Is there an independent school that exposes children to non-European cultures and religions?

[Anonymous]

I think we are talking about two different things here: multicultural population in a school vs. an international/multicultural curriculum.

What no one has mentioned about WIS is that it has the IB (International Baccalaureate) curriculum from PreK - 12th grade, culminating in the IB Diploma.

Yes, it began in Europe (Geneva to be exact), but it focuses on an international education. For example, in the high school level literature and social sciences classes, teachers MUST focus on several regions of the world, including non-western regions. Most of the international schools around the world use this curriculum. I used to teach IB diploma level social studies classes and it is very global in scope. Also very in-depth, comparative studies. I also have a child at WIS, and my opinion is that yes, there are many Europeans there but I feel it is getting more global as well. We are an Asian family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should, of course, be looking at public schools. The notion of a private school is, itself, an elitist Euro-centric, Judeo-Christian convention. I'm surprised with your expressed desire for a global education for you child, that you would even consider an exclusionary, elitist institution like a $30k+ private school!

This is OP. But I am shocked that you are asking me to look at public schools. Our local public school does not even have social studies for a while, let along a global outlook. Besides, we would like to send our child to private school for many other reasons. Smaller classes, more specials. This is a different debate, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:WIS does not sound like OP's cup of tea. It's very Western, privileged ruling class Western at that. Sidwell has a junior year or semester abroad program, it's part of the culture. I'm not sure there is a DC private that's as global as OP would like.

Frankly, I don't see how you can say that Sidwell is any less "very Western, privileged ruling class Western" than WIS. WIS is, by definition, INTERNATIONAL. Sidwell is a very expensive Quaker school that, true, honors diversity, but you do not have foreign language immersion and the IB curriculum. And while French and Spanish are the main languages there, there is a very large continent that is Spanish-speaking from other parts of the world, as well as a significant emphasis on the Francophone-speaking world. Not to mention that you have a significant presence of WIS of families that have ties to the World Bank, IMF, embassies, UN agencies, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:WIS does not sound like OP's cup of tea. It's very Western, privileged ruling class Western at that. Sidwell has a junior year or semester abroad program, it's part of the culture. I'm not sure there is a DC private that's as global as OP would like.

Frankly, I don't see how you can say that Sidwell is any less "very Western, privileged ruling class Western" than WIS. WIS is, by definition, INTERNATIONAL. Sidwell is a very expensive Quaker school that, true, honors diversity, but you do not have foreign language immersion and the IB curriculum. And while French and Spanish are the main languages there, there is a very large continent that is Spanish-speaking from other parts of the world, as well as a significant emphasis on the Francophone-speaking world. Not to mention that you have a significant presence of WIS of families that have ties to the World Bank, IMF, embassies, UN agencies, etc.

I meant, contingent.

[Anonymous]

Multiculturalism starts between the ears.

[Anonymous]

Instead of stabbing in the dark trying to address your question OP ... is there a particular culture you belong to and/or are interested in that you would like to know if it is represented in one of the particular schools here? I know you said a non-European centered culture...but that could be many things.

[Anonymous]

12:50 I didn't compare the two. I stated a fact about WIS, and another fact about Sidwell. Both have international/global focus, but different student/family populations and cultures. Separately, I'm not sure it's widely known that WIS immersion ends in Grade 8.

[Anonymous]

LOL at the posters who talk about their school having a cultural night with "foods of the world" - as if that somehow demonstrates a commitment to a diverse community and education.

[Anonymous]

What about home schooling?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:12:50 I didn't compare the two. I stated a fact about WIS, and another fact about Sidwell. Both have international/global focus, but different student/family populations and cultures. Separately, I'm not sure it's widely known that WIS immersion ends in Grade 8.

After which, many students study a third language at the high school level, and continue higher level language classes in their immersion target language. IB language classes focus on literature. The students all take IB classes in their target language.

The majority of WIS seniors graduate with a Bilingual IB Diploma.

[Anonymous]

13:47 again. At WIS, Chinese was added a couple of years ago as an IB-track language.

[Anonymous]

OP: non-European is what I am looking for: Asian, African, Middle East

[Anonymous]

but no Americas?

[Anonymous]

In addition to the important distinction of a diverse student body vs. curricular emphasis on non-American, non-European cultures, you also need to focus on whether you're talking about elementary schools or high schools.

As others have noted, most of the schools in this area have students from many countries and pay some brief attention to other cultures (international day) and religions (celebrating holidays), but the exposure tends to be shallow and tacked onto the regular curriculum, and framed as "let's learn about other people". I don't know what schools are different, other than somewhere like the Islamic Academy, which may not be what you're looking for.

Many schools do better in high school. GDS requires some study of non-American/non-European cultures, and has the Chinese language and trip. Sidwell requires tenth graders to study a different region (Asia/Africa/Middle East/Central America) for a full year, and offers a semester or year abroad in many places during junior year (China, India, etc, as well as in Europe). Sidwell also pioneered Chinese language studies for this area, beginning about 30 years ago. But that doesn't help if your child is four!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should, of course, be looking at public schools. The notion of a private school is, itself, an elitist Euro-centric, Judeo-Christian convention. I'm surprised with your expressed desire for a global education for you child, that you would even consider an exclusionary, elitist institution like a $30k+ private school!

This is OP. But I am shocked that you are asking me to look at public schools. Our local public school does not even have social studies for a while, let along a global outlook. Besides, we would like to send our child to private school for many other reasons. Smaller classes, more specials. This is a different debate, no?

I am shocked that you would not consider DC public schools -- especially when one of the "global" cultures you mention is African. This is DC after all, you would be hard pressed to find a school system that represents African-American cultural diversity and history more than DCPS! In addition, part of the global experience is to work together as a community to improve institutions for all (not just taking care of oneself/one's children).

You say you want a "global" education for your child. Where in the global experience (Asia, Africa, Middle East, in particular), do students routinely attend $30k+ per year schools such as the elitist, Euro-centric institutions you mentioned? A global perspective suggests values such as diversity, understanding and community. It sounds like you want to talk the talk of globalism without walking the walk. Rather, you seem to be looking for an exclusive and rarified educational experience for your child. If you really wanted a global experience for your child, you would enroll him/her in your neighborhood DCPS and improve what you dislike about the school and improve it for ALL. That would be the ACT of someone with a global perspective. Otherwise, you're just looking for an elite school that will talk the talk of globalism -- just like you seem to be doing.