Thinking of Hosting an Exchange Student- Pros and Cons?
By Lisa - Unschooling Mom
We have been tossing this idea around for a while now. Different companies seek out homeschooling families to host an exchange student- usually from Asia. We have a special place in our heart for Asia because of the time we spent in the Philippines a few years ago.
The program we are looking at is for for several weeks and is an intensive teaching program to teach the student English. The kids are on the young side, I have a friend hosting an 11 year old girl and we have been asked to be interviewed to host a 13 year old for 3 months.
The Positives:
-Would be a fun for kids (I think!) to have some one new at the house. I have an 11 year old daughter who is very social and I *think* she would like it.
- A good “learning” experience for us all- being exposed to another culture, etc.
- The compensation is good. The pay you for room and board and for your teaching time.
The Negatives:
- A new person in the home. Getting used to another human being my be a big adjustment for all of us.
0 The teaching schedule. It is a lot of work for me. I would be teaching hands on 3 hours a day 5 days a week, This is a lot for an unschooler. I have come to terms with the “schooly” way to learn English - The object is to learn to speak and write English as quickly and as well as possible and I under workbooks, etc are a part if that.
I am not sure how I feel spending 3 hours one on one with another child and “excluding” my kids. I think jealousy would be a real issue.
- Could I fit in 3 hours a day? Do I want to? I don;t know. I am pretty stressed as it is with all the driving and activities we are doing as it is. Taking on more could make it harder OR I wonder if the “structure” would actually make it easier.
Lack of privacy. we would be letting some one into our house and they would see us , warts and all. We have nothing weird going on- but it is an exposure I am not sure we want.
- Emotional. don;t know if I have it in me to take on the emotional needs of another person/child.
This would be hard on me- “mothering” another child not to mention the emotion of of them leaving and getting attached by all members of our family. This could also be a god thing, too.
I have to really think about this. The kids are all “YAY lets do it!” and husband I thin, sees the money as big incentive and thinks it would be good experience family a a whole, but bottom line it is me who will be taking on the 15+ hours of teaching a week. It will in effect be a JOB. I am not sure about this.
I know my girlfriend has been surprised at the amount of work it has been.
I have to think fast as they need some one quick.
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October 5th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
We are on our third exchange student, but with the program you are talking about.
Our students are all high school students and come for 6 months to a year.
So, I can’t speak about the pleasure of spending 3 hours a day teaching ESL, and we don’t get any money for hosting either.
I can say that overall it has been a wonderful experience.
We have gotten used to a new person in the house - it isn’t always easy, but we adjust.
Mothering a child I haven’t raised can be challenging. We had our first medical emergency a couple of weeks ago and I had a real problem balancing how much she wanted warmth and contact vs. not being her mother.
And we do miss them when they go, though the invites to come visit them are wonderful - just hope to do it someday.
For me, the hardest thing is dealing with the expectations of the local high school
and different family standards of what is acceptable behaviors - I’ve lost track of the number of conversations I’ve had about needing contact info of the people she wants to socialize with.
But we are on number 3 - so the benefits have outweighed the problems
October 7th, 2008 at 1:56 am
Having a host student from other countries is really great. You could help the child and also fell good about yourself. But also make sure that the whole family agrees to it. So that the child’s stay at your house will be memorable not horrible.
October 9th, 2008 at 3:18 am
Well, it looks like you have more negative facts about schooling a kid from outside. But the problem about teaching 3 hours daily i think wont bother you, because 3 hours is not much, and wont be a problem for you. Also 3 months look like a big period but, believe me, they can pass very fast. When i was a kid in elementary school, there was action to host kids from other country, for cultural exchange program. Because we have big house, my parents took 2 kids :), and it was very funny and great experience. The thing is we had conversation problem, because kids didn’t know English good, and they weren’t here to learn it, but we did manage to communicate in different ways. I think you should go for it, because it is big experience and you and your family will learn a lot from it.