In more than two years of COVID-19, Jasmine's transfer story is a microcosm of "education migration" families.
In 2019, due to the unstable social environment in Hong Kong, the parents decided to send their daughter Jasmine to the Uk to study. The daughter was very self-conscious since she was a child, and her English was also good, and she soon received an offer for admission to 3 or 4 British private schools, and the family even paid the tuition deposit and prepared to go abroad.
Unexpectedly, by the beginning of March 2020, the global new crown pandemic, the number of confirmed cases and deaths in the United Kingdom had soared, and if it was too dangerous to let her daughter go to London alone to study at this time, Jasmine's father retreated. Also on March 20 of that year, the British government announced the lockdown.
Hong Kong is not suitable for continuing to study, and the United Kingdom has encountered a new crown outbreak, what should I do with my daughter's education? Jasmine's dad, who often runs at both ends of Hong Kong and Guangdong, thought of international schools in the Greater Bay Area.
△ According to the latest data released by the Hong Kong Education Bureau, by October 2021, the number of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens in Hong Kong will lose about 15,000 students in one year. Many of these families have poured into the Greater Bay Area, and recently the outbreak of the epidemic in Hong Kong has increased, and the number of returning families has increased.
During that time, Jasmine's father was running business while helping his daughter find the right school, "Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan, Zhuhai and other places have seen all the schools." However, most of the British schools in the Greater Bay Area are bilingual high schools that provide A Level, and international schools provide more IB courses, we are more familiar with British education, and we will also study in the UK in the future, so we have not considered it. ”
Later, just happened to hear a friend in Foshan talk about the local to open a British international school, or the United Kingdom perennial ranking Top 10, Niu Jian admission rate of up to 20% of London's top private school Lady Eleanor Holles (LEH) in the only branch overseas, Jasmine's father with a try mentality to explore the school, did not expect to be really surprised.
"The most impressive thing at that time was that almost all the foreign teachers here were from the Uk mainland, and even from their accents, at least 70% of them were from London."
△ Teachers of Foshan Hollis
Jasmine dad has a set of original school choice theory, in his view, a school is not good, the brand, campus environment, further grades are important, but the most critical is the teacher, "some say that it is a British school, listen to the accent to know that most of the teachers are from South Africa, Eastern Europe, chat a few words and know that there are no years of teaching experience, I am not afraid to send my daughter to enroll." ”
Jasmine (first from right) participates in the Youth Leadership Program
Therefore, after visiting the campus and fully communicating with the principal and Chinese and foreign teachers, Jasmine successfully enrolled in September 2020 and became one of the founding students of Foshan Hollis School for Children of Expatriates (hereinafter referred to as Foshan Hollis).
I'd love to know how Well Hong Kong Girl Jasmine adapted after a year and a half of school? Curious to know why a British international school has a reputation in the Bay Area parent circle in just one and a half years? Of course, I also want to find some interesting family stories.
So, before the spring of 2022, I finally came to the legendary Foshan Hollis, and had the honor of chatting with the principal and classroom teacher like the Jasmine family.
△ Foshan Hollis Campus, like the British architecture of Buckingham Palace, is particularly eye-catching
To interject, I was departing from Guangzhou Airport, and I didn't expect to drive 40 minutes to campus, which would be more convenient from Downtown Guangzhou. Colleagues in Shenzhen also visited Hollis once last summer, and it only takes an hour and a half to drive, which is still very convenient.
▽Swipe to see school facilities and environment▽
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#01
Seeing Jasmine's dad again, he was full of joy, saying that Jasmine is now doing well in all subjects, and the main thing is to become more confident and proactive.
"I remember when we were just starting school, she was very timid, let me communicate with the teacher, and now there are any school activities, encounter learning problems, she directly communicates with the teacher from beginning to end, and puts me aside." 」 Jasmine Dad laughed.
△ Jasmine who Chinese read aloud
In the past year and a half of studying with his children in the Greater Bay Area, Jasmine's father has also really come to the difference between Hong Kong schools and international schools (originally in Hong Kong, Jasmine's father was very involved in his daughter's education).
Many people say that Hong Kong is a "chicken baby" highland, Jasmine's father said that he is relatively lucky, his daughter has been a "self-chicken" baby since childhood, and rarely attends cram school.
However, I was shocked to hear Jasmine's study schedule. "She's really tight on her time. For example, after coming home at 9 p.m., I first cooked a supper for her to eat, and after eating she immediately went to work, did not go to bed until 1 a.m., and if there was an exam the next day, she would get up at 5:30 a.m. to review it again. ”
Moreover, in Hong Kong's education environment, Jasmine and her parents are inevitably anxious.
For example, the "secondary three subjects" that make countless Hong Kong parents afraid, that is, students must choose courses according to their future professional direction in the third stage of junior high school. But this is not a random choice, but according to the ranking order of achievements, there is a priority choice, such as Xueba wants to rush to the medical department, you can choose chemistry, biology, high numbers, but if you rank low, you can only choose some "leftover" subjects.
"These subjects may not be your favorites, or you may not have been exposed to them at all, but you have to learn them because of your grade ranking." Jasmine's dad sighed.
Moreover, the "secondary three selection subjects" will also directly affect the major of the future university, how can we not be anxious? Jasmine's father said that the children of his Neighbors in Hong Kong are ready to study in Canada next year because of subject selection problems.
But after arriving in Foshan Hollis, Jasmine really realized the "freedom of course selection", in addition to mathematics, chemistry and other subjects that were originally good at, humanities courses also chose a lot, "don't worry about rankings, so as long as she is interested, she will go to the course to try, if she is not interested in learning or not good at it, it is not a big deal not to choose it later." ”
In addition to the Core Courses (CORE) of English, Mathematics and Science, there are also elective courses including Robotics and Computers, Drama, History, Philosophy, Spanish, etc., as well as extended courses in leadership, life skills, environmental protection and community service to cultivate core competencies
In addition to "freedom of course selection", there is also "freedom of activity". Jasmine is a more active student, in addition to class, there are also a lot of ideas, such as seeing that students have English learning difficulties, she will suggest whether to organize English learning in school, etc., but often fail.
But now in Foshan Hollis, teachers not only encourage students to participate in clubs and activities, but also provide support as much as possible.
△ Jasmine, who works art with her teacher
For example, Jasmine once wanted to organize her classmates to participate in the Activities of the American Journalists Association, so she directly asked the principal for advice, and the principal seriously helped them see the project and encouraged them to participate. "Maybe there were fewer students at the beginning, and they were founding students, and I think they went directly to the principal for things." Jasmine Dad added.
△ Foshan Hollis Executive Principal Jane Arden is the "president's mother" in the mouth of students, she has studied at the University of Liverpool and Liverpool Moore University, obtained a Bachelor of History (Honours) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGCE), and has been deeply involved in the education industry for more than 20 years
Children who are given full freedom and receive timely professional advice and guidance when they need help, children who grow up in such an encouraging environment tend to be more determined and confident in their choices and decisions, and have a clearer understanding of themselves. And this is precisely the necessary factor to have a happy and fulfilling life.
#02
In Foshan Hollis, there are many students like Jasmine who "return", in addition to the children of Hong Kong and Macao, some are studying in private schools in the United Kingdom and the United States, because the epidemic has turned back to international schools in China, and some students' parents are doing business in Europe, but the overseas situation in the past two years is not good, and they have returned to China for development.
Of course, there are many like Principal Jane Arden who came to Foshan, Guangdong Province, because of their work, and brought their children to "migrate" together.
Before coming to China, Principal Jane had been teaching in the UK for more than 20 years, and in her mind, a good education is "teaching according to aptitude" based on full respect for individual students.
△ Foshan Hollis classroom
"For example, my children grew up in Cambridgeshire, England, where there are a lot of students from all over the world, so that children have a sense of globalization at a very young age and are interested in the languages of the world. So when they came to China with me, they quickly made friends from all over the world on campus, and the old general was fluent in Chinese, English, and Korean, and was currently learning Spanish. But if she has been educated in the UK, her daughter's dream of multilingual learning may not be realized. Principal Jane said bluntly.
So, in the eyes of a senior local educator like Principal Jane, what kind of school is Hollis?
"You're asking the right person!" Principal Jane said with a smile. It turns out that Jane herself is a native of London, and the place where she grew up is close to the LEH School in the United Kingdom, she said that this is the "dream school" of many London families, music, drama, science are very outstanding, and the students who graduate from here have a very solid academic level.
△ Foshan Hollis open day experience class
Mathea's mother, whose children are in the sixth grade of Hollis in Foshan, agreed too much with the principal's point of view, in her own words: Although it is an international school, Hollis is very focused on academics.
Unlike Jasmine, who transitioned from a Hong Kong school to an international school in the Greater Bay Area, Mathea, who lives in Foshan, started from kindergarten and read all the way to an international school.
When it comes to why she wants to transfer, Mathea's mother bluntly said that she is also attracted by the teachers here, whether it is the teacher's academic background or teaching qualifications (the average teaching experience of the teaching team is more than 15 years), not only in the Guangzhou-Foshan region, but also in the whole country.
After half a year of reading at Hollis, the biggest change is that Mathea is getting busier.
"In the past, school came home from school at 3 o'clock, and we did not arrange tutoring for our children, at most we went to interest classes, basically we could sleep at 8 o'clock." Now the child has to leave school at 6 o'clock, and can only fully do time management after returning home, such as reading a book before and after eating, and doing some homework to ensure that he goes to bed on time and early. Mathea mom said.
△ Foshan Hollis Family Day activities
But in her opinion, this kind of "busyness" is a good thing, and the child really learns a lot of knowledge in the school.
"Sometimes I talk to Mathea about some geography and history, and I will be surprised that her knowledge is very broad, and she should have read a lot of extracurricular books in related disciplines."
"Math, English, drama, computers, etc., our children don't seem to have classes they don't like. I think the main thing is that it is not a dead book here, the teacher's classroom design is very interesting, and the child is naturally interested. ”
At the same time, the autonomy of Mathea's learning has also increased.
△ Mathea in Hollis, Foshan
Now she arranges her own learning tasks, and if there is a problem, she will directly find a teacher to solve it, whether it is communication skills or independent problem-solving ability. I can even do time management myself. ”
Today, Mathea moms are always "complaining" that school is too busy while delighting in their children's growth. She lamented: True happiness education does not mean not learning every day and playing blindly, but finding happiness in learning and finding the direction that interests you. Such learning, the child is no longer busy will not feel hard, but will become more and more energetic.
Mathea's mother's inspiration happens to be the educational philosophy of Hollis Principal Jane Arden, in her view, a good school should be around three keywords: happy, purposeful and busy, the school provides a wealth of curriculum and activity resources, students invest time in the courses they are interested in, but also in the campus activities and community building to give full play to their enthusiasm.
#03
In the eyes of Jasmine's father and Mathea's mother, the child's current growth is inseparable from the professionalism and patience of Mr. Hollis.
"My daughter loves the art teacher, who has been teaching art in secondary school for 17 years and is an artist herself, with a very diverse curriculum. In addition to traditional painting, sculpture, ceramics, etc., although Jasmine painted from elementary school, it was the first time she came here to receive a comprehensive art education. Jasmine dad shared.
Mathea's mom was particularly fond of the school's music teacher, "Hollis's music teacher was very good. Our children are musicians from elementary school, have tried many musical instruments, and have also enrolled in music theory classes at school. This teacher was an examiner at the Trinity College of Music in London, and the children were rich and professional enough to register outside. ”
"Also, I listened to an online humanities class during the epidemic, and the teacher explained the population, geography and economy of the United States very clearly, which benefited me as an adult. And in addition to the information in the school classroom, the teacher will also recommend a lot of online materials and learning tools, and the learning scope has been broadened a lot. Jasmine Dad added.
So, how strong is Hollis's faculty team? We were fortunate to interview two front-line teachers.
Mr. Stuart Savill is the Director of Theatre and Creative Arts in Foshan Hollis, who has over 18 years of teaching experience and has been the Dean of the Essex Theatre Academy in the UK for the past 11 years.
"Drama is a very important subject, and it can even be said that it is the origin of learning." Teacher Stuart said. His words are not exaggerated, whether it is people from childhood through imitation, listening to stories to learn words, to the mastery of various life skills, to the teaching methods of teachers in school, there is no need for dramatic expression.
Moreover, in the process of drama education, from drama theory, to character performance, to stage lighting production and scene layout, it is the test of students' ability in all aspects. Therefore, in many of the top private schools in the United Kingdom and the United States, drama is a compulsory course in basic education.
In Stuart's view, drama is the best way to teach interdisciplinary subjects. For example, in Foshan Hollis, the most commonly used is to combine drama with English, students understand Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and "Hamlet" in drama, and experience the rhythm and rhythm of the sonnets in dialogue, which has a deeper understanding and greater harvest than simple reading.
△ Foshan Hollis students' New Year theatrical performance
Chatting with English teacher Kathryn was a very enjoyable process, and before coming to Foshan Hollis, she taught English language and English literature classes at a well-known grammar school in the UK.
Interestingly, many parents will worry that children's vocabulary is not enough to adapt to the teaching of all English, but Kathryn teacher believes that to evaluate a person's English level, vocabulary is not the only criterion, but also to see whether a child can be logically clear and complete, from a sentence, to a paragraph, to a whole article.
Therefore, Mr. Kathryn strongly recommends that students of all ages read more, "If you haven't read the English version of Harry Potter, no matter what grade you are, you can try to read it!" You will definitely be fascinated by the friendships and stories of the Academy of Magic. Teacher Kathryn said.
Of course, Mr. Kathryn often cooperates with Mr. Stuart to use drama to help students learn English, and after a play, the students not only improve their vocabulary, but also make words and sentences more and more accurate and vivid.
Interestingly, from the two front-line teachers to The Jane Principal, there is one key word mentioned: mistakes are allowed.
For example, Teacher Stuart is always shy when he sees many students when they first start performing, and he is also afraid of getting into trouble in front of classmates and teachers, but he always encourages students, isn't making mistakes the best learning process? When it is necessary to do some funny moves, Stuart teachers will also take the lead in demonstrating themselves, coaxing the students to laugh and narrowing the distance between each other, helping the students relax themselves and let go of restraint. When Kathryn meets a student who doesn't speak English very well, she also smiles and encourages: "At least your English is much better than my Chinese level." ”
Papa Jasmine was impressed by Hollis's "allow mistakes" approach. "My daughter sometimes gets the title wrong. The teacher here will be very direct to point out the mistakes (without any criticism), but at the same time, they will also help to slowly straighten out the knowledge points that have been wrongly learned before. In this way, the child will not be afraid to make mistakes, but will be more active in solving problems. ”
For the two parents, foshan Hollis teacher's good, really three days and three nights can not finish.
For example, 19:00-21:00 in the evening is the student's self-study time, and the teachers will take shifts to keep an eye on the child's self-study, as long as the child has problems, they can solve it at any time. Sometimes when the students' homework is almost completed, the drama and art teachers will give the children "extra meals": let's create works together!
Even if the students need it, the teacher will take the initiative to use his weekend personal time to help with the guidance.
For example, every teacher has a strong resume, Mr. Martin Kirk, director of science subjects, is a doctor of inorganic chemistry from the University of Leeds, UK; David Hobourn, director of music disciplines, graduated from Trinity College of Music in London and is also a member of the Royal Organ Society, with more than 20 years of experience in music education;
Ms. Helen Hayward, Director of Arts, graduated from the University of the Arts London and has been teaching art in secondary schools for 17 years; Chinese teacher Xie Chengming holds a ph.D. from Peking University Chinese and a Master of Education from University College London...
"Therefore, I always told my daughter that there are such good teachers in school, and if you still can't learn well, it must be your own problem." 」 Jasmine Dad laughed.
"Words written at the back"
In the past, we have visited hundreds of international schools in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, including many well-established schools and overseas theological schools, but the parents and teachers of Foshan Hollis have brought me a very different feeling.
They are academically strong, but not utilitarian at all. For example, when I asked LEH about the 20% cattle sword rate every year, almost all students enter the world's famous schools, whether they also want their children, students climb the vine, punch the bull sword.
Jasmine's father will not hesitate to say: as long as the child is interested in certain fields and has mastered all aspects of the comprehensive ability, no matter what college she goes to, or even whether she goes to college, she can achieve success in life.
Principal Jane will patiently say that the profession is more important than the school, and if the child reads the world's top school in a certain field, the future will not be worse than the bull sword.
They truly love education and are willing to share. This is true of Stuart, who talks about drama education incessantly, Kathryn, who wants every child to fall in love with reading, Mathea mom, who shares school choice methodologies with me without reservation, and Jasmine dad, who accompanies her children in online classes.
I think that when such a group of parents, students, and teachers who love education get together, it is the best education.