Foreign kids' experiences in local schools

Taiwan Parenting
1

Hi, I also posted this at ParentPages, so I’m sorry if some of you read both.

I’m interested in hearing stories and general experience, good or bad, of foreign kids going to public school in Taiwan. We are considering sending our 5 year old son to local school next year (my husband and I are both American), but don’t know a lot of foreigners who have done this. I know a lot of the arguments for and against, I am just wanting to know what your KID’s experience is - what is it like for a white, blond-haired, blue-eyed kid to go to a Taiwan public school?

We are thinking he would just go to local school for 2 years or so, then transfer into TAS or move back to the U.S.

He is currently in a kindergarten where Mandarin is spoken the whole school day, so I’m not as worried about his language as I am about socialization. There are a lot of foreign kids at his kindergarten and he mostly socializes with them.

Also, I don’t know much about the curriculum for a 6 year old in public school here. What should I expect?

He would go to one of the elementary schools in Tienmu, so if anybody has any experience with these schools, all the better! Thanks!

2

You might want to check this thread.

3

Thanks, I have read this thread before, but it doesn’t answer my question. I know all the arguments for and against putting kids in a local school, but I’m interested to know what the feedback is from kids themselves - what parents have heard their kids say and feel about the experience.

4

So what school did you kid go eventually?

5

My boy is mixed and he goes to regular Taiwan elementary school. Even though you can tell he is mixed, I hear kids call him “waiguoren” instead of his name. He has friends at school. I kind of tried to explain to him that he will make lots of nice friends at school, but some kids may say things to him because his daddy in not Taiwanese. I told him, just don’t play with those people, just play with your good friends.

My boy went to a bilingual kindy and all but me and his English teacher, everyone else speaks Chinese to him so his Chinese is fine.

He gets good grades in math and Chinese, which is good as I can’t help him with the Chinese… and oh, I am a single dad with sole custody as his mother (Taiwanese) has, well, vanished… Not a bad thing for me, but definately makes things harder, like his school refusing to try and translate important letters for me and because of this, my boy has missed out on activities as I couldn’t get a friend to translate it in time for me…

Some days he says he doesn’t want to go to school, but I use to say that as well when I was a kid, and sometimes he wants to go so he can play with his friends.

He is in Grade 1 and there is a lot of homework. I don’t hink I had ANY homework when I was in grade 1.

He also goes to anqinban to help with the homework as well as English class. While his spoken English is fine, he also needs to learn how to read and write English.

Oh, and I am only staying in Taiwan now so my boy can learn to read and write Chinese, so I will be here for a few more years yet, but I feel this is important for him, a very valuable skill and I know so many mixed guys, or full blooded who have moved away from Taiwan as kids and have since come back as adults to learn Chinese…

And, everyday is Father’s Day, when he calls me Dad… Thought I would throw that in…

6

wheres the mom? she wants nothing to do with her child?

7

That’s right…
Her choice and fine by me…

8

Are there that few parents on Forumosa.com?

We’re moving back … and will be putting our sons in public schools.

The elder just finished 1st grade here (3 days ago actually) … so he’ll (chronologically) be a 2nd grader.
The younger will be a kindergartner.

Both have good passive Mandarin … which is ironic - as when they were younger (we lived in China) they had good passive English … and when we returned stateside in 2004 they practiced English at home too … The long and the short of it is that once they got speaking English regularly, we were not able to get them to return to speaking Mandarin at home.

Anyway …

9

[quote=“TaipeiSean”]My boy is mixed and he goes to regular Taiwan elementary school. Even though you can tell he is mixed, I hear kids call him “waiguoren” instead of his name. He has friends at school. I kind of tried to explain to him that he will make lots of nice friends at school, but some kids may say things to him because his daddy in not Taiwanese. I told him, just don’t play with those people, just play with your good friends.

My boy went to a bilingual kindy and all but me and his English teacher, everyone else speaks Chinese to him so his Chinese is fine.

He gets good grades in math and Chinese, which is good as I can’t help him with the Chinese… and oh, I am a single dad with sole custody as his mother (Taiwanese) has, well, vanished… Not a bad thing for me, but definately makes things harder, like his school refusing to try and translate important letters for me and because of this, my boy has missed out on activities as I couldn’t get a friend to translate it in time for me…

Some days he says he doesn’t want to go to school, but I use to say that as well when I was a kid, and sometimes he wants to go so he can play with his friends.

He is in Grade 1 and there is a lot of homework. I don’t hink I had ANY homework when I was in grade 1.

He also goes to anqinban to help with the homework as well as English class. While his spoken English is fine, he also needs to learn how to read and write English.

Oh, and I am only staying in Taiwan now so my boy can learn to read and write Chinese, so I will be here for a few more years yet, but I feel this is important for him, a very valuable skill and I know so many mixed guys, or full blooded who have moved away from Taiwan as kids and have since come back as adults to learn Chinese…

And, everyday is Father’s Day, when he calls me Dad… Thought I would throw that in…[/quote]
Bloody hell, man. You’re an inspiration! Big ups to you and no mistake.

10

Agree with the Sandman.
Also, how fucked up that the kids at school are allowed to call your son ‘foreigner.’ I’d be down that school kicking seven shades of shit out of the teacher for allowing such cruel behaviour to take place. Fucking narrow minded wankers. :fume:

11

[quote=“TomHill”]Agree with the Sandman.
Also, how fucked up that the kids at school are allowed to call your son ‘foreigner.’ I’d be down that school kicking seven shades of shit out of the teacher for allowing such cruel behaviour to take place. Fucking narrow minded wankers. :fume:[/quote]

Its ok, I was made to be different everyday of my life in TAiwan (im eurasian). First I hated being different and later i loved it.

no problemo. Now I feel wierd cuz in the USA nobody gives a rats ass. :slight_smile::slight_smile: I miss the attention I got in TAiwan !!!

12

[quote=“TomHill”]Agree with the Sandman.
Also, how fucked up that the kids at school are allowed to call your son ‘foreigner.’ I’d be down that school kicking seven shades of shit out of the teacher for allowing such cruel behaviour to take place. Fucking narrow minded wankers. :fume:[/quote]
And you’d look the part to them by doing such things. And little would change.

Then you’d regret saying anything because it would just end up making school life worse for your kid when the asshole kids find out it bugs your kid and you to taunt him/her.

Then you might think that helping your kid develop a thicker skin is a better idea.

Then you might speak with the teacher calmly about how allowing such behavior directed against your kid upsets you. He or she might then see your POV.

Then the whole taunting the new mixed kid thing would disappear as boundaries were set and enforced periodically. Your kid might explain that yeah, my dad is from planet X and my Mom is Taiwanese, so fucking what, once in a while.

Then you might forget that there was ever such a problem because it doesn’t exist anymore, or your kid has a thicker skin and knows how to handle him/her self.

But hey, I’m a parent and you’re not, so you probably have it all together.

13

[quote=“Surly”][quote=“TomHill”]Agree with the Sandman.
Also, how fucked up that the kids at school are allowed to call your son ‘foreigner.’ I’d be down that school kicking seven shades of shit out of the teacher for allowing such cruel behaviour to take place. Fucking narrow minded wankers. :fume:[/quote]
And you’d look the part to them by doing such things. And little would change.

Then you’d regret saying anything because it would just end up making school life worse for your kid when the asshole kids find out it bugs your kid and you to taunt him/her.

Then you might think that helping your kid develop a thicker skin is a better idea.

Then you might speak with the teacher calmly about how allowing such behavior directed against your kid upsets you. He or she might then see your POV.

Then the whole taunting the new mixed kid thing would disappear as boundaries were set and enforced periodically. Your kid might explain that yeah, my dad is from planet X and my Mom is Taiwanese, so fucking what, once in a while.

Then you might forget that there was ever such a problem because it doesn’t exist anymore, or your kid has a thicker skin and knows how to handle him/her self.

But hey, I’m a parent and you’re not, so you probably have it all together.[/quote]Yup. Heavy-handed parental interventions can often have the opposite effect from that intended.

14

[quote=“Surly”][quote=“TomHill”]Agree with the Sandman.
Also, how fucked up that the kids at school are allowed to call your son ‘foreigner.’ I’d be down that school kicking seven shades of shit out of the teacher for allowing such cruel behaviour to take place. Fucking narrow minded wankers. :fume:[/quote]
And you’d look the part to them by doing such things. And little would change.

Then you’d regret saying anything because it would just end up making school life worse for your kid when the asshole kids find out it bugs your kid and you to taunt him/her.

Then you might think that helping your kid develop a thicker skin is a better idea.

Then you might speak with the teacher calmly about how allowing such behavior directed against your kid upsets you. He or she might then see your POV.

Then the whole taunting the new mixed kid thing would disappear as boundaries were set and enforced periodically. Your kid might explain that yeah, my dad is from planet X and my Mom is Taiwanese, so fucking what, once in a while.

Then you might forget that there was ever such a problem because it doesn’t exist anymore, or your kid has a thicker skin and knows how to handle him/her self.

But hey, I’m a parent and you’re not, so you probably have it all together.[/quote]

Hi Surly, I know who you are. I would never react like that in real life, as you well know, so I don’t see the need to attack me from behind your new ‘secret’ personae. I consider us friends, but in this case: grow up. Play your game with other posters.

It is awful that a child is openly called ‘foreigner’ to their face, no matter how much you have acclimatised yourself to Taiwans inbred racism.

15

I did.

16

I did.[/quote]

Raising a mixed race child in Taiwan must be a hard line to walk.

17

My kids aren’t blue eyed and blonde so maybe they don’t have a problem. Gail went to Yunong elementary school in Tianmu for 1st grade and didn’t have any problems. She seemed to get along all right. In Tianmu, they may be used to foreigners. Now in second grade she goes to a private school in Yonghe, but they have a lot of foreigner teachers there, so I don’t see any problems with teasing or discrimination.

18

I live out in the boonies, and my daughter gets it every single day. She has friends, and has learned to ignore it. It’s tough, and it pisses me off something fierce sometimes, but then she talks about her friends “little fat” and “big head” - kids are going to make a name out of whatever they can. I go in to the school and kick ass, and it’s just that much worse for her.

19

Well the school did call me once as my boy had hit some kid (a year 3 kid, my boy is only in year 1) in the nose and made it bleed. I explained that name calling situation and that it might be hard for a kid to know when to walk away and when to stand your ground, so if the school keeps letting him get bullied then they are not doing their job and I will keep taking him to Taekwondo classes to learn to stand up for himself. I also through in a point about how can Taiwan hope to join the United Nations when they can’t teach their children to respect other nationalities… But I also understand kids will be kids… My boy also got in trouble for joining his friends in bullying another kid. I was a little angry at him and just asked hime how he feels when other kids pick on him. He said he didn’t like it so he won’t do it again. But I also said to the teacher that maybe it is a learned behaviour, as he gets picked on, maybe he thinks it is OK to pick on other kids, so again, the school better smarten up and teach their children to have respect for other people or there may be no hope for this society we are living in here in Taiwan…

Actually I haven’t heard of any trouble since that last bullying incident of either my boy being bullied or him bullying anyone else… I would like to think I can teach him well…

Thank you for your kind comments…

20

My mixed girls 5 & 7, have been in a local public elementary in Peitou for the last month and have enjoyed it immensely with no problems to speak of although they were probably called a foreigner at first but they report getting along with the kids just fine and making friends, playing …etc

It probably depends on which area your school is located. If in Taipei county, then you will be more likely to have problems.