Students appreciate their time at international schools

Students appreciate their time at international schools

By Tam Notosusanto

JAKARTA (JP): How do you make it through your adolescent years
if you live in a foreign land, thousands of miles away from home?

Teenagers Lindsay Green, Patrick Brosch, Flora Legendre and
Takuya Koga all live in Jakarta, and they never seem to lose that
upbeat feeling. But why should they when they all go to
international schools here?

Being students at an international school is a lot of fun,
mainly because of the small size of the classes. "There's a very
personal connection between the students and the teachers. They
know each other very well. In the United States that doesn't
happen," said Lindsay, a 12th grader from Jakarta International
School (JIS).

Patrick, who goes to North Jakarta International School (NJIS)
-- no relation to JIS -- agrees.

"In German public schools, the teachers are not that nice and
friendly and it's harder to get friends. But here it's very nice.
The teachers are nice to you and the students are more friendly
too and you can make better friendships."

Fifteen-year-old Patrick goes on to describe the difference in
the teaching methods. "In Germany, the teachers just write the
stuff on the board, tell you what to do, and that's it. If you
need help, it's your problem, you have to find out yourself," he
said.

"Here the teachers always help you, they have time for you,
and they help each student individually if they need to."

A variety of facilities and extra-curricular activities add to
the enjoyable hours spent at school. Ninth-grader Flora Legendre
was in the French International School swimming team last year,
while Lindsay joined the stained-glass club at JIS. But even
when you're out of class and it's not yet time to go home, the
school is still a pleasant place to be.

"My campus is beautiful," said Patrick, "It has many trees and
stuff. And you can always go to the gym or the cafeteria."

Nothing can beat being an international student in Indonesia.
Hanover native Patrick and Takuya from Okayama in Japan even get
to visit scenic and interesting places like Bali, Yogyakarta and
Lombok on school field trips.

"I really liked North Sumatra because we got to do lots of
hiking and rafting," Lindsay said, "We got to see nature and
everything that you don't normally get to see in Jakarta."

The schools also help students to understand Indonesian
culture and provide lessons in the Indonesian language.
Expatriate teachers also have Indonesian staff to help them and
the students with language difficulties.

The schools also make it possible for the children to interact
with Indonesian children. Lindsay explained that her school
arranges trips to local orphanages and hosts local children at
JIS from time to time.

Fourteen-year-old Takuya said she always enjoys the twice-
yearly get together between children from the Jakarta Japanese
School (JJS) and the nearby Pembangunan Jaya Junior High. The
children sing, dance and light candles together, and then
exchange name cards prepared earlier. Takuya has made a number of
friends through the gatherings and has since remained in regular
contact with them.

The diversity of cultures and people you meet is probably the
most memorable aspect of going to school here. In his two years
at JJS, Takuya has had friends from Tokyo, Nagoya and a number of
other places in Japan, something he never had back home.
Lindsay's boasts of schoolmates from 55 different nationalities
and in four years at NJIS Patrick has added a smattering of
Indonesian, Spanish, Chinese and Japanese to the German, English,
and Rumanian he could speak before his arrival in Jakarta.

"It's nice to be with people from all kinds of different
places around the world," said Lindsay, "You can learn about
different cultures, learn different things from them."

"Knowing people from other countries and different cultures is
a totally different beautiful experience," Patrick said.

With all the facilities that they have, is there anything the
schools need to improve? The children are stumped by this
question until Patrick says, "I'll probably add a high school to
NJIS so we won't have to leave after finishing the ninth grade."
A second later, he said, chuckling, "I'll probably improve the
cafeteria food, and have McDonald's back on the menu," explaining
that Big Macs disappeared from his school cafeteria shortly after
the monetary crisis began.

The teenagers all agree that when it's time for them to leave,
they will miss their schools very much. Takuya's father's
contract in Indonesia expires on May 12, and he is not looking
forward to saying farewell to his beloved school. Once back in
Japan, he will never again experience a journey to school on a
Big Bird bus with his friends, or having the school principal and
all the teachers lining up in front of the JJS compound to wave
to the children as they leave at the end of each school day.

"When I go home to France, I'll be sad," said Flora, who is
about to end her three-year adventure at the French International
School. "I will miss the people and miss the relationship with my
teachers because we know them and they know us, not like in
France."

"When I think of it," said Patrick, who is continuing his
education at JIS in May, "This is where I actually grew up. I
came here when I was about to go to middle school, when I was
about eleven. This is where I spent most of my middle school
years, the school is like a home to me already. I will miss it,
miss the small atmosphere and a lot of friends who will be
leaving to go to other countries."

All the quality education, valuable experiences and
unforgettable memories, however, come at a price. Nathalie
Legendre, Flora's mother, has to pay tuition fees of 18,000
francs a year for her daughter's education, roughly the same
price as a private school in France. JJS students pay an average
of US$2,000 a year, and junior high school students at NJIS pay
US$9,900. JIS charges students about US$10,000 per year.

But it is all worth it? "These kids have lived with Islam and
Buddhism and Hinduism and Christianity on a daily basis," said
Lindsay's mother, Pamela Green. "They've seen volcanoes and rice
paddies and they've been to villages and they know what a bamboo
forest is like. They've been around the world traveling as their
families go different places and I don't think there's that many
students in the United States who will ever get that experience.