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8 Ways To Prepare Your Child For International School

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International schools are often the best choice for expat children. They often offer exclusive programs to students united by goals, interests and age. But, no matter how great a fit is for your son or daughter, the transition can be fairly daunting.

Whether your child will attend international schools in Chiang Mai or anywhere else, you can use the below steps to help them prepare for their big transition.

Before Your Child Leaves for School

Both you and your child might feel intimidated about the big change to an international school. So, use these tips to entice excitement and lessen anxiety for both of you.

1. Talk about your expectations

One of the scariest prospects for most people is the unknown. So, start implementing a routine as early on as possible. Also, find out what your child’s daily routine is likely to be at school and prepare him or her in advance.

2. Gauge your child’s emotional responses

Many children feel homesick and a little lost during the initial transition phase, but this is usually temporary. Gauge your child’s responses and if you think he or she requires more support, be sure to talk to your child and his or her teachers.

3. Do a test run

Why not do a practice day or two for your child’s first day at a new school? Take your child to the nearest bus stop or even drive them to school (whatever your routine is going to be) and ask to meet the staff before school starts and take a tour of the facilities.

4. Get your child to help choose school supplies

Let your child choose his or her own lunchbox, backpack, binder and even clothes to help them feel in control and confident of their next best step.

5. Get involved

If you can, try to volunteer at your child’s school or even help out with after-school activities. Take an active role in the school environment and get to know other parents and children at the international school.

6. Always remain patient

During this big transition, your child might start questioning things or go completely quiet. They might exude more attitude. Just remember they’re reacting to their big change and you should not change your standards, just give them time and space to adjust.

7. Play school

Take some time to role play with your child before they start school. Let them be the teacher and you be the student, so they can think about the different roles.

8. Don’t neglect sleep

During stressful changes, anxiety can affect sleep. In turn, sleep deprivation can adversely affect academic performance and mood. The key is routine. Keep a routine during these high stress times of change and help ensure your child is getting adequate sleep.

Use these 8 tips to help prepare your child for the change to an international school, complete with a new and widely diverse group of friends and teachers. If possible, try to get your child some lessons in the country’s local language to help make the adjustment even easier.

Staying Motivated To Teach

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It is something that many people don’t want to talk about but the truth about teaching is that it can be a really hard slog and there are times when you lose faith and confidence in what you are doing. This is especially true of you have a difficult group of students who struggle, and it is up to you to be the guiding light in terms of helping them. One way in which I keep motivated to wake up each morning and ensure that I give my students the best education possible, is to surround myself with quotes, in my office, at home and in my car.

I was given this piece of advice by Kevin Rolle Alabama University Vice President and one of the most intelligent educational minds that I have ever seen, he told me that he had done this throughout his career, and I took the advice. I wanted then to share with you some of my favourite quotes, in the hopes that they can inspire you to keep going out there and giving your best.

“You will search the world over and not find a nonsuperstitious community. As long as there is ignorance, there will be adherence to superstition. Dispelling ignorance is the only solution. That is why I teach.”

― Irvin D. Yalom

“But the purpose of a story is to teach and to please at once, and what it teaches is how to recognize the snares of the world.”

― Umberto Eco

“Proper teaching is recognized with ease. You can know it without fail because it awakens within you that sensation which tells you this is something you have always known.”

― Frank Herbert

“Teach all men to fish, but first teach all men to be fair. Take less, give more. Give more of yourself, take less from the world. Nobody owes you anything, you owe the world everything.”

― Suzy Kassem

“Teachers are mind engineers! Teachers are life directors! Don’t ever undermine a teacher!”

― Ernest Agyemang Yeboah

“The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What an educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.”

― Paulo Freire

“One of the problems with teaching is that there’s a temptation to evaluate what we do in the classroom based on how clever it aligns with a larger philosophy, or even how gratifying it is to use not necessarily how effective it is…”

― Doug Lemov

“There is no such thing a boring content. In the hands of a great teacher…even if as teachers we doubt that we can make it so…this doubt puts us at risk of undercutting it: watering it down or apologizing for teaching it.”

― Doug Lemov

And there you have it, surround yourself with quotes like these and you can really help yourself to stay focussed and motivated to teach.

Supporting your kids through schooling

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Starting at school and performing all the way through the system can be a real challenge for some children. But achieving in the classroom and during exams helps to set them on their future path. As parents, there’s lots you can do to support your son or daughter through their schooling, helping them to achieve their full potential.

Choosing the right school

Many parents want their kids to go the best school possible, one that’s going to give them the best chance to flourish and achieve. That’s why it’s important that, right from the start, you do your homework about the educational facilities on offer. Find out about the ethos of the school, its ratings and performance, any specialisms, and what it can offer your child. If you’re looking for an Episcopal school, check out Jackson MS Christian school.

Take your time to look around, to meet the staff and to see the facilities. It’s important both you and your son or daughter feel comfortable with their place of study – and put trust in it to deliver high educational standards.

Classroom v. homework

It goes without saying that your children should be attending all their lessons, listening to their teachers and completing work to the best of their ability in the classroom.

Of course, they will also be regularly bringing work out to do at home. You should be thinking about how you can support your children with this. They should have a quiet place to study in the house, for example, with no distractions.

You should also be getting involved in their homework, finding out about the tasks that have been set and providing any assistance you can – for example buying in art materials and so on. Make yourself approachable and supportive, so that your son or daughter doesn’t feel alone in their studies. You can make a real difference by encouraging them.

Helping at exam-time

For many, exams are a daunting prospect. They can present all sorts of worries, anxieties and frustrations; as a parent you can support your children through them – helping them to achieve the best grades possible to reflect their real abilities. After all, their performances will ultimately go towards determining their final grades, future career and jobs prospects.

Encourage your children to plan their revision time for exams, coming up with a diary or schedule. This could be pinned up on the refrigerator, so that you can all see – to help keep on track.

A study plan will help keep your young ones disciplined, and focused on their study goals and deadlines. Of course, this schedule isn’t only about study time, it’s also about factoring in some relaxation and leisure time – to keep things in balance.

Become a Professional Sound Engineer by Going to School

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The field of audio engineering is quite elusive, particularly if you seriously want to become a professional in it. In the past, it was mainly something for amateurs who had some equipment at home, and experimented to create new sounds. Essentially, it was nothing more than a hobby and a fun way to gain a greater understanding of how sound works. Today, however, there are audio engineering schools with great classes available for anyone who wants to become a professional sound engineer.

A Professional Outlook

Despite the availability of high quality education, audio engineering continues to be something that interests hobbyists. One of the reasons for this is that high quality equipment is now available quite readily and affordably. Furthermore, complex computer programs are now very user-friendly. However, this does not mean that amateurs are able to create the exact same sounds as the professionals. In fact, there are quite substantial differences between their techniques. Hence, if you hope to become a professional in this field, you should obtain an education.

Turning Your Dreams into Reality

There are clear differences between genuine, professional, commercial audio engineering and tinkering. By going to class, you can learn a lot of things that would take you years of experimentation and accidental discovery instead. Some of the things you can learn about include the effects of distortions and electricity on sound waves, the physics behind sounds, electronic standards, communication, and more. However, it can be challenging to get into these subjects, because this is where you will start to find out that, despite your years of having a hobby, you don’t actually know all that much.

A starting point would be to attend an actual audio engineering class. However, you should also consider what you want to do with your qualification at the end of it. Some of the areas of specialization include advanced audio production, the radio industry, radio broadcasting, MIDI, and audio, to name but a few. Not every school offers the same specializations, so you should do some research in terms of which school to go to.

Not only should you look at the specializations that the school of your choosing offers, but also at a variety of other things. Most people only get the opportunity to go to college once in their lives, so it is vital that you make the right decisions in terms of picking the school. Look into all the different details, such as who the faculty is, what type of work experience opportunities are available to you, whether graduates end up finding work in the field they studied towards, whether alumni continue to feel a sense of pride about their school, and so on.

Thanks to the internet, a lot of this information is available at our fingertips. However, you should, if at all possible, also go to an open day at the school. This will give you the opportunity to really see whether you will feel like you belong there.

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