My Corner for Education

I presented at a conference on Saturday to a group of Chinese parents who have children enrolled in the public education system. The conference is to promote literacy to the parents. It is great to see parents who are supportive and concerned about their children’s education. At the questioning period, many of them raised questions about how to help their children achieve and succeed in the Canadian educational system. My final recommendation to them is to ensure that the golden triangle is soundly implemented.

What is my golden triangle? The positive relationship and communication among parents, teacher, and the child actually forms a golden triangle. To maintain equal balances among the three parties is the key to a successful educational development. I reminded them that when any one party is weakened within this triangle, the angle and the sides of the triangle will be skewed. Each party has to take the responsibility of ensuring a job well done. For those parents who attended the workshop, they obviously are very involved or want to be involved in their children’s education. Teachers are in school to help them move their children along on the path of leaning. The majority of teachers I know are passionate about education because they want to teach children. I encourage those parents to open the communication channel with their child’s teacher, but, first and foremost, help their children develop positive work ethics. Children at the formative years are adaptable to a routine, which is easier to help them develop a “work habit".  If the child has established a diligent work habit when they are young, they will have a positive attitude and be ready to take on anything and everything later on in life!

At the end, I did give them a few concerns that I have about the new immigrant generation because most of the parents are the first generation immigrants who just came to Canada. Their children are either recently enrolled in school, or born in Canada. This group of children will be a generation who do not understand how difficult life was when their family first arrived. The hard working attitude and endurance their parents brought with them will be faded or eventually erased in their young minds. This group of children, who are well provided for, will be a generation of new Canadians who haven’t known tough times.

Throughout the years, I have seen many students who could have anything they want or could have gone places; however, the only thing that is lacking is having “self-discipline” and “work ethics” instilled in their upbringing. Nowadays, some parents in Taiwan or in Canada alike seem to experience this inability to handle their children’s defiance or rough-edge attitude.  All I can say is, the issue of rebelling children has been reoccurring in our society throughout the history of time, and the problem can not simply be created or solved within a few days. The only way to avoid or solve these attitude problems is to deal with them up front from day one. Parents need to take control and work with the teachers to ensure a child’s education is fostered within a solid frame work of positive work ethics! 

Canada is a country of immigrants who have brought many of their old values, good or bad, from the "old country" to this new land. To all immigrant parents who are concerned about education, your family education and cultural values are very important to your children, and definitely will have an impact on their future education. Take the better of the two cultures and help your children succeed.