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Balancingplay and pressurea parents dilemma

Youth

Volume 6 Number 2June 2014a quarterly journal from the hongkong federation of youth groups

H O N G K O N G


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byKeithBloomfield

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OUTH HONG KONGpublished quarterly

y The Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups

DITORIAL BOARD

osanna Wong

aine Morgan (Editor)

da Chau (Assistant Editor)

ngela Ngai

kshmi Jacot

illiam Chung

enry Poon

RCULATION (unaudited)

,000-12,000 in Hong Kong, throughout

e region and overseas

EWS EXPRESSEDare the authors and interviewees'

ay come from official sources, and do not necessarily

flect the views of the editorial board or publisher

EPRODUCTION OF CONTENTSwithout written

ermission from the publisher is prohibited

TERVIEWS & PERSPECTIVE

aine Morgan

da Chau

THER CONTRIBUTORS

kshmi Jacot

ducation Post

manda Xiang

an Chau

rginia Addison

m Ip

indy Li

lary Lok

g Tsz-man

ndy Lam

KFYG unit staff

RANSLATION

da Chau

enry Poon

HOTOGRAPHS

ourtesy of The HKFYG KK Cheng Kindergarten

nd the Playright Childrens Play Association.

ther photographs by Elaine Morgan, Ada Chau,

cknowledged as captioned, or in public domain.

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ROUPSwas founded in 1960 and is one of thetys largest non-profit youth organizations. Its

ogrammes and activities at over 60 locations are

tended by 5 million participants every year.

ORE SERVICESCounselling, Creativity Education

Youth Exchange, Education, Employment,

eadership Training, Leisure, Cultural & Spor ts, M21

ultimedia, Parenting, Research & Publications,

outh at Risk, Volunteering, Youth SPOTs

EDIA PARTNEREducation Post

4-6HIGHLIGHTPressured parentsPressured children

19-25TEACHERS SPEAKTutorial schoolsKindergartenprincipals

EDUCATION POST

26-31YOUTH SPEAK

YOUTH WATCHVirginia Addison

32-50FEATURESFood, culture & sportCity space

HKFYG

ContentsHIGHLIGHT

4 Lakshmi Jacot Pressured parents, pressured children

INTERVIEW

7 Nirmala Rao, HKU Faculty of Education, HKU

PARENTS SPEAK

9 Eight parents talk about balance

13 Lau Yu-lung, HKU Department of Paediatrics and

Adolescent Medicine

PERSPECTIVE

15 Kathy WongPlayright

18 HKFYG Youth Assessment &Development Centre

TEACHERS SPEAK

19 Tutorial schools Choice for parents

20 Two principals Kindergarten admission

EDUCATION POST

24 Educational and clinical psychologists & brain development specialist

Quality time, not force-feeding

YOUTH SPEAK26 Amanda Xiang

27 Ivan Chau Too much pressure

YOUTH WATCH

28 Virginia Addison Early childhood care and education around the world

FOOD, CULTURE & SPORT

32 Sam Ip

35 Mindy Li

36 Hilary Lok

CITY SPACE

37 Ng Tsz-man

39 Cindy Lam Communicating and innovation

40 William Wong Alternative energy

HKFYG

42 China Week 2014

44 Hong Kong 200

45 10,000 Xu Beihong horses

46 Jade Art at PMQ

47 Community Studio Hong Kong Youth Service Award

48 Five-Year Plan, Book Fair

49 On the agenda

YouthHong K ong

June 2014Volume 6Number 2

7-8INTERVIEWNirmala RaoFaculty of EducationHKU

9-18PARENTS SPEAKLau Yu-lung, HKU

PERSPECTIVEKathy Wong

Playright

HKFYGYADC

y AndrewForster

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gaard

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Every parent wants to give their child the best possible advantages in

life, beginning with education at the earliest age. However, instead of

this life journey starting with fun and play, and an ease of learning, it

is now accompanied by packed schedules and numerous classes in all manner of

disciplines. All this, parents argue, so the children might have the competitive

edge and the portfolios to get into the primary schools of their choice.

This is a dilemma that I believe faces parents around the world:

how to provide every possible learning advantage for their children,

encouraging them to learn, but also allowing them time to play.

We discuss this topic and hear from parents, youth, and specialists in education, medicine

and psychology. Each share their experience and wisdom. While most conclude that the

current situation is unsatisfactory, the pressure on parents to conform remains strong.

If you are a parent, an educator, or had a pressured childhood yourself, do

let us know about your experience. We need a broader understanding of how

we raise tomorrows adults and look forward to hearing from you.

Dr Rosanna Wong, DBE, JP

Executive Director, HKFYG

June 2014

Youth Hong Kong

Editorial

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Pressured parents,pressured children

When should children go to school? How much should they learn?

What types of extracurricular activities should they do? For how long

do they need to play? Why is everyone so stressed? The author

addresses all these questions and argues that the pressures parents feel are

passed on to their children.

By Lakshmi Jacot

An article in the New Scientist1raised the questionof what age is best for a child to begin formaleducation. The article, published at a time of vigorousdebate among education experts and politicians,explores anthropological, psychological, neuro-scientific and educational studies that argue the latera childs entry into formal education, the better. Itreports on a group of childhood experts who arecalling for it to be deferred until the age of seven.

The debate in England, where at present children goto primary school at four years old, intensified thisyear. In March, the UK Department for Educationadvocated earlier formal teaching of literacy andnumeracy and earlier formal assessment of children. Itthen announced a new assessment test for four year-olds, to be introduced in 2016.2Next, the annualreport from OFSTED, the UK Office for Standards inEducation, Children's Services and Skills, was issued.It called for schools to take two year-olds,3saying thata change of emphasis from a play-based approach toteaching of language and counting skills was needed atnursery school, especially for disadvantaged children.

Youth Hong Kong

Highlight| June 2014

4 byab

[email protected]

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The anxious parent, burdened by such contradictoryopinions and societal pressures, is confused, naturally.No one disputes the importance of early learning.Scientific research has long validated the receptivityand responsiveness of the brain from the moment ofbirth. Children are born ready to learn, and early lifeexperiences coupled with environment are acceptedas strong developmental influences. In the 1960s,

American parents were already being told that, If youdid not start teaching children when they were younga golden opportunity forlearning would be lost.4

For both parents andeducators, the problemlies in deciding whattype of learning the childshould be exposed to, andat what age. Should pre-school learning be concerned

with an emphasis on academic achievement? Shouldearly learning be about exposure and experiences ina more loosely constructed environment withoutbeing oriented towards results of assessment tests?

In Hong Kong, as early as 1984, Early ChildhoodEducation Curriculum Development Documentsstressed play, active participation and first-handexperience as the basis of early learning. One 1996document went so far as to state, Factual knowledgeobtained through stereotype textbook teaching or rote-learning is only superficial. These teaching methods

will only curb the creativity and cognitive thinkingof children, and do not guarantee that children canremember and make use of the knowledge acquired.5

In fact, this official guidance does not matchtodays reality. Hong Kong kindergartens, andkindergarten-cum-childcare centres, are registered

with the Education Bureau but are privately run.As a result, the type of learning offered and how itis offered, falls under the general guidelines of theGuide to the Pre-primary Curriculum. According tothe Education Bureau, the curriculum should beformulated simply, according to the basic principlesof childrens development and childrens learning. 6

This autonomy allows many institutions to be morerigorous in their offerings than was recommended back

in 1984. They emphasise measurable accomplishmentand achievements through class and home work,as well as tests. And for many parents here, aselsewhere in the world, this is the preferred option.

Such parents argue that because entry into bothkindergartens and primary schools is so highlycompetitive, their children need to have a portfolio ofimpressive testimonials and certificates. They feel theneed to be able to prove that the child is bi-literate

in English and Chinese,trilingual in English,Cantonese and Mandarin,and has rudimentaryknowledge of additionand subtraction, not tomention the ability to playa musical instrument, some

artistic potential, competence in at least one sport,and possibly some experience of voluntary work.

All before the age of five years and eight months!7

Meanwhile, nursery schools, pre-kindergarten andother pre-school institutions, when asked to justifytheir heavy academic and learning styles, claim thatthey are simply responding to parental demands. Inthe Hong Kong context this is what Dora Ho Choi-

wa of the Hong Kong Institute of Education has calledthe intensification of pre-school learning which hasresulted in kindergarten graduates already havinglearned what has to be learned in Primary One.8

Are parental expectations at the root of this increasinglyintense early learning because of pressure to getchildren into reputable kindergartens and primaryschools? Or do the early learning institutions play perhaps unwittingly upon parental insecurities,thereby fostering the pressurized and often profitableacquisition of knowledge? The likelihood is thateach work upon, and intensify, the other.

There are parents, albeit a minority, who refuse tosuccumb to such pressures and are reluctant to put theirchildren under so much stress. They seek alternativeearly learning opportunities in an environment thatemphasizes play and interactive engagement, withless reliance on books and formal classroom teaching.They are looking for ways to stimulate and motivate

Youth Hong Kong

HighlightJune 2014 |

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The anxious parent, unsurewhat to do with their children,

is confused by contradictory

opinions from professionalsand societal pressures


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their children through learning that is not just aboutexamination results but about strengthening socialskills, enhancing emotional wellbeing and encouraginghealth and fitness as indispensable elements of all-round development and cognitive growth.

In Hong Kong, this type of multi-faceted learningexists but there is no clear or unified approach on howto practise teaching through play alone. One studyhas found that teachers themselves, due in part toparental expectations, tend to lean more towards theinstrumental value rather than [the] intrinsic valueof play.9 They see play serving multiple functions,including recreation, learning, development andeven class management, especially in kindergartens.Research quoted in the same source also shows thatplay in Hong Kong kindergartens is perceived asperipheral to learning, a form of reward for academiclearning, but in most cases play that is directlyrelated to childrens learning outcomes is preferred.

Sources and further reading

1. Whitebread, David and Bingham, Sue. Too much, too young: Shouldschooling start at age 7? New Scientist Magazine Issue 2943, 18 November2013. At http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22029435.000-too-much-too-young-should-schooling-start-at-age-7.html?full=true&print=true

2. The Guardian, Schools will be allowed to test four-year-olds from 2016,government confirms http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/mar/27/four-year-olds-compulsory-tests-2016-government-confirms

3. OFSTED, First Early Years report highlights importance of teaching and learningin pre-school settings at http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/news/first-early-years-report-highlights-importance-of-teaching-and-learning-pre-school-settings-0

4. Elkind, D. The Hurried Child. Cambridge, Mass: Da Capo, 2007.

5. Fung, Chanel Kit-Ho and John Chi-Kin Lee, A Critical Review of Early ChildhoodEducation (ECE Curriculum Documents in Hong Kong inJournal of Basic Education,Vol. 17 No. 1, 2008. The Chinese University of Hong Kong 2008, pgs 40-41. http://hkier.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/journal/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/jbe_v17n1_33-57.pdf

6. Overview of Kindergarten Education in Hong Kong, EducationBureau, HKSAR Government. http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/preprimary-kindergarten/overview/index.html

7. According to the Education Bureau, a child who reaches 5 years and 8 monthsis eligible for entry to Primary One. For the September 2014 intake, this wouldmean a child born on or before the 31stDecember 2008. See http://www.edb.gov.hk/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/index.html and http://www.edb.gov.hk/attachment/en/edu-system/primary-secondary/spa-systems/primary-1-admission/poa2014_leaflet_en.pdf

8. Tam, Luisa. An innovative way forward in childhood education is gathering pace,South China Morning Post, 11 November 2013. http://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-education/article/1350858/innovative-way-forward-early-childhood-education

9. Yang, Yanjuan and Ye Yang, Teachers Interpretat ions of Play in ChineseEarly Childhood Classrooms. European Conference on Education, 2013,organized by The International Academic Forum. http://www.iafor.org/offprints/ece2013-offprints/ECE2013_Offprint_0191.pdf

This discrepancy between the rhetoric and reality ofplay helps assuage parental anxiety to a certain degree.On the one hand, they can convince themselves thattheir children are not being put through rigorousclassroom learning too early in life. On the otherhand, they can comfort themselves that pedagogyis still taking place and their childrens journeyto primary school is not hindered in any way.

What all parents want is an educational journeyfor their child that is not wholly dissimilar to thatof their peers. This is pressure to conform and itis transmitted to their children, in the name ofcompetitiveness, aspiration and excellence.

Youth Hong Kong

Highlight| June 2014

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Are parental expectations atthe root of todays increasingly

intense early learning ?


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Many Hong Kong parents who can afford the fees enroll children as young as 18

months in playgroups and classes. Is this because they expect them to face a lot of

competition, or is it just to help them develop?Professor Nirmala Rao of the

Faculty of Education, University of Hong Kong, told us what she thought of the trend.

Why do you think so many Hong Kong parents

want to send their children to classes when theyare young?

Just as many parents see kindergarten/pre-school as apreparation for primary school, they see pre-k classesas a preparation for kindergarten. They feel it willhelp them to get into the kindergarten of their choice.

Do you think this is good for children of averageability?

It really depends on the child and the focus of theclasses. If the child does not have siblings or playmatesin the neighbourhood, attending playgroups providesthem with an opportunity to socialize with theirpeers. If the classes focus on playing and doingthings that children enjoy, I do not think there is anyharm in children participating in such activities.

What is good for children to learn before the

age of three?Early childhood educators want to promotechildrens holistic development. Hence, it is goodto provide opportunities for the promotion oftheir physical, social, emotional, cognitive andlanguage development. For example, opportunitiesfor physical play and outdoor activity help,because even young children in Hong Kongtend to have sedentary home-based leisureactivities such as TV and computer games.

Children also need to be exposed to other children.It is also important that parents are sensitive tothe childs needs and interests. If a young childreally enjoys swimming or playing the piano thenit is good to offer them opportunities to do so.

Play and learning

two sides of the same coin

Youth Hong Kong

InterviewJune 2014 |

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Is there an ideal balance between earlystructured learning and learning-through-play?

Actually I do not think there is a dichotomy betweenplay and learning. For young children, play andlearning are two sides of the same coin. Childrenneed both free play and playful learning with adultguidance to prepare them for formal primary school.

Can pressure to learn in pre-kindergarten yearshave negative effects on children when they are

older?It has been argued that putting too much pressureon children when they are too young leads to stressand has negative effects on their motivation.

What advice would you give to parents whowant to build their childs portfolio at a veryearly age?

I really would not recommend building aportfolio for a young child. Parents should provideopportunities for holistic, all-round developmentand be attuned to childrens interests, within limits.

Do you think there has been any significantchange in attitudes to early learning recently inHong Kong?

Yes, there in an awareness of the importance of theearly years and a concern about getting the child intothe pre-school of choice, hence parents want childrento be well-prepared to get into that pre-school.

Can anything be done to ease the pressure forearly learning that now affects both parentsand children?

Public education can help, such as that offeredat a seminar for parents during the InternationalForum on Kindergarten Education at theUniversity of Hong Kong last autumn.

Professor Nirmala Raois anexpert researcher in the fields of

Early Childhood Development andEducation; Child Development and

Educational Policy; Developmental

and Educational Psychology; Culture

and Pedagogy and a member of

the Faculty of Education, University

of Hong Kong. She is also a member of the Committee

on Free Kindergarten Education, set up in 2013.

In the 2014 Policy Address, Hong Kongs Chief Executive

said that, Providing 15-year free education and

better quality kindergarten education is our aim. We

have set up a dedicated committee to study how to

practicably implement free kindergarten education.The committee is consulting stakeholders. It is

expected to make recommendations in 2015-2016.

Publications include:

Rao, N., Zhou, J., & Sun, J. (eds.) Early childhood

education in Chinese societies. Dordrecht,

Netherlands: Springer (in preparation).

Rao, N. et al. Teaching in primary schools in China and India:

Contexts of learning. Abingdon, UK: Routledge, 2013.

Rao, N. et al. Early childhood development and cognitivedevelopment in developing countries: A rigorous

literature review. DFID, UK Government, 2013.

Rao, N. et al. Final Report. Development of the East Asia-

Pacific Early Child Development Scales (EAP-ECDS).

Singapore: Asia Pacific Network for Early Childhood, 2012.

Rao, N., & Sun, J. Early childhood care and education

in the Asia-Pacific region: Moving towards Goal

1. Hong Kong: Comparative Education Research

Centre, University of Hong Kong/UNESCO, 2010.

Chan, C.K.K., & Rao, N. (eds.). Revisiting the

Chinese learner: Changing contexts, changing

education. University of Hong Kong: ComparativeEducation Research Centre/Springer, 2009.

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Parents are very aware of the pressures related to early learning. On the one hand,

they believe that to ensure competitiveness, their children should attend as many

diverse classes as possible. On the other hand, they worry about the fatigue, andthe mental and emotional stress that accompany too much organized activity. Eight of

them recount their experience and explain how they try to balance lives.

A delicatebalance

Youth Hong Kong

Parents speakJune 2014 |

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Jane, a single mother with a professional career, has twochildren in junior secondary school. She is particularlyaware of the dilemma that parents face. Of courseevery parent wants their child to succeed and to learn.The issue is not about learning per se, it is about

wanting your child to learn far more than is necessaryfor a specific age group. But if every other parent ispushing their child tosucceed, who is braveenough to stand upagainst the flow?

In some instances parents insist that they do. Frank,an engineer, and his university professor wife havea six-year-old boy. He is waitlisted for a place ata Montessori school. Frank believes that free playis critical for childrens creative development. Heargues that his son should be as free to play and readas much as he likes. Outside the home, we preferplaygrounds and public playrooms to organized play.Kids are able to develop better when few expectationsare placed on them. They learn by interacting

with others, find playmates and improvise.

I certainly do not want to put too much pressureon my son either, says Ah Keng, an NGO

worker with a retail manager husband. I willteach him about basic discipline, the alphabet,numbers and understanding simple instructions.I will also practise good manners with him.

Being acutely aware of the numerous classes on offerto parents who want their children to have a moreformal learning environment, Ah Keng knows it

will be difficult to resist. She tells herself to standfirm and hopes not to end up sending my sonto too many classes. But she is fully aware thatthe reality might change as her child gets older.

Carol, who works in the financial sector with herhusband, had a baby girl earlier this year. Already shefeels the pressure to conform. Its easy to point thefinger at so-called monster parenting, but it can behard to resist the pressure. Hong Kong is a competitivesociety and the rivalry for places in desirable schoolshas progressively worked its way down: from secondaryschools, to primary schools, to kindergartens, topre-nursery classes and even to playgroups.

While not yet faced with actually putting her daughterinto a structured learning environment, Carol finds thatother members of her family have conformed to thenorm. My relatives have children aged three to seven,and all of them attend language classes at weekends,not to mention swimming, ballet and drawing lessonson weekdays after school. The parents tell me that they

actually dont want to put theirchildren through all of these,but because of Hong Kongssystem, they think theyll be ata disadvantage if they dont.

Lisa, who works in logistics, and her husband, an ITsoftware technician, have two boys. One is aged 14months and the other is four years old. Lisa agrees that

wanting to get into good schools prompts parents tosend children to extra classes. Even though her four-year-old is enrolled in English, Putonghua, taekwondoand drawing classes, she argues that this is more togive him exposure rather than to pressure him tolearn. I dont believe I am pushing him too hard.If I did, he would tell me. I think he should try outa few of these classes to see what he likes. There areso many of them, all very close to where we live.

However, Where language is concerned, Lisacontinues, its different. A lot of research says thatthe key to learning languages is to learn them at ayoung age. I dont expect my son to speak Englishand Putonghua very well yet, but I do hope he willfind it easier to learn foreign languages in futureas a result of the classes he is taking now.

Most parents agree that acquiring language skillsjustifies sending their children to classes at an earlyage. Fang-wei, for example, who has a son in the thirdyear of kindergarten. She and her husband work longshifts and really want a better future for their son.I have heard from other parents that the childrensEnglish level is so low that they will have trouble inprimary school. This scares me and so I have started toprepare him early. My boy has extra tutorial classes forEnglish spelling and English reading twice a week.

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Parents speak| June 2014

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Who is this really for? Is it forthe child or for the parent?


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Its the education system that creates this awfulpressure, Fang-wei continues. Originally I wantedhim to start extra tuition at primary school. But afterlearning that the academic burden would be so heavy,

we started in K3 instead. Some of my friends startedprivate lessons in K1, but I am not convinced. Its tooearly. Even if the children learn something, they willforget. If you push them too hard, they lose interest.

By contrast, Dora, a full-time mother, believes firmlythat pushing children is not a bad idea at all. Sheenrolled her four-year-old son in an English phonicsclass with a native speaker. I make him go for hisown sake, even though he is reluctant. Dora arguesthat he is more capable than he seems. In her eyes, herson is lazy and pretends not to know the answers sothat he gets more help. He also does taekwondo andviolin classes. He has shown no obvious signs of unduestress so Dora does not think she is pressuring him.

Dora and her husband are both fluent Englishspeakers. They want the same for their son becausethey believe it will help him succeed in life. However,one of his tutors is concerned. The teacher tellsme that he seems to have little self-confidence andlow motivation in class. She thinks he is afraidof making mistakes in front of the others.

Jane, although she says she understands the dilemmafaced by parents, is concerned that extra classes mightnot always be for the childs own sake. My difficultyis when all this learning is not for fun or enjoyment,but rather to prove something: that a very young childhas achieved a certain level of competence validated byan exam or certificate. This results in added pressureon the child, a nagging parent, and stress all around.Music, art, sports and languages cease to be fun. ThenI wonder, who is this really for? Is it for the child or forthe parent? Learning is happening all the time, at home,in playgrounds, whether children are on their own, or

with others. It doesnt have to be in organized classes.

Youth Hong Kong


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I make him go for his ownsake, even though he is

reluctant.

Even socially consciousparents may find themselvestrying to push their child to

the head of the queue.


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Paul, who is doing a part-time postgraduate degree andlooks after his two-year-old daughter while his wiferuns her own company from their home, agrees. Thecurrent system places too much emphasis on assessmentrather than guiding individual development andadvancement, he says. We all have to take on a certainamount of pressure in life. What is most importantis teaching young ones how to deal with pressurepositively, enabling them to learn basic social skills, howto share and not become too self-absorbed or selfish.

Hong Kongs educational system doesnt provide a levelplaying ground for all children. However, even sociallyconscious parents, who believe in an equal chance foreveryone, may suddenly find themselves trying to pushtheir child to the head of the queue, in order to get into a

well-known kindergarten or a prestigious primary school.The system places too much emphasis on assessmentrather than individual development and advancement.

None of these parents argues against early learning fortheir children. Frank, while seeing the fundamentalimportance of play, has no doubts about the importance

of education. However, although he thinks it can bea route to success, how that success is measured isdebatable. Success should not be just about beating yourpeers or learning as much as you can as early as possible.Success should be about getting to know what your realinterests are and where your talent may lie. Pressuringchildren to learn through classes, tutorials and repetitivehomework will do nothing to make them successfulin the future. I also object to putting kids throughclasses and competitions so that they have certificates,awards and qualifications to put in a portfolio, butto find a good primary school I now have to do it.

Fang-wei says. Even though my boy is still in K3, Iknow the burden of helping him will follow me, not onlyat primary school, but at secondary school too. Whenthe day comes, I will give him the choice of whether togo to university. Even if he wants to teach swimming, it

would be OK. At least he could feed himself. But in theend, what I want most for my son is a lifelong passionfor learning and exploration. Above all, I dont want himto end up like me with a poor education and a bad job.

All parents want a secure future for their children. InHong Kongs extremely competitive environment,today this often begins with pressure on earlylearning. The issue is how to find the delicatebalance between offering children a variety oflearning and educational opportunities perhapsones that they never had themselves while stillensuring that they grow up happy and healthy.

Note

Names of parents have been changed to preserve anonymity

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Prof Lau, giving advice to other parents rather thanspeaking as a scientist, says that the first thing toremember is that all children are unique individuals

who need a personalized approach. Therefore, he saysthere are no easy answers and no scientific benchmarksto guide parents when it comes to appropriatelevels of pressure. Young children need time tolearn by exploring, and space for imagination andcreativity to develop. Childhood should be a happytime, in my view, not a time filled with scheduledactivities and homework from dawn till dusk.

Excessive pressure is not good but that does notmean that stress is necessarily a bad thing, if appliedappropriately. There need to be balance and boundaries.There are positive and negative forms and levels ofstress. Every child responds differently, and each hasdifferent levels of potential. They cannot be pushedor pressured into achieving more than their potential.The main thing is to avoid creating an environmentlike a pressure cooker. But if your child is evidentlyenjoying their classes and activities, why not carry on.

Parents need to be sensitive, he continues, especiallyin a society like Hong Kong where there is sucha high level of pressure. All of society is stressedand people communicate stress to one another.The pressure they feel is often due to chasing aftermaterialistic goals and some parents are so drivento achieve as high income-earners that they becomeobsessive about their childrens success as a resultof peer pressure or [perceived] loss of face.

However, as Prof Lau says, while acknowledging hisown privileged circumstances, success should not bemeasured in dollars and the most important thingsin life cannot be counted. They are health, physicaland emotional well-being, friends and family. Parents

who offer children the gift of time, and not just tenor fifteen minutes, will learn how to understandthem. Children aged five cannot verbalize thoughts

well and so clear communication with parents maynot always be easy, he noted. They do not understandthe outside world, or life and death, and may only

just be starting to understand the needs of others.

Let them fly

byRobert

Couse-Baker

https://www.flickr.com/photos/29233640@N07/13104545564

Professor Yu-lung Lau, a paediatrician at the University of Hong Kong and a father of

three children, all now in their 20s, talks of his perceptions of pressured childhood.

He emphasizes that parents will learn what is best for their child only by spending

enough time with them.


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Professor Yu-lung

Lau is Chair Professor of

Paediatrics and the Doris

Zimmern Professor in

Community Child Health

at the Department of

Paediatrics and Adolescent

Medicine at The University

of Hong Kong.

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If children are central in the family, parents cultivatethem, understanding them like fragile flowers, by caringand responding to their needs with genuine concernso that they can blossom, instead of becoming anxiousabout winning the next contest or excelling in exams.

What is needed for that is time, time and more time.

At the other extreme, where there is misunderstandingand too much pressure, it can result in physiologicaland psychological symptoms such as nightmares,bed-wetting, eating problems, temper tantrumsand school phobia. These are the danger signals,says Prof Lau. When they get a bit older thereis the danger that they may become depressedand in the most severe cases, suicidal.

Knowing the optimal level of pressure to exert in orderto help children make the best of themselves is a skillthat must be learned. Being a good parent is not easy.There is no end to lessons if you want to understandyour children. To enjoy them, and respect them as peoplevery different from yourself, you have to take a step backfirst. Then you will see them in a more holistic light.

Professor Lau concluded with an anecdote from his ownexperience as a father. Perhaps they would disagree

with me, but when my children were young, I used tothink of them as kites, flying in the sky, with myself asthe holder of the reel. The long thin thread on the reel

was attached to them, barely perceptible most of thetime, but always there so that I could give a tug on itfrom time to time. Otherwise, as long as the wind isblowing from the right direction, I let them fly.

byLeonidMamchenkov

https://www.flic

kr.com/photos/northcharleston/8812290116


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Unhurried play a basic right

In a city where time for spontaneous play has dwindled greatly and there is extreme

pressure on space, Kathy Wong believes it is vital to help parents understand how

important free play is for children. She works through the NGO Playrightto raise awareness,

and with relevant government agencies to improve the situation.

Youth Hong Kong

PerspectiveJune 2014 |

15

Free, spontaneous, unorganized play is essential tothe health and well-being of children. It promotes,among other things, the development of creativity,imagination, and self-confidence, all of whichcontribute to learning. Play also has a significant rolein the development of the brain, particularly in theearly years, and those who are chronically deprived of it

will not only have smaller than average brains, but alsosuffer from social dysfunction, Ms Wong reminds us.

How can play be defined? we ask. The officialdefinition* says that childrens play is any behaviour,activity or process initiated, controlled and structuredby children themselves. It takes place whenever and

wherever opportunities arise and its key characteristics arefun, uncertainty, challenge, flexibility, non-productivityand a certain element of risk. Most importantly, Ms

Wong says, the agenda is set by children, not by adults.


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Youth Hong Kong

Perspective| June 2014

16

The importance of play for all children, of all ages, isproclaimed in the 1959 Declaration of the Rights ofthe Child and the 1989 Convention on the Rightsof the Child. (See Further readingopposite page.)However, Ms Wong is concerned that childrens rightsin this respect have been given poor recognition. Thishas resulted, in cities such as Hong Kong, in a lack ofappropriate investment.

Where investment hasbeen made, it is in theprovision of structuredand organized activities,not in terms of providinghomes and public facilitiesof adequate size and type for play. Therefore, part ofthe work of Playrightconsists of advocacy with manygovernment departments and agencies, including theEducation Bureau and the Social Welfare Department.

I am not blaming parents for depriving children ofplay, Ms Wong says. They cant help wanting theirchildren to achieve, and that goes for parents at everysocio-economic level. Indeed, it is harder for those onlow incomes to insist on free play for children becausethey see a greater need for stressing the importance ofspending time learning in a structured environment.The more they care about the childs future, themore they take away the opportunities for play.

Society has become increasingly risk-averse andoverprotective. There is not only pressured childhood,but pressured parenthood. Parents think taking risksis bad for the children, that it is their responsibility toprotect children from risk, even though risk is part ofgrowing up. There is fear of neighbours, of sunshine, of

water, of falling over and grazing a knee, says Ms Wong,and the media amplify thesefears so that they becomea psychological reality.

In fact, the more serious risksare those to health, causedby pressure to achieve and

consequent lack of free time. She points out that the ageof attempted suicide is getting younger and younger.For example, there was a recent Hong Kong case ofsuicidal behavior in a child of kindergarten age, severelystressed by interviews for admission for kindergartens.

The more parents careabout the childs future, the

more they take away theopportunities for play.

All photographs in this ar ticle are courtesy of the Playright Children's Play Association


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Playright, an NGO established in Hong Kong in

1987, promotes awareness of the importance of

play through a fourfold approach - Advocacy, Play

Resources, Play Outreach and Play Environments.

Ms Kathy Wong, Executive Director of Playright

since 1996, is a registered social worker and a board

member of the International Play Association.

Further reading on early childhood learning, stress and play

Bray, M and Kwo, O. Regulating Private Tutoring for Public Good. CERC Monograph Series, no 10. HongKong: Comparative Education Research Centre, Faculty of Education, The University of Hong Kong,in collaboration with UNESCO Asia and Pacific regional Bureau for Education, 2014.

Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/key_concepts/toxic_stress_response/

Chan, LKS & Chan, L. Early childhood education in Hong Kong and its challenges. Early Child Development and Care, 173(1), 7-17, 2003.McEwen, BS. Effects of Stress on the Developing Brain. The Dana Foundation. https://dana.org/news/features/detail_rop.aspx?id=33204

Morgan, H. Early childhood education: history, theory and practice. 2nded. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2011.

Opper, S. Hong Kongs young children: Their preschools and families. Hong Kong University Press, 1992.

Opper, S. Hong Kongs young children: Their early development and learning. Hong Kong University Press, 1996.

Play deprivation. Play Education, 2003. http://issuu.com/playwales/docs/play_deprivation?e=5305098/5309703

Shonkoff, JP & Phillips, DA (eds). From Neurons to Neighborhoods: The Science of early childhood development. Committeeon Integrating the Science of Early Childhood. Development. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2000.

United Nations. Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989, Article 31

Early childhood from one to five years old is a critical period. Children of this age are constantly developing, physicallyand emotionally. Stress can be beneficial, helping them to develop skills in order to adapt to new situations and

deal with danger, but prolonged stress becomes harmful and can lead to serious health problems. When the body

undergoes stress, the hormone cortisol is released. It gives a quick burst of energy, heightened memory, lower

sensitivity to pain and heightened memory. However, when cortisol is present in the body at high levels for extended

periods of time, the bodys immune response may be suppressed, leaving it vulnerable to damage and illness.

Causes of stress include being over scheduled and feeling pressured to perform; parents' own stress levels

Symptoms includeheightened fear and anxiety, loss of interest, depression, anxiety, low self-confidenceEffects may include reduced cognitive functioning, poor retrieval from memory, lower

attention-span, emotional problems, lack of energy and motivation to learn

Sources

Center on the Developing Child. Harvard University. http://developingchild.harvard.edu/index.php/key_concepts/toxic_stress_response/

McEwen, BS. Effects of Stress on the Developing Brain. The Dana Foundation. https://dana.org/news/features/detail_rop.aspx?id=33204.

Early childhood stress

Youth Hong Kong

PerspectiveJune 2014 |

17

The upside of media coverage of extreme cases like thisis growing awareness of the need to slow down, the neednot to hurry childhood or the process of growing up, theneed to make time for playing. If you ask me how muchtime is enough for play, I could say an hour a day, sevenhours a week, Ms Wong says, laughing, but the mainthing is to remember that you can afford to lose a yearof study. You can always catch up. But if you lose a yearof playful, happy childhood, you will never get it back.

* http://article31.ipaworld.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/IPA-Summary-of-UN-GC-article-31_FINAL1.pdf


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Youth Hong Kong

Perspective| June 2014

18

The HKFYG Youth Assessment and DevelopmentCentre (YADC) holds talks, seminars and workshops forparents and parent-child groups, with child psychiatristsand psychologists, as well as celebrity parents whorecount their personal experience of parenting andtrying to bring up balanced young children.

Ability assessment tests using word and number cards,building blocks, toy, cars etc, are given for two to six-year-olds, on request. Those in need of help usually

join training groups run by YADC. Its staff advise onchildren with developmental problems and those wholack concentration, have poor social skills, reducedfine motor control, poor sensory integration, orfind difficulty controlling their emotions. Trainingis offered by occupational therapists and speechtherapists, social workers and childcare workers.

Developmental and interest classes are run as well,including phonics, creative writing and oral practice

with a native English-speaking teacher. Visual arts,music, liberal studies and physical exercise are offeredtoo. Classes are designed to strengthen social andproblem-solving skills plus fine motor coordination inthree to six year-olds. Younger children are welcome atthe baby playgroups, conducted in Chinese or English.

The Federations Youth Assessment and

Development Centre team provides services for

parents and children up to 18 years old. The aim of

its Smart Parentsseries earlier this year was to show how

to avoid putting age-inappropriate academic pressure on

children. More workshops coming soon.

Assessment, training and

interest classesguidance for balance atHKFYG centre

Parent-child training groups July 2014At a four-part workshop series for parents, to be launched

this summer, a childcare worker will show how toys

and books enrich childrens cognitive development.

Advice on handling emotional control problems and

stubbornness about following rules will also be available.Monday 14, Tuesday 15 & Thursday 17 July

Monday 21, Tuesday 22 & Thursday 24 July

Group ANursery-K1 1.45-2.45pm

Group BK2-K3 2.45-3.45pm

Fee HK$1,680/ 6 sessions

Enroll Online at yadc.hkfyg.org.hk Tel2130 4050

Youth Assessment & Development Centrehttp://yadc.hkfyg.org.hk

Tel2130 4050

Fax 2130 4060

[email protected]

18

Opening hours

10am-6pm from Monday-Thursday

10am-8pmon Friday

10am-6pmon Saturday

Closed Sunday


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Youth Hong Kong

Teachers speakJune 2014 |

19

Last year, a Hong Kong survey1found almost 72%of Secondary 6 students had private tutoring. Thisrate is comparable with South Korea and Taiwanbut is much higher than elsewhere in the world.Students include those who are struggling andthose who are already doing well but whose parents

want to ensure they go on to a preferred school.

Large companies, make up more than half the localtutorial market, but there are many smaller ones. TheI-Square Education Centre2is an example. AssistantBusiness Development Manager, Claudia Chong,explains its philosophy and goals: When I foundedI-Square it was because I longed to give Hong Kongchildren a head start by providing them with anexperience that proved to them and their parentsthat learning English can and should be a fulfillingand painless experience. I am extremely proud ofthe difference we have been able to make with ourstudents. We have gained the trust of parents inour teaching philosophy and our teaching crew.

Much of the education that takes place in Hong Kongstutorial schools is geared towards examinations. HongKong has also become famous for its star tutors, whoare popular with students because they teach usefultricks for memorization. Professor Mark Bray of TheUniversity of Hong Kong says tutoring has spread andintensified in Asia and become more commercialised [The star tutors] have found a way to appeal toyoung people They create a buzz Students who

would not otherwise have had tutoring may now doso in order not to be at a competitive disadvantage. 3

Managers of many Hong Kong tutorial schoolssay they have to be results-oriented. When thesystem doesn't deliver what parents expect, theyare willing to pay for tutors. This is why there willalways be money to be made in tutoring in HongKong, said the founder of one tutorial school.4The implication is clear: choice is being offered.

However, there are intrinsic benefits in an emphasison exams, as the Learning Curve Index, publishedin May this year, indicates. It analyzes informationabout learning outcomes around the world. Finlandhas slipped from first place. The top four areSouth Korea, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong.For them, high-stakes testing has proved to beeffective because it mobilizes kids, parents andschools, said one of the reports contributors.5

Topping up a childs education with classes at tutorial

schools is popular today. Recent research concludes

that while too much pressure is a bad thing, it is good

to foster a culture of learning early in life.

Top 10 Countries in The Learning Curve index 2104

1 South Korea 6 United Kingdom

2 Japan 7 Canada

3 Singapore 8 Netherlands

4 Hong Kong 9 Ireland5 Finland 10 Poland

Source Economist Intelligence Unit, 2014.

http://thelearningcurve.pearson.com/index/index-ranking.

Includes data from the 2013 PISA (Program for I nternational Student

Assessment), PIRLS ( Progress in International Reading Literacy Study),

TIMSS (Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study)

Sources

1. Bray, M. Benefits and tensions of shadow education.Journal of International andComparative Education. 2, (1) 2013. 18-30. http://crice.um.edu.my/downloads/bray.pdf

2. I-Square Education Centre Unit 503, 5/Fl., Cameron Commercial Centre,458-468 Hennessy Road, Hong Kong. www.i-square.edu.hk

3. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-20085558

4. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Asia-South-Central/2010/0302/In-Hong-Kong-star-tutors-earn-1.5-million-salaries

I-Square Education

Centre

p I-Square Education Centre

Choice for parents

top marks for Asia


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Parents, anxious for success on the academic ladder, feel pressured to ensure

their children get into the best possible schools. Professionals in the

kindergarten sector tell us that this is partly because parents have too little

information, but they say special circumstances apply in Hong Kong.

Kindergarten admission

matching goals withexpectations

In general, parents cannot, or do not, obtain enough information.As a result, they try to play safe by putting in as manyapplications as possible. Even when they dont know what kindof kindergarten they want, and dont know much about theschools they apply for. As a result, too many applications aremade haphazardly and this results in extra work for everyone.

Parents should not apply to just one kindergarten, but they reallydont need to apply for 10-20, as some do. About five should beenough and parents should visit them all to find out which of themfit their expectations, instead of just listening to other peoples views.

However, I do think the government gives out too little informationand there is lack of communication and coordination betweenthe government departments concerned. Officials always say thatoverall there are enough places for kindergarten-age students, butthey dont give statistics by district and it is pointless for a familyliving in the North District to get a place in the South District.

Usually, there is not such strong competition for places in HongKong kindergartens as there was last year. However, the news reportswhich made headlines focused only on North District. They wereextreme cases and had a good news angle, but in other districts, itwas quite different. Nonetheless, the problem was exacerbated bythe policy of some schools. Long queues of parents formed becausethe schools only distributed application forms for one or two days. Ifforms were available on the web, parents would not worry so much.

Ms Dorothy Chan, Principal of the HKFYG Ching Lok Kindergarten (Yaumatei) and ChingLok Nursery (Yaumatei), commented on the shortage of official information available to parentsapplying for kindergarten places. This was exacerbated last autumn by unusual problems.

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Teachers speak| June 2014

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The needs of children at different stages,the balance between learning-through-activity and free play, and the age at whichthe transition to more structured, academiclearning should take place, all need to beclear in parents minds to reduce pressure.

Children start to learn at birth and it isimportant that they learn in stages. I thinkthree years old is the time to start academiclearning. Even if parents request it, we shouldnot ask students to learn in advance of theirdevelopmental stage. It is not good for them.

Many students find it very stressful when theyleave kindergarten to go to primary school, sowe prepare them emotionally, helping themunderstand what it means to be in primary school.We do not give them extra lessons on this. Theywould just cause extra pressure. Instead, wearrange our classrooms as primary schools do fora while, so they get the feeling of a primary schoolsetting and build confidence for the transition.

I find that there are two extreme kinds ofparents. Either they are so humble that theythink they cannot help teach their children,or they are too eager to help their child tolearn everything. They think they know best.The trouble is, in Hong Kong, we always thinkgood academic results equal a bright future.

Too many interviews are not good for children.They cause a lot of stress and all this interviewtrainingusually means just asking childrento memorize information, like their namesand their parents jobs. We know it cannotreflect the childs character and potential.

I definitely do not want to see portfolios for youngchildren! If a parent handed in a childs portfolio,we wouldnt refuse it, but frankly, it would notaffect our choice. These portfolios only containpaper. What I am concerned with is the child.

Our school holds group interviews with parentsand children. Several teachers watch threeor four of them playing together. We dontneed pre-prepared answersthat have beenpractised a thousand times over. What we needis to see the childs character, ability and stageof development. This is not possible if theyare stressed or on show. We are not onlylooking for talented children. We are looking forchildren who we think will fit into our school.

The parents themselves are important too, sowe really hope to find those who share ourconcepts of education. They are the mostimportant role models for children and if, forexample, they are impolite or inconsiderate,we know they will not be a good influence.

Youth Hong Kong


21Photos courtesy of The HKFYG KK Cheng Kindergarten


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When asked about early learning activities andwhether children are expected to have portfolios ofcertificates from classes they attended before theyenroll, Mr Westerns answer is, definitely not.

Up to par

On the other hand, I think that Hong KongCantonese parents worry that their child wont be

smart enoughat interview to get into a goodpre-school which will lead onto a good primaryschool and then a good secondary school. Theysee getting into a good kindergarten as the criticalfirst step in their childs long educational journey,so they seek learning activities outside the homefor very young children to bring them up to par.

Still, for playgroups and pre-schools, I thinklooking at a childs portfolio would be a ridiculousmethod for allocating spaces. Unfortunately formany parents, the school your child attendsis a huge part of how they define themselves.Their personal, and family, identity is tied into it.

Traditional and Montessori approaches are offeredby Woodland. In Montessori schools, children can

work alone or with others - it's their choice. Thereare no pressures, forced homework or rote learning.

Options for breadth

At Woodland, we offer two different teachingphilosophies. However, the approaches tend tooverlap. When you examine them closely in termsof what actually goes on in the classroom, in factthey are very similar. Both approaches includeboth child-directed and teacher-directed learning,whether its learning how to share, how to paint,or how to ask questions during Show & Tell.

Mr Mark Western, Head of the Woodland Pre-School in Pokfulam, says that the parents often send thechildren to their playgroups to prevent boredom rather than because of pressure to learn. Where applyingfor admission is concerned, the situation is also very different. Orientation tours are arranged on requestfor families considering registering at Woodland schools which generally serve more affluent families.

Choice, but at a price

There is always strong competition for a placeat Woodland schools and we generally havewaiting lists. My advice is to apply early, contactseveral schools and be flexible about morningand afternoon class options. In fact a number ofnew kindergartens have opened in the past yearor so, on Hong Kong Island, so there are plentyof schools and plenty of places at the moment.

Expat parents seeking kindergartens dont have somuch stress when securing a place because manymore choices are available to them. The main reasontheir children go to playgroups is that theyre bored.The parents figure its better for them to interact andplay with other kids in a crowded playgroup thanto be stuck at home in a flat, alone with the nanny.

Strong competition but more choice

Youth Hong Kong

Teachers speak| June 2014

22

byTommyWong

https://www.fl

ickr.com/photos/gracewong/312922513


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The youngest toddler classes, which we call Rollersand Wrigglers,are for children aged six to 18months. They progress to the playgroup classes atone-and-a-half to two-and-a-half years old. At thisstage they start to learn about group participation,such as singing songs, dancing, and playing groupgames. There is nothing like learning characters fortwo year-olds. At pre-school, for two-and-a-half tofour year-olds, there is learning about sounds andphonics, letters, how to hold a pencil and so on.

In the older pre-school classes for three to fiveyear-olds there is a more balancedcurriculum,with both play and academic subjects, ensuringthat children have the fundamental skills readyfor Primary One, with a lot more emphasis onphonics, emergent writing, pre-reading, speakingfluency and confidence. With longer and longerwaiting lists in good primary schools, which arebeing more and more selective in their interviewprocess, it is important that the children areprepared. Year by year, the bar is being raised toweed out candidates from long lists of applicants.

Ms Lau Yin-king, Deputy Chair of the Council of

Non-profit Making Organizations for Pre-primary

Education, commented on the situation:

The prevailing atmosphere in Hong Kong means thatparents want to push students to learn in advance ofthe normal stages. They want children in kindergarten

to learn what they need for their primary education.Then they want students to learn in primary school whatthey need only for secondary education. It is not good

for the children. Kindergartens are being marketizedas a result and can provide what parents demand.

Although I think everyone would agree thatacademic achievement is important, thequestion is to what extent? If, in the pursuitof academic excellence, a child never playsa sport, or goes to summer camp, or travelsoverseas, or pursues a personal hobby, thenI believe the focus has been too narrow.

Youth Hong Kong


23

With longer and longer waitinglists in good primary schools,

which are being more and moreselective in their interview process,

it is important that the childrenare prepared.

/

The Woodland Pre-school (Pokfulam)

Mr. Mark Western

bysierraromeo[sarah-ji]

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8241/8662548797_

9a96e7ee77_

o.jpg


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Youth Hong Kong

Education Post| June 2014

24

T

hree specialists, Fritz Pang, an educational psychologist, Sarah Ip

Miu-yin, a clinical psychologist, and Ricky Chan, a specialist in brain

development comment on the negative effects that too much

pressured early learning can have.

Because so many parents in Hong Kong are worriedtheir children will lose out at the starting line, they are

willing to spend a small fortune and give up preciousfamily time lining up extra classes. Whether it is music,art, languages or sports, parents seem convinced thatfor youngsters today, the more lessons and formaltraining, the better. The desire to equip sons anddaughters with the knowledge and skills to succeedin life is entirely understandable. But psychologistsare now pointing out that intensive learning at tooyoung an age can do more harm than good.

Fritz Pang, a registered education psychologistat St James Settlement

Fritz Pang says that life is a marathon, not a sprint. Hethinks parents are getting children to start rote learningtoo early and are failing to acknowledge their emotionalneeds. I had a case of a five year-old girl. She wascrying and saying she wants to leave home because sheis forced to do English exercises every week, says Pang.

The girls parents sought counselling because theythought their daughter was rebellious, but it wasactually their force feeding and the extra lessons thatcaused her to feel so stressed. Pang says parents shouldfocus more on teaching children the right attitudetowards life and the right way to handle adversity,rather than bombarding them with knowledge.

Sarah Ip Miu-yin, clinical psychologist at theprivate Fullife Psychological Practice

Sarah Ip points out that no scientific research proves thattaking children as young as 10 months to playgroupsand other classes is beneficial for their development.Parents need to understand that there are variousstages in brain development. There is no point force-feeding young kids when their brain developmenthas not yet reached the right stage, she says.

Ip notes a recent New York University publication onhow the use of flash cards, flip books and watchingvideos affects the development of language learningability. The study included two groups of children agednine to 18 months. The experimental group was exposedto flash cards and other materials. The control group hadnone. Results revealed that the experimental group didnot show stronger language ability despite being givendifferent types of stimulation. The most interesting partof the study was that parents of the experimental grouprefused to accept the fact that their children had gainednothing from the training, Ip says. Sometimes, parentscan be too subjective. They might want to considercarefully what is really beneficial to their children.

Ip also says parents need to be more hands-onwhen it comes to nurturing their own children.I know of a parent trying to recruit a teacherto teach the child how to be polite. This is theresponsibility of a parent, not a tutor.

Quality time,not force-feedinga contribution from Education Post


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Youth Hong Kong

Education PostJune 2014 |

25

Ricky Chan, chairman of the Association ofBrain-based Learning in Education and aspecialist in brain development

Ricky Chans advice to parents is to understand howthe brain works before enrolling their youngsters inmany kinds of classes. Until the age of five, childrenare developing their five senses. If parents sit themdown to read and study note cards or a tablet computer,it will stunt the development of their senses, Chansays. Kids that young are better off running aroundin the natural environment, experiencing differentforms of stimulation. Unfortunately, more parentsare now keeping their kids indoors to read.

Going to playgroups is a popular activity for youngchildren, but Chan warns this might not help overalldevelopment. Young children up to three years-old are rapidly developing the ability to expressemotions like shame, regret and respect, but theymight use facial expressions or other actions toexpress themselves. In a playgroup, it is commonto see children express their emotions by crying,shouting and screaming. One child might pick upthis undesirable behaviour from other children.

Chan also notes that keeping kids on a tightschedule and rushing them from class to class canaffect a childs physical and mental condition. Itcan raise adrenaline levels and cause the child to

In the first three years of life, a childs brain has up to

twice as many synapses as it will have in adulthood. At

birth, it already has about all of the neurons it will ever

have. The brain doubles in size in the first year, and by

age three it has reached 80 percent of its adult volume.Synapses are formed at a faster rate during these years

than at any other. It is widely accepted that synapses

play an important role in the formation of memory.

Young brains

be bad-tempered, which can later result in poorhealth and the inability to control emotions.

Every parent loves their children more thananything in the world and is eager to see themdo well, but the experts agree that spending morequality time with them, not arranging moreclasses, is much the better approach.

6

9 3

http://upload.w

ikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/30/

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ikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/

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p Chemical synapses

p Network of dendrites from neurons

www.educationpost.com.hk

Source

http://www.urbanchildinstitute.org/why-0-3/baby-and-brain


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Youth Hong Kong

Youth speak| June 2014

26

Too much pressure by Amanda Xiang

byTerjeGrimsgaard

https://www.fl

ickr.com/photos/venacos/87

57643494

I was two-and-a-half when my mother first enrolledme in a drama playgroup. Her aim was to provide me

with an English-speaking environment, and to give meinternational exposure for language proficiency. Extra-curricular activities such as this continued until a coupleof years ago. They ranged from academic subjects likeOlympiad Mathematics, to French, to casual interestslike piano or table tennis. When I was in Primary 5or 6 they amounted to over 9 hours every Saturday,and for Hong Kong, that is by no means extreme.

According to research quoted by the South ChinaMorning Post1, there are tutors who give Englishconversation practice to children as young as 15months old, and its not unusual for primary schoolpupils to have 12 to 15 tutorials every week. Dontchildren ever get to spend their time resting, playingor doing things they enjoy? Does early learningmerely add pressure and deprive them of playtime?

The main reason children go to these classes is thattheir parents worry about their ability to get into agood school. As a result, the pressure to build a goodresume starts long before the teenage years. Evenselection for private pre-school programmes can be verycompetitive, and some parents consider packagingtheir preschoolers to meet schools requirements.

The other reason for the increasing pressure forlearning from a young age is that parents have hadto learn how to become increasingly efficient inbalancing their work-home schedules. They want tomake the most of limited time with their childrenand believe that giving them every opportunityto gain the maximum amount of knowledge willmean they are making the best use of that time.

Compare that with Finland, a country reputed forits good education system. Children there are not


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Youth Hong Kong

Youth speakJune 2014 |

27

Ivan, now 19 and doing a vocational degree,

writes about his happy childhood.

I always wanted to play basketball more than anything

and wanted coaching after school. There was no chance.

Piano lessons? Sure. Extra English? Obligatory. Sport?

Never. A waste of time and money they always said.

I went to a very old-fashioned kindergarten where

we started rote learning of Chinese characters

when I was three. At primary school, mum and

dad saw my English was no good so they spent

HK$1,500 a month on extra lessons. My spelling

got better but the teacher was a Hongkonger and

my spoken English stayed just as bad as ever.

They all thought I was a naughty boy, always

neglecting my studies, slow to do my homework.

My dad used to sit over me, making me go through

the maths exercises before hed let me go out to

play. But I think it was hard work for him too. At least

I didnt have to go to all those tutorial schools.

Actually, it must have been very hard for them to pay

for extra lessons. Money was always tight. So most

nights after dinner I went to play with my mates,

down on the podium at our estate in Tseung Kwan O.

Sometimes basketball, sometimes just running round,

making up games, having fun. We were happy.

I know they always had high expectations of me but

Im glad they werent those monster parents you

hear people talking about today. Perhaps they were

anxious but they never made me learn too hard.

Not made to learnencouraged to start reading until the age of seven andthe country has some of the best young readers inthe world. Yet those Finnish children generally havearound five hours of free time every day after school.

Logically, this means that playing and relaxing arebeneficial for children. Playing allows them to developimagination, dexterity, and both physical and emotionalstrength. The brain develops faster as a result. Playingalso helps to build confidence, problem-solving skillsand the resilience needed to face future challenges.2

The Finnish education system suggests that by allowingleisure to play freely after completing school work,children can move at their own pace, discover their ownareas of interest, and ultimately find out where theirreal talents lie. In contrast to passive entertainment, freeplay builds active, healthy bodies. Above all, a Finnisheducation enshrines the place of play as a simple joythat is a cherished part of childhood, a joy of whichyoung children in Hong Kong are generally deprived.

It would be wrong to assume that the current trendof increasingly early learning creates problems forall children. Society needs skilled young people

who are well prepared as leaders for the future. Forthem, the advantages of increased exposure and anenriched academic life cannot be ignored. Theythrive as a result of a highly driven schedule, butothers excel when given a high degree of flexibility.Undoubtedly, even children who can benefit from anincreased pace of early learning still need some freetime for play, for creative growth and self-reflection.

Nevertheless, time to play has been markedly reducedfor many young children from an early age and thebenefits that can be derived from such play by bothchildren and parents have been lost. For some children,this hurried lifestyle is a source of stress and anxiety.It may even contribute to depression. The challengefor society, schools, and parents is to strike the rightbalance: a balance that allows all children to reachtheir greatest potential, while allowing them freeplaytime to enjoy while they are still young.

Amanda Xiang

17, Secondary 5, St Pauls Convent School.

Majoring in piano at the Hong Kong

Academy for Performing Arts.

Sources

1. http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1414388/hong-kong-parents-requesting-tutors-their-toddlers-says-author?page=all2. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.full

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Early childhood care and

education around the worldby Virginia Addison

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Mainland China

According to UNICEF, access to pre-schools orkindergartens staffed by qualified teachers is uneven inmainland China. In particular, girls, ethnic minoritychildren, children with disabilities and childrenaffected by migration lack pre-school or kindergartenopportunities.1State kindergartens take childrenfrom three years old. Private facilities do not have anage limit.2An independent early childhood care andeducation study says that China has been looking atseeking a balance between adopting western ideas andmaintaining Chinese traditions in early childhoodeducation.3However, it found that free play accountedfor only 17% of time in kindergartens and wasconsidered eduplay in facilities caring for youngerchildren. In 2012, a state television report said manykindergartens were introducing academic subjectsand parents worried that their children would not getinto good primary schools if they did not keep up.4In2014, the Ministry of Education reiterated its plansto provide more early education resources as the newsecond-child policy in some provinces and cities couldresult in added pressure on educational facilities. By theend of 2013, there were 198,600 pre-school facilitiesacross the country serving 38.95 million children.5

p Village school

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Singapore

Centres in Singapore that cater for children as young as18 months say they are always busy. Some of the popularprogrammes among parents are Mandarin and readingclasses. Many parents think that if they do not send theirchildren for extra lessons they will not keep up with theirpeer group. They also think it will help their childrenadjust to primary school.6In August 2012, SingaporesPrime Minister, Lee Hsien Loong,7pleaded with thecountrys tiger mothers to let their children have achildhood, saying: Its good for young children to play,and to learn through play. The Ministry of Educationsays the focus of pre-school education should be a well-rounded education that builds a child's confidenceand desire to learn.8According to a NationalUniversity of Singapore report, one of the major issues

with this system is that the children from age fourare drilled, tested, and take home daily homework.They do not spend time in school doing creativeactivities. The report says that such early training leadsto a young workforce that is lacking in innovation.9

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Japan

In Japan, much early childhood education is conductedat home.15Mothers also take on an intense burden as itis widely believed that parental effort at this stage is whatdetermines success. Many parents also enroll infants andtoddlers in pre-schools before they go to kindergarten.Reforms to the Japanese education system in 1997introduced new guidelines for early childhood education,

which aim to spur childrens creativity and zest forlearning, among other goals.16 Teacher-pupil ratios inkindergartens are high and classes average between30 and 35 children, to encourage children to play, bepart of a larger community, and find the transitionto primary education easier. Although kindergartensexhibit great variety, most target age-appropriatepersonal development, such as learning empathy, ratherthan academic programmes.17However, some childrenare groomed from the age of three to pass the entranceexamination for private primary schools. In Tokyo thereare 50 such schools compared with 1,300 public schools.The admission process can be highly competitive andtuition is expensive.18Estimates suggest 8% of five-year-old children in Tokyo take part in the process.

Children spend more time in class in most developed Asian countries

than they do in developed western countries. They also often scorehigher on standardised international tests. But how much pressure do

they experience, and what are the reasons for it?

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South Korea

According to the Korea Institute of Child Care andEducation, 76.4% of all South Korean households withinfants and pre-schoolers opt to spend money on privateeducation.10South Korea planned to extend their early-education provision for all three and four-year-olds lastyear. Most middle-class parents send their children toprivate kindergartens from the age of three11althoughthese are not part of the formal education system.12Here they learn to read, write, do simple arithmetic andin some cases, get an introduction to English, as well asplaying. Classes are conducted in a traditional classroomsetting, and children are given considerable amounts ofhomework. They may also attend specialized afternoonschools, taking lessons in art, piano or violin, taekwondo,ballet, soccer or mathematics. In 2012 the governmentincreased childcare benefits for those with kindergartenchildren between the ages of three and five.13Childrenstart primary school when they are five to six years old.14

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Scandinavia

In Finland, most children do not enter child careuntil they are three. Mothers get financial supportif they choose to stay at home for that period. Pre-school programmes are play-based and have goodchild-teacher ratios. Children enter formal educationat the age of seven. Nevertheless, Finnish high schoolstudents consistently rank at or near the top in theProgramme for International Student Assessment(PISA).19In Sweden, nursery school is open to childrenfrom one to five years of age and the state must providesuch facilities for children whose parents work orstudy. More than 80% of children from one to fiveyears of age spend part of their weekdays at nurseryschools, which emphasize the importance of play ina childs development and learning. Primary schoolstarts at seven, with an option to attend at the age ofsix.20In Denmark children start full-time schoolingat six.21Prior to that, the majority attend publicand private childcare centres and kindergartens. Anational curriculum s became effective in 2004 andhas been implemented into a play-based tradition.

United Kingdom

Britains Office for Standards in Education, ChildrensServices and Skills believes children should be allowedto attend school from as young as two in order toestablish a new type of all-through educationalmodel which would help to close the gap betweenaffluent and disadvantaged students.22However, thegovernments Education Committee is concernedthat parents are being pressurized into enrolling theirchildren in education early.23Pre-school educationcan be provided by childcare centres, playgroups,nursery schools and nursery classes within primaryschools. There are subsidies for children aged overthree for 15 hours a week. Private voluntary orindependent nursery education is also available andvaries between structured pre-school education andbasic childcare, with many taking babies.24Pre-schools follow government approved learning goals.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and

Development (OECD) found that 15-year-olds who had

attended pre-schools for more than a year performed

better, regardless of socio-economic background, than

those who had attended for one year only or not at all. In

Belgium, France, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden,

more than 90% of 3-year-olds are enrolled in early childhood

education. However, establishing the precise link between

time in pre-school and later achievement is difficult, as isdefining the term. See box opposite. National attitudes to

the right way to spend early childhood years differ. Too much

pressure too early may set children up for failure later and

the quality of pre-school education is a crucial variable.

OECD published statistics for early childhood

education can be found in the OECD Indicators:

Education at a Glance, available at:

http://www.oecd.org/edu/eag2013%20(eng)-

-FINAL%2020%20June%202013.pdf

World pre-school statistics In Australia pre-school is for children about to startprimary school. Their first year is called kindergarten.

In England children aged up to three go to nursery schools

or childcare centres. Pre-school starts when they are four.

In South Korea, Japan and Singapore

kindergartens cater for three to five year-olds,

and younger children go to pre-schools.

China uses kindergarten as a term for public centres

catering for children from the age of three.

In Sweden, Denmark and Finland children attend

childcare centres or nursery schools until they

start primary school at the age of six or seven.

In the US, terminology is similar to that used in Australia.

Pre-k and early child education are other terms used.

The OECD definition of early childhood education,

or pre-primary education, is organized instruction

designed primarily to introduce very young

children to a school-like environment.

Terminology for pre-school

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About 25% of all births in Hong Kong between 2002 and 2012 [more than 200,000 babies] were to parents who were both

from mainland China. However, children born in Hong Kong have the right of abode and education here. A subsequent surge

of pressure on kindergartens took place near the border. In response, mainland mothers have not been permitted to come to

Hong Kong to have children since last year and more recent changes in government policy will also spread the load on schools.

Nevertheless, the North District Primary School Heads Association expects a 20% rise in applications to its schools this year.*

*South China Morning Post 8 June 2014

Cross-border pressure in Hong Kong

1. http://www.unicef.cn/en/index.php?m=content&c=index&a=lists&catid=126

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preschool

3. Rao, Nirmala & Sun, Jin. Early childhood care and education in theAsia Pacific Region, Comparative Research Centre, HKU, 2010.

4. http://english.cntv.cn/program/china24/20120319/107163.shtml

5. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-02/27/content_17309083.htm

6. http://www.straitstimes.com/the-big-story/national-day-rally-2012/story/without-extra-lessons-our-kids-may-lose-out-20120828

7. http://www.economist.com/node/21563354

8. http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/preschool/

9. http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/ecs/pub/wp-scape/0808.pdf

10. http://www.asianewsnet.net/Korean-parents-push-their-kids-to-start-learning-e-55959.html

11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kindergarten#South_Korea

12. http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea/education.htm

13. http://internationalednews.com/tag/early-childhood-education/

14. http://southkorea.angloinfo.com/family/schooling-education/pre-primary-education/

15. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/kindergarten

Sources

16. http://www.todayonline.com/daily-focus/education/japans-pre-schools-children-must-play

17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preschool#Japan

18. http://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2014/02/16/issues/

prepping-for-university-straight-from-the-crib/

19. http://www.newamerica.net/blog/early-ed-watch/2008/how-finland-educates-youngest-children-9029

20. http://sweden.se/society/education-in-sweden/#start

21. http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199756810/obo-9780199756810-0093.xml

22. http://internationalednews.com/tag/early-childhood-education/

23. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/1111663.stm


25. http://www.aeufederal.org.au/Publications/Factsheets/FS4.pdf

26. http://www.preschoolsnsw.org.au/faqs

27. http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/[email protected]/mf/4240.0


29. Martin, A. in Morgan, H. Early Childhood Education. Lanham, Maryland, 2nded, 2011.

30. http://www.shankerinstitute.org/images/Dec-11-crisis_in_early_ed.pdf

Australia

Pre-school programmes in Australia are not compulsory.The first exposure many Australian children haveto learning with others is day care or a parent-run playgroup. The government has establisheda nationwide curriculum to support and enhancelearning from birth to five years of age, as well asthe transition to school. Pre-school is designed toprepare children for the first year of primary schoolat the age of five.25There is a strong emphasis onplay-based learning, but also on communication andlanguage, including early literacy and numeracy andsocial and emotional development.26In all states andterritories, children aged four can be enrolled in asubsidized pre-school programme for 15 hours ormore a week.27Children younger than four mostlyattend state-run or private childcare centres, whichfocus on play rather than formal learning, althoughsome private ones do offer language and other skills.

United States

In the United States, pre-schools are available forchildren from aged three to five. The first year of primaryschool is known as kindergarten. Most programmes arenot subsidized and the government introduced the EarlyHead Start programme to increase the school readinessof young children in low income families.28Althoughresearch has shown that giving children early educationthat is not play-based is considered to have a bad effect,almost every state has adopted common core standardsthat call for kindergartners to master more than 90skills related to literacy and maths. One educatorsaid, Kindergarten used to mean brightly colouredpaintings, music, clay, block building, bursting curiosity,and intensive exploration. Now the kindergartensexuberance is being muted. kindergarten is becomingan adjunct to first grade.29Educators and physiciansreport increasing incidents of extreme and aggressivebehaviour in pre-schools and kindergartens and linkthese to the stress children experience in school.30

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