Kids Own Cultural Passports at UN International School

Every Child attending the United Nations International School (UNIS) in central Manhattan, New York City, has a cultural passport at her/his fingertips.

Students can explore Latin America through special foods, visit Japan through friends' hometown memories, or read an epic French story in language classes -- where they have so many opportunities to appreciate different cultures from all over the world.

"I was born in Singapore but I have a Malaysian passport," third grader Anouskha Joshi told Xinhua. "My dad is from Tanzania and my mom from Malaysia."

First established as a small nursery school in 1947, UNIS nowadays has about 1,550 students from over 120 countries, of whom55 percent have parents affiliated with the United Nations, giving children chances of experiencing cultural diversity.

Coming to this school with a strong basis of English, Anouskha is also good at French. Mom and dad often help her learn French so much that the language has become a "good friend" of her, she said.

At UNIS, by the time of M3 (8th grade), students start their third language courses besides the primary language of English, choosing among Arabic, Chinese, German, Italian, Japanese and Russian.

Their second language is either French or Spanish as most students find these two languages relatively "easy."

A Spanish teacher may not necessarily be from Spanish-speaking country, as UNIS encourages diverse perspectives, allowing kids to fully immerse themselves in an international outlook where tolerance and mutual understanding are at the core.

Anouskha has been at UNIS since JA (kindergarten), saying she was fascinated with classmates' various backgrounds and getting to meet people from all over the world was the best part of UNIS.

"I have two best friends, one from Italy and the other from Finland," she said.

"I know that every race is important and you shouldn't look down upon (any of them)," Anouskha said. "It's really nice because it's a peaceful school, and every race comes here and feels kind of good."

Fourth grader Matthew Leichman also spoke of his experiences coming to UNIS in JA where he felt comfortable and made friends easily.

"Over the years, I have been helping classmates who cannot speak English -- like there is a (kid who) came from Georgia," Matthew said. "I was there to help him one day then we became really good friends."

Matthew's best friend is from Japan, who taught him a few Japanese words and let him know more about the Japanese culture.

This is "pretty much the best school ever," he said.

He also said that the "most international kid" is from New York, with mom from China and dad an Indian.

"Most of the kids in this school come from two different countries, but he comes from three," Matthew said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 19, 2009)