when consumption is downgraded, how do middle-class parents in beijing and shanghai budget carefully outside the transition system?
2024-09-05
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highlightswill changing the track make you happier? how should parents consider their children's transition to international departments or international schools, and how should they make more comprehensive plans? at the beginning of the school year, the bund interviewed two mothers whose children had just successfully transferred to international departments this year. their experiences may give some inspiration to parents with similar concerns.
transferring to an international department or international school is the first step for many parents to plan to study abroad. but how to take this step is a big problem.when should i start preparing?what should i prepare? how do i choose a school? …there are so many things to consider, and parents themselves are often short-sighted and worried. so, how do those families who have successfully made the transition do it?to this end, the bund interviewed two parents in beijing and shanghai:
iris, a shanghai parent who has planned the direction of studying abroad for her child since she was young and decided on the "transfer" route among many alternative options (xiaohongshu @大白羊艾瑞丝)
because she did not settle down in beijing, she chose to let her child go to tianjin to take the college entrance examination or stay in beijing to take the transition examination. lu ma (xiaohongshu @julia)
the children of both parents have just successfully transitioned to high school in 24 years. although the transition policies in the two places are different, the learning situations of the two children are different, and even the parenting strategies of the two parents are different, in dealing with many core issues, the two families did almost exactly the same thing.once you decide to switch, you should prepare early.
it is not a one-time decision to let your child go to international school. iris and lu ma both agree thatif you decide to "switch track", you must do research and preparation in the early stages.on the one hand, parents should set aside time to collect and analyze various information to make school selection decisions.
on the other hand, children also need to strengthen their study of key subjects such as mathematics and english in order to complete the written tests and interviews for the transition more smoothly.
the son of shanghai parent iris first participated in the self-recruitment of four schools before changing his track.considerfuture plans - iris planned the general direction of studying abroad for her children very early on, intending to let her study abroad for her undergraduate degree, or change her major in high school.participating in the self-recruitment of the four schools is actually giving your children another chance. if they can pass the exam, they can go. after all, the teachers and classmates are very excellent. they can also study abroad as an undergraduate. if they fail the exam, they will have the ability to enter a better non-institutional school, which is more directly aimed at studying abroad as an undergraduate.therefore, they spent five months preparing for the self-recruitment. after the first mock exam, the child's score was not very secure. but because iris's family had planned to study abroad, her son had been exposed to and learned related content. later, he concentrated on preparing for the transition, which was relatively smooth.screenshot from the movie "children are not stupid 3"
in comparison, the decision to change careers by lu's parents, who moved to beijing, seems to be "an arrow on a string that has to be shot."because lu's parents were unable to settle in beijing, xiaolu could not take the college entrance examination in beijing. in this case, many families who did not want their children to attend vocational high schools in beijing chose to have their children transfer back to their registered place of residence to take the high school entrance examination. lu's mother and her family also planned to do so.considering that xiaolu is attending a well-known public school in haidian district, and lu's parents are also very satisfied with the educational environment in beijing, they plan to let their child go to tianjin in the third year of junior high school to extend xiaolu's study time in beijing as much as possible.but when they looked at houses and school districts in tianjin, they found that things were not as simple as they thought. if they transferred to tianjin, it would be difficult to transfer to a middle school with better teaching quality, let alone prepare for the high school entrance examination. when they were struggling, teachers and friends all mentioned the option of "international department" - as long as parents have beijing work visas, their children can enroll and stay in beijing to continue their education.this was not a path that was considered at the beginning, so deer dad and deer mom alsono decision was made lightly, but instead sought out experienced teachers and friends around them to learn about the situation. in particular, after seeing that some children were really getting better and better in the international department and studying abroad, they and their daughter decided to set the public international department as their goal.at this time, the deer is in the second year of junior high school, which also leaves enough time for the deer to prepare for the transition.of course, just as iris said,the plan of a family that has successfully transitioned cannot necessarily be copied and promoted. it must be formulated based on the actual situation of the child and the family.。in this process, the most important thing is to do a good research in the early stages and not to make hasty decisions about the transition, otherwise the children will be rushed into it.grasp the key points and prepare for the "transition"
whether in shanghai or beijing, academic performance is an important threshold for transition. from the personal experience of iris and lu ma, the better international high schools in shanghai and the public international departments in beijing attach great importance to the results of the high school entrance examination.for the 21 schools in shanghai, the hard requirement is that the high school entrance examination must meetminimum admission score for independent enrollmentthe official announcement shows that the score line in shanghai in 2023 is 610 points (out of 750 points), and the score line in 2024 is 607 points (out of 750 points).screenshot of relevant information from the shanghai people's government official websitebut the requirements for international high schools are obviously more than that. according to information from parents, if you want to be admitted to the "21 schools" safely, the score must be several dozen points higher, and the final admission score of the top schools can reach more than 700 points.in addition to the school's own test, some schools will also require the submission of the first and second mock exam scores to examine the stability of the child's grades and grasp the child's long-term learning status.。most families in beijing give priority to the international departments of public high schools, and the admission score lines of international departments and general high schools fluctuate very little.high school entrance exam results are of utmost importance。in order to prepare children for the transition,both families have developed corresponding study plans based on their children’s specific circumstances., and they all pay attention toenglishandscience。iris said: "in shanghai, if you can learnjunior toeflortoefl for adults, and you can get 80 or 90 points, and you will feel more at ease when you take the transition test. many people mentioned that the transition test has a large vocabulary and difficult words, but most of this is toefl learning content. "in beijing, because most international departments of public high schools are based on the ap system, toefl is also a very important assessment criterion before and after admission.on the whole,xiaolu in beijing puts most of his energy into the high school entrance examto outsiders, this choice seems a bit buddhist, but in fact, lu's mother tries to reduce the "gambling" factor in various decisions. xiaolu has no experience in toefl study, and lu's mother also thinks that if she tries to do both the high school entrance examination and toefl, she may not do well in the end, so she temporarily gave up toefl.lu's mother said: "the child has been very self-conscious and hardworking. although the 'sprint high school entrance examination' tutoring may help the child improve 5 points overall and make the child's ranking in haidian district move up a little bit,but just for that little bit of possibility of improving scores, children have to pay too much."so lu ma was determined not to let her child take tutoring.another reason is that lu's mother is engaged in english education and has a good understanding of helping children improve their english skills. although she never pushes her child too hard, xiao lu is very self-conscious and has taken the initiative to follow her parents to learn since elementary school.screenshot of the tv series "dragon sakura"with the guidance of her mother, xiaolu did not rush to get a language score quickly, even though she started late. instead, she studied the original books and improved step by step. therefore, although she had no toefl experience, xiaolu still passed several english written tests and interviews of the international department very smoothly.iris targeted the areas that her son had never been exposed to before.english independent writing, integrated writing and speakingshe put a lot of effort into it. she found a teacher who was familiar with the types of questions in the transition exam and assigned some questions to her son in a targeted manner.the teacher also gave some common topics, such as favorite subject, unforgettable travel, etc., so that the children can become familiar with the logic of language organization in advance.not only did he improve his english skills, but he also mastered some test-taking skills. in the end, iris's son got very good grades in several exams.in terms of science learning, lu's mother continued to be "buddhist" and did not put too much pressure on her daughter. instead, she talked to her daughter about her weak subjects in mathematics and physics.cognitive problems such as logical thinking and problem-solving ideasthese finishing touches may actually be of greater help to children.iris holds the following view on her son's transition to higher education:“i attach equal importance to my hobbies and studies, and my family fully supports me.”fortunately, my son has always been interested in mathematics. he has been looking for english materials and videos on various websites since he was very young. later, he successfully passed amc10/12, so subject vocabulary is not a problem."the math questions tested by international schools are different from the problem-solving logic that children have been exposed to before. sometimes it's not that the questions are too difficult, but that they need to break away from the previous 'exam-oriented' thinking. if the target school wants to test english math papers, it is also necessary to let children understand some english expressions in math in advance."later, my son learned about the computer science olympiad competition through his classmates and was very interested in it. unfortunately, the competition was cancelled that year due to the epidemic. by the time he could participate, my son was already in the ninth grade and his study time was becoming increasingly tight.surprisingly, iris is still willing to let her son participate in the computer science olympiad. there are three reasons for this:the first is to respect the child's interests and see what level the child can reach in such competitions;
second, the child can enter the "xinao" competition system earlier, which can help him accumulate certain experience and advantages for subsequent competitions;
third, cultivate the child's multi-tasking ability to lay a good foundation for his future planning.
it turned out that the child lived up to her passion and successfully passed the noip exam. this also became one of the important factors influencing iris's choice of school later.look more, compare more, and screen more
choose the school that best suits your child
in the process of internationalization, effectively collecting and screening information is the first step in choosing a school. along the way, two parents in shanghai and beijing made similar conclusions.whether it is through the internet, exhibitions, or campus open days, you must try to get in touch with as many different schools and information as possible in the early stages.when parents have less experience, horizontal comparison can reflect many issues: the real level of the school, the school's teaching philosophy, the mental outlook of the students...lu ma said that transition is like a new work project. in order to complete it well, both children and parents must have good learning ability.when "transition" is still a relatively unfamiliar new system, you need to quickly familiarize yourself with it and make good judgments.iris will simply judge the "hard power" of the school through some "indicators":for example, the proportion of foreign teachers in the school and whether most of them are british or american will determine whether the children can have a good language environment.
for example, whether the colleges and universities that young domestic teachers graduated from are good enough, and whether they are highly compatible with the ap system and study abroad direction that children will choose in the future. these teachers with overseas study experience can help children grasp the key points as experienced people, and their experiences can also give children good inspiration.
stills from chasing light
of course, these "hard indicators" are not absolute and completely correct. sometimes, compared with these quantifiable indicators, the two parentspay more attention to gaining some emotional and subjective feelings through contact with the school.for example, face-to-face communication at an exhibition can help people see whether a school’s education truly adheres to the educational concepts introduced.during the campus open day, parents can not only take this opportunity to introduce their children to the school, but also walk around the campus. iris and lu ma both said that they are willing to chat with students on campus, and the status of the students more directly reflects the real situation of the school.however, the power of an individual is limited after all. many parents also have their own jobs and are not very thorough in their research on transition. iris keenly observed that the transition policies and trends change every year, and it is difficult to judge the degree of match between each school and the child through some superficial information.faced with this situation, she chose to let the planning teacher intervene.in her opinion, those more experienced planning teachers have come into contact with many classes of transition students and are familiar with the international departments of local high schools.provide more suitable and appropriate solutions to the practical problems faced by children.later, iris's son received two offers from a private high school and a public international school. both schools were ranked very well and were the dream schools of many students. when he was hesitating, it was the planning teacher who put forward some key decision points:first, the teaching quality and further study destination of this private school are very good, but the competition among peers is also fierce. in the application of american colleges, in addition to gpa scores, the ranking of the school is also very important. from this perspective, if the classmates around are all excellent, the pressure on the child will be very high.
secondly, the public international high school that i was admitted to happens to be an informatics base, which can provide a good resource circle for children who love mathematics and informatics and are interested in developing in this area.
third, the tuition fees of public international high schools are much lower than those of private international high schools, which can allow iris and her family to have more flexible education funds to use in a direction that is more suitable for their children's development.
combining some ideas provided by the planning teacher and based on the actual situation of her child, iris finally chose a public international high school for her child.in beijing, in addition to collecting information in the early stages, there is also a trend of "running schools" after the high school entrance examination.be sure to plan your schedule as early as possible and visit more schools during the school selection period., help the child to make himself familiar with the school." lu's mother shared.a more precise choice can not only avoid the clash of transition exams after the high school entrance exam, but also allow children to get enough rest after four or five consecutive hours of written exams and interviews, avoiding the impact of excessive physical and mental consumption on performance.screenshot from the movie "hot girl"when making the final decision, the mother deer also fully considered the deer's own wishes.xiaolu finally took the additional exams for the international departments of two public high schools in haidian district and received admission notices from both schools.lu ma attached more importance to the "relaxed feeling" of one of the schools, and believed that since she had chosen international education, she should provide her children with a more "open" learning atmosphere;
but xiaolu is more determined and willing to go to another school with stricter teaching requirements.
although lu's mother felt that her child was still young and could not fully understand the true meaning behind the alternative education system, the adults still respected the child's decision when lu confirmed that she could be responsible for her decision.lu's mother said: "you let your child study in the international department because you hope that she will become a more independent individual. i think this is the first big choice she has made, and it can be regarded as the first test after her transition!"economic planning for transition should provide a bottom line
financial preparation is an unavoidable topic for transition and studying abroad. in an era of consumption downgrade, it is even more important not to take it lightly.calculating the economic accounts well is the basis.the tuition fee for a public high school in beijing is about 100,000 to 120,000 yuan per year. with the cost of extracurricular activities, competitions, study tours, etc., lu's mother estimates that the expenses for three years of high school will be more than 500,000 yuan. xiaolu plans to study in the uk, and lu's mother hopes that she can follow her interests.in addition to helping children prepare for some professional courses step by step after the high school entrance examination,lu's parents also made a long-term plan for fund reserves early on. they were very clear-headed and knew that the path of internationalization could not rely solely on future income.studying in the international department of a public high school in shanghai is up to you. iris has seen some parents who have lost their children's education due to poor financial planning, and have repeatedly jumped in and out of the system, which is more detrimental to the growth and development of their children.in order to ensure that her child can successfully complete high school and undergraduate studies in the united states, iris's family, with a relatively sufficient budget, also prepared an extra house to cope with possible larger expenses in the future.iris believes that it is important to make a thorough plan for the child before making the decision to change. "in terms of financial preparation, it means that the child should be able to support the study abroad during these years even if the parents have no income. this is 100% safe."it is not changing the path, it is called switching.
the focus is on cognitive change
transition is not an easier choice. changing the educational path is a transition in action, but the deeper requirement is actually a change in educational cognition.iris mentioned a common misunderstanding - many parents regard non-institutional education as a lifeline for their children, and think that if they can't stay in the system, the problem can be solved by switching to another system.but she believes that the change of track is not to escape, but to find a more suitable path for the child.
"if we fail to find the root cause of children's stress and don't seriously consider how to solve learning problems, then if we simply and crudely change the track, the problem will still exist, the child will still be under a lot of pressure, and the problem will not be actually solved," she said.
lu ma believes that transitioning outside the system does not mean it is easy. on the contrary, from the fierce entrance examination, we can see that it is basically excellent students who are competing for the quota. it is all a battle of masters.. moreover, the real challenge comes after the transition. children have to complete their studies, activities, etc. in a multi-threaded manner and with guaranteed quality and quantity. to some extent, it is no easier than the college entrance examination.teacher z from a leading public international department in beijing also told us based on her teaching experience that "transition" is not just an exam, nor is it all about entering the school's international department and taking relevant courses.some children can quickly adapt to the new teaching method, learn autonomously, think independently, and achieve a real transition. however, some children with good test scores may also be admitted to a very good international department through hard work and strategy, but they are unable to truly switch to a new learning track when they are about to graduate in their senior year of high school.just like what teacher z said, you must think clearly about why you want your child to change his/her career path. the cost of studying abroad is not low. under the current circumstances, unless you really get a degree from a prestigious university with a particularly high ranking, it is difficult for ordinary overseas study experience to achieve the effect of gilding and quickly obtaining economic returns.if the family is financially well-off and is not so demanding about "value for money", and is willing for their children to pursue further studies in a more open teaching system and become "world citizens" with broad horizons, then transition is suitable for the children and a meaningful thing.discover quality education
