Government vs International education system

[frankchong]

Hi ConfusedMom and many fellow Malaysians,
I too am a parent, but my kids are much bigger, some have graduated and one still in U. I work in Silicon Valley. I will share some of my experience with you (may be biased!)
I went through Chinese School (primary) and mission schools in Malaysia. Choosed between UM and SU (NUS). In choosing schools, I would say, choose the schools with best results or where the best kids go to (or make sure that the schools' strength and what you want is in line). There are usually reasons for a school to be good. However, I would struggle in Malaysia on the portion of time spend on Malay, English and Chinese (or Hindi). Some kids are better at languages and some are better in science and math, so to have many languages can be a burden or not depends on the kid. However, with my inclination in science/math, I would use language as a tool. So I would get them to learn Malay as a common/national language only to meet the minimum requirement. However, would spend more time in English and then Chinese, because of their impact in the future.
As far as creativity, what is lacking in general is critical thinking skills, discipline and the ability to sort out what is true or not true. However, good work habits or discipline need to be formed before you give kids too much freedom or worry about critical thinking.
When science is introduced in many Asian countries, it is usually taugh as facts rather than emphasising on the scientiffic method. You may see the difference in emphasis in the approach here depend on which school your kid is in. As an example, try some thing simple like asking you daughter to guess what will float on wafer and what will sink, and the reason (do not worry whether the answers are right or wrong, the important thing is the learning process), the next step is brain storm on how to verify the answers -- get a container, fill it with wafer and put the objects in a see which floats. If the answers were wrong, you can discuss the next hypothesis ... Once you go through this you can talk about how ships/boat work. This is a much longer process than just telling the kid what will and will not float. If your kid acquires good critical thinking skills she may not fit in the class room well -- if you have the wrong teacher. (I was lucky, when I realized that I had the wrong teacher for my Chemistry class, I told the principle, the principle changed the teacher for the class -- we then had a good chemistry teacher, but the original teacher never talk to me for years!).
But before you go too far, please find out what your daughter is interested in, every kid is different and you have to develop the strenth in you kid.

regards,
Frank Chong

[starlemon]

We can’t change the education system that exists presently in our country, not overnight at least. I sure do hope that sooner than later it will change for the better.

Our education system more or less would not be transcend those developed countries like USA and especially Singapore in terms of quality and standard for the coming years if the current system is still maintained. Years ago, my teachers , those older or senior teachers had lamented over the dropping in standard of exam .and more seriously the amendment of languages that from english to malay in the 1980.
Students with Strings of As had become a norm all over the years. this had been much debated till now.

After spending all that money, as rightly pointed out by many that there are no guarantees of the product of an international school.

Agree!

I must agree that the biggest factor here is the money and after much consideration and doing my detail finances over the weekend, I have decided NOT to spend the money on an international school and to continue with the SK.

Sk is not bad though. I knew a few Sk where quite a numbers of good teachers are there. Education is like that, It is not all about teachers who are responsible or are ought to impart knowledge on students. but it is our will to succeed in our further life.where there is a will, there is a way.
You may seem wanting your child to go international sch just to ensure a better education, but do you think of what your child might feel when she is there to study? It has a lots of factors to be considered with. The child feeling and thoughts towards the education they receive as well as other factor like financial just like what you are considering.

From WIkipedia:
An International school is loosely defined as a school that does not require their students to learn the national or local language of the country the school is located in. These schools cater mainly to students who are not nationals of the host country, such as the children of the staff of international businesses, international organizations, foreign embassies, missions, or missionary programs. Many local students attend these schools to learn the language of the international school and to obtain qualifications for employment or higher education in a foreign country.

Being in an international school might not be able to learn thoroughly our national language.
I believe most international school does not require any good command of malay language. but instead it is a stepping stone to a foreign university .
Another factor to be considered as well: If you want ur child to study at overseas later , you might have the chance so.way of STPM, A level etc.. It is not as worthy as sending your child to international sch just for the sake of entering foreign uni. Another cons is that ones wont be able to learn malay languages in an international school , which in turn undermine the chances of job employability in Malaysia.Unless you are aiming for foreign universities wholeheardtedly.

[DoomScythe]

Originally Posted by ConfusedMom

I must thank all of you for sharing your knowledge and experiences in this matter. Amidst all that disagreements and debate, I felt a sense of comfort that there is so much concern and still some faith left in our education system.

We can’t change the education system that exists presently in our country, not overnight at least. I sure do hope that sooner than later it will change for the better.

I must agree that the biggest factor here is the money and after much consideration and doing my detail finances over the weekend, I have decided NOT to spend the money on an international school and to continue with the SK.

There is of course a feeling of regret co’z this is really the formative years that matter. But at the same time I don’t want to go through life being burdened financially because I decided to sacrifice on everything else just so that I can send my daughters to an international school. She will eventually feel the financial stress if we as parents are feeling it.

After spending all that money, as rightly pointed out by many that there are no guarantees of the product of an international school. There are many factors that contribute towards the end product which is far beyond the education system per se.

I also don’t want to restrict other activities in her life which will contribute towards a more holistic development (e.g. travel, plays, other events and entertaintment). All this will involve money as well.

I am fortunate that the schools PIBG is a strong one and lots of activities are encouraged. I will have to put in the extra effort to make sure that I am able to instil the creative/critical thinking and curiosity so that the education process does not become dull and merely a process of memorization.

The money will surely be very useful for her tertiary education. With that money I will probably be able to get her into a good university overseas.

Thanks to all again as it has suddenly dawned upon me the big role that I have to play in her life if I decide to choose this path.

Good luck with you future endeavour in raising your daughter.

I know that I don't really have right to tell you about how you should raise your daughter, but being the observant me, I cannot help but notice many parents nowadays seem to do a lot for the sake of their children, at times too much for them. This is especially true for those in the upper middle and lower upper income group, where they tend to over-invest things into their children. I am not a father myself (too young for that), but given that I usually mix with people older than me, I have seen many of such cases. What I'm trying to convey is that there exist a balance somewhere in between, and balance is the key to everything.

I am not suggesting in any way that you belong to the group I described above. Anyway, if you find my ramblings above nosy or inappropriate for your tastebud, just ignore them. Just throwing my half-cent worth of thought out here.

[Cloud7]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but it's been a while n my son will be 5 this September. Are the comments posted here still valid? The reason I ask is that the constant flip flop of education policies does not instil much confidence in local SK schools. My thinking now is to either send my son to a Chinese primary school, or an international school (and take Mandarin as an additional subject). And perhaps to learn BM as well, so that he can at least converse in the language. However, am also very concerned on the shortage of qualified teachers in Chinese schools, as reported by the newspapers recently. Any advice or comments will be very much appreciated.

[OctaneGirl]

I think if you enrol your son into a quite reputable Chinese primary school , there wouldn't be any problem about the shortage of qualified teachers

[Cloud7]

Another concern I have abt Chinese schools is that everywhere I go nowadays, all the Chinese salespeople speak to me in Mandarin, and when I pretend not to understand them (to test their English), they can only manage broken English at best.... Many can't even speak broken English! Yes, mandarin is increasingly important, ESP if u want to do biz in China but English is still the international language of biz and developed countries like US, UK, AUstralia, etc which are the tertiary education hubs of the world. BOTH English and Mandarin is important now but it seems that our Chinese schools are unable to produce students who are fluent in both... Only in Mandarin!

[luckykid]

Whenever people I know say how lucky they are that they never attended Chinese school, so their standard of English is still ok, I will say that I attended Chinese school for 9 years, and they find it unbelievable. It is not true that Chinese school graduates are unable to converse in English fluently. In fact, I'm actually more comfortable using English as a medium of communication, but I believe this has to do with the environment. In my Chinese primary school, we actually conversed in English instead of Chinese, amongst ourselves and even with the teachers who taught non-English subjects. When we went to visit a secondary school, we were again speaking in English, and I overheard someone saying 'what kind of Chinese school is this'. That is not to say we never used Chinese. There were times we used Chinese and times when we used English. Those who were able to take opportunities of the different times and switched between languages were truly able to grasp both languages well. However, I have to say though, I think such Chinese schools are few and in between. When I went to an independent school for secondary education, I was quite appalled at the standard of English of most of the students. So yes, I have no idea why my Chinese school was so not Chinese in environment, but I'm grateful for that because it allowed me to be adept in both languages, and my parents also emphasised the importance of English at home.

[nizasara]

Originally Posted by ConfusedMom

My daughter just started Primary 1 at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara. Its one of the best schools in town where the PIBG is very active and lots of co-currulum activities are available for the students to participate. So this is not about the quality of school, quality of teachers nor about teaching science and maths in English.

This is about the whole education system which is in a deplorable state. I myself am a product of public school and have done my fair share of memorizing. But I feel a sense of regret that public schools do not teach us to think innovatively, creatively, flexibly to enable us to develop our potential. The focus is all on exams from the very first day.
Too much emphasis is placed on marks and grades than learning.
Even my daughter who is in Std 1 has got a streaming exam in 3 weeks to decide on which students need extra classes after school in BM. Students are spoonfed, which leads to laziness, lack of resourcefulness and loss of interest. The desire to explore is suppressed.

The main focus is to memorise. The system emphasises more on rote dictations rather than the sense of the words they dictate and we are trained more to be passive listeners than communicators.

I am speaking from experiences of my cousins whose kids have gone through the primary level recently.

I am now considering enrolling my child into an international school called MAZ International. I envy kids in these schools where they are educated in a more stimulating environment. Teaching methods are very different. I had reservations about international schools as many are filled with rich spoilt kids. I come from a middle income group and having my child exposed to rich lifestyle is not something I would like.

However unlike many other international schools, MAZ international is a little more balanced. It has kids from expat teachers and pilot background.

I am disturbed by some disadvantages to having my child in an international school,

1. Not to good command of the national language
2. No accessibility to scholarships from government, e.g. JPA and
3. what else??
4. Spending RM150,00 for primary and secondary education when I can save that money for good tertiary education

Please share your experiences and views with me to enable me to make an informed decision about my childrens education

Never never go to Maz International school. its cheaper than other international school for the following reasons;

1. they are hiring people without working permit but those under dependent visa.
2. most of their teachers are just mothers of some student there that has no teaching background but will get teaching experiences in their school

3. their teachers in Pre-school slaps kids age 3-4 years old, threatening them with knives.

I will share soon a video of an abusive teacher taken by their cleaners.

Originally Posted by ConfusedMom

My daughter just started Primary 1 at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara. Its one of the best schools in town where the PIBG is very active and lots of co-currulum activities are available for the students to participate. So this is not about the quality of school, quality of teachers nor about teaching science and maths in English.

This is about the whole education system which is in a deplorable state. I myself am a product of public school and have done my fair share of memorizing. But I feel a sense of regret that public schools do not teach us to think innovatively, creatively, flexibly to enable us to develop our potential. The focus is all on exams from the very first day.
Too much emphasis is placed on marks and grades than learning.
Even my daughter who is in Std 1 has got a streaming exam in 3 weeks to decide on which students need extra classes after school in BM. Students are spoonfed, which leads to laziness, lack of resourcefulness and loss of interest. The desire to explore is suppressed.

The main focus is to memorise. The system emphasises more on rote dictations rather than the sense of the words they dictate and we are trained more to be passive listeners than communicators.

I am speaking from experiences of my cousins whose kids have gone through the primary level recently.

I am now considering enrolling my child into an international school called MAZ International. I envy kids in these schools where they are educated in a more stimulating environment. Teaching methods are very different. I had reservations about international schools as many are filled with rich spoilt kids. I come from a middle income group and having my child exposed to rich lifestyle is not something I would like.

However unlike many other international schools, MAZ international is a little more balanced. It has kids from expat teachers and pilot background.

I am disturbed by some disadvantages to having my child in an international school,

1. Not to good command of the national language
2. No accessibility to scholarships from government, e.g. JPA and
3. what else??
4. Spending RM150,00 for primary and secondary education when I can save that money for good tertiary education

Please share your experiences and views with me to enable me to make an informed decision about my childrens education

Never never put your children in Maz international school due to the following reasons

1. the reason they are cheaper than other international school because they are hiring teachers that are mostly mothers of other students there. in short they dont have valid visa for teaching and some dont have teaching background. They will start they're teaching experiences in Maz.

2. they dont have facilities, so like basketball and football. they will bring kids outside the school, an open field and if there is anything happen in the consent form , they will not responsible for that.so if your children get kidnap then sorry for you lah

3. Teir pre school teachers slaps kids age 3-4 and threaten them and use words that is not suitable for kids.

I will post a link soon of these videos taken by their cleaners.

Trust me. I worked there!

I'd say if you can afford international school. Better send them to Private. Its like half-national half-international.

Btw, childs development starts in the house and molded in the house. You cannot just rely uin school to build these things for your children.

And pls dont send them to Maz.