Studying abroad, children gain not only valuable knowledge but also useful experience
To be honest, to me, a former schoolgirl of the 90s, such a thing could not even cross my mind. Extra classes - yes, but for slackers who are ready to trade any school lesson for children's toys, and my boy is not a lazybones at all, but a very clever, not lagging behind, but, one might say, a successful student. It would be foolish to ask my son directly what's the catch, but without that, after just five days, through complex reasoning, I realized that my son is not just a smart guy, but also knows perfectly well what he wants.
And what he wanted, apparently, was to go abroad. Since the trip as a tourist did not please him (in the summer the whole family went to Turkey), he decided to make a voyage without annoying parents. And it turned out to be quite possible if you go there for study. I don't know how, but he sounded out this issue at school and found out that high school students are indeed sent to study abroad, more precisely – to England, for a period of one year. This requires the parents to pay for the travel, a decent knowledge of English, a foreign passport, and most importantly, a desire to go.
He started, apparently, with English, taking the bull by the horns and not relying on fashionable self-study guides – after all, there is a great way to 'improve' the language with the help of a school teacher. Immediately, the previously incomprehensible conversations about obtaining foreign passports, children traveling by plane without parental accompaniment, and other inquiries became clear.
Within a week, our whole family knew that our son was going to study in England. Casting aside personal feelings and worries, we decided that since the child himself wanted it and even made considerable progress in solving this task, he should at least not be hindered. Dad took on the financial side, and I took on the paperwork. The rest – English, negotiations with school administration, and thoughts about staying in distant England – the son took into his own hands. At first, we tried to resist this out of old Soviet habit, because communicating with school administration had always been the parents' business, but then, deciding that since our son's favorite toys for boys had long become chess, online bridge, and foreign forums on the Internet, it was better not to interfere.
Looking at our child, tirelessly studying English, talking about English schoolchildren he had already met on the forum and now plans to meet in person, on the one hand we rejoiced at the upcoming trip. And on the other hand, we tried with all our might to suppress the feelings of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Fortunately, our child was far from these feelings, and at the appointed time we saw him off at the airport along with five other similar travelers, cheerfully leaving their hometown and country.
Finally, the school administration pleased my husband and me and the parents of other children leaving for a foreign trip by saying that in a year our children would definitely return, and with excellent knowledge of English and invaluable experience of staying in an unknown country with unfamiliar people. And six months later, we will have the pleasure of hosting English schoolchildren, also eager to visit our country, just as our kids are now going to England.