VANCOUVER, Nov. 11 (Xinhua) -- When Iris Shao landed Vancouver, Canada with her 14-year-old daughter Theresa Gong from Beijing as new immigrants last fall, to find a secondary school for Theresa became her top priority.

    She had her eye on University Hill Secondary School, the top public school in an annual school report card compiled by Fraser Institute, an independent research and educational organization. Unfortunately, UH had no vacancy available, leaving Theresa on the waiting list while studying in Lord Bynd, another public school with high ranking. It was only one year later that Theresa was finally allowed a seat in UH.

    Iris is one of many parents from Chinese immigrant families who seek to select so-called famous schools for their children. However, education officials here just don't think the selection is necessary. They told Xinhua recently that public schools in Canada are all equal and every student has the right to access public schools of equal quality.

    According to William Wong, district principal of Vancouver School Board, Canadian public schools get funding from government and teach the same curriculum. All teachers are professional and qualified and the principals and teachers are subject to transfer among schools. So unlike the situation in some other countries, all Canadian public schools are comprehensive and at the same academic level, and students are supposed to attend their neighborhood school.

    Wong played down those "famous" public schools which are strongly favored by Chinese parents. He said the Fraser's ranking which Chinese parents usually refer to when evaluating a school contains lots of misinformation and is misleading, adding it's like a quick snapshot based on maybe only one academic assessment and does not reflect the whole picture.

    Wong suggested that instead of focusing on good reputation in selecting schools, parents and children should talk to school administrators and check the different programs that schools provide. Besides, in order to choose a suitable school, parents need to find out what is best for their children, their learning capacity and what really makes them more interested in schools.

    Lewis Nicolle, a Grade 11 student, may be an excellent example. He feels comfortable with the study in the Mini School of Point Grey Secondary School, saying he "loves it and enjoys every minute in school." It's not because the Point Grey is seen as a famous school by parents from Chinese immigrant families, but because it offers Mini School program, which provides opportunity of enrichment for highly motivated students.

    Lewis said he was keen on computer and liked to take challenges. He chose Point Grey Mini School because it met his expectation with its challenging program, field trips and peers with similar interests. He was accepted into the program at Grade 8 after taking cognitive, English and Math tests. He was competitive enough to be among the 30 students being chosen out ofsome 500 applicants.

    Switching from his neighborhood school to the desirable Mini School means, Lewis has to spend 20 more minutes by bus on the way to school, but he said "it's absolutely worthwhile."

    Echoing Wong's opinion, Lewis said he didn't see Point Grey as a famous school, adding it had "good environment, good teachers and good people, but nothing special."

    Whether to attend a so-called famous school or not does not matter, Wong believes. What really helps students, he concludes, is the motivation of students themselves, the support and encouragement from family and the inspiration from teachers and other adults around them.

    He said that some parents choose the so-called famous school in order to make their children successful, but the purpose of education is "to help our students live a good and worthwhile life, and that good and worthwhile life is not always about money or personal success."

Special report: Global News Day for Children