SLAS Times 2018/2019 Winter 2019 | Page 43

5. What do you like about teaching international stu- dents in this setting? Ms. Gaby: Local school students are more respectful, well behaved and polite. International students are freer and more open-minded. They also have dif- ferent perspectives, personalities, and different an- Ms. Gaby: It is super different because local schools swers to my questions. Overall, it’s not about good are stricter and it is not as challenging as interna- or bad, local schools compared to international tional schools when it comes to teachers. For ex- schools. They are just different. ample, in international schools, teachers will never know what students will ask them. They sometimes Ms. Ning: Teaching in an international school is ask me questions that I don’t know the answer to, more diverse, which can help students be a com- which is embarrassing and awkward. Therefore, it’s passionate citizen of the world. Students can see more challenging because I need freestyle skills. different cultural backgrounds. They can also learn to embrace the differences which can equip them to Ms. Ning: I feel like in local schools they only focus be a better citizen. on grades which I find myself hard to agree with their values. I feel like teaching here with our school values is a big difference. Ms. Ning Ms. Ning: I think setting a personal goal, finishing as- signments and being engaged in class is good. Also, constantly taking notes and reflecting upon their work would also help. 4. How is the teaching here different from local schools in China?