My baby is already starting elementary school in the fall. I’m starting to get nervous. Did any of you go to visit schools or change your “hou ko” so you could go to a school outside of your “district”? I’m also worried about “mixed kid” discrimination. My kid’s had a great life in kindy and had no problems but elementary school is a whole new world. Also, lots of moms of kids in my language school volunteer in the mornings at school. Any of you do this? What do you do? How is it? Thanks for any insight!
Yes, we visited schools, decided on the one we wanted and switched our ‘hu gou’ to the right district, you only have to do it if you decide to put your child in the local public school, that is.
I never volunteered at school, don’t think it matters, anyway.
About the mixed kid discrimination thing, well, it definitely exists, sometimes in a good way , sometimes not; nothing major, really, one just deals with it as it comes.The important thing is to maintain good communications with your kid so you know what’s happening in class on a daily basis.
edit:Just re-read my post, discrimination can’t be a good thing; what I meant is, the mixed kid would stand out, and the kids WOULD treat him differently, but most times it’s benign, nothing malicious.
Hi americanmom, I’m not a mom and our girl hasn’t started elementary school yet so I can’t answer your questions, but I thought I’d comment since she’s the same age as yours: about to start elementary school in the fall.
It’s fairly common for people to ask me if she will attend TAS or TES, etc. What a stupid question. Why the hell would we? She loves local kindergarten, has loads of friends there, and most of them will go to the same local elementary school as her next year (along with her bigger friends who already attend there). It’s only 1st grade: she won’t be preparing for a career there, just screwing around with her friends and learning Chinese (the most important subject in our mind) and other very basic subjects. I can’t imagine instruction for that age could be any better at TAS or TES, except perhaps in English, but she already speaks fluent English, so that’s not a concern. The only difference with those other schools, in my mind, is that we’d have to pay huge bucketloads of money and she’d have to spend long hours commuting on the bus (instead of walking one block to the local school). Oh, and she’d be separated from all her good friends there. As it is, she’s thrilled about her new school and I’m highly confident it will be a good experience for the most part. My wife and I have never let her know that some people have worries and concerns about local schools (that I feel are unwarranted), so she’s totally eager for the party to begin. Yeeehaaaa!
As noted above, sure there will always be issues about being different, but nothing you can do about that except support them, let them know, if anything, they have an advantage over the others, being fluent in two tongues and familiar with two countries, and then deal with issues as they arise.
Good luck to yours. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
americanmama,
My son will start public elementary school this fall, too. As we have several public kindergartens attached to the schools in our area, I visited the schools when we decided to put him into kindergarten. I really recommend going to have a look and/or asking around, as each school has a distinct culture and has its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, in our area, one is known for science, one for literature, and another for health and sport. And, you can get a feeling for the teacher-student culture, too. At the most “famous” public school in our area, I got the weirdest reception and decided not to consider that school. (Teachers clapping to see a foreigner on their grounds, practically begging us to come to the school, what kind of future would my child have there?) For kindergarten we choose the school with the largest grounds and space dedicated to the kindergarten, and with teachers used to having all kinds of kids in their classrooms.
For elementary school, we are moving out of that suburb, and my kids will go to an area public school. There will be six kids in first grade, 90 in the whole school. They have their own gardens and work with organisations to have special science/nature classes. The kindy was awarded top public kindergarten Taiwan last year. The school has its own kitchen so all the food is fresh. And they finish school early everyday so kids can catch the public bus home. They have very little homework. (Our considerations are enough sleep, sufficient exercise, realistic workload, good food, so might be different from other parents’ criteria.) We have already met about half the students of the school and they seem OK with my kids.
Good luck withy your decision making.
Good advice so far. My son is in Grade 3 now, and my daughter will be in Grade 1 in the fall.
I would definitely shop around, and focus on a smaller sized school that pays more attention on the students rather than tradition or locale. Try to find one that is not 100% concrete, one with some garden, grass and trees. It might mean a little inconvenience if it’s out of your way, yet it will be worth it in terms of quality.
As for the mixed race element, I’ve never witnessed any discrimination on the part of the administration or teaching staff. Sometimes other kids might call my son a foreigner, but I’ve taught him to immediately correct that attitude with instructive dialogue directed at the main offender. There’s always a slight period of adjustment in an new school, or even a new Grade, but kids are very adaptable, and they can see it through with fine instinct.
One word of advice. If your child is in elementary school, then the term ‘baby’ no longer really applies. I can understand your concern and worry, I went through it myself a few years ago. The best thing I can tell you from my own experience is that one has to cut some of the strings of dependency, and let own’s kids figure some things out by themselves. Let them spread their wings a little. You’d be surprised how fast and far they can fly! Getting nervous about it won’t do you or your child any good at all.
As for volunteering, schools usually need crosswalk guards or temperature checkers, and such. It’s relatively easy, quite fun, and a good way to meet other parents.
Best of luck to you and your search. Let us know how it turns out.
Um, because you’re American? It’s not THAT stupid a question. And TES and TAS both have classroom facilities that put most Taiwanese schools to shame. I don’t know what TAS is like, but I have friends in TES and they’re pretty happy with it. We’re also planning on putting our daughter into a local school for elementary school, but not after that. Junior high and high school aren’t that great here, IMO.
What exactly have you taught him to say? I think it’s a good attitude you have towards that and I’d be keen on an example so that I can teach my boy a better way (than my normal reaction) for when his time comes. Maybe it could help me too. 
What are your plans for junior and senior high? Private school or going back to Canada?
What exactly have you taught him to say? I think it’s a good attitude you have towards that and I’d be keen on an example so that I can teach my boy a better way (than my normal reaction) for when his time comes. Maybe it could help me too.
What are your plans for junior and senior high? Private school or going back to Canada?[/quote]
My oldest girl goes to a local private junior high first year. She likes it but lots of homework.
As plans are now, she will spend 2 years there, then it’s off back home, where she will attend a boarding school. That should get her roughly up to speed on the Danish for high school, and well, once she turns 18, all her living and education costs will be paid for by the Danish govt.
[quote=“Mr He”]My oldest girl goes to a local private junior high first year. She likes it but lots of homework.
As plans are now, she will spend 2 years there, then it’s off back home, where she will attend a boarding school. That should get her roughly up to speed on the Danish for high school, and well, once she turns 18, all her living and education costs will be paid for by the Danish govt.[/quote]
It’s awesome you have that option. 
I will put in my two cents. I grew up on Taiwan and my mom put me through an American school since kindergarten. To be honest? I wished she had not put me into an American school until junior high. IF I had gone through the Taiwanese kindy and grade school I would have the ability to READ and WRITE mandarin. As it is, I only started to learn to speak it and understand it after I got out of high school. And I still cant read or write it at all today . I can barely recognize more then a few place names like Taipei and Taichung on road signs in Taiwan. Course thats largely because I cant be bothered to actually learn that part anymore (no time, too lazy,etc). But if I had been FORCED to learn it, I would be able to read and write it today.
So , yes put them through the Taiwan school system , at least until junior high, or even till high school. OR even (what I would do if I lived in Taiwan now and have kids) just let them go to an American college but up to high school in a Taiwan school.
Course thats because I dont want to pay the ridiculous fees for the American schools there.
Unless im stinking rich. And Lord knows I aint. NOt even rich let alone stinking 
Wait that should be 
not
Tommy525,
When you were in the American school, did you find your friends moving on a lot, or did most classmates stay through the school years? Do you think it could be harder on kids who take longer to make friendships? (Thinking about this because we have many friends who are only in Taiwan for a year or two, and the kids are now realising these friends come and go while they stay here in Taiwan.)
My mother-in-law recently shared her perspective of going to school outside your zone. She said, if you are the only one, and there is no dedicated bus for the kids, it can be quite lonely and tiring, and can affect your child’s friendships. Classmates will not be close to your home, and won’t attend other classes you do say on the weekends, so it’s harder to make lasting friendships. For example, the students who attend my son’s dance class mostly go to the same elementary school. They walk to the class together, and have become friends at school and outside, going to each other’s homes sometimes. I’d never considered this part of traveling to schools far from your home.
Asiababy,
A neice of mine went through TAS from kindy to grade 6 so I know a little about the student dynamics.Many come and go because it is an international school, designed solely to house kids for expats, some left because parents moved on, some because parent no longer enjoy expat package at work; but there are many long timers, as well as local rich kids whose parents want them to learn English.
[quote=“asiababy”]Tommy525,
When you were in the American school, did you find your friends moving on a lot, or did most classmates stay through the school years? Do you think it could be harder on kids who take longer to make friendships? (Thinking about this because we have many friends who are only in Taiwan for a year or two, and the kids are now realising these friends come and go while they stay here in Taiwan.)
My mother-in-law recently shared her perspective of going to school outside your zone. She said, if you are the only one, and there is no dedicated bus for the kids, it can be quite lonely and tiring, and can affect your child’s friendships. Classmates will not be close to your home, and won’t attend other classes you do say on the weekends, so it’s harder to make lasting friendships. For example, the students who attend my son’s dance class mostly go to the same elementary school. They walk to the class together, and have become friends at school and outside, going to each other’s homes sometimes. I’d never considered this part of traveling to schools far from your home.[/quote]
Highly transient student pop. Hardly see the same people year to year. It was ok, learned to live with it. Send out the old, welcome the new. Did that make me different somehow? I dont know. I dont change my GFs on a yearly basis, so I guess it didnt.
So, our girl starts 1st grade in a month or two, at the local elementary school a block from our house, which sounds good to me. All her friends will be there, she’s excited about the new school, and I expect it will be just fine.
Apparently the only problem may be the afternoons. Presently, she gets out of kindie about 4:30, takes a school bus to nanny’s house, wastes a couple of hours there, eats dinner there, then my wife picks her up about 6:30 or 7:00. Seems like a good arrangement. But, except for Tuesdays which will be full day, 1st grade ends at noon. So, what to do in the afternoons.
Option 1 is for my wife or me to quit our job/s and spend the afternoons with her, doing stimulating, invigorating intellectual and physical activities. Sounds great, except we prefer to keep working.
Option 2 is anjienban, a few blocks from our house, run by the folks who run her kindergarten. Driving to work this morning my wife was moaning and wailing about how terrible it will be, that she’ll sit there bored to death for hours, because she believes it will be just a holding tank for kids, where they can do their homework and/or get help doing their English homework and/or get help doing their Math homework, and otherwise sit there doing their homework.
My wife got angry because I refused to buy into her despair so quickly. Maybe they’ll have art classes or music classes or games or activities, I suggested. “No, you didn’t listen to me, it’s just homework,” she replied. We went through this stupid circular discussion where she painted gloom and doom, I suggested wait and see, she told me I didn’t listen and threw more gloom and doom at me. Finally, I almost sort of had to reluctantly admit it might be gloom and doom, because that was apparently what she wanted to hear, but deep down inside I don’t accept that at all. . . yet. I’ve got to wait and see.
As I told my wife, if all the other kids are doing it, and if her friends are doing it, maybe she’ll enjoy it.
So, has anyone here sent their kids to anjienban for a few hours in the afternoons, after grade 1 or 2? How was it? Were there any activities other than working on homework?
Dear MT,
Even though I think you’re a complete asshole this is what anchingban is like as I have taught at a few.
-It’s all about homework
-The kids aren’t allowed to do much besides homework
-I’d make sure it had art and computer classes to break the monotony
-It can help kids who struggle with the Chinese and math classes
-The teachers in anchingban tend to be real bitches and yell, not all of them are like that but definitely a majority. I don’t think your daughter will have a problem with this.
If you are going to send her to anchingban, I’d make sure she had something to do when she finished her homework either for fun or self study depending on what she likes and clear it with her teacher.
Okami
My kids go to anchingban and they don’t seem to mind it much.
[quote=“Okami”]Dear MT,
Even though I think you’re a complete asshole this is what anqinban is like as I have taught at a few.[/quote]
Dear Okami, even though I think you’re a complete prick, I appreciate the response. Thanks.
She would definitely have a problem with that, but I doubt that will be the case at this school, as it’s run by her present kindie and they’ve mostly been very nice and good.
Yea, we’ll give her books to bring there. She’s crazy about reading, she doesn’t need low-level local English classes, she gets bored in those classes and speaks better English than the teachers, so we planned to ask if she could read by herself while the other kids are doing English.
I don’t think I’m explaining myself well enough. You either do homework or you do homework or they give you some more.
[quote]She would definitely have a problem with that, but I doubt that will be the case at this school, as it’s run by her present kindie and they’ve mostly been very nice and good.[/quote]You’re a paying customer and you seem to have a well-behaved girl of course they are going to seem nice and good.
[quote]Yea, we’ll give her books to bring there. She’s crazy about reading, she doesn’t need low-level local English classes, she gets bored in those classes and speaks better English than the teachers, so we planned to ask if she could read by herself while the other kids are doing English.[/quote]I’d pull her out of those classes completely if that were the case. Some Chinese teachers can be really vindictive about the student outperforming them. I’ve seen a Taiwanese teacher greenlight a kid for teasing by the other students for having better English than her class. he left most classes crying till his mom finally pulled him. The teacher of course played innocent about the whole affair.
I’d also pay attention to the classroom dynamics. One ADHD boy who will probably be improperly handled by the Taiwanese teacher can ruin a whole anqingban class. Most anqingban classes are pretty normal with only the boys and the slow kids getting yelled at.
I’d suggest some board games too that she can play with her friends, something like the smaller travel versions as most kids never play board games here i.e. connect four, go, snakes and ladders, candyland, etc.
MT, much as I hate to write this, your wife is right, it IS gloom and doom.
Kindie is kindie, Anqinban is another story, parents have expectations and the tutors are supposed to deliver, hence, there is pressure.
My boy did almost 6 weeks of Anqinban during his second grade and he hated it. He was crying everyday on the way to the classes by the the 3rd week.
He claimed that some of the teachers there were ‘horrid’ and he was hit in the palm this one time. Now, when I was growing up , caning, beating by teachers were an acceptable thing so I didn’t think too much into the incident until fairly lately one day, while having a casual conversation with my boy, did I realise that he had been bullied by that particular teacher because he had unwittingly corrected her mistakes in a Chinese class. It was a good thing we pulled him out in time.
MT, if you object to physical punishments for kids, you may want to think twice before sending her there because caning is very much practised in most.
It is also a very unstimulating environ for the kids, there’s homework and then there’s homework and then, there’s more homework, period.
Of course, in the event when both parents work, it is inevitable that the child has to go somewhere. In our case, I quit my afternoon clinics to be with the children and have a live-in maid to tie over the 1.5 hours in the evening when I have to go to work. Enrichment courses like those organised by the Guo Yu Re Bao, sports lessons etc are alternatives. I also know some working mothers who team up and take turns minding the kids.
I’d like to address a few points made by Asianmom.
[quote]Kindie is kindie, Anqinban is another story, parents have expectations and the tutors are supposed to deliver, hence, there is pressure.[/quote]This is very true.
[quote]MT, if you object to physical punishments for kids, you may want to think twice before sending her there because caning is very much practised in most.[/quote]I’d ask what the school’s punishment policy is. My school has forbidden hitting students. If a teacher breaks the rule, I’m pretty sure they would be fired. All the switches with the little leather hands are gone now. One media report of child abuse can close a school down and my boss isn’t taking chances.
You also have to watch out for the mental damage from the screwed up things they will say to a kid, like telling them that their mother has died and he is stuck at school. Yes, I’ve actually heard that one. :fume:
[quote]He claimed that some of the teachers there were ‘horrid’ and he was hit in the palm this one time. Now, when I was growing up , caning, beating by teachers were an acceptable thing so I didn’t think too much into the incident until fairly lately one day, while having a casual conversation with my boy, did I realise that he had been bullied by that particular teacher because he had unwittingly corrected her mistakes in a Chinese class. It was a good thing we pulled him out in time.[/quote]Bullying is seen as an acceptable form of retribution by adults in Taiwan. His teacher probably also had the students bully him too. It’s uncommon, but not unknown for this to happen. This is why I would never have my daughter attend an English class in Taiwan. The kid who got bullied from my previous post in this thread was bullied out by his teacher after I warned the student that my retribution would be swift and harsh for any of them that dared bully him again. As a matter of fact my students didn’t see what they were doing as wrong till I threw one out of the classroom literally to get my point across to him. I didn’t have the juice at the time to confront his teacher.
There are good anchingban classes out there, but when I say you have to pay intense attention to the classroom dynamics, I’m really not joking. It could possibly require another anchingban, a lot of social capital or the very real threat with a carpenter knife that if you kid comes home crying again, so will the teacher.