quiet
child
The
Kids who are quiet are often overlooked in the
school interview process. But, by doing so, we’re
doing both the children and the classroom a
disservice, writes
Michaela Steinbach
.
H
ong Kong children
are encouraged to be
loud. The academic
admissions process, in
which students must interview well in
order to be admitted into some of the
top schools, has led to the growing
emphasis on speaking skills. Courses
that help students feel more confident
as the centre of attention, such as public
speaking, drama, and debate, are
offered all over Hong Kong. The result
of this growing emphasis on speech is
that families are led to believe that it is
advantageous (possibly even necessary)
for students to be outspoken, extroverted
types. And, while being articulate and
sociable are certainly useful traits,
we may be doing kids a disservice by
excessively stressing these skills. Quiet
children have unique abilities, too, and
all students should learn self-acceptance.
Speak up
Alex Schilling* is doing very well
at the local school he attends. The
son of expat parents, Alex now
speaks Cantonese and Putonghua.
He is getting high marks and enjoys
performing in front of his peers. Yet,
finding an academic environment
in which Alex excels was not easy.
Mother Lori* explains that her
son is not shy but is “slow to warm
up”, which made it difficult for
Alex’s strengths to be demonstrated
in interviews. “When I told our
neighbours about the difficulties
we’ve had, they laughed! He is
actually a very outgoing kid,”
Lori says.
Alex began interviewing for
schools at the age of four. In addition
to enrolling him in interview skills
workshops, Alex’s parents helped
him practise techniques such as
maintaining eye contact and speaking
in full sentences. However, interviews
still turned out to be a poor medium
for showcasing Alex’s abilities.
“What’s most frustrating is he
really is a bright child,” Lori says.
One of the main purposes of
school interviews is to assess the
interpersonal skills of new candidates.
Most educators agree that a student’s
ability to communicate effectively is
crucial to academic success. However,
determining a child’s social potential
is far more complex than measuring
“hard” skills such as maths and reading.
Interviews may provide only a
small window into a child’s sociability,
but they can have a significant impact
on a student’s schooling options. This
situation has created challenges for the
Schillings and others.
Deep thinking
Hong Kong mother Elizabeth Davies*
also knows what it’s like to have
children whose temperaments have
been misinterpreted in the interview
process. “My youngest has done
several Hong Kong school assessments
and, where feedback is given, I have
been told that ‘she doesn’t participate’,
but I know what she is doing when she
October 2014
55
