A struggle

toffeeli

Having a struggle whether I should put my boy to the international school. Perhaps I feel the frustrations of the parents in these days looking for P.1 this year. And my turn will come next year.

One of my hesitation of sending my boy to the international school is that I worry he may not have the self-motivation to learn (he is the kind who cannot concentrate much) if there is not much homework and exam. However, to the other end, I really don't want to see him studying without too much joy.  

Any advice? Many thanks.

creammy

toffeeli,

Have you apply any international school yet? I think your boy will be in k3 in coming sept. Why not you apply in both way and see what happen later on? To get into a good international school is not easy too.

toffeeli

creammy,

Thanks for your response.

I did applied one for my boy. The school offered an interview for him and if it is successful, the school term will start off in Jan 2005. That's why I think I need to make up my mind.

Regards,
toffeeli

MomMom

creammy,

Which Int'l school you applied for?

Actually, you can let your boy study in Int'l school first to see whether it is good or not.  On the other hand, you still can apply local primary school and do the central allocation also for safety sake.

5 years ago, I gave up a seat of Int'l school for my girl and let her study in local school but later on, when I want to change my mind, it was too late already.

I think your boy has certain knowledge of Chinese already.  You can let him try the Int'l school in Jan and learn Chinese outside for back up in case you change him back to local school.

toffeeli

creammy

toffeeli,

Are you appling Australian Int'l?
If you want to put your son to int'l, you have to have extra chinese class for him. My son is in esf school now, he is very enjoy his school life,but he had to take extra chinese lessons and his wriitten chinese is bad. Once you have make your decision,you have to stick to it. If you study in a int'l school, and change to a local school,it is a hard time for both of you.

toffeeli

MomMom & Creammy,

Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I have applied AIS.

In fact what worries me most is that my boy is rather active. I heard some people said that int'l school may not emphasize discipline that much at the conventional school and also the learning atmosphere may be a bit loose.


Regards,
toffeeli

MomMom

Toffeeli,

In my point of view, if your boy is rather active, Int'l school is more suitable for him.

leilei

I hv the same concerns, me n my husband are discussion the same subject in the last 6 mths.

we're planning to get our girl, who is now 15 mths, to a playgroup in our area.  the playgroup is with mainly expat kids, which is good in terms of developing her english.

kinder and abv are our headaches!  we want her to enjoy school and be creative but we want her to learn good chinese too.

leilei

hangkeelong

I am thinking about too. My son is shy and quite quiet. He loves reading. He doesn't like playing with stangers. I'm afraid this is not suitable to put him in international school. However, some people think that I should put him there to train his confidence, make him more active. I don't trust the educational system in HK. But I'm also afraid the teaching method is too relax in international school. The bit is too slow for HK people. You know, he has to working in this society in the future. Moreover, I want him can write in chinese too.

toffeeli

Hi Hangkeelong,

How old is your son? Actually there are some children that need some time to warm up and then can mix with others pity well.

Have you arrange any other after school group activities for him? It may help to develop his social skill.

Regards,
toffeeli

hangkeelong

Dear taffeeli,
You are right. He need time to warm up. After that, He may play with others happily. He goes to the playgroup twice per week for three months. He enjoys the time.He answers the teach questions if he has mood. However, he still refuses shaking hands with other children. He doesn't like to play with other children in the park too. Therefore, I think he is a quiet boy. Maybe the traditional school is suitable to him. However, if my son is shy, he can be trained more presentable and may be more confidence in international school.

toffeeli

Hi hangkeelong,

How old is your son? Perhaps he is still small. Joining children's choir is also a good choice to train up shy kids.


Regards,
toffeeli

creammy

toffeeli,

have you received my pm?



      

toffeeli

Good morning, creammy,

Haven't received your PM.

Anyway, it is nice to hear from you.

Best Regards,
toffeeli

creammy

toffeeli,

I have send you a pm last night.I have to rewrite again.I have a friend who have 2 sons studied in AIS. The feedback is ok.But are you planning to send your son to Australia to continue the study? It is because the term of AIS is differ with the main stream.Have you try the ESF school? It is also a good school and have good discipline.

If you stick to the local system,what is your target school?

toffeeli

Hi creammy,

Sorry to bother you to rewrite the message again.

I have sent you a PM reply.

Best Regards,
toffeeli

creammy

toffeeli,

check pm




creammy

hangkeelong

Dear toffeeli,
My son is 22 months old. It is the time to think which stream should be chosen. In fact, I have made up my mind. I shall put him into international school. However, my husband want him to study in local school. He is a traditional man. He afraid the son will be a "banana", not a chinese. He reminded me my english is poor, the son will dislike to talk to me when he grows up. The son will think he is superior and difficult to work with other local HK people in the future. He will be like a alien.
Toffeeli, what do you think? I am trying to persuade my husband. But frankly speaking, I am also stuggling. I'm afraid I choose a wrong road to him. Moreover, it is a expensive road. (for my family)

toffeeli

Dear hangkeelong,

First of all, my impression is that your english is not poor (at least your written english).

In fact I also had my "first" struggle at the time when my boy needed to find a kindergarten. I paid all the fee (expensive indeed) and prepared to send him to an int'l school. Finally I chose a traditional one. When I looked back, I would say kindergarten is just a start. There is still a chance to revert to an int'l school. But of course starting with a "good" int'l kindergarten, there will be a better chance to get into a "good" int'l primary school.

Frankly speaking, my son did learn a lot of things and perform very well in his current kindergarten. But I would foresee that if he continues with the conventional education system in HK, his childhood will be piles of homework and never ending exams.

However, I do not believe that if he gets into an int'l school "the son will dislike to talk to me when he grows up. The son will think he is superior and difficult to work with other local HK people in the future. He will be like a alien."

Afterall, I want him to be happy.


Regards,
toffeeli