Are international schools worth it?

International Schools – Are They Worth it?

As a child, my life was centered around school. My formative years were spent sheltered – the shelter being my private, international school community. I rarely encountered racism besides the occasional microaggressive comments from miserable passerbys, and even then I learnt that harboring feelings of resentment was fruitless. Poverty was something to be observed in documentaries during Geography class.

Growing up in the international school system, racism just felt absurd as a concept. It was interesting – not alien – to be of a different background. There were even school days dedicated to the student body’s various cultural backgrounds, wherein occidental food found itself overpowered by the fumes of the chicken tikka masala and chow mein brought in by parents. I was thus convinced we all existed as a singular, unified force. That we humans simply existed, as we were, sans hierarchy. There was no better – there was just different.

This was, I would learn, the philosophy of an incredibly privileged middle class child. It was the philosophy of an idealist who resided in a homogenous bubble. Homogenous as it is not our race which divides us, but rather our attitude towards race. International school students are more accustomed to the existence of other cultures relative to their average public school student counterparts. This definitely has its merits – but also inevitably creates an idealist world of its own, applying not only to race, but also to socioeconomic factors. Concepts such as structural inequality and economic precarity remain foreign to many who attend these schools, simply because they haven’t lived it. Public schools instead are shaped largely by geographical means rather than wealth. As a result, students are inevitably exposed to more socioeconomic diversity. The majority of international school students are upper middle class children – privileged children. They don’t think about money unless they want to. 

To experience a childhood in this world is an invaluable privilege – but to ultimately exit it can be tough, which raises the question: is the international school education truly worth it, all things considered? And does privilege build a person?

Personally, I have never known schools other than international schools, with the exception of my time spent volunteering at an underprivileged high school in West Philadelphia. There’s a great emphasis on pastoral care in these institutions (as one would expect, given the five figure school fees), and so harassment was always taken more seriously, when reported. We were taught physical assault was unacceptable, and we were shown its formal ramifications. Sure, there were instances of intrafemale emotional warfare! But this was a result of our biology, not our school environment. 

Although the United States and Italy differ in their educational systems, the fact remains that private schooling is always more supportive of students. The more funding a school has to sustain the dreams of their students with the appropriate resources, the more likely students are to succeed academically. I asked several parents why they chose the private route instead of public, to which two of the most common answers were a) they wanted the best education for their children and  b) it was what their colleagues were doing. 

This culture of families who can afford these schools choosing to send their children to them indirectly creates a narrative of: if you can opt out of the public system, you should. Most expat parents who can, will send their children to international schools. So are there reasons as to why they shouldn’t do so?

The answer is no, not really. The benefits of a private education are invaluable. Our academic success is to some extent a reflection of our own ambition and diligence, but the environment we’re assigned to is what truly shapes us. Private schools offer smaller classes with a higher teacher to student ratio, with more rigorous teaching and extracurriculars. International schools specifically come with added benefits of their own. Upon asking a friend if she believes her international boarding school has positively impacted her grasp on the local culture, she said to me –  “I think there’s a more homogeneous cultural identity here (regardless of the school’s diverse nationalities), as the majority of students have lived in Rome their entire lives. During my four years here, I think I’ve adapted my cultural identity to the environment here, especially coming from somewhere so far away and culturally distinct.” When asked if she believes she has managed to preserve her original cultural identity, she replied “I think the international school system generally (but not entirely) promotes preserving your cultural identity as opposed to conforming to one standard identity. Growing up, we were always encouraged to learn about and share our cultures, and I think there’s a greater celebration of the “uniqueness” of different cultural backgrounds.”

So to conclude, an international school education is never not worth it. Yes it can be harder to enter the world outside of school if you’ve spent most of your life surrounded by an environment of equally if not more privileged kids – but the university destinations and subsequent employment rates speak for themselves. Furthermore, though the open mindedness and tolerance an international environment provides may not be reflected as strongly in society outside of these schools, it is the rarity of this mindset that makes it an asset. There is no need to deny privilege and opportunity if one is appreciative of it.