Educating citizens of the world

When I was a philosophy student in France, I became interested in Diogenes, a Greek philosopher whose wisdom was passed down through anecdotes. In one of these, Diogenes is asked where he comes from and responds: “I am a citizen of the world”. In ancient Greece, where social status was entirely determined by a person’s place of birth, Diogenes’ answer was truly revolutionary.

The concept of “citizen of the world” made a huge impression on me. Although France was my home, I never felt fully “French”, and the phrase “citizen of the world” was a much better fit. When I finally got the chance to explore the world, however, I was shocked to see that not all expatriates were ready to leave their own culture behind in order to embrace new ones. In London, I discovered a whole world of unintegrated expats who seemed reluctant to change anything about their way of life. Sections of the French community were a prime example of this: they tended to live in South Kensington where they could buy French food, go to the French pharmacy and the French hair salon, send their children to the French Lycée, make French friends and attend French cultural events. I was baffled. If anything, South Kensington was less multicultural than the average French city.

I understood then that being a citizen of the world requires much more than simple relocation. It is a mindset, an openness, a willingness to listen and be transformed by the cultures around us. Becoming an international teacher gave me the chance to help children develop those qualities.

After years spent in various countries, arriving in Doha was a wonderful surprise: here was a real cosmopolitan city, incredibly rich in diversity and culture, the ideal place to set up a truly international school. Being part of the team founding the Swiss International School of Qatar (SISQ) has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, largely because I feel we are on the right path to educate true citizens of the world.

There are several elements that enable SISQ to provide a genuinely international education. Firstly, we model ourselves on one of the most international, open and multilingual countries in the world: Switzerland. The role Switzerland has played as an agent of peace and dialogue between nations is a constant inspiration for our school. Multilingualism, for example, is probably what distinguishes SISQ from other schools in the region: all students learn English, French and Arabic from the age of three. While language programmes are often weak in primary schools, with one or two lessons a week, our children study French every single day, which is making a huge difference to their progress.

Secondly, SISQ is an International Baccalaureate candidate school and offers the IB to all students in the Early Years, Primary and Secondary sections. The IB came from Switzerland and was designed to fit the needs of children moving from country to country. The IB purposefully promotes the qualities required to be a citizen of the world: open-mindedness, adaptability, exposure to a variety of cultures and perspectives. In addition to being a rigorous academic programme, it focuses on key skills, character traits and attitudes that are more likely to make students successful on the world stage. In fact, research has shown that IB graduates are more likely to attend top universities and achieve higher grades than students coming from national systems such as the A-Levels. Perhaps more importantly, over three quarters of IB graduates say that the programme made them more willing to understand and respect other cultures.

Last, but not least, our school is truly international because of its population. SISQ is not another British, American or French school. It is proudly international and very careful not to let one culture overtake the others. Our student body is composed of 50 nationalities and our children speak 28 languages, and they are taught by a very diverse group of teachers. Many of our families come from multicultural backgrounds and appreciate our efforts to foster their children’s multilingualism and international spirit. As a parent, I can see that my own children have flourished in this environment, and that their language skills have reached unprecedented levels in just a few months.

Although I am no longer the slightly naive student who fell in love with Diogenes, I am so happy that I was able to follow in his footsteps to become a citizen of the world. But most of all, I am proud to be able to contribute to the education of new citizens of the world, in a truly international, multicultural and multilingual school.

Nancy Le Nezet, Director of Studies

References:

http://ibo.org/contentassets/d1c0accb5b804676ae9e782b78c8bc1c/hesa-summary-eng-web.pdf

http://blogs.ibo.org/blog/2018/02/09/alumni-define-the-impact-of-the-ib-diploma/