International school, it would be a local private school with an International syllabus (e.g. KDU or Sri Cempaka; A well-established and reputable program that is reasonably affordable.) rather than one of the expensive ones like ISKL, Garden International School or British International School.
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* At the risk of sounding like I'm selling something, I met the guy who started the MoneyTree program, and was really impressed with the intention behind what they teach. Although their main focus is on teaching financial concepts to kids, they also try to de-program kids who are products of the local schooling system, who are discouraged from speaking up and expressing themselves.
"...to deliver financial education to children in a way that they could understand, while also teaching them other necessary skills that was crucial but missing from the existing education system such as presentation and public speaking skills."
Things like this, or speech/drama classes, etc. are what I have in mind to help develop the confidence, freedom of expression and other soft-skills and personality traits that may be lacking from a Chinese-school education.
This post has been edited by kwackers: Jun 23 2016, 09:57 AM