Prepare your child to thrive in our cosmopolitan society and you don’t even need to leave your house!
How well are you doing at school? How did that exam go? What mark did you get on your report? These are some of the questions we regularly ask our children after they come in from a long day at school. These are the answers that are going to determine their future...right?
The answer is of course very much yes and whilst the academic success of our children is of upmost importance, without the ability to communicate and build multi-cultural relationships they cannot progress in the ever changing modern workplace.
BBC news recently reported that a staggering 284 thousand people immigrated to the UK for work last year and that employment of non-EU nationals during January, February and March this year was significantly higher than 2014. With these staggering figures in mind, we must continue to teach our children how to appreciate, communicate and cooperate with different cultures, so that they can become the global workers that organisations demand. When our children then become adults, going off to university or into the work place, they can apply the skills they have learnt. They will be able to interpret tricky situations, whilst being compassionate and having cultural sensitivity when it comes to clients and colleagues.
Marcel Proust, the French novelist, observed that "the real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new lands but in seeing with new eyes".
Hosting a foreign student could be the answer to developing cultural awareness in YOUR child.
By opening up your home to a foreign student, you are creating an opportunity, exposing them to a whole new culture and helping them to see the world through new eyes. Living with an international student is of the best ways to learn about other cultures and the skills that are connected with that. It can also provide a valuable extra income for you and your family.
“We hosted Sunny for a year during her short school holidays. My children very much enjoyed meeting a child from a foreign country and Sunny was a great addition to the family. Sunny would draw and sing with my daughter, Georgie. Georgie now studies Art at Vandean College in East Sussex.” Carol Gill, Host Family, Bright World Guardianships
Get YOUR child practising valuable skills such as listening carefully and observing new culture while increasing their confidence to talk to new people. You don’t even need to leave your house!
For further information, or if you are interested in learning more about becoming a Host Family, please get in touch with Tammy Lindsay, Host Family Recruitment Manager, lindsay@brightworld.co.uk or complete the enquiry form.
