Expat Exchange - Question 44

Do you have any thoughts you would like to share about education for expatriate children?

Difficult the older they are, for certain.

Expatriate children are human beings first, but as a result of their frequent moves, they often encounter adjustment and transition issues that are not so apparent for children who stay in one location. This is especially true for adolescents/teenagers.

Yes, try and avoid the US public school system! Brit schools are better!

Stay away from international schools if you want your children to integrate and really know a country.

Be flexible and be prepared to fill the gaps at home.

An incredible opportunity for your children to learn another language, meet people from other countries. I beleive this experience could be one of the more important ones in the child's development.

Although not familiar with the education for children, I completed two advanced degrees abroad, and gained immensely from the education and contacts.

Your children will go to school with kids from all over the world. There will be a transistion period where they are not to thrilled with you for taking them away from their friends, but as they make new friends and adjust to paying for ketchup at McDonalds, life will return to normal. You will also find that it will take awhile for them to appreciate what a great opportunity they have to learn and how their experiences will help them mature their transistion into adults.

Not applicable.

see that the kids know what they are landing into

The US system is much different than the UK system of education. If your children are well into their US education, they will not assimilate well into the UK system. For example, a 16 year old in the UK is about 2-3 years beyond the typical US 16 year old in educational and maturity terms. Also, in the teenage years, many are taking exams for further school placement that are not applicable in the US system and that US students are not prepared to take. For this age student, considerations for a private boarding school in the US or private US style schools in the UK are your best options.

Appears to be a great opportunity to learn a second or third language in addition to raising children's cultural awareness.

Can't comment on this.

Depends on length of time to be spent abroad in host country. We tranformed our local family language into the local language French and sent our children to French schools for 10 years before they learned English when we movedto the USA for several years. Later we returned to Italy with our daughter who was then enrolled in American schools - but had no problem learning and becoming fluent in Italian as well.

Children learning ESL get more conversation experience than the adults in school do.

You need to be aware your states requirements for graduation if you child will return to the U.S. before college age and make sure they are on track academically. The experience of livng abroad can enhance an education, but does not replace it.

quality education is important that can be augmented at home. Learning to adjust to another culture and engaging that culture is a life lesson of importance.

N.A.

none

I work short term assignments (less than a year)and my partner and daughter don't travel with me since she is in school except to visit in the summer.

Most American Schools in England, Singapore, Etc., are quite good but it is wise to study the local alternative of Private Schools. Frequently they are well above the American standard, and your child will benefit by the quality of that education.

none

Foreigners tend to send their kids to the missionary schools such as the church of England or religiuos schools run by priests of the christian faith.

It is very important that children are able to assimilate into the local society - I would recommend that expats send their children to a school that provides some teaching of the local language and the local culture and customs.

My children, now both adults, learned to speak Portuguese in Brazilian high schools as exchange students. Significantly, they learned much more about the culture from their school friends than they could have learned in even the best classrooms.

My daughter is currently boarding at a Montessori Middle School in the US. My son is in a Spanish language only Montessori here this year, but will return to the US to board at the Montessori Middle School with my daugther as he will then be old enough to board.

It's very difficult to "merge" two school systems, once you have returned to the USA. Even with being diligent in knowledge and what the American schools eventually want, both my children suffered when they returned.

My child first went to an international school where it was extraordinarily expensive, and not at all what I had expected. I later placed my child in a very good, highly esteemed 'local' school, which was much more to our liking.

I feel that international schools on the whole are better than American schools, public ones, anyway.

Yes study hard for they are very educated and it is very important to them to surive in the country today.

n.a.

I believe the international schools are the best options for any parent today

The educational system here is wonderful. The teachers are very understanding and have the best training. The children are having an experience that they will never forget.

none

Isolates them and turns them into Expat Brats more often than it acculturates them in positive ways.

Get them involved in the community and school very soon after arriving. Children are so adaptable it is just amazing especially when they are encouraged to participate.

Again ask lots of questions. My daughter, hub and I are moving back next year. I intend to teach my daughter at home. I will also have her attend a local school to learn her other mothe tongue, Tibetan. But we will actually attend together. I would tell all moms and dads to ask tons of questions. Grill all the teachers, talk to the head masters, look at the school books, watch the other kids' behavior while they play. Try to think, knowing your kid, will they fit in? What is going to make the transistion easier?

Expatriate children have special needs. The US should invest in more international sections in French public schools, so that expatriates can educate their children in both english and french. The only international public middle-high school in Paris is british. Not all Americans abroad are rich enough to pay for private bilingual schooling. Home schooling is the rule for primary age kids.

I have strong thoughts about education in general. I took an active role in my childrens' education, to the point of helping to establish and run two private schools. More parents need to do this. Consigning children to be "educated" by the state is to consign them to brainwashing. Americans need to wake up.

does not apply to me

Just remember, you are not in Kansas anymore. The big picture for the children is not in their school curriculum, but the actual experiences they will have living overseas.

I feel this is very important to have an excellent school provided for our children, especially high school.

I do not have children but I myself was a child of expats and attended international schools my entire life. I graduated with the International Baccalaureate Diploma from the United Nations International School of Hanoi. Most international schools around the world are of top quality; the teachers are top-notch. Even in remote locations, international schools can provide a superb education to children of expats. They are expensive, but many companies and organizations will pay all or most of the tuition for their employees.

Depending on how long you are staying, the type of school makes a big difference for the child. If you know that you will be gone when a 3-5 year contract is up, an American school priced by American standards (read..expensive, by Egyptian standards) is fine. The children are 50% - 75% trancient and will be gone in a few years. If you know that you will be staying in that country for a much longer time, maybe even for good, then an American school where there are more Egyptian students and most importantly, more American students that will be in the same school from KG to high school, would be a better school for your child. The child would be able to make long term friendships. That's important for us.

Try to prepare them for the different teaching styles and different systems of education when possible.

It is normally very expensive. Make sure that the employer is paying for it!

Make sure you get a proper induction, and be careful if your child suffers from ADHD or a learning disability --the schools with higher GSCE scores are not likely to help with those children at all. very disappointing and frustrating. pick school carefully

PLACE THEM IN A TRULY INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL WHERE THEY HAVE REAL EXPOSURE TO ALL CULTURES AND CUSTOMS

it was really tough on friends of mine

nope

Don't look only at the schools from your home country. It can be a tremendously enriching experience for children to attend local-country schools (speaking as a former teacher, not as a parent)

Excellent focus on accademics. Too little focus on the arts. Good balance on sports. I feel sports in the US is too emphasized and sports internationally was better balanced as a good and nice part of life, but not the main driver for the youth.

My children were educated completely in Arabic and spoke English fluently. It was only when my son came to Australia on completion of year 10 taht we realized he didn't read or write English very well at all. It was a huge issue as he needed to learn spelling, grammer punctuation adn sentence structure very quickly to get into university at the end of high school

more info/discussion on the subject would be helpful as we're facing this again

We found out that the IB didn't prepare her for SATs....so her scores were lower than the American children in the States. Hopefully, the colleges will see that she had IB training and the lower SAT scores won't matter. We'll see....she's applied for college in the Fall and has only heard from two colleges of her 6 choices.

We originally placed our son in an English nursery school. It was awful and he was miserable. This year he is going to a local preschool and he is very happy as are we. The foreign schools are often staffed by unqualified people and are very choatic due to high staff turnover. My sons school is very popular with both expats and locals.

My daughter ended up teaching the high school course..........she was better informed than the regular teacher.

The American school in Venezuela is excellent. Certainly it has more to offer than my daughter's New York City Public School. Expatriate education is one reason to stay overseas. Not only to yuo get more for your money, but your kids may also have an advantage in applying for colleges.

Again, as long as the school meets the educational standards for the country university will be attended in, it is best, in my opinion, to go local!

You should have placed a box stating "does not apply to me" in question 42.

Stress to your children that it is not, nor will it ever be like their native country. It's important to embrace this new experience for what it is.

It was important that there was an English speaking school in the city where we moved.

difficult at the beginning, definitely worthwhile for those without learning difficulties

Very difficult environment children who have special needs. These services are difficult to find in our native language.

Expatiate kids are so lucky, but they need help to use and understand their luck. There are all kinds of groups focused on TKK third culture kids, and so forth. Parents have to be even more attuned to expat kids messages and needs. But it is worth it! I work with North American college placements for international candidates, and it can be a very strong plus to have managed the expat experience 'well', and with insight and understanding. And that includes the occaisional conflicts and failures...which just make a candidate that much stronger and more interesting than a vanilla local.

Make sure that the school system is the same as your home country. I didn't know that and my daughter ended up having to repeat a grade.

NOne

We had a child with us before (now grown). Finding a school where the child feels comfortable is sometimes more important than what the school offers. This was our experience in at least one country. A child will not perform well in a school he/she does not like no matter how good the school is. sv

Great experience! IB is the best program for students

I think the International schools are more tailored for the expartriate, however after being in the new country for more than a year most kids just want to fit in with their neighbors. The younger the child, the easier the transition

Best experience was UK Boarding School...others did NOT prepare him for international education

I have no children.

Depends on your children and your needs. Do you want them to "slot back into the home system" or do you want the "international experience" ? The latter is good fun and good for the students but rather sad for the child to leave when you move on. In the Gulf it is very common for different nationalities to have their own schools.

DEAR SIR EXPATRIATE EDUCATION CENTERS SHOULD UNDER SKILLED WORKERS TRAINING CENTERS (LABOUR DEPARTMENT)

none

Kids love stability. Sometimes all that means is finding one buddy, or one activity to latch on to. Do everything you can to stay by their side until that is established. If you don't help them find it, they're liable to drift, or resent their move, or act out - all with reason.

Educate them on how to be humble, on how to understand the locals, on how to mix more with the locals and not have the air of an 'expatriate'

American school system stinks, depending where you live you might learn something. On the whole not a good education system. Go private to get a get school education, public schools are disgusting.

I attended university in the UK. It's true what they say, that British schools are much harder. There is a much higher standard of excellence here and I think students need to be prepared to work hard.

International schools are expensive. For the early grades, we put our boys in the local public elementary program (for about 2 years). They learned French very quickly. For later years, we did not receive any financial assistance whatsoever, and paid for our 2 boys to attend: (1) a local school with an international program (about $3,000 per year) plus (2) a bilingual school with a US -sanctioned HS diploma (about $6,000 per year). It is essential to negotiate for this benefit when considering an assigment abroad.

The education abroad surpasses that of the American school system in both practical and educational terms. The children witness, experience and are faced with situations that train them for life's experiences. My children are self-motivated and worldly in their ways because of their education training as well as life's experiences of living abroad. It is impossible to separate the learning and must be looked at as a combined effort in the educating of the TCK.

The education systems are vastly different that in the US. We had to learn how to negotiate it on our own with no assistance from anyone.

Parents must learn to speak the language and encourage their children to learn it as quickly as possible so they can all integrate and gain confidence, communicate and overcome the initial difficulties of new situation.

If you are going to stay in a foreign country for one year or less, choose an international school. But, if you plan to stay longer, please consider local schools for the diversity training your children will get. It will be tough for them to be in a local school if the language is difficult, but the skills they will acquire will greatly benefit them in the future.

In our two experiences (Monterrey, Mexico and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), there were a few choices. We carefully researched the schools before leaving and then toured them once we'd arrived. We spoke with other expats and interviewed the schools' staff for further information. Be prepared to have mixed feelings about the schools and how they work. We were generally pleased, but there were things we did not know that we had to learn (for instance,the school in Mexico was largely populated by the richest, most spoiled children and their families -- we were the gringo minority, and were made to feel that).

Ignore the websites and brochures - go in person. If it doesn't 'feel' right, your instincts are probably correct.

American schools should strive to be more 'international' with their programming for students, both academically and socially. This is a wonderful opportunity for students to become more global.

Foreign schools abroad must realise that expat children may be foreign to their ways, and react accordingly. Our children, British by birth, had only ever lived in Spain and been educated at a Spanish school, but were assumed to be familiar with British ways at the local British school, and punished for behaving in a Spanish manner

Be prepared in case you have to move to a new system. Watch schools back in your home neighborhood in case you are moved home suddenly.

none, sorry.

Understand the requirements that need to be met in high school to be eligible for university.

Local schools for elementary age kids are vital.

This is really tough, but depends on the age and quality of the school. Parents need to know about requirements and standards for when they return (and maybe use a tutor), but overall I think that attending local schools is very good because of the way it links families.

I was the one who attended university in the UK. University in the UK is much more demanding than at American universities I've attended, so students need to be prepared to work hard. I also think the international student rates are horrible!! There's no reason to charge three times the normal rate. I think the universities here lower their standards to accept as many high-paying international students from non-English speaking countries. I've edited these students' dissertations, and their English language skills are abysmal. They should not be allowed to study without being fluent in English (the schools say they test students, but I'm quite cynical about easily these foreign students are passing).

From what I have witnessed (friends), unless the children will be residing for a long-term overseas, they should be put in a school which will not stray off the course of the home-country scholastic program. Don't try to make little Johnny integrate with the locals if it means for the first year/s he will not be able to follow the curricula (or the language!). Making local friends can be easily accomplished by joining a sport team.

Usually the opportunity provided by the company educational assistance enables children to enjoy a better education. I believe that boarding school prepares children for college, there is little adjustment required in the first year of college as the young person generally is already more indepent and can study responsibly.

Child's school experience is critical to how well they adapt

Very difficult outside the 3 or 4 major cities as schooling is only available in Portuguese.

Belizean schools are much better than I expected. There is a no-nonsense atmosphere that most american schools lack. The students wear uniforms and pay to go to school (altho not the full cost) and this makes them more serious.

The education the child gets at home is a lot more important than what happens at school.

No, not really. Only comment i would like to make that i very much appreciate the IB programm my daughter is following. Moving cross country three times over the past 6 years did not influence her performance due to the quality of the IB course.

I wish the American schools would start requiring a school uniform. The British schools all have a uniform. Aside from making life easier in the morning, a uniform helps prevent the ridiculous competition that goes on with (middle school in particular) girls regarding expensive clothing. The American kids all look like a bunch of slobs, and are too easily identified as American, not such a safe thing these days. A nondescript uniform that just looks like the British school uniforms would be good.

There are a wide range of schools within the international circuit. The experience will depend on the mix of true expats and thier variety to the mix of locals. Some schools are more "ïnternational" than others.

Previously I had children in the Cayman Islands school system. I suggest find a school more llike your home country for a smoother transition back.

Very important to have the family together for proper development.

All children should attend the Spanish state schools - they are good and your child will learn Spanish much more quickly

I think that Australian schools are so used to having children from different countries, that they don't put special effort in helping them adjust.

My two youngest daughter's were offered free schooling at any one of 3 TASIS schools in Europe during the 5 years I was in Saudi Arabia but declined (didn't want to leave their friends) and both have regretted it since.

It's a luck of the draw, but the American system seems better for an American kid - less hassles when returning to the States. My chld was in the British system in 2 countries; fortunately they were in the younger years, so did not affect him scholastically.

just try to at least put kika on, it's kids TV and they pick up a lot as well, also don't fear kids pick up languages far faster as well as better then adults

Make sure that educational expenses are included in your contract. Quite often, English language education is extremely expensive in foreign countries. Remember that somtimes things like school bus transport is not included in the education bebefit.

Put them into a biligual environment and at least a school that REQUIRES the local language be taught as a subject.

It is EXTREMELY expensive to have good schooling. and many companies do not cover the schooling-costs. That on it's own, is making a lot of expat move back home, for the simple reason that they can no longer afford to put their kids through international schools, and the local schools are in developing countries not really an option ...

Our 3 children are dual nationals and speek both German and English.

the younger they go the better off they are in local schools for older children above the age of 12 it is difficult unless the school gives them a few months intensive language classes as a starter. If you are british and not sure how long your stay will be then older children should go to a british school to keep up with curriculum for their return home.

Since we are in Geneva, it's not the best of school or facilities, but they are being exposed to alot!

more focus in the school on beeing a child/student in a new country. Feelings. Other students experiences.

Now that the American are gone from Panama, it is difficult to find a school for American children that is not truly expensive.

If your children attend local schools, make sure they have some form of native-language instruction. That means you should provide them with instruction in English reading and writing as a native-speaker. Schools may have English classes, but they are English as a Foreign Language classes. These are bad for English native-speaking children because they get bored and wind up learning less than the other children. Children who attend local schools often learn the local language very quickly. There are books available about dealing with bilingualism. The best one I know of is The Bilinugal Family: A Handbook for Parents (ISBN: 0521808626) We worked hard to keep English as the language we used together in the home.

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Question 44