Education

Yesterday, I was asked by a Sister to help her write a English letter of recommendation for a student going into elementary school. Yes, 5 year olds now need letter of recommendation in order to go to school. Well to go to some more prestigious schools I guess. Government schools have to accept everybody, but Catholic schools can limit their enrollment due to a point system. Elementary education for parents in Hong Kong are treated as a primer in order to go on to the better high schools and eventually the university of their choosing. It is quite incredible how tense that the child enters into the right school or else their future will be scarred or there will be no or little advancement in the career ladder.

To illustrate the point the 5 year old girl that I was writing the letter of recommendation had a pre-school report card that is more sophisticated then any assessment sheets I ever seen as a high school teacher. It had pie and bar graphs, ranking of student, detail analysis of advancement in language skills, math skills, motor skills, interaction with students, self-interaction, etc... It was almost like a scientific paper but just for a five year old. Also, a resume was included, such as painting at a certain level, playing the piano, extra tutorial math help, skating, dance, proficient in three languages, etc... The resume also had life goals, what to achieve in the next year, it almost seemed like the student is looking for a career right now.

All to point out that education is treated quite seriously by a lot of parents in Hong Kong and it is passed down to the children. There is a lot of pressure to do well and succeed. Competition is intense and cutthroat. When the student reaches high school they are preparing for the matriculation level exams in their last year. There are companies with advertisements on buses, and subways of former students dressed in men in black style to state that they know what possible questions will be on the matriculation exams. Since the government rotates the questions in a certain number of years. These matriculation results determine which university, or colleges a student goes to.

It is amazing to see different pedagogical systems at work. Though I would think being a 5 year old must not be too much fun anymore. When can I just play and not be evaluated by my inter/intra personal skills or even my motor skills? Not to say that I am going to be a star athlete though.