Helping primary schoolchildren newly arrived from mainland

Do you realize that there are more and more people from mainland gaining the right of abode in Hong Kong? In fact, it has already become a trend. The new adults immigrants usually adapt to the new environment especially if they work, but how about the little ones? They really require our help to integrate into the Hong Kong community, as those children may come across many problems and are not familiar with the new lifestyle. In this essay, I am going to examine the reasons for helping the primary schoolchildren newly arrived from mainland.

Actually, it is really tough for those primary school students to catch up with the local education curriculum. Under the examination -orientated system, they are forced to learn different knowledge within a very short time. Even in the primary school, there are always tonnes of homework, tests and examinations. In this way, those primary school students who are newly arrived may have to bear a high  pressure and feel suffocated.

Besides, their low English standard is another problem. Since those children from the mainland usually do not have as many chances as the local children to be exposed to  English, they may find it is very difficult to achieve high English proficiency. Even though they study round the clock and hope to strive for bright results with flying colors, they may still get disappointing results in the examinations. Thus, they will be very depressed and upset. As a result, they may lose their interest in studying.

Apart form the local education system, the discrimination problem is also a barrier for their adaptation in Hong Kong. Although the Hong Kong residents usually have a positive attitude towards those new immigrants, some naïve, local primary students may laugh at those newly arrived ones who cannot speak or pronounce Cantonese accurately and may even label them as ‘mainlanders’. In fact, their prejudiced acts will severely hurt those children’s hearts and make them lose their esteem. Those children will therefore become shy in making friends with others. Hence, they can hardly find someone to share their ups and downs, and will be very lonely.

Moreover, school violence problem is like the whirlwind spreading all over the schools. Those students may become their easy targets and will surly cast a deep shadow on them that can hardly fade away. Consequently, their mental growth will be adversely affected. In some extreme cases, they may even want to escape from reality by committing suicide. This shows that they really need someone help them to tackle with the problem.

On top of discrimination, Hong Kong ‘s economy is still in the doldrums. Thus, the HKSAR government will put their prime priority in dealing with the economy and other social problems, so as to make Hong Kong become prosperous and stable again. Thus, it may neglect the real needs of those newly arrived students and think providing them with such a little allowance will be enough. Indeed, their pressing need is someone who cares about them and is willing to support them. Those primary students may want to consult the problem they meet in the daily routine and gain some professional advice or guidance. Thus, they can alleviate their pressure. That is the reason why it is so important for us to help the primary schoolchildren newly arrived from mainland.

All in all, it is really necessary and urgent to help those newly arrived children to jump over all the hurdles. With someone who always stand by and play an active role in helping them, such as regular home visit and giving counseling, this can surly shorten the time they need to adapt to the new environment. Eventually, they will find that Hong Kong is a lovely place to stay in!