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Going global in education has always been considered attractive, it offers great benefits. But there are also doubts and hurdles that stand in the way: is it affordable, is it safe, is it worthwhile, what happens if ...? Logistic, financial and emotional issues can be powerful hindrances to study abroad, to become multilingual, to gain international experience, to aim for educational excellence. Now an innovative network has solutions driven by intelligent family power.
ParentalPal.Org has developed a specialized system for international family co-operation. Parents connect on criteria such as the specific age group of their children, special interests, language preferences, cultural aspects or professional goals. Their aim is to host and mentor each others children, to create dynamic global villages with the strength of the accumulated knowledge of its people, their contacts and infrastructures. These co-operations focus on education: on access to better education, support to learn languages, opportunities to gather experiences, cultural diversity and new ways to find creative solutions. Essential point: that both sides and both generations enjoy the process.
The cutting edge argument of this strategy is simultaneousness. It serves parents and kids: Parental Pals can combine their own interests, both personal and professional, with finding a maximum of benefits on the academic level for their children. They establish partnerships to give each other what benefits all but cannot be accomplished easily alone.
Trust and Time
A particular strength of the Parental Pal concept is the factor trust: “mutuality of interest” means shared sensitivities and ambitions. Understanding and good comradeship take time to grow, so parents communicate long before their children are ready to go away on exchange programs as pupils, as students or for their first holiday camp. Long term relationships are essential for the quality of this slow-motion-network, which is supported by annually decreasing fees for loyal members. Access to the community is available to members only, they accept a strict code of ethics.
Price and Value
Co-operation creates opportunities which ease the pressure on family resources considerably. The annual membership fee at ParentalPal.Org is a fraction of this savings’ potential, at the same time it is an efficient instrument to ensure that members are active, sincere and share the same principles and goals. Parental Pals have developed a specialized system to avoid fakes and sleepers spoiling the fun, security and fair play have priority.
Thousands of parents from 63 countries* have registered to become Parental Pals before the official launch, some of them participated in pilot projects. What motivates them: the parallel benefit of inspiring contacts and new ideas for both generations, the synergy effects this has on their quality of life (from rethinking their family holidays to a broader vision of educational aims), the chance to improve language skills simultaneously and to find that it allows their resources - both time and money - to go much further.
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