Curious if any body has come across cram schools with kids under the age of 6 in classes. I was under the impression that if they weren’t in grade 1, 6 years of age, that they should be at kindy etc and not cram schools. It seems that a parent at this school has decided that they can send their child to a cram school and pay less than the cost of going to kindy. I am a bit concerned that the boss might see this as an opportunity to get new students from parents who’d like their kids to attend English classes but can’t afford an entire day at kindy. Could the foreign teacher be held responsible in anyway for teaching children under the age of 6 at a cram school in a case like this if the authorities came along?
If you haven’t seen it, this thread might be interesting to you:
[url=http://tw.forumosa.com/t/moe-to-amend-buxiban-act-no-students-under-six-years-old/53901/1 to amend Buxiban Act: No students under six years old[/url]
I had a 4 year old in my class of 8-10 year olds at the last place I worked at in Taiwan. He was supposedly there for babysitting reasons. He just sat in the middle of the front row and colored. He had no textbook and wasn’t expected to participate in any of the learning games. It was weird…
I’ve come across a few kindy students in my beginner classes. Most attend full day English/bilingual kindergartens (and are in the final year - that is they will start school the next year). I do believe this is putting an excessive workload on young kids though - in the past some have quit because they were too tired to still be in class at 7pm, and others just misbehave because they aren’t used to a classroom situation designed for older (mainly grade 1 and 2) kids.
Some parents see this as a way of giving their kids a head start, or of introducing them to English classes earlier so they won’t be starting school and English classes at the same time (it won’t be such a sudden change for them). That said, some of the kids are great and have good listening skills and enjoy joining in with songs and conversation (things they do all day at kindy). I think it’s better to let younger kids just have fun and don’t bother with the buxiban classes until they start school, but some parents can’t be convinced otherwise.
I am in favour not allowing children under the age of 6 going to cram schools.
Too much pressure on them as it is by parents.
They should be spending the time outside rather than in a classroom.