The other day when I was collecting my child’s report card, I was speaking to another parent. She is Indian and her child is attending Chinese School like my child.
What is amazing, is the fact that she has planned for her child’s education from very early on. She has another child who is at the moment attending a Chinese kindergarten. She sent both kids to Chinese kindy from age 4 and in addition to that they have a private tutor coming in to teach them Chinese. She says I have to do this because we are not Chinese and I don’t speak Chinese.
Imagine that. What focus. She knows exactly what she wants for her kids and plans for it. Not like me. I don’t speak Chinese at all too but I remember I was still half minded and undecided about Chinese school right up to the first day of school! No plan at all. I was playing ding dong between Chinese School and Kebangsaan school and could not make up my mind.
As a result the kids were not prepared the way she had prepared her kids. They attended a normal kindy with only an hour of Chinese. My first child could not speak Mandarin by the time she started Primary 1. Looks like I have not learned from my mistake. The second child still does not know how to speak Mandarin and he is going to Primary 1 in 6 months. Whereas this parent, of Indian descent has a kid who spoke fluent Mandarin by the time he attended Primary 1.
I’m afraid, I can’t look that far when it comes to my kid’s education. I have met parents who have all their children’s education fully mapped out. Where they want to sent them to Secondary Education and further Education etc. As for me, I haven’t looked beyond the Primary Years yet and am still undecided.
My son still can’t speak mandarin fluently and reluctant to speak though I have sent him for extra 2 hours mandarin class each week and with the sister speaking to me at home.
We didn’t think that far ahead too, what will be the best after primary school and so forth… things might change by then, so just take one step at a time and not stressing ourselves and the kids so much.
i hv enrolled my no.1 to kebangsaan school (in 2012) seeing the fact that his has no interest in mandarin n very bad in the chinese writing too! so, i know that i must send the no.2 (only 7 mths old now) to chinese kindergarten in future to get her well prepared before entering primary school! see, the first child always be the victim! 🙁
Well, as for me, we wanted our kids to know Mandarin coz we are bananas. So we started them Chinese kindy at 4yo. And we have already planned their secondary education that is homeschooling (either US or OZ syllabus) coz we have lose faith/no confident in the Malaysian sec sch std.
MG, i am like you too, just take it one at one time. Don’t even dare to think so far…too tiring!
ya, i remember ur ding dong post on chinese or kebangsaan school..hehe
i’m too occupied to think of others…just 1 day at a time..
Kimberly pronounced window as bed. And I am just like you. I only enrolled her on the 3rd week before Primary One starts. I was just so caught up with so many things that particular year! Even today, I am still undecided about Ashley. Should she go to a Chinese school or to a private school like Kimberly. This time I am prepared enough to enroll her in both but will probably only decide where she would go when she reaches 7 (or 6 yrs and one month to be exact)