Philip Greenspun has suggested an alternative to America’s high school system.
This is certainly an interesting idea, althou it wouldn’t work in America. That US$12,000 is public money, fat chance seeing public money for public education going overseas.
OTOH, US$12,000/year is HK$7,800 a month, which a lot of the local parents in Hong Kong are already paying for their kids. I’d imagine that many local teenages are spending more than this. A newspaper reports today that a primary school kid is spending HK$8,500 a month solely on private tuition.
Say, fourth form in India learning Hindi, English and Maths, Fifth form in a U.K. public (i.e. independent) school learning English and taking the GCSEs, Sixth form in Beijing learning Chinese, Putonghua and Maths. With all these travelling and exposure to different cultures, it shouldn’t be too difficult for this kid to get into a good university. It is going to be better for the kid in the long run as well.
The year in the U.K. is going to cost quite a bit more than US$12,000 thou.
Or how about Thailand, or France, or Shanghai?
2 responses so far ↓
1 James Mok // Jul 14, 2004 at 4:29 pm
A couple of days ago, my sister called M and asked if she would let Alec go for a 5 day training course at the Whompoa Military School (or what ever its correct English name is) with her daughter. My sister wanted her daughter to go and learn how to be more independant and do daily chores on her own, but she didn’t want her to go alone, so she wanted Alec to go with her.
Upon asking M’s nephew, who went there for the very same course several years ago revealed that other than the usual toughness of what is expected from a “military school”, their provided uniforms reeks! While he wasn’t sure if they were washed before given to them, they were simple not washed at all during the entire 5 days they had to wear them!
As soon as I heard this, I said no. Not washing ones clothes for 5 days is not a way to learn anything. It would have been fine for me if they would let the kids to wash them on their own.
My immediate thoughts and suggestions to my sister and possibly to most parents who send their kids out to learn anything was, in this particular case, since it is my sister who do not know how to teach her kid how to become more independant on her own, my sister should be the one to take that training instead of send her kid to something that she for sure couldn’t bare more than an hour herself.
As with other types of spending on any form of education be it school related or extra curricular, I think most parents simply spend before having much thought.
My dad recently wanted Alec to take a $550 tennis course while Alec has no previous experiance of tennis what-so-ever. Like taking up ping-pong lesson before, I disagree with take lessons as the very first introduction to anything.
When we were kids, we didn’t take up any lessons of any sports, yet we grew up knowing how to play just about any form of sports. Granted that I am no super jock, but not too shabby either. With ping pong and tennis, I play against the wall first and then with relatives. It was not until Form 2 that I had any formal training with ping pong. Did I miss anything?.... My uncle thought so. He won several inter-club trophies in the course of his life and said that’s why I have never won anything. Sure. My uncle is that type that went thru training and/or tournaments while Grandma had several strokes and had to go thru intensive care several times. What price had been paid for them prizes?! Heck! They certainly not worth the last visit, heaven forbids. On top of all, he was never good enough to challenge those overseas players. Afterall, it is just a game of sport.
M had let Alec to take several academic tutoring thou out the last few years. Time after time I have said they are of no use, and time after time Alec’s report card had proven I was correct. And time after time I have been telling M to make sure Alec do my project that I mentioned last year which is similar to a blog that I had told you about, yet they simply did not make time to do so. I kept asking why M prefers a useless course that cost so much money over a simple method that doesn’t cost a dime other than pencils, paper, and electricity. Silence, but kept going her way just like most parents do.
Maybe I should be charging other parants a fortune for my blog method of training.
2 Z // Jul 29, 2004 at 1:55 am
There are alternative schools, free schools and unschooling. Unschooling is basically not formal education led by your interests.
I’m not the expert in case somebody wants to debate. Ask the unschoolers themselves and their parents.
there’s alternative programs for teens too
http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/programs
http://geocities.com/moonwindstarsky/unschooling