I agree. I attended one of those schools way back when I was in Form One and its still my favorite one. My Form Six school was similar, except it was turned into an SMJK so yea...

Stop streotyping Chinese Independent High School students as shy and introvert. Not all are that.
Personally, I'm from Chong Hwa Independent High School from KL. I think it's quite a good school. But the standards now isn't as good as the older days. Students are quite good in public speeches and isn't shy at all. We also have our own social life. We are not as 'boring' as some people say.
Our language proficiency is also quite good. Take me for example. Hehe. I'm proficient in 3 languages, namely Mandrin, English and BM.
If you intend to send your children to Singapore, China or even Taiwan, send them to Chinese Independent High School.
Contrary to popular beliefs, we don't really have a lot of pressure. We don't have much homework too. The only thing that we have a lot is exams. However, many teachers are dedicated in their teaching. So, getting good results isn't that tough anyway. And we don't really stereotype students as good or bad. I bet even some students from our so called last class can beat some national school students.

Just my two cents.
Sorry if I offended anyone.

I have a question here. Don't you guys feel that people from Chinese schools sumtimes find it a bit hard to communicate with those from SMK schools? The reason I ask this question is that I am from SJK© and national type chinese SMK school, and I found out it's a bit hard to talk to SMK students in college. I also realized that the topic we chat about is quite different. And maybe the jokes we talk are also different from each other? Anyone who have the same situation as me?

jianee89,

Most of the recent batch of high school graduates are very bad in English period. We, (the uncle and aunties) had sponsored many of our nephews and nieces to USA for undergraduate study over the past 10+ years. Their English proficiency are getting worse.

In my time, our English were good enough to go straight into college in USA. Now, most of our nephews and nieces had to spend one year in intensive English classes because their TOEFL is not good enough.

Dreamer

P.S.: Recently, for my daughter, in her standard 5 English class, she actually got the right answer as opposed to her English teacher. Her English teacher do not know enough English (did not read enough English books) to know that he/she was wrong.


This post has been edited by dreamer101: Feb 24 2008, 11:55 AM

Sorry to say that your statement doesn't paint the true picture of what is happening in CIHS (or rather CHKL in this case).

Language proficiency for example, yes I don't deny the fact that there are quite a handful of students who are good in all three languages, but I would say majority of them are only good in either 1 or 2 of the 3 languages. No offence though as myself is a good example, I don't claim to be proficient in English or BM, but at least I have above average standards compared to my peers. However, Mandarin for example, was never my forte. On a side note, I would say that the English proficiency level in CHKL (at least during my time) is no where near good for the majority of the students unless he/she comes from an English speaking background.

Pressure on the other hand, depends on individuals. Saying that students there don't really have a lot of pressure is definitely not a true reflection. Back in my time, there was hardly a day where I don't have to hand in any homework at all. Exams I agree with you, but it seems they have made changes to that recently, or so I heard.
Depends on what you define as good, getting an average of 75 and above is not really that easy as it might sound.

*p/s: I left school in 2005 so I'm merely talking based on my experience though it may be outdated in current context. And no offence to you whatsoever.

This post has been edited by jae: Feb 24 2008, 12:43 PM

I beg to differ, for a lot of statements made by different people above. Whether an individual is introvert, that's more like a personal issue (undeniably however, environment could be one of the contributing factors) than for it to be stereotype-able due to school type. I am one of the highly extrovert people in my office, where only 2 employees (out of 30 plus) are having Chinese independent high school background.

I'm from CHKL and have left the school for about 6 years. I have met different people from different backgrounds throughout these years -- college, university, community, public and social events, and my justification above sounds always. That's why I CAN'T convince myself to agree at all.

This post has been edited by yclian: Mar 2 2008, 12:54 AM

i would prefer SMJK Yu Hua, Kajang........ this school never let me feel regret, still miss it until today

this school is well known for its Chinese Traditional culture activities, as well as it also still have the Government typed SMK activities......

so basically, it seems like a combination of Independent Chinese High School & Government typed SMK

You generalize too much. Not everyone goes to the States or overseas to study. Even if they do, there's a necessity to be proficient in Malay if they intend to work here. Personally, i find government schools better compared to a Chinese school anytime. Studies aside, who would want to bring up a child in a competitive environment more or less one considered recluse from the public? I find most Chinese school goers to be stiffs and held back compared to one that's been to a school where everyone from everywhere convenes. In a government school, there's no such thing as Islamification even if you say it does. I've been to one and i'm not in any way Islamified or have a spot for Muslims. A government school is equivalent of learning by error. Although i must say, there are SOME terrible teachers but not ALL of them are that terrible at teaching. Going to high school isn't about getting the highest grades or becoming the perfect child. It's about learning the good life.

If you're too scared of Islamification or your kid being such a retard, send him/her to a private school. Or better still, international school.

students from Chinese Independent High School are 100% cannot enter Local Public Universities

perhaps they are too brilliant?




This post has been edited by marine88: Aug 11 2008, 01:02 AM

perhaps bcoz they didnt take STPM?


duh...

Yes. Matter of fact i have a very harsh/stereotypic statement here too. I find that most chinese educated ppl have very different mindset. Our jokes are different. Our style of speech is different. Mentality is different.
Sorry to say, but i felt most of the chinese educated ppl i know here are rather TCSS (talk cock sing song) people who'll talk and criticise alot, but no actions taken.

Geez that just Malaysian's attitudes isn't it?

sorry to disappoint u there're alot here. Only ppl like me very less here....

Note: There're chinese educated ppl who're not like wat i stated above yo. Chill

kean89,

<<You generalize too much. Not everyone goes to the States or overseas to study. >>

1) Heh, this is my thread. I am VERY SPECIFIC about my question. I am not talking about everyone.

<<Even if they do, there's a necessity to be proficient in Malay if they intend to work here.>>

2) Have you started working yet?? Do you have any kind of working experience. Due to 90+% companies and bumi only contract and so on, as a non-Malay, my children can forget about finding a job in those places. I had worked in Malaysia before. From my own actual working experience, there is little commercial usage of Malays.

<< there's no such thing as Islamification even if you say it does. I've been to one and i'm not in any way Islamified or have a spot for Muslims. >>

3) Which SMK school did you went to??

<<A government school is equivalent of learning by error. Although i must say, there are SOME terrible teachers but not ALL of them are that terrible at teaching. >>

4) The BADs outnumber the good one.

By the way, I graduated from SMK school. So, it pain me to say that my children should not go to SMK school. But, I just cannot see enough goods in SMK to outnumber the BAD.

Dreamer

So what school should Wesley's Methodist be categorized in? It's situated in Sentul. AFAIK the reputation of that school is really good and almost all of them have a good command in English. The only drawback is the fees tho. It's a pain in ass.

Just send your child to private Chinese HS.

It's the best option you'll never regret.To hell with our local education system.

Malay language important?Have you tried applying for jobs in MNCs in Malaysia before?

Almost no one would ever look at Malay language requirement and our present government just don't have the guts to question them.If they dare voice out, the MNCs would just tell them straight in the face, accept it or I'll just leave for some other country to set up my operations.

I'm also a product of SMK with a first class Aussie degree.But till late, no chance of getting a job in Malaysia.

With the lists of many MNCs I applied for jobs in Malaysia, many are racially inclined when hiring.

You've got chinese MNCs would prefer ONLY chinese, MNCs with majority indians working in it only favoring indians, GLCs prefer Malays to hold top posts regardless of qualifications/capabilities.

Try entering into one to work which is dominated specifically by another race, you won't last and it's going to be suicide.

I'm a Chinese FYI with very weak education background in Mandarin.Even so, I still find being sidelined by the my own race sometimes when it comes to opportunities.

So where do you think people like me stand?

Give your child the best, send your child to private Chinese HS.
You'll never need to worry about tuition classes, mixing with the wrong bunch of friends, unfair treatment, further education opportunities and even doubt it's standards both in teaching and syllabus.

hmm to me whichever school makes no difference..language competency in any language can always be mastered..and well there is no islamization of non muslims la in SMK's...im from a smk too..had a wonderful school experience with friends of different races..but then if u want better quality of education i suggest private schools, chinese schools or missionary schools..n well about oppurtunity in getting into government uni, GLC's or MNC's , it doenst really make a difference from where u studied or graduated..its rather a race thing..

The best choice to educate a child from young IMHO would be sending him/her to a Chinese primary and then an English speaking school for secondary. Afterall, English is the main language we are all concern about. Not to offend any CIHS students but like what someone has said above, majority of the students from Chinese schools can barely communicate in English. I've got a friend from CIHS who can write really good English having difficulties to speak with it. This is due to the lack of English usage in CIHS but from my experiences, I've seen people who were weak at English during chinese primary are able to improve their English a lot after getting into English speaking schools. Are they any weaker in Mandarin than those who are from CIHS? No, they don't have a single difficulties speaking Mandarin at all even after they get into English schools and yet you can see them being able to read a chinese newspaper. Are they better in English than those from CIHS? Yes, they can definitely speak better English. Bear in mind that sending your children to English schools do not mean that they will turn into "bananas". The most important thing is that you HAVE TO send them to Chinese primary for basic chinese education which is more than enough to be able to communicate with anyone in the world in mandarin. English schools or not you can decide later when they finish their primary education.

If I were you I would definitely send my children to Chinese primary first and then English speaking schools for their secondary education.

Look at these countries, they are more advance than us. Tell me what language or mother tongue they use besides English.

- Korea
- Japan
- China
- France
- Germany
- Switzerland

Don't forget, Vietnam, India, Indonesia are catching up.

My dad and many of his friends have been working with multinational companies in places like Hong Kong, Taiwan and China.They got good offer because they are bilingual.

My mum is teaching Mandarin to a group of non-Chinese children from Sekolah Kebangsaan.

I went to Chinese primary school then SMK, doing Canadian Pre-U now. I am able to communicate with my Canadian lecturers and other international students,no problem at all.

Come on, it is year 2008, NOT Tanah Jajahan Orang British of 1958. The Americans or European won't look down on Chinese if he/she can't speak fluent English, but they would give you a funny look if you told them "I don't speak Mandarin, I only understand English". It is true, my mum used to work in Swiss company and my dad is working in a British company. Their colleagues(local Chinese) were embarrassed when they couldn't interpret a simple Chinese sentence as requested by Mat Salleh.

I read all the threads here and I find most of the comments are actually 50-50 on the pros and cons of both of the educational systems.

Each and everyone of u are actually commenting based on their educational experiences and rather missed out that "you only studied on that particular time and place". Meaning that u're actually generalising educations based on his/her experience.

So in my oppinion, it doensn't matter which HS u send ur child to(At least the school you have chosen is not the worst). The problem is encouraging ur child to study on their own without being too dependent on teachers.

Yes teacher's are quite important in education here but if they just depend on teacher's teaching and then blames on the school because of incompetency of delivering education is not rational at all.

As have been said"We have been blaming on Governments and media for our child's misbehaviour but never once we blame on ourselves".

However, it is important to note too that environment also plays an important role besides parent's education. So, 2 of these HS have their pros and cons depends on which type of school. Nothing is perfect.

Note: I am from SMK, and what some of u said are damn true about this "I can't get along with Chinese educated ppl".
Most of them talk cock compared to most English Educated ppl I know. English educated ppl are more mature then them(based on my experience, sorry if I have offended anyone here. Would like to hear from ur experiences too)

Their topics are also quite immature..prefers to talk colk and entertainment stuff,...pop singer and bla bla which I think it's total crap. Besides, they don't like speaking english. Not only me, I and my friend(from SMK) too find difficulties in mixing with them,..end up only 2 of us in the class.

This post has been edited by Winston LYN: Aug 11 2008, 02:18 PM

For some of us it wasn't our choice not to take up Chinese during my schooling years.Our education routes were determined by our parents based on convenience, availability and decisions.Isn't it discriminatory to blame us for something which we had no control over it?

Just like how they hated the Japanese for their past history/ancestors when today many have no idea of what their history is like.

This post has been edited by ark890: Aug 11 2008, 03:00 PM

ofcourse, what u say is true.

but lets look at the context of the discussion in this thread. dreamer is practically trying to make the decision on behalf of his (her?) relative based on his experience. we're talking about influencing the development of a person here. we cant blame anyone here for studying at his or her school (as it was decided by the parents), but we can certainly be responsible for deciding the life of others.