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Direct Subsidy Scheme schools (DSS) - Can they challenge the international schools & ESF?

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  1. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    Yes you are probably correct. Expecting middle class teachers to loose long holidays so poor kids don't fall behind is a little of a big ask....

    Wow way off marj there easty.

    Education is not only math..english...mandarin and history....

    What makes a man a man is his academic education but aso his life experiences. Summer holidays are abt this. Giving time to students/kids to do /experience other things.

    Now if parents aspend their time letting kids play videos games instead of doing more meaningful things....it's not the teachers fault...teachers don't replace parents...

    If u feel that the above can only work w $ (poor parents don't have the $ to give their kids such experiences) then whar should be set up is more 'free' or heavily subsidized summer initiative programs that would give an opportunity to these kids to do/see somethibg else.....not more math..english etcetc
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  2. #12

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    east have you considered that teachers oppose shorter holidays because they are actually well positioned, (being, well, teachers you know?) to know what children need?

    Not everyone is self-centred. Most teachers earn far less as teachers than they could as bankers, but they do it because they like teaching and like helping kids!

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  3. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    east have you considered that teachers oppose shorter holidays because they are actually well positioned, (being, well, teachers you know?) to know what children need?

    Not everyone is self-centred. Most teachers earn far less as teachers than they could as bankers, but they do it because they like teaching and like helping kids!
    Let's not kid ourself, teachers are surely looking out for their own best interest, not the kids. I haven't met a teacher yet who doesn't relish all the free time they get.

    But in this instance, the results are the same. Hong Kong kids in particular don't need anymore schooling. A long summer break is critical in providing choices for parents. Some parents, like myself, place a lot of value on summer camps and outdoor activities. If you are concerned about the poor not having access to this stuff, lobby for increased government aid in this area.

    I hate the idea of dragging people down to make things even. If you want to level the field, increase the opportunities for poor.

  4. #14

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    Quote Originally Posted by HK_Katherine:
    east have you considered that teachers oppose shorter holidays because they are actually well positioned, (being, well, teachers you know?) to know what children need?
    Yes, but only seems to identify views and opinions that long holidays are great and the 'kids need them'. If they were so great then the teachers unions could actually carry out some research to counter the all the studies that suggest long holidays are not good for kids.

  5. #15

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    Quote Originally Posted by Mat:
    Wow way off marj there easty.

    Education is not only math..english...mandarin and history....
    Can you clarify why you think getting rid of a long summer holiday and have more mid length holidays (same teaching contact time, same life experiance time) will increase the amount of math and english and reduce the amount of opertunities for other activities?


    Quote Originally Posted by Mat:
    Now if parents aspend their time letting kids play videos games instead of doing more meaningful things....it's not the teachers fault...teachers don't replace parents...
    It is probably the states fault for not standing up to teacher unions and doing what is best for society overall rather than keeping a small but 'noisy' section of government workers happy.
    Last edited by East_coast; 08-05-2014 at 08:38 PM.

  6. #16

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    Again you miss the point.

    What you learn in school is valuable.

    What you learn out of school is equally, if not more valuable.

    Long holidays allow students to do things they wouldn't otherwise. Take up temp work, go on camps, travel.

    As everyou has said, what is needed are more opportunities for low income families to provide valuable experiences for their kids. NOT just keeping their kids in school more.

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  7. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by East_coast:
    If they were so great then the teachers unions could actually carry out some research to counter the all the studies that suggest long holidays are not good for kids.
    How do they reach the conclusion that "long holidays are not good for kids"?

    I sure hope it isn't based on exam results or academic progress, because that would be about as self fulfilling as it gets.

    There are a lot of kids who can get A grades in exams but fail at life, because they've lived in a sheltered bubble of MCQs and idle regurgitation. Let's not make more of them.



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    Last edited by justjoe86; 08-05-2014 at 08:43 PM.
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  8. #18

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    Quote Originally Posted by justjoe86:
    How do they reach the conclusion that "long holidays are not good for kids"?

    I sure hope it isn't based on exam results or academic progress, because that would be about as self fulfilling as it gets.

    There are a lot of kids who can get A grades in exams but fail at life, because they've lived in a sheltered bubble of MCQs and idle regurgitation. Let's not make more of them.
    There are always exceptions but when looking at society as a whole then better educational attainment is correlated with higher pay.


  9. #19

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    If all school holidays were scrapped and everyone got a degree, it wouldnt mean everyone got paid more. It just means every security guard and cashier would have got themselves into debt earning a degree they can't use.

    Most jobs will always be low paid.


  10. #20

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    What's the point of focussing your whole life's attention on a dollar sign? None of these solutions will make everyone rich anyway. So maybe a kids' summer holiday can be the one time in their lives that they aren't working towards their distant pensions.

    Sent from my GT-S5301 using GeoClicks mobile app

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