安省数学危机：想送子女念私校？
Ontario math crisis: will you consider private school?
随着有关数学测试成绩不断下滑的新闻头条铺天盖地而来，安省学生陷入了数学危机，这令许多家长感到沮丧，尤其是那些认为数学技能至关重要的华裔家长。在许多家长急迫寻找解决方案之际，提供更多课后辅导的私立学校似乎成为一个不错的选择。
Ontario students’ math is in crisis as news about failing math test results has flooded media headlines. As frustrated parents -- particularly Chinese parents who value the ultimate importance of math -- are scrambling to find solutions, private schools that offer much more after-class tutoring may seem to be an alternative.
但是私立学校的费用非常昂贵，可能并不是每一位家长都能负担得起。不过，你仍然可以通过有限的财力让孩子最大限度地从私立学校体系中获益。
But private schools are very expensive, and may not be an option for every parent. However, with a good enrolment strategy, you may be still able to tap into the private school system for your children through limited financial resources.
大中报记者 伍德
如果在公立学校里读幼儿园，能否成为一个成功的1年级学生？让孩子从4年级开始读私立学校是否为时太晚？如果在一所独立中学仅读一年的书，对于一名8年级的学生是有益呢，还是效果不佳？
Will first-graders succeed if they attended kindergarten in public school? Is fourth grade too late to enroll a child in private education? Will attending an independent middle school for only one year benefit or limit an eighth-grader?
《大中报》联系了六所独立学校和私立学校，并向他们提出如下问题：让孩子开始接受私立教育的最佳年龄是几岁？
Chinese News decided to contact six independent or private schools and ask: when is the best age to enroll kids in private education?
《大中报》所联络的大部分学校代表都表示，决定何时报读私立学校应该是一个个人决定，因为其涉及很多因素，包括个人财务状况、孩子家到学校的距离、孩子是否有兄弟姐妹等等。
Most of the representatives Chinese News spoke with say that choosing when to enroll in private education should be a personal decision, because many factors, including finances, proximity to the school and whether the child has siblings, are involved.
Sunnybrook学校校长艾琳•戴维表示，如果家长能够支付得起初级幼儿园至12年级的私立学校学费，“对初年级（学生）有益处，对中年级（学生）有益，对高级年级（学生）也有益处。”
Irene Davy, principal of Sunnybrook School, says that if parents can afford to pay for private school from junior kindergarten to grade 12, “there are benefits to the junior years, benefits to the middle years, and benefits to the senior years.”
她说：“我认为，当你开始让孩子读私立学校时，就应该尽量确保你有能力让他们继续读下去。我曾看到过有人因为经济原因将孩子撤出来，这样做的感觉很不好。”
“I do think it’s important that when you start your child in private school, you be fairly sure that you’ll be able to continue it,” she says. “I’ve seen people pull their children out for financial reasons and it never feels very good.”
Bayview Glen出版主任曼迪•刘表示，就应当何时让孩子开始读独立学校而言，没有正确或错误的时间。
Mandy Lau, director of publications at Bayview Glen, says there is no right or wrong time to enroll a child in an independent school.
她说：“如果孩子不开心，最好早点考虑转校的问题。如果并非如此，家长可以自由地选择最佳的时机。”
“If a child is unhappy, it is best to consider a move sooner. If this is not the case, families are free to choose when the best time is,” she says.
Montcrest学校招生主管迈克尔•迪尔沃思表示，最重要的因素“是要尽可能早地开始。”
Michael Dilworth, director of admissions with Montcrest School, says the most important factor “is to get started as soon as you can.”
他说：“在上小学时，孩子要打好学习的基础。坦率地说，（私立学校）唯一的缺点就是学费（高昂）。”
“In the elementary years you’re building that foundation for learning,” he says. “The only disadvantage, quite frankly, is the cost.”
读私立学校是很贵的。本文所提到的学校收取的学费均在$1.9万元以上——其中不包括注册费，注册费一般为$3000至$5000元。
Private school is expensive. Each of the schools contacted for this article charges tuition fees of $19,000 or more. That’s not including registration fees, which can range from $3000 to $5000.
假如父母只能支付得起一年的学费，那么他们该怎么办呢？
What if parents can only afford one year of tuition?
在《大中报》所联系的学校代表中，没有一个建议只让孩子就读一年的私立学校。男校Royal St. George’s College的招生主管汤姆•史蒂文斯表示，他会“极力劝阻”家长不要这样做。
None of the representatives Chinese News spoke with recommends enrolling children for only one year. Tom Stevens, director of admissions with Royal St. George’s College, a boy’s school, says he would “strongly discourage” a family from planning such a thing.
他说：“作为成年人，我们或许可以说，‘你能够获得一组技能，并将其带到公立学校体系之中’，但我认为学生是不懂这一点的。他们听到的是，‘你试试这个好吗？最然你最终可能会喜欢上，但到时我们还会将你撤出来。’”
“As adults we might be able to say, ‘you’re gaining a skill set to take to the public system,’ but I think as students, they don’t get it,” he says. “They hear, ‘why don’t you try this? You’ll probably end up liking it, but we’re going to pull you out after that.’”
他表示，除非从一开始便读私立学校，否则最佳时机是从7年级开始。他说，对男生来说，7、8和9年级是他们“成长的重要岁月”。
He says the best time to begin private school, if not from the beginning, is grade 7, calling grades 7, 8 and 9 “incredibly formative years” for boys.
他说：“男孩往往是边干边学，而不一定是通过听讲或阅读。例如，今天我在教10年级的数学课……在上课的最后10分钟，我们到外面去散步。我们一边看着车头灯，一边讨论（这些车头灯）是可以用二次方程式来描述的抛物面反射镜，并且光亮不是朝向马路，而是朝向镜子的。”
“Boys tend to learn by doing, not necessarily by hearing or by reading,” he says. “For example, today I was teaching grade 10 math... In the last 10 minutes of class we took a walk outside. We looked at car headlights and talked about how they’re parabolic mirrors described by a quadratic equation, and the actual light doesn’t face out towards the road – it faces towards the mirror.”
Montcrest（该校以8年级为最高年级）的迪尔沃思先生说，他曾经接受过只要在该校读最后一年级的学生，但是他并不建议这样做。
Montcrest’s Mr. Dilworth, whose school ends in grade 8, has enrolled students for only their final year but does not recommend it.
如果只能选择一个两年的学习时期，他建议从以下三个“过渡”时期进行选择：初级幼儿园和高级幼儿园，以便培养管理技能；1年级和2年级，以便培养学术技能；或7年级和8年级，以便为高中打好基础。
If limited to choosing two years of study, he recommends one of three “transitional” periods: junior kindergarten and senior kindergarten, to build executive functions; first and second grade, to establish academic skills; or seventh and eighth grade, to build a foundation for high school.
迪尔沃思先生说：“但是我舍不得错过7年级和8年级提供的如何写‘五段式作文’的机会。我舍不得错过可以在初级和高级幼儿园学会的灵活性的内涵和将会 得到的与他人合作的机会。我舍不得错过1年级和2年级提供的培养学习和阅读技能的好机会。实际上，这些都是重要的阶段。”
“But I’d hate to miss out on how to write a five-paragraph essay in grades seven and eight,” Mr. Dilworth says. “I’d hate to miss learning what flexibility looks like and the opportunities for cooperation that you’re going to get in spades in JK and SK. And I would hate to miss out on the great learning and reading skills development in grades one and two. The truth is, they’re all important stages.”
Metropolitan Preparatory Academy校长韦恩•麦凯尔维建议称，最晚应该从9年级开始让孩子就读私立学校。
Wayne McKelvey, principal of Metropolitan Preparatory Academy, recommends enrolling kids in grade 9 at the latest.
他说：“我们总会收到大量10、11和12年级的申请。如果父母要让孩子读私立学校，那么越早开始越好。”
“We get inundated for grades 10, 11 and 12,” he says. “If parents choose the private sector, then the earlier the better.”
他还建议说，应该让学生在私立学校一直读下去。
He also recommends keeping students in the private system.
他说：“他们在私立学校得到更多的关注。在我校，每个班的平均学生人数为14人。在当地的公立学校，每班的平均人数为28至40名学生。”
“They get more attention at private school,” he says. “Our average class is 14. In a local public school the average class size can be anywhere from 28 to almost 40.”
私立女校Havergal College招生主管玛吉•休斯顿－怀特表示，该学校的“就读起点是经过深思熟虑后才决定的，而且，在为这些就读起点准备时，我们设立了一个强有力的过渡计划——这不仅是为了我们的女生，也是为了她们的父母。”
Maggie Houston-White, director of admission with Havergal College, an independent school for girls, says her school has “very deliberate entry points, and as part of our planning for those entry points, we have a very solid transition program in place – not just for our girls, but for their parents as well.”
Havergal的“过渡点”分别为初级幼儿园、1年级、4年级、7年级以及9年级。
Havergal’s “transition points” are junior kindergarten, first grade, fourth grade, seventh grade and ninth grade.
休斯顿－怀特女士说：“家长还应该看看他们所考虑的学校是否提供助学金和奖学金。”
“Families should also be looking at when bursaries and scholarships are available at the schools they’re considering,” Ms. Houston-White says.
尽管加拿大的奖学金基金会为数不多（著名的Children First奖学金基金会已于今年早些时候停止接受新的申请者），但很多学校都会向学生提供自己的奖学金。例如，Havergal学校通过其网站（www.havergal.on.ca）提供一系列金额为$2000元至$5000元的奖学金和助学金。
While scholarship foundations for private schools are rare in Canada (a prominent one, Children First, closed its doors earlier this year), many schools provide their own scholarships. Havergal, for instance, offers a number of scholarships and bursaries worth $2000 – $5000 through its website (www.havergal.on.ca).
休斯顿－怀特女士说：“在过去五年中，为了确保我们有一个强有力的助学金计划，Havergal付出了很多努力。并且很多情况下，获得该计划的机会实际上要比家长认为的更多。”
“Havergal has done a lot over the past five years to ensure that our bursary program is a very robust one, and there are often more opportunities than families think available to them,” Ms. Houston-White says.