But, even so, each one of us is still 99.9% genetically identical to everyone else. It’s the 0.1% that provides the beautiful diversity in our world.
But, even so, each one of us is still 99.9% genetically identical to everyone else. It’s the 0.1% that provides the beautiful diversity in our world.
There is a great deal of research that shows babies and young children do not see differences. It is as we get older that we have a tendency to separate ourselves into groupings based around artificial notions such as race, colour, and faith. We are not born with these tendencies; we acquire them. As an international school, we are uniquely placed to help our young students see past these artificial barriers that society tends to create.
Although we are one race, the 0.1% variation is vital. One of the things that has made the human race so successful is its diversity and its ability to adapt. The most successful businesses understand that narrow-minded thinking is limited and destined to fail. In so many ways, diversity of opinion and approach are vital to sustained success.
Unfortunately, we are living in a time when isolationism seems to be a trend in some countries. A trend in which society seeks to cut ties and alienate whole groups of people.
Fortunately, history also shows us that those who tend to isolationism are destined to fail. The trend of history is towards embracing diversity, inclusion, and valuing different views. Those who act and think otherwise, tend to be on the wrong side of history. Personally, I take solace in the fact that the current trend will be a small blip in the history of humanity.
Here at the British International School of Houston, we live by our core values: Pride, Unity and Respect. We believe we are stronger because of our diversity and we celebrate it as much as we can.
At BISH, we have:
60+ nationalities, with even more languages.
6 nationally accredited Mother Tongue programmes and growing.
We are a truly beautiful melting pot of humanity, all learning from each other and learning together. Our educational programme is purposefully designed to do the same.
We are rooted in a British style education and bench-marked against the National Curriculum of England. But, we proudly develop everything we do from research and best practice from around the world.
IPC, IGCSE, Te Whariki, Reggio Emilia National Curriculum of England, IBDP, and IBCP.
All of the above are recognised to be among the world leaders in their field; the first among equals.
There is a similar story with the University destinations for our students, with half of our graduating class being offered places at the world’s top 100 institutions.
It is no accident our parents are always welcome in our school. Our coffee shop and Agora are open to our parents, since they play a vital role in celebrating and promoting our diversity. They help set the tone, they help create our culture of a proudly diverse and inclusive place for children to grow and learn; to become the world’s future leaders.
We know, as history indicates, that their world will be even more inclusive and diverse. To be successful, students need to have experienced that in school.
Enrichissons-nous des nos differences. Paul Valery
Andrew Derry
Principal
