Growing Roots in an Internationalising Culture

 - Anchored at Home, Ready for the World -

Every year, on Malaysia Day, our school community comes together with parents and students for a festive potluck. Our annual Malaysia Day potluck follows hot on the heels of our recent Merdeka Day party. 

Amidst the bustling atmosphere and between bites of delicious Malaysia delights, a parent asked me recently if it is important for a child to experience ‘a true international school culture’ from young to acclimatise to a globalised world. 

I paused to swallow my food and also to consider why my instinct is the complete opposite.

Why it’s important for a child to be raised to love their country as an anchor for self-identity

Beyond the food and fun, celebrations like this are a deliberate effort to give children a strong sense of anchor and identity. Loving one’s country provides stability — it roots children in who they are and where they come from, even as they grow in a rapidly changing, global world.

When this effort isn’t intentional, children can easily drift into what is known as a “third culture” — where they don’t feel fully at home in their parents’ culture, nor the host country’s culture, but instead form a blend of both. Being a third culture kid comes with strengths — adaptability, empathy, global perspective — but it can also bring challenges, such as uncertainty about belonging. At home, parents might have difficulty inculcating family values.

I am reminded of a recent conversation with an expat mother about her son’s experience (or lesson) at a summer camp in an international school. A visiting student from their home country was insulted by a third student’s remark about their nation and reacted with anger, even starting a fight. 

Later, when the mother asked her son how he felt about the insult, he said: “I was just as offended, but I can choose my reaction. If I had a chance, I’d share my thoughts respectfully. Since he (the third student) wasn’t listening, I didn’t feel the need to force my opinion on him.”

This response reflects not just excellent parental guidance, but the fruit of deliberate exposure to multiple cultures — while staying anchored in a strong sense of a patriotism and self.

Value of multilingual environments in nurturing respectful articulation

The merits of pursuing a multilingual education are plentiful. 

I particularly appreciate the exposure to diversity and the development of different ways of thinking and expressing. Besides the skilful translation of ideas and flexibility expression, it is the opportunity to nurture our child’s diplomacy and collaborative problem solving skill. 

Therefore a multilingual environment provides the opportunity for our child’s identify anchor to be strengthened, not weakened. In a multilingual classroom, our children will master the ability to articulate one’s thoughts, stand one’s ground while respecting across cultures is exactly what tomorrow’s leaders need.

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