Swedish-speaking Finns have the right to be taught in Swedish, which is one of the two official languages of the country. Swedish speakers make up only about 5 percent of the population but tend to be concentrated in a few areas.

You can see a “language of instruction round-up here.

A number of industrialized nations have more than one official language. In Singapore the official language is Malay. The primary language of instruction in schools is English and students are expected to be bilingual–generally English and Mandarin.

In Finland the two official languages are Finnish and Swedish. To the greateste extent possible, students are instructed in their “mother tongue” (which might include Finnish, Swedish, Romany, Sami, Russian or Somali) with the very early addition of a second “national” (Finnish or Swedish) language in elementary and a language at the secondary level.

Hong Kong has an official language–Mandarin. Historically education was in English, however they have shifted to a “mother tongue” orientation and provide initial instruction in Mandarin, with English as a Second Language (sometimes used as the language of instruction, especially in the upper grades).

Canada has two languages–English and French. New Zealand provides instruction in multiple languages, as does Australia.

The US is actually way behind many industrialized nations with regard to the study of languages. Many expect bilingualism as a goal of public education–frequently with the expectation of exposure to a third. We limit our expectation to some students “taking” a language in high school.

I’m all for a United Nations day and a Parade of Nations at K-12 schools; they help teach World History and World Geography, where the U.S. fits into the big picture, and even gives the school an excuse to have a party for a day.

I just don’t like it when learning about the rest of the world comes at the *cost* of learning about the U.S., or your home State/Territory. What’s the point of knowing about the world around you if you’re ignorant – or even hostile – towards your own country?

In your “non-diverse school” I suppose there was a common culture and concomitant sense of community, along with a feeling of oneness among the student body. What’s worse is that they probably celebrated distinctly American holidays and pledged allegiance to Old Glory. How sad.

At ICS do they pledge allegiance to the UN flag? It would be “oh, so much richer” if they did.