One in Internation+One in local

Eh-oh

Any mums have 2 kids or more. One is studying international school and another one to local school? Any problems?
Any mums can share? Tks!

Twolovelyboys

My older son is currently studying in IS and we are preparing our younger son for local school this year.  Although it seem unfair must be relistic as it is long term commitment.  On the other hand if my youbger son can get into a good local school it would just be as good as any IS.

Miclint

Hello TwoLovelyBoys:

Would you mind sharing what are those "good local schools" you in your mind?

DBSPD?
Ying Wah?
Choi Kai Yau?
Pui Kiu?

Thank you.

Miclint

琬晴B

I am in the same dilemma. My daughter will go to RCHK and my son will attend K1 in a local kindergarten in the coming school term.

My daughter showed interest in learning  second /third languages when she was an infant. So I was determined to put her in IS at a very early stage. As for my younger son, he likes to turn a deaf ear to a  second language. Besides, he is very clingy so I can't imagine how he would react in a totally strange place with people speaking the language he couldn't comprehend. Having said that, his Cantonese is above average and he can clearly express himself.

I am starting to think about the long term effect on them if one goes international & one goes local. How would they think about this arrangement? How would they get along (e.g. what language will they use)? OR am I just worrying too much?

原帖由 Eh-oh 於 08-12-27 03:27 發表
Any mums have 2 kids or more. One is studying international school and another one to local school? Any problems?
Any mums can share? Tks!

oooray

原帖由 琬晴B 於 09-3-26 13:37 發表
I am in the same dilemma. My daughter will go to RCHK and my son will attend K1 in a local kindergarten in the coming school term.

My daughter showed interest in learning  second /third languages wh ...

Just my subjective viewpoint :
Unless $$$ is the major concern, I will try not to do that because when they grow up they will be asking the same question - why? (Be honest, I would if I were in the same situation).
Per some parents mentioned before, IS uses a better way of learning than local duck feeding (majority) and I will suit for most children.
As an onlooker, you son performs good in Chinese and it means he is capable of capturing second language. (try to avoid comparsion performance between your daughter and your son : they are in different ages - although I have been doing that..haha)
My children components are the same as you: Elder sis and baby brother. Elder sister will be going to Year 1 (RC as well, most probably) this Sep and baby brother will be going to K1.
I also notice that when they are playing along, sister always dominate the language used.
I think your son will be picking up English natrually and will be good at both languages. Anyway, you still have >1 year to decide which way your son should go. Right?

琬晴B

Hi oooray,

Thanks for sharing.

We are not wealthy so money is always a concern until the day I die (poor!!!), but not the major concern so far (touchwood!!). :)

What I've been thinking is even if I put my son in a local school which charges as much as RCHK, how would they think about this arrangement when they grow up. (So in terms of money, they can't say I'm unfair. Hehe...) But given the huge difference in teaching approach / curriculum / Chinese & English standards / grading system, am I "tearing them apart"? Maybe only time will tell.

You're right. My son is gradually picking up English in recent months. To our surprise, the accent he uttered is sometimes better than that of his sister. He's going to K1 this Sept so actually we don't have much time to make up our minds. (Sigh!!)

原帖由 oooray 於 09-3-26 14:20 發表

Just my subjective viewpoint :
Unless $$$ is the major concern, I will try not to do that because when they grow up they will be asking the same question - why? (Be honest, I would if I were in the  ...

原帖由 oooray 於 09-3-26 14:20 發表

Just my subjective viewpoint :
Unless $$$ is the major concern, I will try not to do that because when they grow up they will be asking the same question - why? (Be honest, I would if I were in the  ...

琬晴B

http://www.av-forums.net/plus/viewthread.php?tid=44819

oooray

原帖由 琬晴B 於 09-3-26 17:41 發表
Hi oooray,

Thanks for sharing.

We are not wealthy so money is always a concern until the day I die (poor!!!), but not the major concern so far (touchwood!!). :)

What I've been thinking is even if I ...

of course every family has their own concern.
If $ is not the major concern at this moment, you should ask yourself again WHY u let your daughter go into RC? discontent with local system? if it is true, why you still let your son to go to a system you have already turned down?
Of course, if you are doing some experiments by putting your children into 2 different systems that you think both are very good to your children, i agree that it is worthy to try, no regrets. (life is full of experiments).
Don't forget that even if your son goes to local kindergarten K1 in Sept, he will still has the priority as sibling when he is applying RC next year. So, you still have a lot of time to think think your future arrangement. Certainly, keep improving his English in the coming 20 months is very important!

Twolovelyboys

Hi  Miclint,

To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea as I've never studied in Hong Kong and do not really know about the local system.  Seems I still have a few years to ask around and do some research.  

What I do hear from colleagues and in this forum is the amount of homework and pressure of the the local system.  If any body have any advice much appreciated.

原帖由 Miclint 於 09-3-26 13:09 發表
Hello TwoLovelyBoys:

Would you mind sharing what are those "good local schools" you in your mind?

DBSPD?
Ying Wah?
Choi Kai Yau?
Pui Kiu?

Thank you.

Miclint

琬晴B

Hi oooray,

Thanks for your input again!!

If $ is not the major concern at this moment, you should ask yourself again WHY u let your daughter go into RC? discontent with local system?
--> I think local & int'l have their pros & cons. I had been a teacher in a local primary school for two years. Pros of local school: good at reciting, mathematics.... However, I once heard from a friend who's a primary school teacher, that she & her husband did the Excel homework for her students simply because the students were not capable to do the homework. Also I am tired of the ever-changing education policy (EMI, CMI, allocation system......).

if it is true, why you still let your son to go to a system you have already turned down?
Of course, if you are doing some experiments by putting your children into 2 different systems that you think both are very good to your children, i agree that it is worthy to try, no regrets. (life is
full of experiments).
--> Surely I don't want my children to be guinea pigs. I just want them to be happy, confidence, caring, socialable, knowledgeable, trilingual.... Am I too greedy? (After naming the qualities, I guess perhaps I should "ask not what the school can do for our children, but what we can do for our children").:loveliness: :loveliness: :loveliness:

Don't forget that even if your son goes to local kindergarten K1 in Sept, he will still has the priority as sibling when he is applying RC next year. So, you still have a lot of time to think think your future arrangement. Certainly, keep improving his English in the coming 20 months is very important!
--> Do siblings really have priority? I know ESF primary do but what about RCHK? And for kindergarten, since I opt for a full-day kindergarten with decent Chinese exposure, so my choices are quite limited. Anyway, thanks for your advice & support. I'll see what I can do.:D :D :D

oooray

原帖由 琬晴B 於 09-3-27 12:51 發表
Hi oooray,

Thanks for your input again!!

If $ is not the major concern at this moment, you should ask yourself again WHY u let your daughter go into RC? discontent with local system?
--> I ...

One more Supplement:
RC & DC are both ESF PIS.
DC has 90 vacancies and RC has 150.
Due to limited places, DC only have chance to interview ALL siblings & ESL(ESF) kinda this year (maybe a few interview places left for Cat 2 non-sibling [staff children do have the priority])
http://www.discovery.edu.hk/content.php?contentid=9
I also got the same message during a school tour last Oct.
RC interviewed 350 in first round (seemed all applicants were interviewed. in this case, silbing has no "priority" since everybody has a chance for interview this year.)
2 years later, you may feel the "advantages" of being a silbing when your son apply RC.
Anyway, good luck!

Mighty

Hi Miclint

But CKY and Pui Kiu are not really local schools.  CKY is private and Pui Kiu is DA.  So they are not really 'local schools', if you see what i mean.  They both emphasize on bringing up international and multi-ligual kids.  CKY has a lot of English native speakers so I am sure their students' English level is good.  Pui Kiu - I went to its seminar and it also seemed to be a school of high standard.  But having said that, I dont think their mentalities are same as IS's.  Their teaching approach, morals, environment etc...

Sending one child to local and one child to IS, well..... an evening scenario will be the IS one will be reading a book and enjoying himself, and the local one will be 'enjoying' his homework...

matthewdad

My friend's younger son can communcate with other in English, Mandrain and French even he is in P6 of the local school & of course he can communicate with his elder borther who stuided in IS.  It is important to train up them with good Englsih even they are in local school and some many compusory ativities the total spending  $$$  will be about the same (told by my friend).

原帖由 Kareese 於 09-3-28 21:45 發表
Just want to share...

My two daughters are in international school. At home, they communicate in Cantonese. Their cousin who is attending local school always plays with them and the language they spe ...

almom

原帖由 matthewdad 於 09-3-28 23:03 發表
My friend's younger son can communcate with other in English, Mandrain and French even he is in P6 of the local school & of course he can communicate with his elder borther who stuided in IS.  It is i ...

It is quite different between "learning" a language as a second language and "using' a language as a first language. Local schools students learn English as a second language. International schools students use English as a first language. That is a big difference.

I am sure your friend's son must be a bright kid if he is able to handle 3 foreign languages (I presume that he is cantonese speaking and thus mandarin is probably quite "foreign" to him) at the same time. But I would say that if these are second (third, etc) languages to him, it would be quite different from what we expect as a first language.

International school students use English as a first language. Even if they are local born chinese children, they are expected to use English as a first language at school. English classes in international schools are beyond grammar, comprehension and writing, etc. They do not learn English as merely a foreign language but they use English in a lot of critical analysis, discussions, etc.

Outside schools, casual conversations involves a lot of culture (including pop cultures, sports they play, etc). It is very hard for non-native speakers to be exactly involved in casual conversations and keep conversations rolling.

As an example. All students in Hong Kong learn English. However, even students that have high grades in English are mostly unable to involve in a complete English conversation. They are probably quite good at reading or writing English but are still unable to go beyond what they learn in class.

Unfortunately, things like pop cultures, girls' (boys') talks/gossips are something that are not taught in class. This is also one of the differences between being in an international school and a local school with high English standard.

And thus, local school + after school English classes would still not be the same as going to an international school.

Having said that, I must clarify that I did not mean that international schools are better than local schools.

What I wanted to say was that, parents should be aware of the differences of international schools and local schools. We are talking about things beyond the differences in language skills.

[ 本帖最後由 almom 於 09-3-29 22:38 編輯 ]

matthewdad

His younger son finished IS kinder and year 1(only learn English + private tutor onMandrain) before sending to local P.1. Of course his younger son 's speaking english (as what you says) is not as good as his elder brother (from IS) but this may be an option for those parent who like thier kids to learn more chinese (particularly on written chinese).



原帖由 almom 於 09-3-29 22:06 發表


It is quite different between "learning" a language as a second language and "using' a language as a first language. Local schools students learn English as a second language. International schools  ... [/quote]

[ 本帖最後由 matthewdad 於 09-3-29 23:49 編輯 ]

popolung

原帖由 matthewdad 於 09-3-29 23:39 發表
His younger son finished IS kinder and year 1(only learn English + private tutor onMandrain) before sending to local P.1. Of course his younger son 's speaking english (as what you says) is not as goo ...

I was in a judging panel of a competition among secondary school recently, and interview groups of kids (in English) from different schools such as CIS, ESF, and other famous local school. Most children can speak very good English, but honestly speaking kids from IS speak native English, while those from local school speak very good english only. You can tell easily when you listen to what they said, even I am not a native English speaker. Having said that, you should bear in mind that when this case apply to speaking Chinese, I am sure it will the same that even how good you learn Chinese in IS, you can't compare with those kids in local school.

The main point is, I will like my kid to grow up happily. I will try to provide an ebnvironment to let them learn, but not to push them to learn. Saw a lot of news recently, some parents push their kids very hard, and their academic result are very good. But these kids somehow became idealist and they can't bear themselves even with a very small mistake, and finally suicide. You may say I think too far, but once it happens to you, it will be to late for you to feel regret. Want you kids to be superboy / supergirl, or just want them to be happy? Make your own call, and take a balance from both sides.

matthewdad

Totally agreed on the English standard for those IS with English environment (small chinese community). In adiditonal, the parent has happy and relax life (local school are much more demanding on exam/dictation) although paying the same price.

原帖由 popolung 於 09-3-30 00:52 發表


I was in a judging panel of a competition among secondary school recently, and interview groups of kids (in English) from different schools such as CIS, ESF, and other famous local school. Most chil ...

[ 本帖最後由 matthewdad 於 09-3-30 09:53 編輯 ]

almom

原帖由 matthewdad 於 09-3-29 23:39 發表
His younger son finished IS kinder and year 1(only learn English + private tutor onMandrain) before sending to local P.1. Of course his younger son 's speaking english (as what you says) is not as goo ...

My message was drafted based on yours regarding your friend's son situation.

I maintain that local school + lots of English tuitions would still not be able to replace the environment and culture at international schools.

On the other hand similar things apply to the Chinese of international schools too.

My comments had nothing to do with Twolovely boys queries.

[ 本帖最後由 almom 於 09-3-30 13:15 編輯 ]

almom

Twolovelyboys,

Sorry I did not made it clearer in my previous message to Mathewdad.

May be I can share what I think more on your query.

I do not know anyone with one child in a local school and one child in an international school. However, I do not think the cultural differences would really be a huge problem. Whether 2 siblings can get along, pretty much depend on the effort they are willing to put. I have seen so many siblings speaking the same language and never get along.

Although personally I would not do what you intend to do, but I do respect your choice and you must have your reasons to do so. It would not be easy to have children going to schools so different, but I would say that nothing is impossible. It would totally depend on the effort you and your children are willing to put in maintaining harmony within the family.

Unfortunately, I am unable to contribute more regarding this but I think I remember there are a few parents that do have children in different schools (ie one local + one international). Hope they are still around and can share their experience.