We often spend a lot of time talking about how to get our young kids ready for school. We mentally prepare them in advance, get them used to the idea of leaving home on a regular schedule, and when the big day comes we hold their hands, drop them off, and loiter around outside looking a bit lost and feeling utterly anxious about them navigating their new social circles on their own. We tell them we want them to learn something new every day, but deep down inside we’re just hoping they have fun on their first day of school. We do all of this for our younger kids, but we don’t tend to advise the older kids as much when it comes to navigating a brand new social environment. It’s as if we expect teens to navigate their new schools effortlessly on their own – like it’s easy or something…
On the contrary, the adolescent years are arguably more in need of guidance and help than the younger years. Not only are teens navigating a brand new social scene, they’re also dealing with mental and physical changes in their bodies, discovering themselves, and juggling the stress of achieving academic excellence while balancing a range of extracurricular activities at the same time. When I was young, I would often hear adults say things like “It’s so easy to be a student – you don’t need to worry about real stress yet,” belittling my hard work and, quite often, anxiety. Parents, if you don’t already know better than that, it’s time to wake up. While your teens don’t need to deal with taxes, rent, and horrible bosses yet, their days are filled with just as many grueling expectations as those of any self-made CEOs building their own brand. School just isn’t how it used to be, and I’ll bet that many of us wouldn’t last a month in our kids’ shoes.
International schools aren’t like anything most of us grew up accustomed to, whether you attended public or private schools back in your home country. Teen Kannika Mehrotra started her high school career in Beijing after her family moved here from India. She says: “Personally, I found my international school to be entirely different from my school back in India. In fact, I would say anyone who hasn’t encountered an international school would find it different. Back home, I was enrolled in a reputed public institution, and unlike international school, most of the teachers and students were of the same culture and ethnicity. International schools are very diverse, I was amazed by the diversity of my school. There are teachers and students from almost every part of the globe! Back home, I wasn’t used to hearing Chinese, Korean, French, Spanish in the corridors.” The cultural melting pot that can be found at every international school offers students one of those unique experiences that no school back home can. Here, you’re not attending school with kids you grew up with, you’re getting firsthand looks into so many different cultures all at once. By the time you graduate, you’re a more worldly global citizen than your friends back home.
Academically, suddenly changing to a faster pace, different curriculum, and an entirely different way of submitting assignments can add on a ton of stress for any child. But if there’s one piece of advice that goes unfollowed, it’s to speak up and ask for help. And like an international student body that’s different from home countries, international schools in Beijing have counselors who have seen kids move to and from Beijing constantly over the years and are prepared to give advice on how to best navigate your new life here. Mehrotra shares: “There were various ups and downs along the way, but I managed to overcome them by embracing the present and by moving out of my comfort zone. The world is not as bad as it looks. Always ask for help if you need it! Don’t have friends? Go and talk to people. You will definitely find someone. Having academic issues? Go and talk to your counselor or get a good tutor from your home country! I tried to be as proactive as I could be and approached the right people at the right time whenever I faced any obstacles.”
But it’s not all about managing stress and finding social balance in high school. We grow up hearing about how the high school years are the best years of your life. High school is the time when you’ll run into drama with your friends, deal with an intense amount of academic stress, and face (and learn to overcome) peer pressure and all sorts of insecurities.
Regardless of your high school experience, these are some of the most important lessons in your life. The lessons you learn in high school, academically and socially, help to shape the kind of individual you become when you finally venture out into the world on your own.
Images: Pexels
This article appeared in the jingkids 2023 School Choice Guide
