Looking for schooling for my two daughters

[phopho]

what i find with a lot of international school/ ESF school kids just focus on rote learning these days. a lot of the better teachers left hong kong left hk i the last ten years and now they are just left with people that don't know how to teach! instead of gaining critical understanding of the material they just rote learn instead. a lot of parents are aware of the teaching quality out here in HK but what can they do? they are stuck in hk because of their jobs afterall... so they look for private tutors for their kids... even though a lot of these tutors claim to know the international curricula well- they actually went to local schools here in HK so they are just another bunch of rote learning robots.
in my opinion, you cant put too much faith in the schools anymore, and start looking for a tutorial centre that focus on holistic learning and gaining critical understanding before your kids turn into robots!

[kimwy66]

what i find with a lot of international school/ ESF school kids just focus on rote learning these days. a lot of the better teachers left hong kong left hk i the last ten years and now they are just left with people that don't know how to teach! instead of gaining critical understanding of the material they just rote learn instead. a lot of parents are aware of the teaching quality out here in HK but what can they do? they are stuck in hk because of their jobs afterall... so they look for private tutors for their kids... even though a lot of these tutors claim to know the international curricula well- they actually went to local schools here in HK so they are just another bunch of rote learning robots.
in my opinion, you cant put too much faith in the schools anymore, and start looking for a tutorial centre that focus on holistic learning and gaining critical understanding before your kids turn into robots!

Biggest load of bollocks I have read on here in a long time. I have a child who has attended ESF for the last 3 & 1/2 years. They don't do any rote learning, they leave it all to the home learning. If there is any criticism it is that the children could do with a bit more experience of the boring side of learning because I find my daughter thinking on tangents, looking at patterns and applications when we do any rote learning.

[Sweeneykill]

If you're looking for a great school with special educational needs for your daughter with Downs Syndrome - Hong Lok Yuen International School (now known as International College). Click here for their website.

Click here for their 'learning support' page.

They are a private international school - so the school fees are about the average for that type of school.
But it's a great school with great support for children with special educational needs. I was a special needs teacher there previously, and personally assisted two boys throughout the day.

[manjunathsamaga]

Hi...thanks for your suggestion. But, the fee pattern appears to be on a higher side and difficult for me. Are there any schools that support special needs (for downs syndrome kids) in island or kowloon side? Please suggest some schools that are not very expensive...


Click here for their 'learning support' page.

They are a private international school - so the school fees are about the average for that type of school.
But it's a great school with great support for children with special educational needs. I was a special needs teacher there previously, and personally assisted two boys throughout the day.[/QUOTE]

[manjunathsamaga]

dear carang,
my family has moved to hk just a couple days ago. how do you find the school your kids are going? Is it english medium ?

can you please share your views? It would be good for us to understand better. International schools deman tall fees which is, at times too difficult to meet.

Manjunath
[email protected]

My kids go/will go to a local gov't (free) school, and while it's not perfect, I don't think any school is. We are quite happy with our choice. I know it isn't for every one and wouldn't suit every child, but if you've no first hand experience(don't know if you have or not), I am curious how you come by your opinion. (Just to let you know, I had the same opinion before I had kids.... but once my kids were born, my opinion gradually changed.)

There are facebook groups about schooling in Cantonese medium schools (most members are expats/non-locals) and schools in general. Geobaby/Geoschools are also excellent resources for information about various schools.

I'm not sure about local schools or international school with regards to special needs education, but I do know that Sarah Rowe (sp?) caters to special needs kids.[/QUOTE]

[Sweeneykill]

Hi...thanks for your suggestion. But, the fee pattern appears to be on a higher side and difficult for me. Are there any schools that support special needs (for downs syndrome kids) in island or kowloon side? Please suggest some schools that are not very expensive...

Sorry, all the schools I know that provide special needs support are private international schools.
If you speak to the Hong Kong Down Syndrome Association they might be able to advise you on some schools. You can call them: 2718 7778.

Hope this helps.

[movieguy9]

Bigfoot Kindergarten is the best Kindergarten for the money. Its located in Pokfulam, my child did 2 years there and is now in St. Pauls.