What school do I send my daughter to?

As the years pass, my daughter grows older and I come to that point that all parents must consider: What kind of school do i send my child to?

I want to believe in the public school systems. I really do. I want to believe that the Malaysian education system can provide the right environment for my child to thrive, think critically and develop without being ostracised. I am a product of the public school system but I can't help thinking that I was one of the lucky ones. Lucky enough to have gone to good public schools and lucky enough to have been brought up in a predominantly english speaking urban area where my friends were Malaysians who could claim their first language to be English. Growing up in the Klang Valley exposed me to many opportunities which I feel may not exist in the rural North. Perhaps its the elitist PJ snob in me talking but how well will Northern children accept my english-speaking daughter? Will she be made fun of? Ostracised because she can't speak Malay well? Granted, she will learn the language, but at what cost?

Private education is another option, but to be honest, to put all my money just into academic education may be putting all my eggs into one basket. There is so much more to a child's education than just the academic system. Money saved from public schooling can be used to bring her on trips, send her for classes and nurture her interests, all important things which help to develop a well-rounded individual. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that Private schools will be better than Public Schools. I have heard stories of horrid private schools that just take the money but still cause a great deal of emotional grief to the children who attend them. Of course with research I can avoid such private schools, but it does mean I have to fork out more dough for a more 'decent' private school.

I have always admired the Chinese education system. Growing up in a predominantly Chinese community, I have always envied my Chinese friends who were, at the very least, trilingual (I should probably point out most of my closest friends were bananas but I digress). The Chinese emphasis on arithmetics is astounding and the mathematical prowess of my friends who attended Chinese primary schools was legendary. But again, I hear stories of Chinese schools being too strict, having high academic standards and judicious applications of the cane which put me off sending my daughter down that road, no matter how much I would like her to speak Mandarin. Perhaps she will, like me, pick it up later in her life. 但是我知道我的华语比我的上华校的朋友的华语还不好。But its alright, my parents didn't force me to do anything I didn't want (most of the time) so I owe my daughter the same treatment as well, seeing as how languages really aren't her strong suit at the moment.

Well, I guess I can still worry, at the very least I suppose. After all, I probably won't be there in Malaysia when she starts schooling. Another option would be to bring her here but that would open up another can of worms which would require another even longer blog posting. I trust my parents will take good care of my daughter but I can't expect them to be making the decisions for her. Whatever school she ends up going to, it should be a school that she is comfortable in and one that I am comfortable with her going to.