WASHZ丨Parents’ Talk：Good Education Gives Pupils Confidence and Energy to Be Strong

Preface

Sean Yue is a pupil in the Koala Class of the G1 at Lower School of WASHZ. He joined WASHZ during the second semester of his G1. In the spring of this year, Sean Yue achieved a remarkable victory in the Rising Star · 2023-2024 China Youth Skiing Open Ski Machine Challenge Hangzhou division. The coach revealed that SeanYue almost ranked first in the speed measurement of each preparation race.

This is a national ice and snow event jointly organized by the Winter Sports Management Center of the General Administration of Sport of China, the China Ski Association, the International Ski Federation (Switzerland) Beijing Office, and the Hangzhou Ice and Snow Sports Association, which determines the winners based on various aspects such as skiing skills, speed, and technical performance.

Skiing is a sport that Sean Yue has loved and persisted in since he was young. As early as last years Hangzhou City Ski Simulator Competition, he won the runner-up title. He is also a seasoned young ice hockey player and won the MVP award in the U6 category at the 2021 China Youth Ice Hockey Championship. Faced with new records and challenges, Sean Yue displayed a side beyond his age on the scene -nbsp;Its my first time participating in a high-level national competition, and Im very happy and excited to compete, communicate, and learn with peers from all over the country. My goal is possibly to enter the national finals and compete with more skilled opponents.

Returning to thenbsp;Koala Classroom,nbsp;Sean Yue, sitting in the front row, eagerly raises his hand. He seems to be confident in the teachers question, and when excited, he jumps up, eager to share the answer that came to his mind with his classmates. After finishing a day of academic classes, Sean Yue picks up his golf club and heads to the weeklynbsp;ECA (Extra-Curricular Activity) golf class. This is the sport he recently fell in love with during his semester at WASHZ.

The teaching assistant who spends time with the Koala Class students shares, Sean Yue is a child with boundaries but enjoys being part of the community. He likes to ponder over new things and has various ways of expressing himself. Everyone knows he is excellent at skiing, and he also enjoys different experiences in school sports classes, such as rugby and baseball. He also loves magic and willingly performs on stage during assembly...

We are delighted to see how smoothly Sean Yue balances his academics and interests since joining WASHZ. As he enjoys what he loves and explores the world, he continuously accumulates the energy to grow stronger. This embodies the holistic education that WASHZ has been practicing all along.

HIGHLIGHT

We are delighted to see how smoothly Sean Yue balances his academics and interests since joining WASHZ. As he enjoys what he loves and explores the world, he continuously accumulates the energy to grow stronger. This embodies the holistic education that WASHZ has been practicing all along.

Q1 At such a young age, Sean Yue has already achieved remarkable results in his favorite activities. How do you help your child explore diverse interests?

Parents' Talk

I started planning Sean Yue's sports activities when he was around 2 years old. We emphasized diversifying his sports endeavors. At the age of 2 and a half, he started training with a balance bike and also began swimming. At 3 and a half, he started learning ice hockey, which he continued for three and a half years. From the age of 4 and a half, he began horse riding, which he continues to do now. At around 6 years old, he started learning competitive skiing and tennis. These various sports activities have had a positive impact on each other. Having a good foundation in overall physical fitness has enhanced his jumping ability and balance and coordination skills.

However, during this process, Sean Yue also encounters periods of skill stagnation and even times when he may feel emotionally fatigued. We engage in deep communication and discussions from his perspective, addressing any challenges together. If he repeatedly expresses a desire to stop a particular activity, we respect his choice. We want him to enjoy the joy and passion that sports bring, rather than feeling pressure or burdened by them.

Q2 In Which aspects has Sean experienced growth through skiing?

Parents' Talk

As a child from the southern regions, opportunities to engage in winter sports are relatively scarce. However, his prior experience in ice hockey laid a strong foundation for him. One day, when we saw that a club of Hangzhou offered snow machine training, we enrolled him, and that marked the beginning of Sean Yue's skiing journey. During the winter of that year, our whole family went to Anji ski resort to ski, and from that moment, his passion for skiing became unstoppable. When the club established its competitive team, Sean Yue voluntarily became one of the first students to receive professional training in alpine skiing.

Sometimes, I ask him if he feels scared. He says that in the beginning, he was scared of falling, but as his skills improved, he realized that he could control his body and strength. Even if he occasionally falls, he has learned to protect himself.

Last winter, he went to several top domestic ski resorts in Xinjiang, such as Koktokay, Wanfeng, and Beidahu, for training. The most significant change was in his self-awareness. Even within the team, he still needed to independently complete his training tasks. The ski slopes were long, and most of the time, he was skiing at high speeds all alone. In some large ski resorts with intricate routes, he even encountered situations where he took the wrong path. After reaching the base of the mountain, he had to find the coach or his teammates for the next meeting point using the two-way radio, or he followed the coach's instructions to take the cable car alone to meet up. At those moments, he was entirely responsible for himself.

In addition, there is perseverance. When skiing, they sometimes encounter bad weather with icy winds hitting their faces. The temperature on the mountain can drop to more than thirty degrees below zero. Sean Yue mentioned that at those times, his hands and feet would become numb from the cold. Some teammates even cried due to the extreme cold. However, crying wouldn't solve the problem; they had to persevere and keep skiing to warm up their bodies.

Q3 WASHZ is dedicated to empowering students for diverse explorations and multidimensional growth, allowing them to find a sense of achievement in their passions. How do you view the power of holistic education?

Parents' Talk

WASHZ’s holistic education values the individuality of students. In addition to academic education, there is a diverse cultivation system that aims to uncover the unique brilliance of each student, encouraging them to discover and explore their own strengths and abilities. This aligns perfectly with how we have been nurturing Sean Yue.

Before he started school, apart from exploring various sports activities, we also focused on cultivating his interests in arts, music, and social activities. From a very young age, we often took him to watch various stage plays, art exhibitions, and museums. It was during this process that we discovered his exceptional empathy. At the age of 3, he could attentively watch a musical for 2 hours, and at 4, he would be moved to tears while watching the play "The Little Prince" or spend a long time gazing at a painting. I am delighted about this. I don't require him to take any graded exams in arts and music; instead, I hope that through these experiences, he will enhance his appreciation for beauty and become a source of inspiration for a high-quality life in the future.

I also hope that he can experience the beauty of the four seasons and the vastness of the world from a young age. Every year, we have several domestic and international trips to broaden his horizons and experience different customs, cultures, and histories.

When Sean Yue entered WASHZ Lower School's Koala Class, we noticed that the teachers at school were able to align their teaching with his interests and strengths. A few months later, he told us that his favorite subjects were the thematic English and Chinese classes, where he learned a lot of knowledge beyond the textbooks. He also enjoyed the problem-solving type of math questions, completing his learning through various challenging games, which he found endlessly enjoyable. Additionally, with the ECA courses, we gave him enough freedom to choose, so he feels fulfilled and satisfied with his daily campus life.

As parents, we are constantly learning on the journey of raising our children. In the process of exploring their education, we gradually realized that the ultimate purpose of education is not just imparting existing knowledge but rather guiding their creativity, awakening their sense of life and values, and giving them the confidence to gain more powerful energy.

Q4 What are the most important aspects you consider when choosing a lower school for child?

Parents' Talk

As my child is only in the G1, location and school facilities were the basic aspects I considered in my school selection.

Through some previous detours in the school selection process, I now pay more attention to two key points. Firstly, I look for a school that has the ability to cultivate my child's capability to ask and solve real-world questions. Different from rote learning, I value a curriculum and teaching approach that guides children to think critically and apply the knowledge they have learned to solve problems.

Secondly, in an international environment, I prioritize whether the school values Chinese education. I hope my child can establish a solid foundation in Chinese before studying abroad, as a combination of Eastern and Western high-quality education will provide him with a competitive advantage and more opportunities in the future.

Sean Yue has a gentle and friendly personality, rich imagination, and strong social and language expression abilities. However, being an outgoing child, he sometimes lacks concentration. When he first started school, there were instances of procrastination with homework. The teachers employed effective methods to deliberately train him, helping him improve his time management skills.

One time, my child mentioned to me that WASHZ is different from other schools because they have a 30-minute free break every day. I had concerns that the school might shorten class breaks and cut into the free time. However, my worries were unnecessary. He said he loves swinging on the swings during that break, and I can imagine the sense of freedom and joy he experiences at that moment.

Furthermore, the evaluation system of WASHZ’s Lower School for students does not focus on academic rankings but values individual growth - "What changes have you made compared to your previous self?" Each week, the class selects the "Star of the Week," "Dojo Champion," "Reading Star," and other small honors, instilling in them the belief that they can achieve and motivating them to strive for greater goals.

Epilogue

Through numerous skiing training sessions, Sean Yue has explored the boundless potential of his body, experienced the thrill of speed, and danced with the wind. With persistent efforts, he achieved breakthroughs and found immense joy in skiing. The establishment of his beliefs and the gradual strengthening of his willpower have become an integral part of him. He carries this energy into his studies and daily life, guided by holistic education, accompanied by the support of parents and teachers like the wind. With confidence and a light-hearted spirit, he grows, becoming a source of limitless potential for the future. For the upcoming Grade 2, we are looking forward to more surprises and happiness for Sean Yue.