College preparation for bicultural young adults may include seeking out international as well as domestic opportunities. Some youngsters, however, are heading abroad much sooner — for high school or junior high school.
The Japan Times spoke with 13 families whose children were all educated in the Japanese system before heading overseas.
The reasons for sending a child abroad vary. Jack's son is a gregarious, sporty boy who enjoyed the social aspect of Japanese school but struggled with reading and writing (many of the parents I spoke to requested that only their first names be used). Diagnostic testing revealed that his son has dyslexic tendencies.