Wednesday, September 13, 2006

CHINESE LIKE BRITISH PRIVATE SCHOOLS

British independent schools are attracting record numbers of Chinese pupils as China's new elite seek the prestige of a traditional English education. More than a thousand Chinese pupils have entered Britain's leading boarding schools this term, double the number five years ago. Many are the offspring of China's new wealthy entrepreneurial classes, who can comfortably afford 20,000 pounds-a-year boarding fees, but there are some from more modest backgrounds. These children cover the fees with pooled donations from their extended families, who regard the expense as a sound investment in the future of the whole clan.

Most of the pupils arrive to do A levels, with the aim of gaining entry to one of Britain's leading universities where they hope to gain professional qualifications, mainly in the sciences, accountancy, business studies and economics. The Independent Schools Council said that there were about 2,500 pupils from mainland China in British independent schools. "The numbers have risen sharply over the past ten years, from a base of zero," the council said. "The Chinese regard British independent schools as the best in the world and the schools, for their part, are actively recruiting in China, just like the universities do. It is a great British export success story."



In Harrogate Ladies' College, which was one of the first schools to recruit from China, half the 120-strong sixth form are Chinese. At Roedean, in Brighton, 80 per cent of the sixth form are Chinese. [Amazing!] David Andrews, the deputy head at Harrogate, said that the North Yorkshire school visited educational fairs in Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai once a year to attract pupils. "The girls come here for two years and tend to study non-English-language subjects, such as maths, further maths, science and business studies. Their work ethic is amazing," Mr Andrews said.

Neil Hawkins, principal of Concord College, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, which has 45 Chinese pupils, said that there was now competition for potential pupils. "In the early days, Chinese parents were interested in their children getting an English education, full stop. Now the market has developed and they are becoming more discerning and are relying on personal recommendations for particular schools," he said.

However, Heathfield St Mary's School, in Ascot, Berkshire, is keeping its Chinese intake down. "It's a small school and if you start to over-fill it with a particular type of pupil, it can be too much," Frances King, the headmistress, said. "In China, there is a notion that the teacher is always right, and this can make the girls reluctant to ask questions for fear of exposing the teacher as ignorant. Our emphasis on encouraging the girls to engage in challenging discussion can sometimes take them by surprise."

For Weishi Kong, 18, from Beijing, an A-level student at Harrogate Ladies' College, studying in England has opened up a whole new world - and a whole new way of thinking. "At school in China, there can be up to 60 students in a class. We don't have the chance, or the time, to ask questions. The tradition there is: let the teacher teach. Here we are encouraged to ask questions. I like it," she said. "I get opportunities here to do things, like amateur radio, that I might not do in China." She was able to speak English before arriving in Britain and is studying biology, chemistry and maths at A level.

Angel Sin, 19, a Hong Kong Chinese pupil at the school, is taking A levels in the sciences and further maths and hopes to go on to study at the University of Manchester or the University of Liverpool. "Back home everyone is always in a hurry. Here you are given more time just to be yourself and try your hardest," she said. Although she was initially homesick she has now settled in to the English way of life. "One thing I really like about England is fish and chips. And ketchup. I love ketchup," she added. [An amusing response from someone brought up on one of the world's great cuisines! I share her liking for fish & chips, however]

Source






California needs a 'lemon' law for teachers

California's education officials say they want to lure the best and brightest teachers to the state's poorest and most troubled schools. Too often, they have paid lip service -- or looked the other way -- when these schools became the home of last resort for teachers no one else wanted. Last month, legislators took a small but important step to meet that commitment to low-achieving schools. In doing so, they ignored the opposition of the state teachers' union, which usually gets its way in Sacramento.

These schools in particular face a lot of pressure to raise test scores. Since they are being held accountable for results, principals deserve more power over hiring. With the passage of SB 1655, now awaiting Gov. Schwarzenegger's signature, principals in those schools will no longer be forced to accept veteran teachers who use seniority rights for open positions. These schools will now be able to compete for teachers in the spring, when the best candidates are on the market.

Until now, job openings sometimes remained unfilled through the summer as veteran teachers weighed their options and exercised contractual rights. Sometimes, principals didn't list jobs until the last minute, for fear that teachers they didn't want would claim them. Under the bill, sponsored by Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, principals in higher achieving schools will also gain more hiring discretion. Until April 15, veteran teachers will have preference for job openings in those schools. But after April 15, they will have to compete equally with other applicants.

Scott's bill could slow down the ``dance of the lemons'' -- the annual migration of a minority of veteran teachers who either were burned out or who didn't get along. They agreed to take voluntary transfers and gravitated to low-performing schools, where principals were desperate and parents less vigilant.

It's hard to know how widespread the problem is. But in a survey by the New Teacher Project, 21 percent of principals reported that a majority of teachers hired through voluntary transfers were unsatisfactory. The New Teacher Project highlighted the problem in ``Unintended Consequences: The Case for Reforming the Staffing Rules in Urban Teachers Union Contracts,'' a national report last fall. California has become the first state to act on one of its key recommendations.

The better alternative to the dance of the lemons is an efficient, fair and impartial evaluation process in which the few worst teachers are more easily fired (without the district spending $100,000-plus in legal fees), and teachers needing improvement are given more opportunities to succeed. SB 1655 could end up encouraging that process. Meanwhile, principals in low-achieving schools will benefit through an even start in competing for new hires.

Source





Australian teachers forced back to school



Teachers will be made to undergo rigorous training on issues from bullying to obesity under a Federal Government plan to dramatically lift classroom standards. To be implemented by the states, the plan entails teachers taking time off from the classroom to undertake professional development courses in technology and teaching techniques. States refusing to adopt the plan would risk losing hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding, while teachers failing to participate would lose their teaching certificates.

Federal Education Minister Julie Bishop said the move was part of a drive to improve standards in the classroom. The courses would cover issues such as dealing with schoolyard bullying, helping gifted and talented students, identifying cases of child abuse and promoting healthy lifestyles to prevent childhood obesity. "What I don't want to see is 20th-century teachers teaching 21st-century students," Ms Bishop told The Sunday Telegraph. "As a result, I am currently considering implementing a compulsory professional development program, which will see teachers undertake a minimum amount of professional development each year in order to retain their teacher registration. "A federally mandated professional development program will also be evidence-based to ensure that all teachers across Australia benefit from a broad and comprehensive professional development program."

About 80,000 students move between jurisdictions each year, and Ms Bishop said the parents of those students needed to be assured that teachers in one state or territory were keeping up with teachers from other jurisdictions. "I want to ensure that teaching is treated just like any other profession and that includes requiring professional development that is of a high standard and uniform across the nation," she said. "If it's OK to make lawyers, doctors, dentists, accountants and architects do compulsory professional development then it's only proper that teachers also do compulsory professional development."

Only two states publicly report substantial spending on professional development. Queensland reports $40 million in the past year and NSW $144 million over four years. But the Federal Government is unsure how and where this money is spent.

Source

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For greatest efficiency, lowest cost and maximum choice, ALL schools should be privately owned and run -- with government-paid vouchers for the poor and minimal regulation.

The NEA and similar unions worldwide believe that children should be thoroughly indoctrinated with Green/Left, feminist/homosexual ideology but the "3 R's" are something that kids should just be allowed to "discover"


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