Depends on what you want

Post #43,374 by bepatient 6/24/02 11:41:50 PM Reply	Depends on what you want 2 years in Paris or London will be "foreign"...but you will understand the language with no training in the UK. Despite what you have heard...Most french folks in the "real" parts of Paris are ok with Americans who don't know the language...but in the tourist areas...Americans are not that well liked...and, quite frankly, alot of it is for good reason. You can easily survive without knowing the language. Kids...you will want them to attend ASP or ASL (American School of Paris or London respectively). This way they don't need to adjust to a different style of education and then re-adjust when you return. HOWEVER, make sure you get tuition included in your expatriate package. These schools are not inexpensive. If I were to choose between London and Paris...I'd probably choose Paris...there's just so much more to Paris than there is to London. And 2 years is pretty much a >visit< span. BUT..as was pointed out before...its not far to Paris from London...so if you want to live where you can understand it...but take the train to Paris for a few weekends...you could do that too. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #43,399 by drewk 6/25/02 9:16:01 AM Reply	Hmm, don't know about that Kids...you will want them to attend ASP or ASL (American School of Paris or London respectively). This way they don't need to adjust to a different style of education and then re-adjust when you return. Considering the state of the education system here, I don't know that I wouldn't prefer that they see another way of doing things. Going halfway around the world (OK a quarter of the way) and expecting everything to be just like home is why some people hate American tourists. Isn't the fun of world travel supposed to be that it's different? === Microsoft offers them the one thing most business people will pay any price for - the ability to say "we had no choice - everyone's doing it that way." -- [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=38978\|Andrew Grygus]
Post #43,405 by bepatient 6/25/02 10:18:17 AM Reply	Re: Hmm, don't know about that You have to remember the kids will barely have time to adjust and readjust. Also, you may hit a situation where a US PS may hold the kids back because they missed something silly like Social Studies. The American Schools have a tendency to run a tad advanced and do, even in London IIRC, require foreign language for all students. Adjusting to life outside school will be difficult enough...its not a horrible idea to put them in a place with other kids having the exact same experience...quicker to make friends and get used to being a "ferner". You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]
Post #43,466 by tonytib 6/25/02 10:24:14 PM Reply	Actually, the American Schools are a great deal Of course, I'm biased because I graduated from ASM (the American School of Madrid, or Escuela Americana de Madrid if you prefer), and received an excellent education there. And, a good friend went to ASP for a number of years. The difference is that the schools aren't subsidized by taxpayers, but I'd be willing to bet the actual cost per student is about the same; IIRC the typical cost per student for public elementary schools is in the range of $6-9K. One big reason for going to the American Schools is that they are accredited by American organizations (e.g. Middle States for ASM) and follow American curriculum. This is more important for high school (it makes coming back to an American college a lot easier) or if you're going to be there for a short time, since there won't be rapid changes of curriculum. But there's still plenty of international exposure, perhaps more since they get students from around the world. The common language at ASM was "Spanglish", and we had students from, among others, Spain, England, Denmark, Japan, Venezuela, Libya, Iran, Israel, and Finland. My memory is that parents' jobs were a mix of business (including Spanish), embassy (US and others, e.g. Venezuelan), and a little military. Of course, locals schools are a viable option. For example, I have friends that lived in Germany and sent their children to the German schools -- and they're back in the US and have turned out fine. Based on my (somewhat sketchy) knowledge, European education systems are pretty different, teaching things at different times, etc. As a side note, I find it interesting that some European co-workers of mine (one German, one Italian) speak excellent English, but don't write it very well at all. I'm not surprised they find English spelling difficult! Tony
Post #43,499 by bepatient 6/26/02 10:45:37 AM Reply	Cool... Most of my friends were at ISB in Brussels. I went my last year to St Johns in Brussels...since it was a half a block from the house in the American Ghetto. Sr class...16 kids from 7 countries. Much the same as your experience. Parents jobs were mostly business and EEC related. Had some consular reps and very few military. Most of the military were located and schooled at SHAPE. The military friends I made were from hanging out in bars or at the U of Maryland classes I attended that were on base. First 15 hours of college were taken there. You were born...and so you're free...so Happy Birthday! _{Laurie Anderson} [link\|mailto:bepatient@aol.com\|BePatient]

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