Why should SSIS students be forced to learned about American culture since the school is in Vietnam?

Good question.

we are forced to learn about american culture is because
we are studying in a american school adn we should know
something about the country that we are going to studying in
to get to know they people better maybe in their prospective to truly understand them

There are many reasons for us to study American culture at SSIS. Most of us are non-Vietnamese students and we just live here temporally. Moreover we will go to America for college and even for work, so it's essential to understand American culture.

Are we really being forced to learn the American culture? It is true that SSIS is an American school, and it is also true that the school is in Vietnam. However, I don't think we are forced to learn the culture of the Americans. There is a subject in the school which is USA History and no other country's history, but it is optional, you don't have to take that subject. We might encounter the American culture since most of the teachers are from the States and so as some students in the school, but again, that doesn't mean we are learning the culture in a forceful way. Another respond for this is that I hope that no one in the school is forced to study at SSIS. I think we all agree with our parents about joining this American school. This means that the students might have some ideas of receiving the American culture before going to study here. Why say that we are learning this culture forcefully? If it is "American-ish", we are free. It is your choice to whether let the American culture be part of yours or not.

Since you go to an American school, there is no surprise that you learn about American culture.
In my opinion, if you don't know a lot about American culture, life in school sometimes can be a little irritating.
For example, the way how people talk. If English is not your first language and you don't watch American tv shows, when your friends talk about House or Friends or American Idol or etc, you don't know what they are talking about and you can't join their conversations.
Another thing I realized is the choice of words. For example, hot, boobs, hoodie, etc.
I think to learn American culture is to make your life easier in an American school and if you are planning to live in the US in the future.

"It is your choice to whether let the American culture be part of yours or not." (Alison)

Yes, I truly agree with Alison. You can learn about American culture very easily as you are studying in SSIS, but the choice is up to you whether you want to speak and act and think like Americans.

I don’t think all students are being forced to learn about American culture in SSIS. U.S. history is mandatory only for U.S. citizens. Those students are forced to learn American culture because that is where they are from. Most of the people coming to international school go back to their home country. For U.S. students, since they are going to go back to the states, to be a part of the society, it is important to know the history of the place. People can make connections to their present life and the history to understand issues as well.

Do people in SSIS think we are forced to learned about American culture?
I don't think so. Even if the school is in Vietnam, SSIS is an international school from USA. So it's right to learn about American culture. Also, I know that there are many students who want to work not just in their own country but in the world. Therefore, we should learn it. If you don't want and stick to your own culture, you can. No one is forcing you.

Before answer this topic, let me ask you something. Is really anybody who thinks that SSIS students are force to learn about American culture? Well, I don’t think so because even we live in Vietnam, SSIS is the American International School so we should learn about USA. Some students may come to our school for studying in American college or university so I think that learning about American culture is a great chance you to more study about USA.

SSIS is an international school and not all students here are suppose to go to America after their graduation.
But, it isn't a very good option to remain completely about American culture which is necessary in real life.

Because our school is an American school and thus we have to learn about American culture. Students in the school came here to learn about American culture! They chosed this! There are many places where we could learn about Vietnamese culture in Vietnam but there aren't many places to learn about American culture. So I think there is NO problem in our school about teaching Amercian culture since we are here to learn about it.

Saigon South International School is an international school in Ho Chi Minh City. It has different education system compared to other Vietnamese, Korean, Taiwan, or Japanese school. Our school expects students to study abroad, espeically to the States, and provides full support of that. Thus, studying American culture would help international students to adapt well in the States and share common ideas with Americans. Furthermore, students at SSIS are not even forced to learn American culture. They have freedom of choosing classes and can lead their future by themselves.

most of us studying in ssis want to study abroad, especially the US. Since there is nothing better to understand other countries by learning their culture, we should learn about American while studying in ssis. And ask about these things is the same as that you may wanna be a business man but you still have to learn about literature, art and several stuffs that have no relation with business. We just learn, especially literature and culture of other countries to open our minds, enrich our knowledge.