The Foreign Service Journal - December 2017

70 DECEMBER 2017 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT she remembers feeling “sad and frustrated” when her daughter’s speech was delayed. Ting Ting Wu’s son was also a late speaker, but eventually “he exploded into conversation and now talks about his day in French, Chinese and English.” Keeping up speaking English. Parents whose children spend significant time away fromEnglish-speaking schools and countries may worry about their child’s English proficiency when they visit family in the United States or when childrenmove back “home” to continue their education. “My oldest son’s English can be hard to understand,” says Daya Stockdale, the mother of two boys under age 6. “We noticed that when we went back home and stayed with family. His Spanish, on the other hand, couldn’t be better; it’s full of colloquialisms and Mexican slang.” Navigating a foreign school system. Parents who enroll their children in local school systems at post experience additional challenges as they attempt to navigate an unknown system in a foreign language. “I only thought about school from the language point of view, but that’s really a small piece,” says Lisa Simmons, who enrolled her children at Liceo Franco Mexicano in Mexico City. “I do not speak the language of the school, and that has meant inse- curity and unease with simple tasks like shopping for school supplies, school pick- up/drop-off, teacher communication, participation in school life and relation- ships with other parents.” Ting Ting Wu agrees: “I spent a lot of time on Google Translate, trying to figure out school instructions, snacks and what exactly they did in school that week.” Consistency across postings. Some parents worry that their children won’t Some parents struggle when family and friends fail to understand or respect how they are raising their children.