PAL Workshop: How to Best Support Your Child in an International Education

1. PAL Workshop: How to Best Support Your Child in an International Education

2. Different School Systems • To understand and support your child, it is essential to understand the goals of an International system vs. the Chinese education system (or another national system) • Goals in China: • Achieve highest level of knowledge • Focus on technical knowledge • Tries to filter different levels of certain kinds of talent • Creates professionals: engineers, doctors, etc.

3. International School Goals • Student Goals that are valued in international schools: • Well-rounded • Self-motivated • Passionate • Life-long learners • Leadership/Collaboration • Positively impact the world • Creates thinkers and leaders

4. How do western style schools help students reach these goals? • Well-rounded students: • Extracurricular activities • Sports • Wide range of elective classes • Self-motivation: • Students can select topics for essays/projects • Required self-reflection in long-term Personal Projects • Free time to choose what to do • Flexible requirements

5. How do international schools help students reach these goals? • Passionate: • Wide range of extracurricular activities • Freedom to establish clubs and pursue outside activities with school support • Life-long learners: • Focus on critical thinking and learning skills in addition to knowledge accumulation • Integrated curriculum that requires students to apply what they learn in other classes

6. How do International Schools help students reach these goals? • Leadership/Collaboration: • In-class group work • Sports teams/clubs • Student-elected government • Positively impact the world: • Community service

7. Challenges • What are some of the challenges students from Chinese school backgrounds face? • Students have trouble utilizing free time provided by school • Three levels of time-use: • Wasting time (e.g., playing video games) • Engaged in informal activities (e.g., playing basketball with friends) • Activities that utilize school resources (e.g., joining the basketball team or starting a club sponsored by a teacher)

8. Challenges • Recognizing the resources the school offers • Students must take responsibility for their own development • Finding the multiple layers of purpose in every activity • Difficult because curriculum is integrated and every activity develops multiple skills simultaneously • Even in activities that seem easy or in which the child does not have interest, there is still much value to be gained

9. Challenges • Mix of factors determine grades • Not just a test score; a variety of measurement tools • Subjective factors also determine grade; “Life is like this” • Difficulty balancing academic, social and extracurricular life • Hardest for older students because they have more requirements in these areas • Greatest difficulty for Chinese students when they go to university

10. How parents can better support their children to succeed • Understand the education system your child is going into • You must understand the system in order to give your child the best advice and support • You also must understand the different university expectations • 2. Consistent communication with the school • Consider more carefully what the school says more than what other parents and friends say

11. How parents can better support their children to succeed • 3. Allow your child to make decisions • The school gives students free time to explore; do not force or decide for your child what to do with it • Encourage child to be active, but allow them to decide what to do • Help your child find area of passion and begin to tell a story.

12. How parents can better support their children to succeed • 4. Support non-required school activities • Sports, community service, field trips, social activities • They play a role in developing your child’s skills • 5. For college preparation, listen to the school • Talk about college admissions; BCIS knows what your child needs to succeed. • Avoid sacrificing other things for standardized tests: SAT and TOEFL

13. How parents can better support their children to succeed • 6. Recognize this education system is just as hard as the Chinese one • Student has many other challenges to overcome, not just test scores

14. How parents can better support their children to succeed • 7. Spend time listening and talking to your child and their teachers • 8. Set goals • Make sure goals are realistic, measureable and have a time frame

15. Supporting your child Abroad.

17. The first step to supporting your child is again understanding the issues • Time zone changes • Food and nutritional challenges • Different cultural expectations (parents) • Dorm • Phones • Driver’s license • Loneliness, fear, homesickness • Language challenges Recognizing the additional challenges

18. General honeymoon phase Culture Shock can set in – Support but don’t push – encourage independence Expect times of frustration Expect changes: dress, food, political perspectives Phases of adjustment

19. Health – take complete medical record and all prescriptions. • Insurance • Cell phones • Travel documents • Finances • Emergencies – natural, crimes, street-smarts, dress, who can be trusted, what to do….. Safety Issues

20. Any Questions?