Jordan vs United States
Side-by-side comparison of how these places approach childhood.
Jordan
One in five students in Jordanian public schools is a Syrian refugee child.
Jordan hosts 660,000 Syrian refugees, and its schools have absorbed their children through a double-shift system.
United States
In parts of the US, letting your child walk to school alone can trigger a call to child protective services.
A culture of intensive parenting and liability anxiety has made American childhood the most supervised in history.
Jordan
Jordan's 10-2 compulsory system has expanded dramatically to absorb Syrian refugee children. Many schools operate double shifts โ Jordanian children in the morning, Syrian children in the afternoon. Education is free through secondary school.
United States
Highly decentralized โ quality varies enormously by zip code. School starts at age 5 (kindergarten). Strong emphasis on extracurriculars, especially sports. Standardized testing shapes curriculum.
Planning a move from Jordan to United States?
Get a personalised Family Integration Playbook โ your parenting style mapped to your destination's culture.
Get your playbook โ $99