International School

I have been subbing in the 6th Grade for the past few weeks and I have discovered a few striking differences between the International School and your basic American public school.
Here are a few examples:

• Maude and Charlie tease each other in French (not the class, the language).
• While researching refugee camps, Karl refers to experiences of his Grandfather in Gaza to illustrate the challenges.
• Stuffed red peppers and salmon fillets are served in the Elementary cafeteria.
• While brainstorming ideas for a persuasive writing topic, the kids come up with things like "Animal Rights," "Stop Global Warming,"and "Extending the School Day." I was expecting more on the lines of "Less Homework"and "More Recess."
• There is a high probability of having two, even three kids named Kazuki in one class.
• Kids go outside for recess in the rain.
• It is not unusual to see 1st graders dressed in Armani and Dior.
• The kids can spend the better part of an hour feverishly working in groups on one complex math problem and love every minute of it.
• Nerdy kids blend in really well.
• The school buses are not yellow and they have really nice cloth seats.
• We come to expect reports such as this: "As part of our ongoing initiative to reduce waste at ISB, we now have five wormeries set up in the ECC. Students in Kindergarten, Grades 1 and 2 look after the worms, feeding them leftover food and scraps. The compost produced by the worms is in turn used by the students to grow cress, which is then added when planting bulbs around campus... "
• Not everyone in the class can name a Disney movie.
• Geography is not an abstract concept.

Now, I am not saying that you can't find these things in the US, because I'm sure you can--especially in a private school. But some days the uniqueness of this experience just hits me. I can't wait to ask our kids in a few years what memories ISB holds for them. I can't quite decide if I want them to grasp the singular nature of it, or just remember it as a place where they were happy and learned more about the world.