A European Education

(SF Examiner, 28 April 1968)

# It's All in the Counseling

A European education used to be restricted to people one read about in the novels of Henry James or to faintly suspect Bohemians who went off to the Left Bank to languish in garrets. Or at least the parents paying the charges thought so.

But in a smaller world that demands an ever wider view, a summer or a three-semester year overseas is regarded as a sound, practical, non-frivolous way to grow up.

## OFFERS COUNSEL

Once you've decided to send a child to Europe for summer or study or both, how do you decide where and when and how? You can't just pack off a teenager with some advice about being a goodwill ambassador without having a few anxious moments.

The answer is counseling. Elizabeth V. Zierer of Oakland, who devotes her time the year around to counseling parents in the choice of schools abroad, stresses the necessity for individual attention to a child's personality, desires, deficiencies and character.

"Some schools are perfect for a problem student who has not learned to study. Some camps give an aim in life to children who never had one before," she says. "Often teenagers return from this experience with recognition of values they never dreamed of in their home and school."

Miss Zierer believes that Swiss camps and schools are more adaptable to the needs of American children both socially and scholastically. They attempt to suit the needs of the student

who expects to return for a high school diploma or college degree to the United States.

Some of the Swiss private schools even have American teachers and make use of American books.

## VISITS STUDENTS

During the summer, Miss Zierer takes small groups to Europe for short tours, then places the students in camps, boarding schools, paying guest homes. She lives in Lausanne during these months, visiting all "her" students two or three times, and finally shipping them safely home.

These summer trips are especially advantageous for those who want to learn or improve their knowledge of a language and emphasize sports and other in-

formal activities with children of various nationalities.

Miss Zierer was born in what was then Austria-Hungary and entered a boarding school in Switzerland at 13. She attempts to maintain constant familiarity with the personalities of more than 250 Swiss schools.

In any case, whether a student stays a year or plays during a summer, Miss Zierer is convinced that he returns home with a deeper appreciation of both other countries and his own.

—Georgia Hesse

For further information or brochures, write E. V. Zierer, Education Continen tal e, 5863 Birch Court, Oakland, Calif. 94618, or call 654-2078.