We’re concerned about the level of education our children are receiving, and curious what some people’s experiences were when moving around with kids. Especially for younger kids.
Our specifics:
The northern parts of N. America have a lot of flaws in their education, a lot, and it varies a lot by area, but currently we are in Denmark and the education could best be described as… “Saturday Morning Cartoons until 9th grade”. I don’t need to get in to the pros and cons of both systems, but one thing we’re very aware of is IF we should move back, our children would *probably* be considered very, very far behind at a *good* US school after 2+ year here.
It seems like there is nearly no science or history early on and very, very little until high school. The math is just behind. Full stop. Reading and language skills are poor, both in English and in Danish, except in how you treat other people (a *very* useful skill, but not one that is measured in the US…at all)
Education and personal growth are things that are really, really important to us. So, this is putting a surprising strain on our decision making.
Denmark consistently ranks high in education, both primary and secondary. Are you an educator? Coming from a family with many people that work in education, parents often decide that because education isn’t how they remember it being (usually not how it even was) that it’s not correct, and that’s just not true.
For moving: The main thing with younger kids is to get them speaking the local language as quickly as possible so they can more effectively use resources. If you’re not intending to assimilate, then international schools make sense, since time learning full Danish won’t help in the future. If you intend to be Danish, then they’re a bad idea, as it will put your kids in a bubble.