Dear Friends

Some of you may have seen the following article about the IB in northern Idaho.

click here for the statesman article

Since Riverstone is mentioned in the comments, I though I would remind you all of the following post from my blog last year. Although this one is about celebrating Christmas, the message applies to all American culture and values.

Far from being anti-American, Riverstone and its IB programs are proud to offer an international outlook from an American foundation.

Andrew

Does Santa come to International Schools too?

As I watch the Christmas decorations spring up in the yards and malls around Boise, it reminds me of the perennial discussion that faces so many International Schools around the world; should we celebrate Christmas? Won’t it offend some members of our international community? Wouldn’t it be insensitive?

There are two ways of approaching internationalism. The first is to take the “lets offend no-one” theory, in which we celebrate nothing at the risk of offending one cultural group or another. This is the ‘dumbing down’ approach in which we take the lowest common multiple as our guide.

The other, and to my mind, more understanding, more sensitive and more educative approach is to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect” (IBO, 2005). This is the Highest Common Factor approach in which we learn about, appreciate and celebrate as many cultural festivals and events as we can.

In a truly internationally minded school, history, religion and culture are best approached on a series of levels in which students are firstly taught to appreciate and understand their own cultural heritage. This serves as the strong foundation on which an appreciation of other cultures is built. Secondly, they are exposed to the history and religion of other cultures around the world. Finally they learn to be able to compare, contrast and appreciate the wonderful diversity of peoples and cultures around the world.

I stress, the importance of the first point in my list, for I have too often heard this approach being called “anti-American’. To really build an appreciation of other cultures and an ability to compare, contrast and appreciate the diversity in this world requires a deep-rooted sense and appreciation of your own culture.

So yes, Riverstone will be celebrating Christmas and helping our international students understand and appreciate its significance. At the same time, our international students will be helping us understand and indeed, celebrate other cultural events such as Diwali, Hanukkah, Eid Al-Adha and the Chinese New Year.

At Riverstone, we will not close our students eyes, but open their minds to the cultural richness and diversity this world has to offer. International understanding is a far better option than mistrust and misunderstanding.

Andrew Derry