HIHTK Episode 009 Queenie Tan – “How Worldschooling Broke Her Culture Norms”
Summary: Queenie Tan–Asia’s Elite Parent Coach, Teacher, Teacher Trainer, International Speaker, Worldschooler<br> This month we are continuing our series on worldschooling. These episodes feature families that are living and learning on the road, each with their own unique stories and perspective. This week is part 1 of a 2 part interview with Queenie Tan.<br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Other ways to enjoy this Podcast<br> <br> <br> <a title="Listen on iTunes" href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/honey-im-homeschooling-the-kids/id1272423047" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <a title="Listen on Google Play" href="https://play.google.com/music/listen?t=Honey!_I%27m_Homeschooling_The_Kids&pcampaignid=MKT-na-all-co-pr-mu-pod-16&u=0&view=/ps/I2zvkou6ephyzybp2fc6f2ea3lm" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <a title="Listen on Stitcher" href="http://www.stitcher.com/s?fid=147912&refid=stpr" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a><br> <br> <br> <br> <br> <br> Fighting Dyslexia<br> Queenie Tan struggled to meet the cultural standards of her society from a young age. Teachers branded her stupid and lazy because of her dyslexia. Not understanding how dyslexia worked Queenie’s teachers used external motivation that affected her self image and self esteem. Once she finished school Queenie was determined to become the teacher she never had. She trained as a Montessori teacher, received her Bachelors of Education then continued on to her Masters of Education. Queenie devoted her time to better training teachers to bring out the best in students in the right way. <br> Once she became a parent she wanted to use her training and education to make sure that her boys did not have the same school experience as she did. She enrolled them in the top private school in Hong Kong but after time she began to see many things in common with her boys. One is dyslexic, one is gifted and neither were fitting into the school system. Queenie questioned why she was spending so much money for them to attend a school they never seemed to be part of. <br> Against The Norms<br> After much research and consideration Queenie decided to do something drastically different from her culture, her beliefs of the education system, even the beliefs of her spouse. She decided to pull her boys out of school. This defied their country’s cultural norms and rules. Taking her boys out meant that it would be extremely difficult for them to return. And then now what would she do? Their best and only option was to leave the country.<br> The Start of Worldschooling<br> She had to make a lot of plans to leave. She had to make sure it was sustainable. A series of events fell into place, including meeting and working with <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/freedom-learn" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Dr Peter Gray</a> that helped her to adjust her perspectives on schooling. With her work online and building her role as an international speaker Queenie decided to leave Hong Kong with her boys to unschool and full time worldschool.<br> This fall is their one year anniversary worldschooling.<br> Unsure at first if this would be the right course of action Queenie now sees her boys thriving and excited about life and learning. They are picking up skills that they never would have if they had stayed in school.<br> What Are They Learning?<br> Worldschooling has been a learning curve for them. Queenie’s previous views on learning and education have shifted. She believed learning had to be structured, measured, and quantified. She instead now sees learning as experiential and contextual.<br> After research and talking to other homeschooling parents she took the suggestion to <a href="https://imhomeschooling.com/hihtk-005-exploring-unschooling/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">deschool</a> first.
