It seems that with the start of each new school year, the number of international students in my classes increases. Names like Yeonhui, and HaEun appear on my attendance list next to Nicholas, Samantha, and Adam.
Incorporating these international students into the student body at Unity Christian High School (an independent Christian high school of about six hundred students located in Hudsonville, MI) has been a journey of trial and error. Unity Principal/CEO Jerry DeGroot notes that “after a few years of having international students, we have become more aware of the cultural differences of the western and eastern cultures.” This has been most apparent to DeGroot in his perception of why parents from eastern cultures choose to send their kids around the world for an education. “Many times I wonder if some of these students were sent by their parents as the final way of seeing if their child could succeed. I have seen the end product for many of these students is to graduate from a private school and be accepted into a large American university in order to be looked at by their family as being successful.”
Fitting In
In addition to the challenges that all high school students face: making friends, fitting in, negotiating relationships with parents and siblings, completing homework, and taking part in extracurricular activities and a social life, most international students need to do all this in a language other than their home language.
After a few years of watching faculty and staff struggle to provide adequate support to international students, DeGroot and Unity’s guidance counselors saw the need for change. “We assigned one of our counselors (Julie Essebaggers) to be the coordinator of our international program in order to provide the program with a clearer direction,” said DeGroot.
While the program now had a clear direction, challenges remained. As with DeGroot, Essebaggers is quick to point out that cultural differences get in the way of providing international students with the help they need. “International students don’t always ask for help or support when needed. I spend a lot of time helping some international students understand that we are here to help and support in any way they need and that accepting that is not a weakness in them; it’s just a difference in our culture. That is really difficult for some to understand and accept.”
For some international students, Essebaggers finds, these difficulties bring to light mental health issues that have not been addressed at home. “But, often due to stress and being lonely, international students struggle more and more when they are here. It’s difficult to help them understand mental health and how to best handle these struggles.”
One of the best ways to help international students with the transition to school in the states is to get them plugged in to student life. However, Essebaggers reports that this is the biggest challenge she faces in her role. According to her, “some international students jump right in and can assert themselves to become involved, but others have a hard time meeting new people and putting themselves out there socially. I have also been challenged with the fact that some international students do not want to be involved. They are here to study and get the work done. They don’t need to be social. Often I want them to feel a part of this student community…but, in reality, not all international students really want that.”
On a more positive note, Essebaggers acknowledges that, whether or not international students are ready to accept the help they need or show a desire to be involved in student life, “our students and staff are willing to do whatever they can to help to make international students feel welcome here.” She sees interactions between international students and Unity students and staff as opportunities for Christ’s love to shine through to those who may not yet know Him.
DeGroot also senses the importance of these interactions. Along with hoping that welcoming international students into “a very non-diverse school” will give his students the ability to branch out and include other cultures, DeGroot feels that “by accepting international students, we are part of the witness of Jesus Christ and can share the story of salvation with young impressionable souls.”
Finding the right way to share that story, however, has not always been easy.
“What is a Spirit?”
Initially, Unity enrolled international students into the same classes as their Midwest peers, including Bible courses. However, Bible teacher Mark Bonner began to question the effectiveness of that strategy a few years back. According to Bonner, some of the international students in his sophomore New Testament class had never heard of Jesus, never seen a Bible and never been near to a church. “We were unable to meet the needs of these diverse learners,” reports Bonner. When a Thai student raised her hand and asked Bonner what a spirit was, he knew something needed to change.
It became clear that Unity needed to make an adjustment in how it took in students who had little to no exposure to Christianity. As a result, Bonner was allowed to create a new class for first year international students. Bonner explains that “the intent behind this class has not been to convert these students to Christianity, but to allow a space where any questions can be asked, a space where these unique students can learn about American Christianity and its unique expression in our school without feeling like they are slowing down the class or simply asking too many questions.”
For course material, Bonner uses an evangelism film series produced by Alpha as well as the History Channel’s mini-series “The Bible.” Bonner states that most of the class is a discussion on what Christians believe. “The message of God’s grace is really the key focus of the class.”
One of the most important elements of this course, perhaps, is that Bonner has done away with grades. The class is strictly pass/fail. This decision was made in order to foster an environment of openness. Bonner says “that was important to me because we have removed the need to please the teacher, or earn approval. This is truly seed sowing. I have no expectation that they become Christians through this class. In fact I tell them that on day one. I do not have an agenda that they accept Christ. I tell them I am going to present to them what it is that we believe and that I want them to understand what is going on in our spiritual lives throughout the day.”
A Blessing
With all the challenges that come with enfolding international students, one may wonder if doing so is worth the work.
Some of the students flourish while they are here, making new friends, making the grade, making the team. For others, the pressure becomes too much. In some cases, international students are sent, or choose to go, home because they are unable to handle either their newfound independence or the demands of living and learning in a different country.
Some students keep in touch after they leave Unity. Most do not. This makes it difficult to assess the long term impact their time at Unity has had on these students.
But, occasionally, we get glimpses.
In closing, Mark Bonner:
“One of our students was given a Bible in Chinese and English from her host parents. They had spent a lot of time highlighting key passages both from my class and from their own conversations with this student. She was the most resistant to the Gospel message I have ever met. She thought the class was dumb, and a waste of her time and let me know that on multiple occasions!
“I was surprised when she returned to Unity the following year. That meant she would be in our New Testament class and go into much more depth than she had in the Introduction to Christianity class. I asked if she had brought her Bible back and she replied that she hadn’t. I asked why not and she replied that it had caused a fight at home. I was worried about what that might mean. Asking for further details she explained that her dad and her grandfather were fighting over who got to read it!
“This really hit me that we have no idea what the impact of our teaching may be. And honestly it is not this class that has the most impact on these students, it is the total immersion into our Christian school culture. Our singing chapels are such a powerful experience for our students. From my conversations with host families it is in the every day experiences of who we are as Christians that speaks the most to our international students, in our daily rhythms of prayer, worship and life that these students see Christ.
“Our Christian schools have an incredible opportunity to be a witness, simply by sharing who we are.”
Mark Brink teaches English at Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville, MI.