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Foreign children, Foreign schools..?

 
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OverLeft



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Location: Listening to Radiohead "I might be wrong"

PostPosted: Fri Jun 20, 2003 11:33 pm    Post subject: Foreign children, Foreign schools..? Reply with quote

Don't really like the word "foreign" in this context but I guess the lable's stuck. I've looked at a few job postings that have read "if you have children, they can attend school for foreigners".... as if we're supposed to think "phew.. thank goodness!" Confused
My question is for those who've brought children with them; have you sent them to attend "foreigner" school? I'm not sure if I like this idea, aside from the fact that it must be extremely expensive, I have reservations about my son or daughter hanging out with the children of western businessmen and diplomats. Is there a reason why they simply couldn't attend regular Korean school? Confused


Last edited by OverLeft on Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:20 am; edited 1 time in total
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kimcheeking
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:01 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I personally have known two people who sent thier children to Korean schools. Two of the girls were mixed and had no problems - in fact they were very popular.

The other 3 kids were 100% white - 2 boys and 1 girl. one of the boys had problems adjusting and did some homeschooling before going back into Korean schools other than that no real problems.

Of course it will be difficult - as they must learn Korean at the same time taht they are doing their studies, kind of like immigrant children do back home but without the ESL classes included. Personally I don't want my daughter to go to Korean school much past grade 4 or 5 due to the archaic teaching pedegogy here.

KK
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Cedar



Joined: 11 Mar 2003
Location: In front of my computer, again.

PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 12:35 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I agree with Kimchee King. I have always thought if I raise kids here, I will not allow them to stay in school long, certainly not after the second year of middle school. Probably take them out even before... but the problem is that CHILDREN also think! Once they start with their friends they may not want to go to homeschooling! Can't you just imagine?

Me: "Junior, Korean schools do not teach critical thinking or problem solving. Furthermore there is too much stress on the students and social and physical activities are frowned on if you aren't dull as a rock. And you are smart!"

Junior: "But mom, all my friends are there. Besides, I am learning some things, my science teacher, Yeh Sunsengnim, is great!"

I watched this happen to my friend with her son... he'd rather be one of the crowd and stressed and get some lousy grades than go away from his whole "world".
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Seoultrader



Joined: 18 Jun 2003
Location: Ali's Insurgent Inn, Fallujah

PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 1:59 am    Post subject: SFS Reply with quote

Korean school is fine as long as your kids are fluent in the language (like some Pakistani migrant workers' kids I've seen here that were born in Korea) or young enough to immerse themselves in it.

I went to Seoul Foreign School (K-12), an international school here in Seoul on top of a small mountain right behind Yonsei University. Beautiful campus, excellent curriculum, American private school-based. It's one of the more reputable private schools for expat kids in Asia and it's graduates consistently end up in Ivy league colleges (or basically anywhere they want to go - as in my case, U. Hawaii, hehe...surf's up).

The the-800-strong student body was a mix of about 60% Korean-American, 35% white European/American, and a scattering of diplomats' kids of all nations.

The problem is tuition - I think at the time (1989) it was around 12 or 13 mil. Looking at the site now, it's about 20 mil. when you include extra fees like school bus, exam fees, etc. www.sfs.or.kr (homepage) http://www.sfs.or.kr/imgup/Tuition_Fees_03-04.pdf (tuition)

The other bigger int'l school in Seoul is Seoul International School. Similar but a notch down in terms of location convenience (outskirts of Seoul near Songnam) and rep.

There's also a bunch of smaller operations that have popped up in recent years, but seem somewhat dodgy and marketed at Korean parents whose kids have fulfilled the minimum requirement to attend a foreign school.

If you're American, you can enroll your kid in Seoul American High School on the base (which will be gone soon anyway), but also at a premium tuition (maybe 3/4 of SFS?) and much lower quality (ie. run by the US Dept. of Defense)

Evil or Very Mad AND WHAT IN THE HELL DOES "I have reservations about my son or daughter hanging out with the children of western businessmen and diplomats." MEAN? Not to blow my own horn here (toot!) but the education we received at such a school has enabled most of us to become quite successful in the corporate world, along with an early sense of globalization. Unless of course you disapprove of such swinishly capitalist lifestyles. Tree huggers...pffffft Evil or Very Mad
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OverLeft



Joined: 13 Jun 2003
Location: Listening to Radiohead "I might be wrong"

PostPosted: Sat Jun 21, 2003 1:07 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks for the information everyone, every little bit helps.

-Seoultrader for a response to your last question, I'm not sure if I'll be able to satisfy you, nevertheless I'll try to explain my sentiments as I see them. After a re-reading of my original post, I regret have made the statement about the "children of western......" it's really not the children themselves who I have reservations about per se; you were right to ask for clarification.

-As the son of a parent who worked with the UN under DESA for some years, I've had the experience of attending several varieties of "expat" schools, some experimental, Deweyite, etc... others rigid, conservative, military types. In my experience, for the most part (not always of course, I'll try not to generalize), regardless of the institution, we were taught/socialized through the lenses of ethnocentrism and snobbery. To this day, in a few extreme cases I've had to abruptly end phone conversations with old school mates after they've refered to people as "camel jockey" or "fig eater".
And I wasn't talking with Kipling at the turn of the 20th century, or a grand master of the KKK, these were both well respected, high-status businessmen and leaders in todays society.
This has been my unique experience, I still haven't made any definate decisions regarding my childrens education; however I, like everyone else am strongly influenced by my own experiences, thus a few reservations stubbornly remain...
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