absolutely crazy!
Posted on Jan 28, 2010 under ashley, me, rant | 25 CommentsAs Ashley was unwell since Sunday, she didn’t go to school for 3 days. She went today and came home with this pile of books.
I wrote in Facebook today that she came home with 7 books of homework. I was wrong. There are 8 books and each book has a minimum of 2 pages of work.
Writing for Mandarin, English and Bahasa Malaysia
*sigh* This is just crazy. Ashley’s teacher told me that she need not finish them immediately. I can spread them over the weekend. On usual days, Ashley has 3 pages of homework which she would bring home. She has more on weekends. I guess they are preparing kids for Chinese based primary school.
I’ve been told that primary kids have a few books of homework everyday. I am so not in favour of sending Ashley to a Chinese school when she’s 7 but hubs is adamant 
I am worried about the work load. I want Ashley to enjoy her school days and not be bogged down with homework. Hubs said he doesn’t need Ashley to be a top student but just want her to know basic Mandarin. He thinks she should at least study in a Chinese school from Primary 1 (7 years old) to Primary 6 (12 years old). God help us please.
January 28th, 2010 at 10:08 pm
Poor gal…..yeah, I have heard of the horrors of chinese school. But it’s also good for her to learn mandarin……..sigh, sometimes don’t even know which option is better for the child right?
January 28th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
I am getting jitters by looking at this.
January 28th, 2010 at 11:45 pm
Is your hubs Chinese educated ? It is all because of the MC. It is not that hard to study in Chinese school, all you need to do is ensuring Ashley revise, study and do the homework regularly.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:24 am
Wah.so much homework..really crazy. We are planning to send Gwen to Chinese school too but I’m worried how she will cope later. Really stressful.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:33 am
Sometimes I pity my kids too, but it is good to train them from young and they will get used to it real soon! LOL!
January 29th, 2010 at 12:55 am
Dont worry dear, Ashley will have to just get through with it, of cos with support and guidance from u guys
January 29th, 2010 at 3:59 am
I am going to pose a ‘ignorant’ question here. Apologies for this, but I have left Msia over 20 years now. No offence to anyone. But I am curious to find out why parents prefer to send their children to Chinese school even though they cannot read or write Chinese? Are the national schools that bad? Do the children in those schools perform badly?
Charmaine, the kebangsaan school now is not like the ones during our time. Plus I think most parents want their kids to master another language. It’s just not the same when you go to a national school and take extra Mandarin course
Actually many Malay parents are sending their children to Chinese school now. In Ashley’s class, there are 5 Malay children and they will be attending Chinese school when they turn 7
January 29th, 2010 at 7:31 am
hi barb.. both of u still have some time to consider what is better for Ashley.. your hubby has a point,it is definitely an advantage to learn an extra subject, mandarin is important.. but i, like u, rather have my kids to be more relaxed in their studies.. hahaha.. so i ended up sending them all to national schools..
Barb,thank you once again for the lovely surprise! i might blog about it this evening after my church service..
January 29th, 2010 at 10:09 am
Learning chinese and mandrin is an essential thing now..6 years (Pri 1-6) to go learning for it is enough de. Many of my non-chinese ed friend they are so regret now that their parents not send them to chinese sch and now they don’t know how to read and write. Got an job offer, because of don’t know mandrin and they got to let go the career opportunity…
if you plan to send her to Kebangsaan sch then must take enrichment class for chinese to learn read and write that should b ok too…
Ashley’s kindy too academic..hope she won’t write till cry and stress out..spread well on finishing the bring back homework…It is not surprised chinese sch got lots of homework…my time in Primary, one day already 6-8 homework to write..
January 29th, 2010 at 11:01 am
I know that studying in chinese school is quite horrible. i still remembered during my time, i was in Kebangsaan school while my cousins in chinese school. Their homeworks was really crazy..then tuition homework la…their bag also so much bigger than mine..hahha.i was just sitting there seeing them do homework.
True nowadays more parents send the kids to chinese school. Even my hubby also insisted to send my gal to chinese school..i m in dilemma also..SIGH!
January 29th, 2010 at 11:24 am
In my case, my hubby doesn’t like the idea of sending the kids to chinese school but how else will the 2 boys learn mandarin as we’re both chinese illiterate? ahh…just have to grit our teeth and go thru it….
January 29th, 2010 at 11:53 am
I was one of the ‘victim’ of English ed parents sending ME to Chinese School… serious, the first year still OK.. come Std 2 onwards, I am like ’siao cha bor’… writing writing and crying crying..
Now, I think I got to thank my parents for sending me there… at least it gives me better opportunities..
January 29th, 2010 at 11:54 am
i love to send my children to chinese schools. but i think i couldn’t cope with the hectic education style, plus hubs and i are both english educated. so, we decided to enrol them in sekolah kebangsaan and join extra chinese classes after school hours.
January 29th, 2010 at 12:43 pm
Barb, i can read you. That’s why now i’m in dilemma, whether to sent my boys to chinese school or national school. Heard a lot about chinese school on the homework, sometime mummy also help to do the homework. To me, i’m selfish, i don’t want to stress my boys or make myself more stress to coach them on homework, i am thinking to sent my boys to national school. Me myself can read, write and speak chinese, so not a problem for me to teach them chinese. I am thinking, send them to national school and for chinese i sent them for extra classes. I don’t want myself go “gila” first.
January 29th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
Wow….when I saw those books, I felt like crying. So many homeworks for a little child. Am keeping my fingers crossed when YX and XJ time arrived. going to faint.
January 30th, 2010 at 7:19 am
Chinese school is infamous got tonnes of homework one. So be prepared. I remembered seeing my brother only got 1-2 pages of homework and my sister got tonnes of homework because one was in Kebangsaan and another one was in Chinese school.
January 30th, 2010 at 9:41 am
that is a lot of homeworkk!
hope Ashley isnt too stress out lah! try to reward her when she finish a piece of homework or something! =)
January 30th, 2010 at 10:26 pm
Alycia went thru this, Sherilyn is going thru this but they are surviving. Dont worry Barb, you have so many blogger friends here to support you and to give you advise. I am one of them
My hubs is JUST like your hubs, kaik sei ngor… and he now tai chi all the headache to me!!
January 30th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
that’s a lot of homework
hope ashley does not feel stressful about it.
January 31st, 2010 at 1:47 am
siao loh .. kindy only so many homework. i understand ur worries .. both hubs and i r bananas .. hahaha. denisha is in 1st year primary .. workload wise … hmm she doesn’t have that much homework yet .. definitely not everyday. she does her homework herself … at the mo no problems yet. when she has probs then like annie said .. i will go gila too. hahaha. solution tuition loh.
January 31st, 2010 at 6:55 pm
January 31st, 2010 at 11:05 pm
For age 5 already got so many home works, for some kids who do things fast, they might have no problem with it, but for those slowly turtle, sure they need hours to finish their homework. Lets see how Ashley reacts towards her kindy works this year and next year, then only you n your hubby decide what school to send her to. If she can cope with all the home works easily, y not send her to Chinese school.
February 1st, 2010 at 4:38 pm
*Worried* We’ll be sending C to a Chinese school too and both hubs and I are “bananas”. I only plan to send her to a Chinese kindy when she’s 6 (let her enjoy nursery class and K1 1st) Wonder if 1 year is enough time to prep her for P1?
February 3rd, 2010 at 10:35 am
8 books of homework. poor girl. i always have this dilema…dunno to send to chinese school or not. ive always thought that kindergarten should be a non stressful environment.
February 9th, 2010 at 7:22 pm
How ah? I’m also worried about my girls..
Chinese school = torture?