Johanna Steinke
Schooling All Over the World
Understanding the educational systems of different countries
The concept of school is pretty much universal: Kids in most countries start going to school from a certain age until they reach adulthood. But not every country abides by the same system.
In the United States, kids start attending school when they are at the age of 5, and are required to complete 12 years of primary and secondary education prior to attending university or college. The first year of school is called kindergarten and is followed by a second year, which is considered the first year of primary school and usually goes up to Grade 6. Middle school, or junior high school, usually consists of 7th and 8th Grades (but sometimes also includes 9th Grade), and high school finishes with Grade 12. After high school comes college, for which students will need to take their SATs when they are in their third year of high school. “The SATs are the closest to intelligence and aptitude that can be achieved in one test,” comments Michigan resident and mother of two, Debbie Angle. “When considered with school performances and other aspects of a student’s academic life, it is the best way to assess a student.”
Au pairs – a special form of child care
How to maintain your kids and their Chinese-language skills
If you’ve spent enough time in Beijing that your children can say more than “ni hao,“ you might have thought about different ways to maintain their Chinese-language skills after you leave China for your home country, when the ubiquitous ayi will no longer be available. One option is to hire a Chinese au pair.
“More and more families are becoming interested in getting an au pair from China nowadays,” says Wu Chenggang, founder of China Au Pair International (CAPI). “The economy is growing, and people want their kids to start studying Chinese at a very young age.” CAPI was established in 2003 and enables young Chinese men and women to travel to Europe or America to improve their language skills while staying with a family and working for them as an au pair. “An au pair will be more than just a nanny,” says Wu. “They also act as a kind of a teacher.”
Winding Down the Clock
Ways to celebrate the New Year around the world
In most places around the world, the old year ends on December 31, the last day of the Gregorian calendar, and is marked by boisterous parties to bring in the New Year. It is a common practice in the UK and the States for people to go out with friends and wait for the clock to strike midnight. When that happens, people often join together to sing “Auld Lang Syne,” which means “times gone by” and is a song that says goodbye to the previous year.
From Beijing to Deutschland and Back Again
Nancy Kou learns German while teaching Chinese
Though the German language wasn’t exactly something Nancy Kou had thought about studying, it nonetheless became something she fell in love with. After spending five years living and working in Germany, she has since returned to Beijing and now teaches Chinese to students at the German School of Beijing. beijing-kids sat down with her to discuss the differences between the two countries, the hardest thing about living abroad and her fondness for potatoes.
How did you end up studying German?
It had a lot to do with my studies in China. I had studied English in Beijing, but we also had to study an additional language, and since there were too many people choosing French or Japanese, I decided to study German.
When did you first go to Germany?
I went by myself after my studies in Beijing, and I lived in Mainz for almost five years. I had never been to Germany before that.
