Educating Kids in Hong Kong

[Beanieskis]

What would the benefit of this be? It would exclude most of the student population and essentially shut down ESF under its current remit.

The issue with fees is that all the international schools receive no finance from the HK tax system which we all contribute to. They receive indirect benefits like low site rent but nothing towards students. If these schools received the same per capita allowance for students that government schools do then fees could be significantly reduced. ESF has been under attack for increased fees but that has been a result of the loss of the government subvention. ESF now seem to be running side hustles to finance things. I am not sure if it is just Covid but my children's ESF secondary school has lost a huge number of staff over the past year or two. The salary costs are high for schools but must not be enough to keep staff here.

Anecdotally from the teachers I know, the loss of teachers from international schools was very much due to Covid. Carrie Lam's disastrous Feb press conference, that led to many expats temporarily or otherwise fleeing the country, also led to lots of teachers who'd planned to stick it out, resigning mid-year. I think the removal of quarantine will make a big difference to staff retention and attracting new teachers to move here. I was chatting with a new neighbour this morning, who's a teacher who moved here last year from LA. He said teachers at international schools here are treated much better than they are at schools in the US, it was a revelation to him and he loved it. He's only been here a year though so mentally hasn't had to deal with the restrictions as long. I don't think that has entirely gone away - more teachers will move here as HK opens up.

[merchantms]

Anecdotally from the teachers I know, the loss of teachers from international schools was very much due to Covid. Carrie Lam's disastrous Feb press conference, that led to many expats temporarily or otherwise fleeing the country, also led to lots of teachers who'd planned to stick it out, resigning mid-year. I think the removal of quarantine will make a big difference to staff retention and attracting new teachers to move here. I was chatting with a new neighbour this morning, who's a teacher who moved here last year from LA. He said teachers at international schools here are treated much better than they are at schools in the US, it was a revelation to him and he loved it. He's only been here a year though so mentally hasn't had to deal with the restrictions as long. I don't think that has entirely gone away - more teachers will move here as HK opens up.

I’m meeting a lot of new expats who are young (20-30 years old) and say they’re very happy here.

Next year there will be many new teachers from abroad, which won’t replace the experience of the veterans who left unfortunately but will fill the seats.

Reminder that teachers in American public schools have to deal with shooter drills and MAGA conspiracy theory nut parents for less pay than anyone at ESF.

[merchantms]

https://nypost.com/2022/09/07/nyc-sc...-programs/amp/

In case people don’t know what I’m talking about in US schools.

[shree711]

I would assume significant portion of 3 star holders in ESF are ABC/BBC/CBC/Mixed types as well and if anything, they add cultural diversity to the mix rather than plain white and browns. From my limited interaction with few of them, i always found them interesting and dynamic bunch with good mix of best of both worlds..

Again I'm not saying that I want 3 star HKID holders to be removed from ESF but it logically follows from the government's line of thinking. But as someone who actually went to ESF, I can assure you that the vast majority of 3 star HKID holders are basically very Chinese, in fact some of them even needed extra support with English.

Furthermore, there already is a limit to the number of locals schools can take so that doesn't mean that there won't be diversity. Those 3 star people in such a case would qualify as locals. And yes, there are all kinds of people who may be nice or not so nice to interact with. There was hardly a 3 star HKID holder with a foreign passport that actually had a "unique" perspective of being from overseas as a Chinese person like you're suggesting. Very few such people.

[shree711]

I’m meeting a lot of new expats who are young (20-30 years old) and say they’re very happy here.

Next year there will be many new teachers from abroad, which won’t replace the experience of the veterans who left unfortunately but will fill the seats.

Reminder that teachers in American public schools have to deal with shooter drills and MAGA conspiracy theory nut parents for less pay than anyone at ESF.

Moving to a new place is a lot about expectation management. Having lived in this city for over a quarter of a century, I've come to have some expectations from the place and when things change drastically, my expectations get shattered. However, those coming in fresh into the new reality have their expectations set for the present situation. They know they've come to make money, enjoy a new place and culture but at the same time keep their head out of politics. So, teachers will come if the pay is good and there is some decent work-life balance. But opening up is the key to removing mental barriers in people's mind about HK.

[7jai]

Moving to a new place is a lot about expectation management. Having lived in this city for over a quarter of a century, I've come to have some expectations from the place and when things change drastically, my expectations get shattered. However, those coming in fresh into the new reality have their expectations set for the present situation. They know they've come to make money, enjoy a new place and culture but at the same time keep their head out of politics. So, teachers will come if the pay is good and there is some decent work-life balance. But opening up is the key to removing mental barriers in people's mind about HK.

I agree with this comment. It's all about priorities and expectations. I respect both sides of the coin where people want to flee Hong Kong (because of all the mental anguish or changes that has happened over the last decade or two), but also respect those who want to come to in to Hong Kong (with an open mind, energy, fresh thinking, and want to simply explore new experiences/cultures without causing any trouble). I also agree that there will be more people coming in once restrictions are lifted. The COVID practices were the biggest drawback for many foreigners in forcing them to leave.

I feel like we are all just playing musical chairs in this world. He takes your place, you take my place, I take his place. At the end, the world will keep moving on.

[Beanieskis]

I agree with this comment. It's all about priorities and expectations. I respect both sides of the coin where people want to flee Hong Kong (because of all the mental anguish or changes that has happened over the last decade or two), but also respect those who want to come to in to Hong Kong (with an open mind, energy, fresh thinking, and want to simply explore new experiences/cultures without causing any trouble). I also agree that there will be more people coming in once restrictions are lifted. The COVID practices were the biggest drawback for many foreigners in forcing them to leave.

I feel like we are all just playing musical chairs in this world. He takes your place, you take my place, I take his place. At the end, the world will keep moving on.

So true. We've just moved to a house in a very expatty-part of a CWB village. There's been a lot of movement, with a number of the residents moving on. However all the houses have been re-let quickly, and a number of new families moved to the village, including mine. Mainly younger families moving in, and older families moving out. Some of the families are new to HK, but most have moved from elsewhere in HK for more space and an outdoor lifestyle.