Only 8 mcps will be hosting exhange students

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what's the big deal?

Quoted from the article:

“Exchange students teach us to communicate across cultures, a life skill that we all need to navigate today’s increasingly interconnected world,” Gordy said. “Please develop a better policy that enables me to continue interacting with exchange students in my last year of high school, and allows all students across the county to learn and grow from exchange students in the years ahead.”

MCPS already has many different cultures in their schools. Why do we need foreign exchange students to teach us to communicate across different cultures?

The students from different cultures who are already in our schools usually tend to congregate with people of their own cultures. This is their comfort level. Many of them were forced to come here because of terrible issues in their home countries.

Exchange students who come here are coming to expand their horizons and expect to be outside their comfort zones. They will be going back to their home countries as ambassadors of US culture and education systems. They are also high achieving and usually do not fall within ESOL, FARMS or Special Ed categories. They do not congregate with people just like them.

There is big difference between these two kinds of students.

Perhaps in your school, but at my kid's, they are fully integrated into the school. One of her best friends is from Germany; other friends are from France, India, and South Africa. They play on soccer teams, go to sleepovers, on occasion are annoying - just like any other kid. There's no self-segregation at all.

1. there are always exceptions.
2. when the critical mass is not achieved, of course the self-segregation is not going to happen. For example, if you only have 3 students in the entire school from that culture, then it is hard for those three to really "segregate".
3. I would hardly call people from Germany or France from "another culture".

I would.

— someone who has lived in both France and Germany.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:what's the big deal?

Quoted from the article:

“Exchange students teach us to communicate across cultures, a life skill that we all need to navigate today’s increasingly interconnected world,” Gordy said. “Please develop a better policy that enables me to continue interacting with exchange students in my last year of high school, and allows all students across the county to learn and grow from exchange students in the years ahead.”

MCPS already has many different cultures in their schools. Why do we need foreign exchange students to teach us to communicate across different cultures?

The students from different cultures who are already in our schools usually tend to congregate with people of their own cultures. This is their comfort level. Many of them were forced to come here because of terrible issues in their home countries.

Exchange students who come here are coming to expand their horizons and expect to be outside their comfort zones. They will be going back to their home countries as ambassadors of US culture and education systems. They are also high achieving and usually do not fall within ESOL, FARMS or Special Ed categories. They do not congregate with people just like them.

There is big difference between these two kinds of students.

Perhaps in your school, but at my kid's, they are fully integrated into the school. One of her best friends is from Germany; other friends are from France, India, and South Africa. They play on soccer teams, go to sleepovers, on occasion are annoying - just like any other kid. There's no self-segregation at all.

1. there are always exceptions.
2. when the critical mass is not achieved, of course the self-segregation is not going to happen. For example, if you only have 3 students in the entire school from that culture, then it is hard for those three to really "segregate".
3. I would hardly call people from Germany or France from "another culture".

I would.

— someone who has lived in both France and Germany.

I guess that is different personal perspective. Anyway, if we think about this as a social issue, French or German immigrants here are rarely singled out from the general "white" population (unlike, e.g. Hispanic, Arabic).