Not long ago, one of my college classmates, Helen, asked me out to chat, she was once a bully in our circle of classmates, and now she is also worried about her children's education.
Her eldest is in a private bilingual school and her second is in a public school. When the epidemic + international relations were uncertain, she shook her determination to send her boss abroad and wanted to transfer him back into the system from a private bilingual school;
But now that there is a "double reduction" and subject training has been greatly contracted, she has shaken her mind of wanting the second eldest to finish primary school in the public, and is considering whether to transfer the second eldest who has no place to "chicken" English, cannot find extracurricular activities, and becomes a "small transparent" in public schools to a private bilingual school.
"The situation is constantly changing, should we read public or private?" Helen was very entangled.
Not only Helen, but also the changes in education under the epidemic + double reduction have also caused many parents to have similar anxieties and do not know how to choose.
I told Helen's story to a mother who is quite insightful in school selection, she told me to the point, each parent's appeal is different, each student's characteristics are also different, from the curriculum point of view, public and private schools are 9 years of compulsory education courses, but if the mother's concept is not oriented to short-term scores, but hope to cultivate the child's comprehensive ability, participate in more activities, expand international vision, and care about the teacher-student ratio and whether the child can be paid attention to, Then maybe an international school is more suitable for her and her children.
To help Helen and moms like her make the right choice, I interviewed two iconic moms and students:
Andrew's mom
Children have been in private schools since the first grade, experienced private schools and private bilingual schools in the system, and also experienced the transformation of bilingual schools from international curriculum to nine-year compulsory education curriculum, and now children in the 10th grade are firm supporters of international education;
Elaina
Students, who attend public school until primary school graduation, transfer to bilingual school in Grade 6 and are currently in Grade 10.
Both students are currently at the Shanghai Municipal Dehong School. After 10 years and 5 years of studying in the private system, their process of entanglement, experience, and choice may help Helen and other mothers.
△ Shanghai Private Dehong School
#01
Andrew has been studying in the private system since he was a child, and has been in three private schools with different styles.
In the first grade, he attended a private school in the partial system, because the second grade went out to shoot and delayed his studies, and his mother was afraid that he would not be able to keep up with the tense learning rhythm of the school, so she transferred him to a bilingual school outside the system.
At that time, this well-known bilingual school had just been established, using California textbooks, with a large Content of English courses and a more American teaching style, which was relatively relaxed. However, in the 4th and 5th grades, my mother felt that the school was becoming more and more "chicken blood".
"The child often came back to me and said that the difficulty and amount of learning in the English course were a bit large, and the teacher seemed to be 'cramming', which made him feel very boring and stressful. This is not what I originally imagined. Now that I have chosen a bilingual school, I hope that my child will at least find learning fun. There may be many parents who like 'chicken blood', and their children are also adapted to high-intensity learning, but they are not suitable for my children. ”
So at the beginning of the ascension, Andrew decided to leave the school that many Shanghai families flocked to and instead look for a more suitable place.
△ Andrew in class
There was also a small episode at the time that Andrew's mother once considered letting her child go abroad to attend junior high school, but after a round trip in Australia, she dismissed the idea. "I see that there are children there who are isolated and excluded, so the small children will indeed have a great deal of cultural shock and discomfort; in addition, chinese families in Australia will only be more 'chicken', make-up classes from Chinese to various talents, the same will not be less, if so, but more domestic resources."
After returning from Australia, Andrew's mother is more determined by her educational philosophy: First, to let the child go out after middle school in China, the future child wants to stay abroad OK, but our roots are definitely in China, I hope he can learn professional skills and skills, back to the domestic service, so Chinese and English bilingual can not be abandoned; second, do not dwell on short-term results, but pay more attention to the long-term development of children. Again, the old saying goes, the right one is the best.
With so much observation and reflection on school and education, Andrew's mother finally found her child's third school, Shanghai Dehong, and has stayed until now.
△ Andrew introduced the student council information at the ninth grade family congress
Like Andrew, who became a Dehong student, there was Elaina. If Andrew has been studying in the private system since he was a child and has long wanted to go abroad, Elaina is a "halfway exit" transitioner.
In a public school in Changning District, Elaina is actually very good, even if the domestic route continues, it is excellent. But mom wants her to be all-round and "doesn't want to waste the best time on brushing problems."
It was such a simple idea that Elaina, like many public transfer students, transferred to Shanghai Dehong in the 6th grade.
Elaina in the classroom
Since its founding in 2017, Shanghai Dehong has gone through 5 years, and its reputation among Shanghai parents has always been very good. I have chatted with many parents of Dehong, and everyone thinks that Dehong's education exceeds their expectations.
In addition to the spacious campus and abundant hardware facilities, which combine the essence of 400 years of Dulwich Whole Person Education, the essence of the Chinese national curriculum and inquiry-based, the skills development-based bilingual curriculum system, and the school's genuine respect for students from top to bottom.
More than one parent told me that the child chose to come to Dehong because at the time of enrolment, Dehong's teacher was the most cordial and shelfless of their several candidate schools. From such a small detail, it reflects whether the school is arrogant or truly people-oriented and student-oriented. Obviously, Dehong got a high score.
△ Shanghai Dehong's classroom
#02
When talking about the school experience, Andrew's mother and Elaina both praised Dehong's academic programs.
Elaina talks about the enthusiasm of every class. "In English class, we read poems in different styles, study how different literary works reflect the values of different eras, such as the values of reason and logic in the Enlightenment period, and also explore social issues in depth through movies such as Blade Runner.
In my eyes, the Chinese teacher has always been an interesting character, he has taught us a lot of learning methodologies. The music teacher is very humorous, and the knowledge and technology are very hardcore, and will teach us to make all kinds of strange music fragments, such as how to score ghost films..."
The charm of the Dehong course is more than that.
I spent the whole day listening to Dehong's unique "Global Perspectives" class, Chinese and English classes and math classes to see what the curriculum of the bilingual school was like. I also tried to find the secret of the academic excellence of Dehong students.
This is a Grade 7 Global Perspective class taught by Ryan Miles, Principal of dehong Shanghai's Secondary School, who has extensive experience teaching in the UK, South Korea and other places.
Almost at the beginning of the class, I was attacked by Mr. Miles's classroom is fascinating, this is a middle school classroom, and it is no exaggeration to say that it is a university-level course.
This lesson is about child labor in the era of the Industrial Revolution, a topic that seems to be somewhat distant from the students, Mr. Miles used 3 videos and 4 guiding questions to string together two 80-minute lessons, which are:
- How do you feel about child labor during the Industrial Revolution?
- How was life different then than it is now?
- Why use child labor?
- How has COVID-19 affected child labour?
After watching each video, students answer the corresponding questions. I noticed that the details of this lesson were bursting:
First, the teacher's questions are open-ended, there is no standard answer, and students are encouraged to play freely through thinking. With each question asked, Mr. Miles draws a circular mind map on the blackboard around which students can write down the points they want to tell, and the expression will be very logical and structured, and there will be no words to say.
Second, as students answer questions, Mr. Miles writes fresh vocabulary on the blackboard, forming the Literacy Wall, "I encourage students to use words they've never used before, so their vocabulary accumulates." ”
Third, when answering certain questions, Mr. Miles will set aside about 5-10 minutes for students to write a paragraph quickly, "which is to let them exercise their ability to write in a limited time." I will collect these assignments and carefully correct them. ”
In the class I was listening to, the students wrote two paragraphs, each about 100 words, I read some texts, really good, some students are still learning to sell, the vocabulary they just learned to use.
Fourth, Mr. Miles has particularly high requirements for taking notes, allowing students to copy guiding questions, mind maps, Literarcy Wall, and essays in their notebooks.
"Sometimes I also teach them to annotate different content in different colors to help them quickly find the information they need. This is also a skill for IB to learn in the future, and I hope to help them develop good study habits and thinking habits from an early age. ”
Fifth, although it is about child labor in the era of the Industrial Revolution, Mr. Miles will combine it with reality. The lesson culminates in a discussion of the last issue – combining child labor with the reality of COVID-19.
As a journalist, this is an angle that I don't even know, and in the video and the discussion of the students, I learned that because of the new crown in some countries, adults get sick and children have to go out to work to make a living; in India, many children drop out of school...
"Adding realistic content will make students feel that this matter is related to themselves, and it is also teaching them how to use the knowledge they have learned in the past to solve real problems." This is a high-level thinking skill. ”
This is a class with too much information, the language practice of listening, speaking, reading and writing, fully integrated into the classroom, not only about the history, humanities, society and other fields of rich knowledge, very eye-opening, but also a variety of thinking, skills, habits of cultivation. I especially like what Mr. Miles said to the students, "The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world and the fate of many children, who, unlike you, can sit in class and read like they are in a bubble." ”
"What I mean by this passage is that I hope that students realize how lucky they are to have the life they have now, and that means greater responsibility." When they grow up, they can do more to solve the challenges we mentioned, such as disease, climate change, population issues, and so on. ”
Next, I audited the Chinese, Math and English classes in Grades 6 and 7, each of which was very bright.
For example, in the Chinese class, which is familiar to us, "the emperor's new clothes", the teacher uses a lot of inquiry questions to encourage students to think.
Why is the emperor so easily deceived? Why would an author use a child to tell the truth? Why does the child not tell the truth in the middle, but at the end? What kind of people are these characters? What's the irony? Why did Hans Christian Andersen write such an article? ...... There are not only reflections on content and plot, but also discussions on human nature.
Mathematics class, the use of layered teaching method, "each child will be in a group suitable for their own rhythm of the class, the basic students can more solidly understand the concept, lay a good foundation; students with a better degree, there will be some more challenging content, so that the teaching is more personalized." Math teacher Mia told me.
In English classes, the learning results of this unit are in the form of drama and so on. When I entered the classroom, grade 6 students were rehearsing the play Coraline, which was entirely self-written and directed.
"Students have to read the original book intensively and adapt it into a script; memorize lines and understand the state of the characters; they have to rehearse in teamwork and communication; and they have to prepare their own costumes, props, music, lighting, etc." It is a comprehensive ability to cultivate. More importantly, it is a story about courage, and children can learn from the protagonist the spirit of not being afraid of failure. Catherine, a 6th grade English teacher, said.
At the end of the day, just listening to the lectures, I felt that the intensity was very high, not to mention that the students also had to use their brains and hands.
From these lessons, I also saw Mr. Dehong's meticulous preparation for each lesson and the secret of students' solid academics. No wonder Andrew's mother said that it was reassuring to leave her studies to DeHong.
The most intuitive result of this way of learning is that "children are interested in learning, and such interest will gradually form a self-driving force." Andrew's mother said.
#03
"There's a lot of staying power," Andrew's mom said of her son who entered high school.
After 5 years in Dehong, Andrew seems to have suddenly opened his mind, and he is very self-motivated in learning and his life. The mother even joked that the child rolled up, but the direction of the roll was to work himself, not to compare with others.
For example, he has recently become obsessed with post-production, will teach himself video editing and animation production on the Internet, and will also find a cousin who is studying visual arts abroad and ask questions. Not long ago, together with Elaina, he made a MV "Yulou Chun" for the Chinese cultural theme activity of the Middle School Department 'FengYa Song', and the two of them completed it themselves from writing songs, singing, cutting films to post-uploading. ”
This is not an annotated person, Mom said, she talked to many parents in the class, and everyone felt that the children entered high school as if they had "grown up overnight", knew better what they wanted, and began to prepare for their areas of interest and possible future professional directions.
"Students who like economics will find their own online economics classes on the Internet; students who like drama will write a 20,000-word 'Republic of China Drama' and organize students to perform dramas..."
The same is true of Elaina, after communicating with Dehong's further education guidance, she determined that she wanted to take the path of psychology and music double majors, so she would take the initiative to go to psychology-related courses and read related books; she would write songs, arrange songs, and post them on NetEase Cloud Music; she also formed her own band, organized rehearsals, team management, activity registration, all with one hand, and also participated in various performances with the team members...
This inevitably makes me wonder, where does such a powerful driving force come from? Andrew's mother analyzed that in addition to maintaining a strong interest in learning itself, one may come from enough choices and attempts, and the other comes from the atmosphere of school guidance and self-motivation of students.
Nearly 100 enlightening courses
In Dehong Secondary School, there are nearly 100 academic, sports, and creative enlightenment courses for students to choose freely, and many courses are very attractive just by listening to the name, such as label football, artificial intelligence, live bands, etc.
△ Swipe to see Shanghai Dehong's enlightenment class
Both Andrew and Elaina have tried a lot, for example, Elaina likes various music courses such as vocal music, guitar, piano, guzheng, etc., and also likes physical education classes such as badminton; Andrew likes art, drama, music, etc. Both were involved in various events organised by Dulwich DeHong.
For example, Andrew participated in dulwich's Shakespeare Festival in Singapore and Beijing for two consecutive years, and Elaina travelled to London for the Dulwich Olympia Games.
△ Elaina on stage
The school supports the atmosphere
Students are motivated and the school provides a lot of support.
Mom said that Andrew took the initiative to apply to the school at that time, asking if she could open editing-related courses.
The school offers two options, one is to encourage Andrew to create his own interest groups, and organize some students who also like post-production to learn and communicate together;
The other is to go into the school's propaganda department as an intern and help make videos. In the third year of junior high school, Andrew's video for the school's enlightenment course was also on the public account, which made Andrew overjoyed.
"From this incident, I saw that the school gave the child a sense of security and a relaxed atmosphere, so that he could dare to communicate with the school, and there was also space to do a lot of things he wanted to do, and the school created conditions to meet their individual needs as much as possible." Andrew's mother sighed.
△ Andrew and Elaina in the post-production period
Parents also need to grow
The child is growing, Andrew's mother said, in this process she is also upgrading and updating the iteration. Dehong is not only her child's school, but also hers.
"The times change too fast, parents will also be confused and entangled, such as the previous private school transformation to a nine-year compulsory education curriculum, not to mention students, parents will also be confused about how to learn? How is time allocated? For example, this generation of parents are all from public schools all the way, do not understand the international curriculum, how to make a good choice? ......
The school will often hold seminars with parents, IB workshops, adolescent courses, etc., and the effect is very good. It is also a process of growth for parents. ”
After 10 years in a private school, Andrew's mom says she increasingly feels the decision was the right one.
"In this process, the child is constantly discovering himself, whether it is good or bad, it is a process of continuous self-affirmation, self-learning, and self-improvement. In this process, I can see an upward direction, I am very satisfied. After Entering Dehong, Andrew has experienced learning well - to confusion, twists and turns - and then to find motivation to go up, and now he is more and more aware of who he is, what he is good at or missing, and more and more to find his own learning style and goals. I think that's a good education. ”