When I was old enough to choose my junior high school, there were not many international schools. At that time, the international department of public schools and private schools were the more popular options. My family, like most, was inevitably caught in the confusion of choosing a school for almost a year. Looking back now, for a teenager who is not very self-disciplined, I greatly miss and appreciate the three years I spent in the private school. Now comes the school selection time for families again, and the post-epidemic era has triggered a re-examination of international schools by the public. Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) on Apr 17 will offer a chance for private meetings with a large number of international schools at once. But before making a choice, what we need to do is understand is how to avoid the worries that can accompany school choice by considering the following questions.

What Are the Criteria for Judging a Good School and a Good Teacher?

It takes time to truly see whether a student’s full potential has been reached, and sometimes quarterly or progress reports just don’t cut it. If some anxious parents don’t see their child’s potential translate into quantitative grades, they sometimes view it as a failure on the part of the school.

In fact, many international school teachers are very diligent and take their work extremely seriously, even going above and beyond the minimum requirement. If students get low scores, they need to check and reflect on why they got this on their own, and communicate any struggles with classmates and teachers.

From a traditional educational point of view, a teacher who gives his students autonomy is not a responsible teacher. Yet the purpose of international education is to cultivate the ability of children to discover and solve problems on their own while using what they learn in everyday life. The influence of a teacher goes beyond anything a letter grade can show us.

Will You Find a School That Is Just Right for Your Child?

The fact is that now most parents recognize there is not a single school that’s absolutely perfect. But is there a school that is just right for children? I once questioned the decision that my family made to choose a private school instead of a militarized public school, but when this idea came up, I would continue to ask, is the university I chose appropriate? Is the major the best fit for me? Then I realized that having the right balance was the key.

The idea of “just right” may be as unanswerable a phenomenon as Schrodinger’s Cat. On the whole, choosing a school is the same as choosing a job and choosing a partner. Once the general direction is confirmed, the rest requires self-adjustment and continuous check-ins. After all, the school is not the only decisive factor that affects children; their family environment and parents’ perspective are essential to a child’s development as well.

There’s no type of education that can promise success in every period in the future. In my opinion, during each period of a child’s life, the family should make the corresponding choices that make sense for a child. Getting into the next stage prematurely often causes unnecessary anxiety.

Post-epidemic Era: Escape the School Choice Involution

Over the past year, people from all walks of life have discovered their daily lives can be accurately described by the same once-arcane academic term: involution. As Zhou Minxi explained in China Global Television Network (CGTN.com) in December of 2020:

Involution as a social concept was introduced by anthropologists to describe a process of inward overelaboration in agricultural development, where population growth did not result in growth in productivity or a more advanced economic model. Without significant breakthroughs, society spirals into a state of internal friction, with increased complexity but not expansion.

Today, the word is used broadly to convey a general feeling of defeat, when the purpose of competition is to eliminate in a zero-sum game.

Now comes the involution of choosing schools.

In 2020, both the growth rate of the school numbers and the market size decreased. Twelve schools postponed the opening time, most of which are due to the epidemic. “The most fashionable word now is involution, and education is regarded as an area with serious involution. The only way to deal with it is openness, and openness will also bring about diversification of education,” said Li Meng, assistant principal of the World Youth International School.

“The tuition fees of international schools will continue to rise, but as more Chinese return from overseas studies, Chinese parents will have a deeper understanding of what international education is, and they will propose higher standards for international schools requirements. I think this is a good phenomenon because it will ensure that international schools continue to deliver high-quality education to both Chinese families and expat families in Beijing,” said Lodahl, a Danish mother living in Beijing with two girls.

Does this bring up more questions than answers about international education? Good! JISE is the perfect place to meet all of the city’s top international schools and get all your questions answered in one afternoon. It’s a free event this Saturday at Kuntai Jiarui Culture Center. Scan the QR code below for more details.

KEEP READING: Honest Questions to Ask Yourself Before Choosing a School for Your Child

Photo: Jingkids, Pexels

As teachers, we want what is best for our students. But every child is a unique individual and when it comes to education, one size does not fit all. I strongly encourage all of my prospective parents to do their due diligence. Just because your friends send their kid to my school, or it’s close to your home, or you read about one child who got into XYZ prestigious whatever after attending my class doesn’t mean this is the best place for your child. So, look at all the options and really think about where your child will thrive and what environment will help them become their brightest, boldest, most confident self.

In Beijing that can be a daunting task. According to the International School Database, there are 40 registered international schools just within the 6^th Ring Road. It’s amazing to have those kinds of choices but you could never visit all of them. That’s why the Jingkids International School Expo (JISE) is such an important resource for parents. JISE is an excellent opportunity to narrow the field by asking some important questions ahead of site visits. Here are a few questions I suggest parents ask themselves and school administrators prior to making such an important choice.

Questions to ask yourself/family:

Be honest with yourself about these. There is no correct answer to any of these questions. Just because something matters to your best friend or all the people on a WeChat group doesn’t mean it needs to be a deciding factor for you!

What is Your Child’s Learning Style? Some children excel in a hyper-structured environment. Some children need a more experiment-based approach to learning. Some kids actually do better in a competitive environment while others thrive in a collaborative setting. There is no right or wrong answer but knowing how your child best learns and then expresses their knowledge base will help you find the best fit for them.

What’s important to you? Do you want a bilingual school? Do you want a specific curriculum like IB, AP, or Montessori? Distance from your house and provided bus service? It doesn’t matter what your needs are but I suggest making a list and ranking them in order of importance. This will help you immediately discard a lot of options and focus on schools that fit your family’s needs.

What’s important to your child? Don’t be shocked if this list doesn’t match yours. If you have a little diva or divo a school with a strong theatre program may be important to them. A blossoming scientist might want state-of-the-art labs or maybe your gamer really wants a coding program. Obviously, you have the final say but invested kids are more likely to excel so if your child has reasonable requests take them into consideration.

Questions to ask the school:

I stayed away from the more obvious questions that I’m sure you have seen a thousand times. Here are a few less frequently asked questions that may give you some different insight.

What support and resources do they offer? Third culture kids often face different challenges than other students. Because they move so much learning disabilities can go unnoticed for example. They also deal with additional social and emotional stressors. Making new friends can be difficult or being separated from extended family for long periods can take an emotional toll. Not to mention things like pandemics and emergency evacuations or quarantines.  At some point, your child may struggle with a multitude of issues so find out how the school handles them. Do they have on-site councilors, a tutoring program, reading specialists, etc.? Not all of these are mandatory but knowing what’s available is important.

How diverse is the student body? What is the current make up of the school. Is it 99% local students or is there a wide range of expat kids from different cultures. If your child is the only third culture kid in ther grade it could get lonely for them. On the flip side being fully immersed could be exciting and intriguing for the right child. You will need to decide what’s best for them but you should know going in what there class culture will be like.

Extracurricular activities: This may not seem important but find out what is on offer and how much participation is expected of each child. If your child doesn’t enjoy team sports but it’s a huge part of the school culture making friends and forming a supportive social circle might be difficult. If your child does enjoy social activities but not a lot is offered in their area of interest are you willing to do the leg work to find after-school programs and transportation that work around the school day?

What is the average student experience? Almost every school can point to a few shining stars who went on to win at the Olympics, got into a prestigious university, or made a massive scientific break thru. But what about the kids who got mostly B’s, were in the choir but didn’t solo, and had close friends but didn’t sit at the varsity lunch table? Do they generally go on to good universities, have rewarding careers, and happy social lives?

How do they handle discipline? This is a big one that not many parents don’t think about after preschool. But it’s almost more important for a 16-year-old than a 16-month-old. Every culture has a different expectation of children and young adult behavior. They also have a different way of handling discipline when that expectation is not met. Choose a program that aligns with your own family’s expectations and values.

What are the school’s goals and focus? This can be tricky. Most parents ask what a school’s philosophy is and get a long explanation of educational pedagogy or a list of core values from the pamphlet. Don’t get me wrong, that is all important, but it won’t tell you what that looks like in a child’s day-to-day existence.  I suggest asking. “In your opinion, what is the marker of a successful student? How do you know when a child is excelling?”  The answer should be telling. If they say “When they get good grades” that is a very different type of program than one who responds “When they ask a lot of questions” or “When they are excited to come to school.” All of these are perfectly acceptable answers and they tell you as a parent more about what a school’s real focus is and the culture and values of the staff and student body.

KEEP READING: Building Up STEAM

Photo: Pexels

Choosing the right curriculum can have an important impact on your child’s schooling, both in terms of their enjoyment of learning and their future success. Unlike where many of us will have gone to school, where we probably studied a set national curriculum, international schools in Beijing are free (within reason) to design their own curriculum, and the range of options on offer can be a bit bewildering.

To help you make more informed decisions, we have put together a breakdown of some of the most common curriculums on offer. Please keep in mind that this guide is not meant to suggest that any one curriculum is the best or that any one school implements that curriculum better than the others. Each school interprets and shapes its curriculum in a unique way; contact school admissions offices for more information.

Montessori

Age group: ECE/kindergarten

Created by Maria Montessori in the early 20th century, the Montessori approach is founded on the belief that every child should be respected as an individual and allowed to learn at their own pace within the prepared classroom environment. Children are usually taught in mixed-aged classrooms rather than grades, and teachers and classroom assistants will create individualized teaching and development plans that foster a child’s physical and spiritual learning.

Example schools: The International Montessori School of Beijing; The Children’s House Montessori Kindergarten; Etonkids International Kindergarten

Reggio Emilia

Age group: ECE/kindergarten

Reggio Emilia is an innovative approach to early years education in which children are seen as unique, creative individuals who embark on a journey into learning from the moment they are born as part of finding out about themselves, others, and the world around them. Students are active designers of their own educational development based on an environment where they are free to explore and ask questions.

Example schools: House of Knowledge

Multiple Intelligences

Age group: All (primarily kindergarten/elementary)

The multiple intelligences approach to education is based on American developmental psychologist Howard Gardner’s proposition that there are multiple types of human intelligence that represent different ways of processing information, including logical-mathematical, linguistic, spatial, musical, and interpersonal. In terms of education, this can mean individualizing teaching to suit different students and teaching important materials in multiple ways. A multiple intelligences approach can be applied to a range of curriculums.

Example schools: Daystar Academy; Ivy Academy

Bilingual Approach

Age group: All

Less of a curriculum in itself and more of an approach to teaching and instruction, many international schools in Beijing teach in both English and Chinese. The linguistic split varies between schools; it could be 50:50 or 30:70, and students could be taught by co-teachers in different languages or taught in different languages on different days. It is hoped that a bilingual approach will create well-rounded international individuals that are well-equipped to face a job market that often requires skills in multiple languages.

Example schools: Beijing International Bilingual Academy; Yew Chung International School of Beijing

English National Curriculum

Age group: All

First introduced in 1988, the English National Curriculum sets out the content taught in most key subjects in primary and secondary schools across England and in many schools around the world. The curriculum is highly structured, divided into four “Key Stages” covering ages 5 to 16 (or six including ECE and post-16 A-Level examinations), but is also constantly undergoing development, giving it a high standard of learning. Most students in Beijing who follow this curriculum take IGCSE qualifications at 16 and may then choose A-Levels or the IB Diploma program.

Example schools: British School of Beijing (Sanlitun and Shunyi); Harrow Beijing; Dulwich College Beijing

International Baccalaureate

Age group: All

The International Baccalaureate (IB) has a 52-year history of high-quality international education. Taught at schools around the world and with the IB Diploma recognized by many of the world’s top universities, IB is a natural choice for many expat families. IB schools must be authorized and accredited to offer one or all of the following programs: the Primary Years Programme or PYP (ages 3-12), the Middle Years Programme or MYP (ages 11-16), and the Diploma Programme or IBDP (ages 16-19).

Example schools: International School of Beijing; Huijia Private School; Beijing World Youth Academy

Hybrid Curriculum

Age group: All

This type of curriculum can be described as “the best of both worlds.” Some schools in Beijing apply a combination of the Chinese National Curriculum and internationally-recognized curriculums such as the IB, English National Curriculum, or American Common Core Standards. This flexible approach to learning helps build students with a broad range of international education experience. Core subjects from the Chinese National Curriculum may be taught, but the overall teaching approach may be more Western.

Example schools: Beijing No. 55 High School; Keystone Academy; Western Academy of Beijing

Images: Pexels

This article appeared in the jingkids 2021 January issue