Firstly, we like the school grounds. It is safe, green, has plenty of open space for children to run around and the class rooms are huge. Each classroom has its own child-sized washroom, play and reading corners, cushions & toys.
A plus point is its international staff. This point goes beyond language, there's also the cultural divide (if the management is Chinese) that I've so often encountered in the normal course of life here. For instance, it's beyond my understanding why the Chinese typically do not turn on their heaters in their restaurants/schools/wherever during their winter.... Yes, they have heaters in their premises but they just don't use them! As a result, I have heard stories of children in full winter gear while IN their classes.
As for the International vs. Chinese syllabus dilemma in Eton, first off, I'd definitely like minibeanie to be exposed to Chinese; after all, he does get plenty of English at home. However, there are a couple of factors in favour of the International syllabus though. A recent change in its curriculum means that Chinese gets equal airtime as English. In practical terms, this means that if the English teacher talks about birds one day, the Chinese teacher will talk about the feathered creatures the next day.
And the second factor is the pupil to adult* ratio. As mentioned in my previous blog, the Chinese division has significantly bigger classes. Now, class size and pupil-adult ratio may not be a big thing when the child is 5 or 6, but for a 2-3 year old toddler who may not be toilet trained, able to dress himself or have 2 left feet on even surfaces, an extra pair of hands and eyes is vital to the child's safety. In Finland, daycares for 2 year olds are 4:1 (someone please confirm?). At Eton, I was given the assurance that the maximum ratio for the International division would be 6:1 and 10:1 for the Chinese division.
Ok, time to hit the sack... we haven't fully committed to a decision but I think I know where it's heading ;) On Wednesday, we'd be leaving for Beijing for the long Dragon Boat Festival holiday!
* teacher + teaching assistant
minibeanie is 1 year, 10 months & 1 day old
microbeanie is 24 weeks in utero
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