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We have been told The Company will provide tutors for the kids’ education. Does anyone know how this kind of schooling works over there? If it’s anything like in the States, one tutor per subject, per grade level etc…??
You mean home-schooling? I don’t know, our kids attend one of the international schools here. Have you looked into that? There are two or three catering for elder kids up to 18, all take kids from 3 years old, one takes them from almost 2 years old and primary only. I know there are some home-schooling families here, but have no contacts. Perhaps this forum will help.
I am currently homeschooling the younger kids, but the oldest goes to public school. The schools where we live are a disappointing, thus our choice to homeschool. I would like to continue, but the offer of tutors does sound appealing, especially for the oldest. I don’t feel comfortable with sending them off to school in a foreign country. That’s just me. Also, aren’t international schools incredibly expensive? Demanding? Rigid? Would love to know more first hand experience with the international schools, too.
Just not clear on the tutoring. Hoping someone out there will know more.
I do not have first hand exp with int’l schools, but I have met people and spoken to teachers etc. Yes, very expensive, but in terms of curriculum, i think not bad. I will pass this thread to them via email and encourage them to come here and share their information.
Hi Jean, if you will be based in Chengdu you have a huge range of education options for your kids. We have lived here 8 years and are very happy with the education our kids receive. There is a large circle of homeschooling families and some people send their kids to local Chinese schools, but most expats send their kids to international schools which are high quality and offer a range of choices. If you are being sent to Chengdu with a company they will usually pay school fees – I have never heard of people being offered private tutors instead, and am not sure how that would work. However it’s certainly possible, many people hire Chinese langauge tutors and I know one woman who arranged tutors for her high school kids, but she was teaching at Sichuan University so had good contacts there. Also it was only for 6 months.
You can read about the international schools on their websites:
QSI Chengdu – chengdu.qsischool.org
Leman International School – wwww.lis-chengdu.com
CDIS – cdischina.com
There are two others, Etonhouse and Meishi, that you can google and also a Chinese language Waldorf school.
Fees are high but QSI and CDIS I believe offer scholarships in certain situations and the quality of education is very good: small class sizes (8 to 15) with two staff members per class, qualified international teachers, rich extra-curricular programmes, and a really diverse international community. You really need to visit the schools and decide for yourself based on your family’s needs and where you will be living. Of course if you are based elsewhere in Sichuan then none of this applies and tutors or local schools will be your only option. I hope this helps!
Catherine, thank you for the great info, everyone. Really appreciate all the input. From your description of the class structure, international school seems appealing. Hope to hear more from them…
Our contract will probably only be a year minimum. The deciding factors are how the job goes and our ability to adjust with the kids. I’m wondering if maybe a less formal educational setting would be better for the kids given our relatively short stay…(thinking out loud).
I would welcome more info/contact info for the homeschooling group, if there’s an official group or co-op.
Dear Jean, I really do think that a school environment has so much more to offer than just the tutoring: friends for the kids, getting out of the house, structure in a time when everything is up in the air, new contacts for yourself (all schools welcome parent involvement), extracurricular activities like sports clubs etc. All of those would take so much more time and effort to organize on your own, especially since most other kids will be at school during the daytime. Settling in normally takes about half a year, I think if you have to invent the wheel in all aspects of your life it could take you much longer. That is a very very long time for kids to be without solid relationships outside of the family. Don’t forget that at home, you have a lot of those contacts already in place because they grew over the years. Here you will have to start from scratch and build your whole social circle up again, which is not at all that easy for kids if there are no other kids around during the day. The quickest way for everyone in your family to settle in is to connect – from day 1 – to others who share your interests: school is one obvious place for kids, also sports/music/arts clubs, etc. etc. I do think there is a homeschooling group in Chengdu, but I have no idea how much they do it together and whether it is only aimed at very young kids. However, to me it would seem something for when you plan to be here longterm and already have a social circle to rely on. I would do homeschooling only if I would be travelling for a few months only, or from place to place so that there is not time for building friendships. The kids will not have a language problem since all schools teach in English. Also, although international schools are of course not representative of China, how much will your kids benefit of the international experience if you keep them at home? Isn’t one of the purposes of being out here to discover and experience what the ‘rest of the world’ is all about, even if you’re not immersing yourself completely in the Chinese culture? International schools are very good at teaching kids about the world, different cultures, and everyone’s place in it.
I don’t know how old your kids are, but Etonhouse is primary only, the other schools have secondary too, although for older kids (say over 15) I think CDIS and QSI are the best options due to the number of kids attending.
International schools are expensive, but if your company can pay for tutors (you would want quality teachers I guess) then I think they would cover those fees too.
Demanding? My experience until now is that the programs offered here in the international schools are so much better than anything offered in public schools in the Netherlands. There are small group sizes with many staff on the group (our kids have a teacher for every 6 or 7 kids, which is unheard of in the Netherlands), and are thus able to accomodate a lot of different learning abilities and levels within the group. I think all schools have ambitious learning goals, but I would not call the manner in which they try to maximise a child’s potential demanding. But that is personal, perhaps. My kids are very happy at school and are learning a lot, but in a very playful, creative and relaxed atmosphere.
Whether you may think a school is rigid or not I cannot decide,it depends on your own style, but all are very open for you to come and see the school and classes and taste the atmosphere.
This post is becoming too long, but I would urge you to have a look at schools and come and taste the atmosphere. Take the kids with you and let them have a say too.
Kim, thank you so much for the very thoughtful post. I appreciate it very much. I like the idea of taking the kids to tour,think we will do just that. Hopefully, we will get to visit on a scouting trip before we make the move.
Hi Jean, you can contact Kate Griffiths at [email protected] for information about home schooling in Chengdu, she can tell you about her experiences and put you in touch with others. I know there is a pretty large group who do activities together and they are also part of CISA, the Chengdu International Schools Association, so they attend all of the inter-school annual sporting events etc. But I agree with Kim, the best way to decide is to get here and take a look at the schools, the principals are very used to giving tours and you will get a sense of which place seems right for your family. The school is a big part of our family and community life (our kids go to QSI) and I can’t imagine life in Chengdu without it! Best of luck!
Hello!
I just came across your post. Here is a website several of us have just launched with some resources for homeschooling here in Chengdu. There are quite a few homeschoolers here! Several of us moms put together some extra-curricular activities and have been running them throughout the school year and decided we wanted to make a site to put all the resources in one spot. The site literally just went live yesterday, so we are building it and putting more details in as we are able.
Best to you, Laurel
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