AIELOC is starting an online Book Club in January 2021 where they will read Growing Up in Transit.
Growing Up in Transit is based on my doctoral research about the systemic racism at work in international schools. It draws heavily on student voices, with a special focus on the Asian TCK (third culture kid) experience.
Don’t worry, I won’t be joining – that way you can critique the book all you want! đ
To join the Book Club, e-mail AIELOC at AIELOC2019@gmail.com or click here.
If you don’t already have a copy of Growing Up in Transit, click below to get 25% off on the paperback. The promo code is valid until the end of January 2021.
While it is called the Association for International Educators and Leaders of Color, you don’t have to be a ‘person of color’ or an international educator to join. All are welcome.
Other AIELOC events
AIELOC is also organising a community discussion on how to end racism and discrimination in the international school community on January 16. It looks like a great initiative.
We all have a need to belong and be unique at the same time, as contradictory as that might seem. But when we grow up between different countries, languages and cultures, it can be hard to feel a strong sense of belonging to any one place or culture. Is belonging something that just is and canât be changed: we either belong or we donât? Or can we learn how to belong?
In this forum, five adult Third Culture Kids of Asia will reflect on their experiences of trying to fit in and find community. They will also share what they have learned over the years as they searched for a sense of belonging.
Head over to the TCKs of Asia website to join the discussion about belonging.
In this interview, I talk about how I felt like an immigrant kid while going to an international school because I was Western by day and Asian by night. I also talk about how I engaged with the term ‘third culture kids’, as well as the importance of paying attention to not just the ‘movers’ but the ‘stayers’ too in international schools and help TCKs connect with the local place where they live.
I am in incredibly good company no less! The December issue of Among Worlds focuses on TCK Vocations & Careers with articles by many established writers, coaches, and so on in the TCK world. Some articles are practical and others heartwarming.
Some offer tips for TCKs looking to build their careers. These might be especially useful for younger TCKs who are just starting out or those who feel ‘stuck’ in their careers. See the articles by:
Tim Sandford, professional counselor & author of several books,
Jen Mohindra, a TCK coach
Other articles & poems in the issue touch upon our deeper longing for a vocation or ikigai (çăăă), as they say in Japanese, that expresses who we are.
Marilyn Gardner, public health expert & author,
Ute Limacher-Reibold, PhD, intercultural language consultant,
Ever heard of âparachute kidsâ? Roughly defined, they are children who get dropped off in a foreign countryâor parachuted in, so to speakâto further their education. The kids are usually middle school or high school aged but sometimes younger. Meanwhile, their parents fly back and stay in their home country.
So what does this have to do with Third Culture Kids? To find out, join us at the special event hosted by the Families in Global Transition.
Hosts
Dr Danau Tanu is author of Growing Up in Transit and Co-Chair of FIGT Research Network
Sundae Bean, a solution-oriented coach and intercultural strategist
Speakers
Dr Tim Stuart is a veteran international educator of 25 years and author of Children at Promise
Dr Jang Cho is a child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist and Director of the Harvard Medical School-affiliated MGH Consortium at Center for Cross Cultural Student Emotional Wellness Instagram
Belonging. It’s a simple word with a lot packed into it. Is belonging something that just is and canât be changed: we either belong or we donât? Or can we learn how to belong?
I’d say yes. The older I get, the more I think belonging is a verb and an ongoing process. It’s not an end point that we have to strive to arrive at.
The good news is, I think ‘belonging’ is something that we can initiate.
But it needs regular maintenance.
The bad news is, we spend a lot of our time trying to look for it ‘somewhere out there’ as though we’re looking for gold that’s already in the ground somewhere. We fall into the trap of believing we’ll miraculously stumble across it one day and find it. And then we get frustrated when we don’t find it.
So, how do we learn to belong?
I’ll be sharing more about this topic with some of the folks at TCKs of Asia in December.
Come join us for the conversation!
Online Saturday, 12 December 2020 9am New York â 3pm Lagos & Amsterdam â 10pm Singapore & Perth
