Parkview Int'l Or Tutor Time

[mabelluk]

Hi

Any comments on the parkview in'tl and tutor time? Difficult to choose for playgroup and nursery. My daughter is now 19 months and we live in Parkview, of course PIPS is more convenience, however their playgroup only has Eng, no Mandarin include, facilities are more old than Tutor time and require to buy debenture for nursery class. Besides the above, not sure the standard of teacher, any experience with them? Please advise

thank kyou

[Honkyblues]

I don't know anything about Tutor Time, but I just received some info from PIPS and was very unimpressed with the letter written in English which informed me that all teachers would now be addressed by their "sir names" (as opposed to 'surnames'). It wasn't just a one-off typo either - over 2 letters I received, it was repeated 4 times.

And when I did the tour of PIPS, I noticed lots of the info on the boards had spelling errors (eg, Today's snack is "raisons"). There are native English language teachers in the school and there's really no excuse for it. And those letters about "sir names" were signed by the head teacher!!

It certainly makes me worry about the standard of teaching in the kindergarten classes!

[rani]

If you search the forums, you'll read a lot of positive reviews about Tutor Time.

[josoo]

My daughter got into Tutor Time, I was debating between the two as well. I hated PIPS, the tour was awful, and the people just plain rude. They basically said "if you pay your debenture today, your child will not need to wait". I figured, hang on a minute here, I am just 10 mins into the tour, give me a break.

Tutor Time even help with toilet training and the classes are smaller. I have since decided not to send my daughter there, as she's currently quite happy at Woodland. It's a nice, cosy environment. Not as far and the families are more middle income earners, which I think suits me a little more. Plus the thought of changing schools would terrify my little gal now.

Check out Woodland Happy Valley, it's highly recommended, they don't have Mandarin until age 3...

[turtle]

Woodland in Happy Valley is tiny and no Mandarin so I take my 21 month old to Tutor Time. It is brilliant! They do 45 mins Mandarin and then 45 mins English, everything is new and the space is wonderful, not sure how many square feet but seriously large by Hong Kong standards. I wouldn't change my daughter's school for the world!

[josoo]

Tutor Time is far so if you are not a working mum, distance and time may not be an issue, or if you have a helper that can take the child that's even better. However, a trip by taxi to Tutor Time can cost at least HK$80 one way, from Happy Valley. Another alternative is to send them by school bus. I really contemplated the school bus idea, but feel the ride would be a little too long, and they will get restless even before arriving at school.

Bring your child to the school and see how he/she reacts...

[wintermom]

This is an interesting thread, specifically regarding English spelling errors. It is true that spelling errors should not be sent or posted from a school- it is bad PR and sloppy word processing. However, we live in a city in which the vast majority of people speak and read/write English as a second or additional language. Furthermore, their first language, Cantonese, could not possibly be more different from English, especially in its written form. Spelling errors which do not cause the meaning to be misunderstood should be given a bit of a break. How many of us can write in Chinese without any errors? Looking past perceived imperfections is a necessary part of an intercultural experience.

Also, we are talking about early childhood education, and at this age children are learning language through play and exploration, not by reading memos. I know plenty of articulate people who are terrible writers. I don't think you can judge the quality of the teaching staff by these spelling issues or by the datedness of the decor... the kids won't.

That said, there is no perfect school for any child- children are resilient and eager and they are capable of learning more from any situation than we generally expect. Trust your instincts, choose a school that works for your family, and use spell check and an open mind.