Just call me Joanna Eberhart.
Apr 11th, 2006 by B.
Today we enrolled Robbie in the international school, which seems leaps and bounds better than american schooling as far as I can tell. The IB program is intensive (they average 3-4 hours of homework per night, including weekends and holidays) but the student/teacher ratio is roughly 12/1 and the programs are varied and top notch.
We walked into the art room and I felt like I was back in college. Just a huge room with a circle of a dozen or so full-sized easels… art hung everywhere, stations in the corners of the room for sculpting… very, very cool. Ditto for the music room. They had tons of drums, guitars, stringed instruments, you name it. Plus, if the child is so inclined, s/he can stay after school and study with a tutor they bring in for those interested. The science lab was kick-ass… hell, even the math teacher seemed cool (and that’s almost unheard of).
I have the utmost confidence that both Robbie and Syd will get the finest of educations while we’re here… hell, I after taking the tour ***I*** wanted to go back to school. And when I got a look at the catered cafeteria grub, well, let’s just say my normal lunch of salad & leftovers no longer cuts it.
The only thing that weirded me out were the pta moms. They just seemed so… stepford. Perfectly quaffed with matching shirt/shoes/earrings/nail polish. I mean, there I was in my favorite radiohead ‘karma police’ t-shirt while two women in damn near matching pink outfits & pageboy haircuts talked to me about what a bitch is was that american cookie sheets didn’t fit in german ovens. I felt like humming the sesame street ‘one of these things is not like the other’ tune…
lol … that Sesame Street tune !
Have you figured out how to turn on a German oven yet … after your experience with the clothes-eating washer ?
Glad to hear the school seems top-rate … and perhaps you won’t have to worry about walk-outs and shutdowns over immigrant rights. Syd won’t know any different and hopefully Robbie will adjust to the higher demands and intellectual challenges. It should prove to be a very good thing in the long run.
The Houston Chronicle just printed their annual report on area schools’ standardized test results … our town is pretty pathetic … a far cry from when I went there oh so many years ago. No kids here … but it hurts property values which perpetuates the cycle.
Passing rate:
Reading 79%
Math 66%
Science 61%
Social Studies 86%
Oh well …
I don’t know what the IB program is.
Another plus I suspect is as an international school, there will be students from all over the world, different cultures, languages and outlooks. Should be an eye-opening experience … though I think teens everywhere do share a common bond in angst and driving their parents crazy.
Good luck to Robbie and to Syd when she’s ready.
Sounds like there are other American speaking ladies there at least, maybe you could befriend them so that you can corrupt them a little…….They sound like they might need a little bit of corrupting, heheheh
Best of luck to Robbie & Sydney
Just stay true to yourself- and let them all burn in hell………..**wicked laugh**
But seriously, our kids did the IB and have done fantastic in University back in Canada. The International Schools are really terrific!
LOL, Kim, it’s good to hear your kids did well in the international school.
and Remus, here’s the link to their site: http://217.91.43.41/index.php?id=50&L=1
they’ll probably do a better job explaining the program than I could. As for diversity, in the teachers alone I saw 5 countries represented. As for test scores in your area… I’m confused. With Bush’s ‘no child left behind’ why, I figured the next generation of rednecks would be little einsteins by now. heh.
Those little Einsteins would be lucky to be able to operate a bagel cutter.
Wow, you’re really so lucky to have them in the international school because as you may have heard, the German public school system is crap. I’ve only heard good things about international schools everywhere. Friends of friends of ours were transferred from Germany to Michigan for two years where their kids attended the international school and when they came back to Germany, not only were they fluent in English, they were also light years ahead of their German peers. The student teacher ratio is awesome. In the regular schools here there can be up to 30 pupils to one teacher. Not very good.
As for the PTA moms - you’ll probably end up having quite a bit to do with them since parental participation/fundraising/organizing of events seems to be pretty big at that type of school. Get out your twin set and pearls!
See, when you say “get out your twin set” I automatically think you’re asking me to flash you….
LOL! No, not THAT twin set!