When I initiated postings of this topic, I did not anticipate that the points of views I expressed would provoke so much controversy. As responsible parents, we are at the same boat that we all want our kids to receive the best education possible. Some of my expressions may have crossed the lines. However, I, by no means, intended to underplay the status of the elite schools.
I hope parents in this forum will benefit from a more productive and constructive debate:
The obsession with the elite class of schools has become a self-perpetuating mechanism. Many of these schools are sitting on their own laureates. They refuse to innovate and take on new methods, not being able to meet the challenges of the knowledge society.
Diversity of student body is one key area strongly advocated by all elite universities like Harvard, Yale and UC Berkeley. They are seeking students who excelled in all types of backgrounds and schools. Yet I was so frustrated to find that many of the elite schools in HK, under the direct-subsidy scheme, reserve at least 70% of places for their related group. What is logic of giving preferential admission to kids of their graduates? From other parents’ postings, it also appears that these schools have a stereotyped of people they will admit. They don’t they have the courage to change the status quo?
Lack of transparency is another problem in our education system. We all want to make informed decisions. Why the Education Bureau can’t mandate all schools to disclose their public exam results? With a centralized, organized and transparent database, parents and students would be able to find desirable schools based on the individual standard.
Open your kids to more possibilities: apart from a small group of branded schools, there are a large number of emerging schools that have been more proactive, innovative and progressive in many areas, supported by passionate, dedicated and well-prepared teaching force. There are many pathways that our children can succeed in their life.
In terms of parenting skills and knowledge about our education system, I am on the learning process. I welcome any good inputs to make our discussion more meaningful.
原帖由 hui3328 於 09-10-6 22:30 發表
When I initiated postings of this topic, I did not anticipate that the points of views I expressed would provoke so much controversy. As responsible parents, we are at the same boat that we all want o ...
Hi hui3328
Really appreciate your input here. Parent should not blindly follow the magic of 'famous school'. As a parent who has undergone the process last year, really give me more thought on choosing the right school for my kid. Famous school, on one hand is very attractive (not only to my child, but is also a pride for me), on the other hand I would need to consider the ability of my child. I do not favour for taking too much private tuitions as this will only take away the interest of learning.
If you were in DGx, a child will feel ashame of herself if she got only 90 marks as she might be at the bottom of the class. If she would have to struggle very hard to obtain an additional 5-10 marks, this might deprive her learning interest.
My objective is not too give much pressure for the child. Relationship with kid and a happy childhood for them are more important.
I can name a couple reasons why this topic becomes so controversial: 1. Your arrogant attitude and 2. Your indulgence in empty talk.
First, it's surely not a good way to persuade the others by cracking yourself up by telling your cinderella story (from a mainlain village kid to a senior executive who earns multiple millions annually).
Second, you didn't really backup your points with objective evidence or statistics. For example, you mentioned that many elite schools are reluctant to innovate and improve but did not tell us how you came up with this conclusion. In fact, I know many "elite schools" are striving to provide their students with new teaching & learning innitiatives, such as e-classes, English story telling in groups, etc.
By the way, I think it's not appropriate to compare the primary/secondary schools to the elite universities in the States, do you know how much resources an Ivy-league college can spend on each year?
原帖由 hui3328 於 09-10-6 22:30 發表
When I initiated postings of this topic, I did not anticipate that the points of views I expressed would provoke so much controversy. As responsible parents, we are at the same boat that we all want o ...
When I handed in the application form for discretionary P1 place for St. Mary's, while we were waiting in the queue, we noticed that a student probably just started P1, refused to enter the school entrance and was crying miserably. Her mother had to drag her to the entrance. It scared the hell of everyone waiting in the queue. Everybody started to think "am I choosing the right school for my child?"
原帖由 ThePrincipal 於 09-10-7 11:37 發表
When I handed in the application form for discretionary P1 place for St. Mary's, while we were waiting in the queue, we noticed that a student probably just started P1, refused to enter the school ent ...