my impression of the PN interviews in HK

Shyangjie

read a lot of posts about PN interviews in HK...these are all kids around 14-20 months old, and they are already asked to know shapes, colors, animals, transportations, etc...

i feel very funny about it, aren't all those supposed to be taught by the PN classes? if you select those kids who already know all of those, why should i pay you again to teach them something that they've already know.

Feel like HK's kintergardens are so commercialized...only want to get those kids that are easy to handle and perform in classes, instead of really "educate" them to be a good person.

victoryu19

seaker 發表於 14-11-10 11:12
exactly...i was with my kid who is 13.5m last week for her first interview in life...she was asked t ...

My believe is that learning through play and in a natural way is more healthy for the long run.  So I won't train my son to fulfill what the interviews are looking for.
Pushing information to a young kid, to me, is not a good way of learning so I will let him pick up knowledge through play and in a natural way.  Let him set the rules when he plays.  Try not to 'teach' him the 'right way' of playing a toy.  Instead, we let him try to figure it out (even though it may not be the 'model answer way' of playing a certain toy.  We stay away from phonics at a young age.  We won't force him to pick up a pen and start writing before K2.  We won't ask him to recognize Chinese characters yet.  

If education is 'interview oriented', then it is seriously wrong in my opinion.

seaker

exactly...i was with my kid who is 13.5m last week for her first interview in life...she was asked to pick fruit...to be honest i do not train intensively on the skills that interview requires...i dun have such toys at home..but i do tell her n show her the real fruits..the point is..i will not ve all kinds of fruit everyday..she knows n remembers today..but cant gurantee tmr she remembers again.. she is juz 13.5 m kid...im also reflecting myself on the way to teach her..is my approach not interview oriented enough? if so..then should i change to suit this crazy game?! im wondering how the kindergarten teachers or sch themselves look education…

mamahahaha

回覆 Shyangjie 的帖子

樓主講出我的心底話，如果小朋友一早識晒，咁返學仲點會有期待同埋興趣？但件事係，呢D名校教的已經唔係SHAPES, COLORS 等等，而係更深更高層次的課程了....

ella_805

原帖由 tulipmama 於 14-11-09 發表
其實我一㸃也不擔心，香港每年出生八九萬人，能入Ivy League/Oxbridge 的不過二三百人吧？而那二三百人不見 ...

curryrice

Well said

tulipmama

其實我一㸃也不擔心，香港每年出生八九萬人，能入Ivy League/Oxbridge 的不過二三百人吧？而那二三百人不見得全部都是St Cat等出來吧？
人生發展很慢長，而且每一個BB發力㸃也不一樣，所以現在interview 只有平常心面對吧了

cpc608

回覆 Julybabe 的帖子

看了這幾天的forum，其實父母不要太緊張啦～那麼多小朋友都沒有說話，其實大家的情況都差不多。可能學校狂逗他們說話，只想看看他們做到多少。我發覺我們in了的那些所謂happy schools (e.g. Cannan, Creative) 其實都問得好深。我想面試情況不一定反映教學情況。

Julybabe

回覆 cpc608 的帖子

We'll said. It's really competitive nowadays...

cpc608

回覆 964000 的帖子

最重要你知道她／他是懂的，那就好了。他們的臨場表現實在不重要，這心態是我們需調節的。但有些媽媽／爸爸說他們的孩子不能辨認顏色所以學校不應該考，這我不認同。因這表示爸爸媽媽可能需檢討在家中用的教材是否不足。家庭教育最重要。

cpc608

回覆 victoryu19 的帖子

I guess it's how we package the whole thing to our children too.After doing a few interviews, I think what's asked are not too unreasonable (but I'm lucky in a way cos he's already 20 months, so he's more mature).
Since young when we feed him fruit, we show him how the fruit looks like before it's cut, we tell him in day-to-day conversations that "orange is called orange cos it's orange in colour", "do you want to pass mommy the yellow banana"... when we eat biscuits, we count the no. of biscuits on the plate. We played pretend-play tea sets, plastic animals are our tea mates... etc. These things are part of his life.
Of course he may opt not to follow all orders during the interview but I accept that as it's normal that he's shy in front of strangers and I will still praise him every time after his interviews. I see all these interviews as my chance to understand the school instead and see what kind of elements are missing in our home education so that we can add those elements into our games at home.
I see it as our responsibilities to provide / expose him to what he should be learning, but accept him to learn these things according to his own pace. I am sure the children have absorbed what we say. It's just a matter of time when they are showing what they have learnt.
My two cents.
P.S. I am a working mom too and I admit it's hard work.

tulipmama

I have only one child so I'm sending him to a happy school so he has some social life.

My approach to choosing is mainly based on observing him during interviews. See how the teachers interact with him, does he feel happy with the teachers there, does he feel happy with the environment.

Julybabe

ironically - will you be sending your kid to PN ?

mrsmacaroon

Can't agree more with you

tulipmama

It's insane, I think the system is biased towards precocious toddlers, which is not healthy at all. Many smart people do develop more slowly at this stage......

tkity

原帖由 Shyangjie 於 14-11-04 發表
read a lot of posts about PN interviews in HK...these are all kids around 14-20 months old, and they ...

Can't agree more!....the system itself is insane...

victoryu19

charlieau 發表於 14-11-5 11:00
Yes, i think most important thing is spend more time with your children.

Agreed.  I believe it is better to learn in a natural way (that's why I stay away from phonics etc and just let my son pick up languages naturally by conversation).  I would rather spend time going to the park and play with him instead of reviewing or getting ready for tests and homeworks.

charlieau

cpc608 發表於 14-11-5 10:48
回覆 Shyangjie 的帖子

I didn't intentionally train him up for these things (apart from reading bedt ...

Yes, i think most important thing is spend more time with your children.

cpc608

回覆 Shyangjie 的帖子

I didn't intentionally train him up for these things (apart from reading bedtime stories with him and him attending playgroup at Tutortime). A lot if these things come up in normal conversations we have on a daily basis. He could tackle his interviews so far without much pressure. But I know what you mean.

Chowandwoo

但係afford唔到國際學校同去外國，都只可以呻吓,最多keep reminding自己要放鬆Ｄ