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COLLEGE VOICES Going Global BY: SPENCER BUNTING Underwood International College University at Yonsei, Seoul Clarkston High School Graduate, Class of 2012 I am a senior in Underwood International College, University at Yonsei, in South Korea. I major in International Studies and Political Science, planning to graduate in June of 2016. While studying in South Korea and Japan, I have met numerous students that attended long running International Baccalaureate (I.B.) international schools. I was impressed to find that many of these individuals were multilingual, possessing adaptive personalities, far reaching networks, and ambitious plans. More often than not, these students referenced their experiences living abroad as the fundamental factor that enabled them to hone their language skills and grow their professional networks. Although University-level education in the United States is superb, there is a plethora of excellent universities, which students interested in a global career should research and consider when submitting their college applications: Underwood International College at Yonsei University, Scienes Po in France, Hong Kong University, and Australian National University, to name a few. It might be somewhat intimidating to take this step, and I can relate to that. I have to say, however, that the once remarkably alien environment of Seoul has become remarkably familiar now that I better understand the Korean outlook on life, societal expectations, and the problems that arise therein. What helped me most of all was the I.B. program at Clarkston High School. This intensive two-year program provided me with a balance of rigorous assessments and innovative challenges. During those two years, I was encouraged to rapidly update my problem solving methodology. More importantly, I found that I needed to seek insight into innumerable perspectives from which problems may be viewed. This set of skills is applicable to daily life. When considering what learning opportunities could help prepare today’s students for a global marketplace, I would say that learning another language is a must. Schools need to increase the total number of languages offered and make proficiency in a foreign language a requirement to graduate. Though specific target languages are preferable, vast experience in most major When considering what learning opportunities could help prepare today’s students for a global marketplace, I would say that learning another language is a must. Schools need to increase the total number of languages offered and make proficiency in a foreign language a requirement to graduate. languages is quite useful. For instance, I struggled with learning Korean at first, but my five years of learning Spanish provided a solid foundation of language development, which has helped gradually improve my Korean proficiency. I believe that each student has to have international exposure. Often, students put forth tremendous effort learning a second language during secondary school, only to squander this hard work by staying well within predominately English-speaking communities. Spending a semester or even a year abroad could yield serious benefits. Exchange programs could pave a path toward proficiency in students’ relevant second language, as well as provide the opportunity to explore the possibility of a professional future abroad. 18 www.KidsStandard.org Publication INC.
PARENT’S CORNER The world is waiting! Kids learn to love what their parents love. If they are part of their parents’ love of travel, they will learn to appreciate it as well. Transatlantic flights? My kids behave better than many adults I’ve seen. A new means of transportation (bus, metro, tram) in new foreign countries they meet with excitement. They make fast friends with children who don’t speak their language. They start to regard the world as a whole, not as divisions of land, people, cultures, and languages. The world becomes an ever-increasingly friendlier place the more one travels. I don’t ever want my children to feel that there’s a place where they can’t go or something they can’t do because it’s “different.” So why do we travel? Because I don’t want my children to fear the world. They belong to this world, and this world belongs to them! THE WORLD IS WAITING BY: KELLY TEAGUE Parent Bailey Lake Elementary Clarkston Schools I was recently asked by another parent why international travel is important to our family of four. Aren’t our children, ages 7 and 10, too young to appreciate different cultures, languages, art, and food? I think these are things that one can enjoy regardless of age. But to be really honest about why we travel with our young children, I have to say that it’s to teach them to not be afraid. Not be afraid of differences: people who look, talk and dress differently than we do; cities that are overcrowded and run on confusing transit systems; food that may sound familiar on a menu, but look and taste altogether different; words and sounds that are completely incoherent to our English-accustomed ears. To truly travel— to become a traveler, not just a tourist—one must verge outside of his or her comfort zone. Yes, we’ve been approached by haggard, toothless beggars in Italy; yes, we’ve had half of our group miss a metro stop in Paris, thereby splitting our party in two at rush hour across the city. And yes, these experiences have proven to our children that they can handle it. They can manage when things go wrong or seem frightening. These experiences helped them acquire the skills they will need to go off on their own one day and explore this great, beautiful world. The world becomes an ever-increasingly friendlier place the more one travels. One starts to regard the world as a whole, not as divisions of land, people, cultures, and languages. December 2015 19 Publication INC.
Page 1 and 2: www.kidsstandard.org ISSUE 8 | DECE
Page 3 and 4: FEATURE center in Overloon, and I h
Page 5 and 6: POEMS An Image Of Peace BY: EMILY V
Page 7 and 8: INTERVIEW It’s Not About Me; It
Page 9 and 10: ART Haley Campbell, 4th Grade, Inde
Page 11 and 12: Perfect holiday gifts and easy shop
Page 13 and 14: TRAVEL Love Knows No Borders BY: HA
Page 15 and 16: We Can Change the World BY: MALAYA
Page 17: We have activities for all ages, sk
Page 21 and 22: PEOPLE WE ADMIRE Role Models BY: KE
Page 23 and 24: PARENT’S CORNER Frohes neues Jahr

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