Why is Victoria so popular?! My son doesn't seem to like it there..

C

chrcheu

Registered User
Hi all, I am a new comer, never really read forum, but the debate between my hub and me over local and international schools has got us nowhere! Really would like some advice from all of you!

I was raised in the states and didn't really like the HK spoon fed education system, so naturally, since my son was 9 months old, I put him in two international kindergartens for playgroup, and again natually we only speak English with him. Now that my son doesn't speak Chinese at all, and my hub thinks it's not acceptable, so this month, we sent him to Victoria.

I have gone to class with my son for almost a month, both my son and I cannot adapt to the environment. The teachers, atmosphere, everthing are just different. My son used to be very happy in playgroup, now he asks to go home whenever in class... I don't know if it is because he doesn't understand chinese or what.

I was quite ready to move him back to where he went, but a thought stopped me: there must be a reason why Victoria is so popular?! I spent quite an effort to get him in, should I just let it go?

Any advice please....I have only 1 more week to decide..
 
If you want him to get into good local primary school in local system (or the Victoria primary), then stay. From what I heard this is one of the top local kindy so lots of kids from Victoria get into good local school and that's why it's so popular. You can keep him in international kindy as well for a couple days a week to keep your options open?
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honestly, a month isn't very long at all. it WILL take time for you both to adapt to the changes. same could happen again when he starts primary school.

biggie's suggestions are good.
 
Hah i'm starting to like forums! Thanks for your replies!
I guess it all goes down to the question whether I want my son to go to local school. Regardless of how reputable some local schools are, they are under hk education system, which in my impression is spoon fed and lacks flexibility and creativity.
Victoria's prenursery is 5 days a week, can't really sqeeze some days in other school...
 
both of my kids have done kindergarten in a local school and now, my son is entering P2 in a local chinese medium school. while it's not perfect, no school is. I am sure that i would have some issues with any school I chose. They would just be different problems/issues. On the plus side? my son and daughter are now pretty much bilingual and my son is well on his way to being bi-literate, something that would not have happened if they'd been enrolled in many of the int'l schools.

that said, local schools are not for everyone. for us, language ability is very important. i'm canadian (white) and my hubby is local chinese. i wanted my kids to be able to communicate with ALL of their family, not just one side. as we use english at home 99% of the time, they only way my kids would ever be bilingual was if they attended a local chinese-medium school. i figure they get the "creativity" and "imaginative play" at home, so it's not like they aren't getting any of that at all, it just isn't being provided at school.
 
chrcheu said:
Regardless of how reputable some local schools are, they are under hk education system, which in my impression is spoon fed and lacks flexibility and creativity.
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Your impression is simply wrong. You should do more research.

As an example, there is a world of difference between Precious Blood primary school, St Pauls Convent primary school, St Stephens Primary school and Mary Knoll. They are all under HK education system but they are vastly different in approach. Go, look, talk to students/parents/teachers and then make up your mind.

It sounds like you've made up your mind about Victoria without even seeing the primary school.
 
Although i may not have done enough research on all possible primary schools i may want my child to get in since he is just turning 2, i can tell the difference between the teaching approaches between int'l kindy and local kindy, which i think will not be too far off in primaries. As i said i had made up my mind, but just wondering why victoria is so popular except the fact that students can go to good primaries, did i miss something since i only stayed there for one month?
 
chrcheu said:
Although i may not have done enough research.....did i miss something since i only stayed there for one month?
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Yes, you missed something - you missed the opportunity to learn about the place while you were there, ask the different parents (local and expats) why they chose the school and why they are staying, discuss with teachers what makes the school different and special....

Since you've made up your mind, what is the point of discussing this further. You've made your choice and I hope you and your family will be happy with it going forward.
 
I meant to ask someone who has sent their kids to victoria instead of someone who just stated the obvious without any acutal advice
 
Well all HC said was do research, ask people, which is what im already doing. I think victoria's name is bigger than what it actually is, so would like to know more insight about it.
 
I had my daughter at Victoria Belchers for 2 years, my son for 3. Like the OP, at first, i wondered what i had gotten myself and my kids into. We only speak English. The morning classes they were in were trilingual - with English and Cantonese as the main languages. But honestly, the main teacher is the Cantonese one so a lot of information/ discussions/ briefings are in Cantonese.

Anyway, we coped. Got a tutor to help with Chinese homework and reading once a week. And my kids thrived at Victoria. And i tried harder to understand the Cantonese instructions (like when we'd go for field trips) and of course, the other moms were more than willing to translate.


Few good points:
They are very good with the IB system - the units of inquiry get studied, the qualities of an IB learner are repeated to remind the kids what they should strive to be.
The homework they gave instilled discipline in me and my kids - to sit for a certain time everyday and get it done. I knew what they were learning at all times.
The teachers are great - my son was so keen to learn Cantonese because he loved his Class teachers. He learned simple characters and phrases. The teachers encouraged the kids to do more and the kids were always happy and confident. The English teacher would push my son to read wordier books because she saw he could.
They keep parents involved - through field trips, reading at school, sports day, coming in during festivals/ or when they have themes if you want to share related information. They upload pictures to keep you posted on what the kids are doing at school.
The primary schools know that Victoria kids will be of a certain standard (a good level) in reading and writing. This was said to me by an admissions person of a primary school.

One of the cons is they are overly cautious with health related issues. (though with HK's track record, that's still a pro for me). One day my son bit his inner cheek, the nurse sent him home saying it could be hand, foot and mouth. I had to spend HK$700 at the pedia to get a check up and a certificate clearing him to go to school! My kid would go to school fine but come home with a mask because he or she had coughed at school!

But all considered, i thank Victoria for the great foundation for learning i feel they have put into my kids (and me, too).

Roshna
 
chrcheu said:
Although i may not have done enough research on all possible primary schools i may want my child to get in since he is just turning 2, i can tell the difference between the teaching approaches between int'l kindy and local kindy, which i think will not be too far off in primaries.
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Not only have you not done any research, you havent even figured out that Victoria is *NOT* a local kindy. Here, let me give you a hint.
Go to this website:
http://www.vsa.edu.hk/
On the very front page, about half way down, you will see links to IB and CIS. Click on them and read about them. Once you do so, you will quickly realise that this school uses a completely different system to teach and grade the kids than typical local schools.

As i said i had made up my mind, but just wondering why victoria is so popular except the fact that students can go to good primaries, did i miss something since i only stayed there for one month?...I meant to ask someone who has sent their kids to victoria instead of someone who just stated the obvious without any acutal advice
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You were there. You had access to the parents, teachers, students as well as the principal but for some reason you decided to bypass all of them and made up your mind based on faulty "impressions". You didnt read the school literature, you didnt talk to people around you but you just left and now you are wondering, after its too late....Weird.

Here is actual advice : Hong Kong school system is relatively complex. There are *many* types of schools such as Govt School, Subsidised Schools, Grant Schools, DSS schools, Caput schools, Private schools, International schools and ESF schools. Within those, some of the schools also teach IB, some teach GCSE, some teach HKDSE and some do HKCEE/HKALE.

VSA happens to be a Private IB school which teaches in Bi and Trilingual curriculum (it is not a "local" school).

No matter, I find it quite shocking that you sent your child there and didnt even know this. My advice to you would be to familiarize yourself with the various schools and school types so that you at least have a basic understanding of what you will need to decide in a few years time.

Your child is only 2 so its ok to make a mistake early on, but such mistakes will be very hard to fix later on with respect to schools and school systems.

Good luck.
 
Roshna, thanks for your information! So which primary school is your kid going to? I surely know that students in Victoria kindy have good standard in reading and writing, which made me wonder if they put too much emphasis on academics than creativity and other things. To me, being creative and able to express themselves are very important as a kid while math, reading and stuff, they will evetually know.

And howardcoombs, I don't know why you assumed that I don't talk to people in school andI don't know Victoria is not local kindy by definition. I said it is local because the environment is local to me, except Eng teachers, the others are really locals, cantonese teachers' english are bad, the way they interact with kids is no different from my son's grandmoms, very traditional in some way. I am in school with my kid every day, i talk to people there of coz, what made you think i wouldnt? But it doesnt stop me from wondering. I would be an idiot if i didnt even know it follows IB program...

All i can say is you have so many theories and facts, but it doesnt make you know better than i do, because u need to
actually be there and experience it. Im shocked you are making such strong statements but have no experience about it ad parent. Looks like you take pride of all the information you have got about schools, bet you studied their literatures! All schools write that their students are the best and happiest, which one should I go for if I just READ?
 
chrcheu said:
And howardcoombs, I don't know why you assumed that I don't talk to people in school andI don't know Victoria is not local kindy by definition. I said it is local because the environment is local to me, except Eng teachers, the others are really locals, cantonese teachers' english are bad, the way they interact with kids is no different from my son's grandmoms, very traditional in some way. I am in school with my kid every day, i talk to people there of coz, what made you think i wouldnt? But it doesnt stop me from wondering. I would be an idiot if i didnt even know it follows IB program...
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My apologies. You kept saying "local" which I assumed to mean that the school follows local curriculum, using local methods -- which it does not.
To be clear, you should have said : The school is full of local Chinese people with bad English, the teachers are traditional like a grandma.
Now I understand you better - you prefer your child be taught by westerners with excellent English skills.
In that case, definitely, Victoria is not the place for you. You would probably enjoy HKIS or Kellett - they have very few local Chinese.

I've been to Victoria many times, know plenty of parents with kids there. They feel that Victoria is an excellent school with wonderful teachers. Some of the teachers are local, some from Mainland and some are English - they teach appropriate subjects based on their specialty.

I do have to wonder though about your comment where you said "Cantonese teachers' english are bad"..Did you talk to the English teachers? I'm curious how good their Cantonese was...What about the Mandarin teachers, how was their English and Cantonese? :rolling:
 
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i have two kids in victoria and i used to teach at the international schools here in hK and at victoria p/t. i would say victoria is a good medium - not exactly local and not exactly international...to our family a happy medium cause we want them to learn the chinese culture but also we like the interactive teaching methodology i see used in their classrooms. the faculty and staff are very caring (at least at my daughters victoria) and it is most important to me and not the number of professional qualifications they have (which is perhaps lacking when compared to other schools).

creativity is lacking - sure...expressive language - they have many opportunities to do during school time. one must remember that expressive language only comes after enough language is input and when one develops confidence. they are not great at this, but i see them trying - show and tell is a great time for my kids to express themselves...granted they are only in prenursery! how much can you realistically want them to express?

the cantonese teachers are not their to interact with the children in English - nor do they write any of their portfolio comments, give presentations in english - so their level of English, to me, is irrelevant. their job is to teach and converse in Cantonese, so that my kid can learn vocab in Cantonese and eventually express themselves in Cantones.

there are pros and cons to every school and at the end of the day you have to decide what your family can live (or not live with). victoria is good for us now - can't say for sure it will be what I say when my kids are in primary or high school. kids are still young - need to see what their learning style is and find the best match - look at my kids learning style first.
 
Hi Roshan,

Would it be possible to give me details of the cantonesetutor you hired. We were looking for one.

Thanks
 
Lesliefu is spot-on. We had to converse with the Class teacher in broken english but i could get my work done/ information needed, etc. Each teacher spoke to my child in the language they teach and the canto teacher was kind enough to give mine short english phrases to help him out.

My kids now go to an ESF primary.

I feel Victoria also allowed the kids to be creative. They used recycled stuff to make one big Xmas deco every year (of course, mom and dad had to help big time!) and lots of other artsy stuff in class.

I started off not too happy but in hindsight, it was good for all of us. I was active with the school - volunteered for field trips, in school reading, attended whatever i needed to, etc. And i saw most of the kids really improve in speaking and gaining confidence over their time there. And they were generally always happy.

Miran - let me check if she's available and wanting to tutor and I'll get back to you.
 
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