School Life 2010

Kids Talk: What Are Kids Looking Forward To?

School Life 2009

1421 The Year China Discovered the World

Jina Hong Student Council and Beyond

China in the Curriculum: YCIS Students Reach Beyond the Classroom

Murder,Mystery,and Intrigue in Middle School

Nelson Zhang--Taking Science All the Way to Reno

Shanghai International Schools Graduate Showcase

East Meets West in the Art Room

Saving the Earth Through Education and Fun

The Sugarbeats: Shaking Out the Sillies

School Life 2008

Shanghai’s International Students Get a Taste of the Big Screen

With the Board They're Not Bored

Does the Early Bird Get the Worm?

Education: In Shanghai, teachers ask “What gender gap?”

Roots and Shoots Grows in Shanghai

An Interview With Graphic Novelist Gene Yang

Recent Forum Posts

International School Spirit

May 2010

Diversity in our international schools is a key appeal for many parents. For teens, however, fitting in is hard enough when they’re living in their home countries and are comfortable operating in their established cliques. How do teens interact in an international school environment?

IT’S MORNING BREAK and the cafeteria begins to fill up with about 80 high school students. Most people look around, find their friends and begin talking. Soon, the whole room is filled with the noise of chattering people. You soon realize that there are at least half a dozen different languages being spoken. Welcome to the international school.

Chinese, Japanese, Koreans, Americans, French, Germans and more come together for classes at international schools across Shanghai. You can’t live in this environment and not come away with a few observations. Because students tend to revert to the language they feel most comfortable speaking once they’re out of the classroom, this usually means they hang out with people who share a common language and cultural understanding during breaks in lessons.

At the Shanghai Community International School, the Europeans and Americans tend to stand around in circles of about 12 people and start talking about their plans for the weekend while poking fun at each other, the Taiwanese kids sit at a table and start speaking Mandarin, and the Korean kids are doing the same thing in Korean, but only the older kids seem to be doing most of the talking. This may have something to do with their strong social hierarchy based on age.
The Europeans tend to mix well with students from English speaking countries such as the U.S., U.K. and Australia, and they switch back and forth from their native language to English rather effortlessly. The Dutch at our school are known for their loud and humorous ways, while the Swedes are friendly and down to earth, though more reserved than their Dutch counterparts.

Americans represent a large portion of the school’s population, and typically mix with other native-English speakers such as British, Canadian and Australian students. At lunchtime, they usually sit and socialize rather than play sports, though they enjoy participating in a range of school sports teams such as basketball. A lot of Taiwanese kids also love basketball and are often seen on the basketball court at lunch. The Koreans, meanwhile, prefer to play badminton and ping pong. And the Europeans at SCIS are extremely talented at football and make up the majority of the school football team.

Over time, though, we’ve noticed that the differences in the various groups begin to decrease over time. We see students mix more with those from other countries the longer they’re at an international school. Students no longer face a cultural barrier that separates them from other groups. Also, students who are non-native English speakers tend to be able to overcome barriers when their confidence in speaking English increases.

Finally, once students spend a longer period of time together in school, bonds are formed over common interests rather than just cultural similarities. Despite cultural differences and language barriers, all students no matter what their nationality, enjoy spending their time outside of class in similar ways such as socializing, participating in school activities, listening to music, playing sports and of course, checking Facebook.

International schools are comprised of students from different nationalities. Because of the differences in culture, upbringing and language, students have different ways of interacting both inside and outside the classrooms. Though the differences make for a sometimes confusing time, it is very beneficial for students to have understanding of people from different cultures and backgrounds especially with the world becoming increasingly global and connected.

Although students in an international school may hold themselves apart from others because of their differences, they share the experience of having left their home country and living in Shanghai. This is a rare and special experience that has the ability to unite people.