The importance of multiculturalism
Print Edition
DESPITE being a citizen of Finland, I have lived in Shanghai since the age of two. I have been exposed to a surprisingly vast combination of cultures from a young age. This is mostly thanks to the international environment at YCIS, a school that I have been studying at since kindergarten. Now I am in my final year of IGCSE.
Living in China and following a British curriculum, my life has been a seamless blend of East and West, and I can confidently say that at YCIS, students get the best of both worlds. I began receiving a bilingual education at YCIS ever since I started speaking, allowing me to learn and improve both my English and Chinese in tandem. As a result, I am able to converse fluently with all my international classmates, and interact with Chinese people as well.
I remember studying a poem in English class beginning with the line, “people are made of places.”
This line rang true to me as I thought about the way that all my teachers and classmates carry — as part of themselves — accents, habits, and stories from their past homes which are scattered all over the globe. Suddenly, I found myself feeling inexpressibly grateful for the opportunity to be a part of such a vibrant congregation of cultures and experiences.
Through celebrating our differences in tradition and appearance, I learned my most valuable lesson from school: to accept ourselves for who we are and try harder to understand those who are different to us.
My immersion in the multiculturalism of YCIS has not only allowed me to feel more in touch with my current place of residence, it has also taught me to empathize and develop relationships with people from all over the world, guiding my entry into the global community.
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