Today I'm very aware of one of the hallmarks of the Chinese education system: high-pressure exams. For example the following facts might seem normal to Chinese people but they seem odd to me (an American):
1. My daughter Audrey has final exams next week. She's in first grade.
2. Audrey's teacher gave strict instructions that the kids were to stay inside all weekend and study for the exams.
It rained all day yesterday so we complied with the teacher's rule. Today the weather is beautiful so we're planning to escape outdoors at least for a little while.
![[RSS Newsfeed]](/themes/sotto/images/valid-rss.png)
Posted by Tao on July 01, 2007 at 01:20 PM CST #
Posted by melanie gao on July 01, 2007 at 07:16 PM CST #
Melanie, can i ask what kind of schools your kids are attending? My hubby's employers are thinking of setting up a factory in Tianjin and we might be sent over there. I don't know much about China. Are the local schools good?
Posted by tjmummy on October 04, 2007 at 03:31 AM CST #
tjmummy, my kids started off at a bilingual school called Peiji Bilingual Kindergarten, it was a great place for kids like mine who needed to learn Chinese but were already fluent in English. It was not so great for kids whose parents wanted them to learn English. After 6 months my kids were fluent in Mandarin so we put them in a
regular Chinese school - preschool for my son and elementary school for my daughter. So far things are going fine. Sometimes I get a little frustrated with the high-pressure academics at Audrey's elementary school but overall it's fine. She's getting a good education, that's for sure.
I have foreign friends who put their kids in high-end international schools, which run about $20k/year. They're supposed to be great, but of course you don't get a real Chinese experience there.
I have other friends who put their kids in mid-range international schools, which run about $7k/year. They say their kids love it there, seems to be a good middle-ground type option.
Let me know if you have other questions as you prepare for your trip here!
Posted by 221.222.194.217 on October 05, 2007 at 09:39 PM CST #