Parents' Article Selection

As important members of KKCS community, parents have put tremendous efforts, energy, and time to their children’s education in KKCS, and supported the school from one way and another. Here we would like to select some papers from parents, sharing their experiences of having their children’s education in KKCS and giving their voice and feedback to the school.

Reflection of my daughter’s education in KKCS and being the chair of the weekend Parents Committee

By Shuk-yin Lam

Chinese is one of the most spoken languages in the world and a part of our heritage therefore we always insist our daughter to learn Chinese in order to promote Chinese culture.   Like a blink of our eyes, my daughter, Hannah To has been studying in KKCS for 4 years.  I still remember when she was little, my husband and I tried to find the most suitable school for her.  After much research, we found KKCS to be the best.

Within the last four years, Hannah’s Chinese level has improved considerably because of the dedicated and experienced teachers from KKCS. Because o f their encouragement and guidance, Hannah’s interest in Chinese is growing everyday and attains much achievement with school awards   It is definitely worthwhile to take my daughter to KKCS every weekend,  whether it’s rain or shine.  Studying Chinese takes more than efforts of schooling in the weekends, but we also speak and study Chinese with Hannah at home.  Therefore she knows that we are also very serious of her Chinese school work, not only the homework from her English school.

In addition, music education is also very important to the brain development of a child.   Besides letting Hannah learning piano, we also encourage her to learn a Chinese musical instrument. Hannah is fortunate to study Chinese Hammer Dulcimer at KKCS with teacher Zhang Zhentian who is the foremost yangqin master and educator.    Teacher Zhang not only teaches Hannah dulcimer, but also teaches her how to appreciate Chinese music and culture as well as explaining its differences from the western music.  Hannah has been performing with Teacher Zhang numerously in various China Town events, and universities in the Greater Boston area.   Hannah is very fortunate to have such a loving and caring teacher.   She used to say that when sitting across teacher Zhang to play dulcimer, you will forget the entire headache and make you feel very peaceful.  I feel the same way every time when I hear they perform all these beautiful songs.

There have been a number of changes at KKCS, most notably the move of the School to their new building two years ago.  Last year, our new principal, Dr Zhou Yanyu also introduced several reforms including the formation of the Parents Committee.  I am honored to be asked to serve as the Committee Chair for the weekend program.  Within a short period of time, we have organized many activities for our parents, eg. English Conversation class, Tai Chi class, cooking class and adult dance class.  All of these activities help to enhance the sense of belonging amongst our parents.   I believe family education and school education are both important to the children.   As the chair of the Parent Committee, I found that helping at school helps you get to know your kid's teachers better and understand the way the school works and all the problems, challenges as well as benefits and pleasures they experience in their work.  It also helps you get to know other parents and their children better.  . Although occasionally it might seem embarrassing (watch older kids squirm as you talk to teachers and other parents) most children do actually like to know that their parent are there for them, taking an interest and sharing their experience.

Everyone has different talents and skills to bring to the Parent Committee. The best Parent Committee is inclusive and can find ways of incorporating all the different things that people can offer.  Be that a fantastic cookie recipe for a bake sale, ability with something like graphic design or computers or the commitment to run the weekly computer training.

I encourage all the parents, if you have not yet discovered the joy of helping our school's Parent committee; please consider the possibility of joining us. It’s a great way to help our schools, our kids and build the sort of communities we all want to live in.

 Kwong Kow Chinese School: Our Community

 By Maureen Tripp

As the mother of two daughters adopted from China, my dream is to raise two girls who are proud of their Chinese heritage. How to do that when my own heritage is different? Kwong Kow School has given me a way.

At the school they attend in West Roxbury, my daughters have many friends, but few who look like them. They are used to explaining that they are adopted from China, but I am happy they can be in a group where Chinese children are the majority. I appreciate that they meet Chinese families, and not just adoptive families. Though they often complain about having to go to school on Saturday, I know they will be thankful in the future, and I think even now they appreciate the experience of learning Mandarin. In their Chinese dance class, their instructor Eleanor Yu makes sure they learn Chinese history and culture, in addition to the beautiful dance steps.

For the past two years, I have had the opportunity to lead a parents’ English conversation class. This year, we were lucky to have some Columbian parents join the class. Now our conversations are truly multicultural! We talk about family life, gardening, and daily routines, and discover that, despite our surface differences, we all have much in common. We are dedicated to learning, to honoring Chinese culture, and to providing values for our children—we belong to the Kwong Kow community.

Maureen Tripp and her lovely daughter, Elizabath Spy

Learning Chinese with my Two Children in the Same Classroom

By Rosie Tan Segil

Attending Chinese school is a very rewarding endeavour for me and my two children. Kwong Kow Chinese School offers a language and culture immersion program unmatched in Boston area. They learn Chinese pinyin, characters and conversation through classroom discussion, recitation, writing, singing and art activities. Through the guidance of Ms. Wang, Alix and Jenna experience for themselves that learning and speaking Chinese is attainable in a fun way. This is also a school where parents are encouraged to sit in the classroom so they too can learn Chinese with their children.

Our weekly trip to Kwong Kow school in Boston becomes an adventure of savoring Chinese cuisine and gaining the knowledge and appreciation of our Chinese heritage.

 Sitting in the Class with my Child to Learn Chinese Together

 By Sherry Thomas

I wanted to expose my daughter Ava to different languages and cultures at an early age and was eager to have her learn Mandarin when she turned 4. Because I don’t speak the language myself, the staff at Kwong Kow Chinese school has been extremely supportive about allowing me to sit in class with my daughter so I can help reinforce her learnings at home. The energy and passion shared by the staff along with their flexibility in helping me teach my daughter have contributed greatly to her learning experience. At only five years old, she is now able to speak Mandarin as well as read and write characters! I can’t thank the school enough for all they’ve done to support our efforts!

Sherry Thomas and her lovely daughter Ava with their teacher together