Realwomen of BC - Archives - March2008 - Through the eyes of an international student

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THE REAL NEWS The R.E.A.L WOMEN of BC Newsletter March 2008, P.O. Box 39068, Point Grey RPO, Vancouver, BC V6R 4P1, Tel/Fax: 604- 463-1611, website: http://www.realwomen.bc.ca
Through the eyes of an international student The F-word seemed to be one of the first words that greeted him as he entered the school. Once he managed to get over the initial shock, the swearing followed him around wherever he went. If that was not enough, the disrespect the students showed toward the teachers, the regular lateness to the classes, the sloppy outfits worn by the boys and the revealing attire of the girls made things even worse. In all this chaos, the time wasted was amazing. We are talking about a regular Canadian high school as seen through the eyes of an international student. The first weeks were stressful enough. He had to get used to a new country and language coming from Asia, and was here without his family. The culture shock he experienced when he entered a Canadian high school was almost too much to bear. What a contrast to the school environment in his country; there moral values, decency, respect toward teachers, and proper behaviour were still highly adhered to. He complained bitterly to his host family. How could a society allow this? “How can the students ever learn anything in such an environment?” he wondered. This is the story of just one international high school student. There are most likely more with a similar experience. Maybe you are hosting an international student. Ask him what his experience is. If it is like the one above, why not go to the principal and have a chat? Let her know how foreign students view her schools. We would suggest you follow up with a letter to the school board and copy it to the Ministry of Education. Let us bring it out into the open and talk about what is going on in our public schools. There is always talk about zero tolerance for bullying but bullying starts with the language that we use and the disrespect we show to others. The Manners Lady could tell us all a thing or two.