Blog Post #11

When visiting the website for Concordia International School Shanghai, I found a lot of interesting facts about the school and the country. The school itself accepts children in all grades from preschool through high school. Over the years, the school has continued to grow. Since they opened the school in 1998, they have gone from having 22 students to over 1,000 and hope to continue growing as the years pass by.

Being admitted into the school does take a little more than just an application, however. Everything comes at a price and here, the prices are pretty steep. Tuition for attending this Concordia in Shanghai is about like attending any Concordia here in the states...expensive. Reaching above $28,000 shows that there are some wealthier people in the country that value their children's education to the extent that they would want to send them to this school despite the cost. With that as well, China doesn't have many options for education as we do in the United States. The parents know what they are doing when they send their children to Concordia Shanghai. Growing in your faith with Jesus Christ through your education in such a country allows from more and more disciples to share the good news.

The development of this school is such a great way to witness in foreign countries. Using our gifts in educating and spreading the love encourages others to join. The teachers at the school appear to be making great efforts in reflecting the light of Christ. With the increasing number of students, there also needs to be an increasing number of teachers to keep that one on one basis applicable. To enhance students learning, the class sizes are limited so the teachers are not overwhelmed and are allowed that time for one on one reflection. The students are there to learn and the teachers are there to be good examples for their students. Besides their individual subjects, the instructors also teach values like integrity, respect, responsibility, and service. The students are encouraged to learn and want to learn so they can continue to grow in all areas of life.

As an education major, I was interested in teaching in a foreign country. Although my first thought was Tanzania, I think teaching in China would be an incredible experience. Besides the different language, food, religious practices, and atmosphere, the way of life the Chinese people have compared to Americans would be intriguing to experience first hand. They see things from a different view that would make me think about my priorities and what really mattered to me. I have heard that people who taught in foreign countries and then returned to the U.S. found that we do not appreciate our education like the children of other countries do. They see their education as a gift whereas we see it as something our parents make us do so we can go to college and eventually get a job. While looking through the website, I found a list of the teachers' salaries. I was extremely surprised at the numbers. I never expected a Lutheran school teacher to be making more in China than they do here. To start out making over 40 grand would be crazy as a teacher in the United States. Being able to get hired there is a different story, though. The teachers' average years of experience is 14 years and 60% of the teaching staff has a master's degree or higher. The job opportunity is still there for college graduates though, and being able to witness your faith to people in a foreign country would be an amazing and worthwhile experience.

As Lutherans and other religions send out missionaries to other countries, our globalizing world continues to change. The set cultures begin to mix and adapt to new beliefs and as time passes, the whole thing can evolve to be something very different from what it started out to be. The small Concordia International School is only a step into the globalizing world. The people at Shanghai see it as their calling to be teaching the students at Concordia. Maybe with time, I will know what I should do with my abilities.