The Chinese parents who homeschool their kids, and why they reject public education
Like homeschoolers elsewhere, parents in China don’t trust a rigid public school system to give their kids a rounded children and foster their creativity; some Beijing parents have gone a step further and fund an alternative school
Ocean Tsang, 10, who lives in Beijing, has a passion for the traditional Chinese storytelling art of pingshu. He can regale his parents with tales like a seasoned raconteur.
His father, Tsang Tsz-kin, a dance teacher from Hong Kong, plans to enrol him in the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts in September.
Most Hong Kong parents would prefer their children to enter a prestigious university, then land a job in finance, medicine or engineering, and would balk at the thought or their offspring pursuing such an unusual career path. Tsang, however, says it’s more important that his children pursue an avenue of study that they love.
That is one of the reasons Tsang decided to homeschool Ocean and his little sister, while teaching modern dance part time. He says it has helped him to identify Ocean’s real interests.
“People who love doing their jobs will think nothing of working overtime,” says Tsang, who has found a pingshu teacher who gives Ocean one-on-one lessons. “He watches online pingshu performances every day. He likes reading the stories aloud with facial expressions, hand movements and vocal intonations. He could be a DJ when he grows up,” Tsang says.
The youngster has 45-minute classes in Chinese, English, maths and general knowledge every day with his father and private tutors, and an arts teacher comes to their home from time to time. Social and extracurricular activities include excursions to museums in the Chinese capital, and gatherings with others who are home-schooled.