Category: Uncategorized

30 May 2023 – This is an online handout for Training 3 for the International School of Geneva.

• How do we exernalise the system and reject it?
  • How do we separate the system from our identities?
  • How do we separate our biases from our intentions?
  • How do we separate the history of our people from our identities?
• What does this process look or feel like?
• What does the system impact mobility issues in Third Culture Kids?
• What small things can we do to counter the system? 

Slides

The slide deck from ‘Training 3: Ejecting Internalised Racism’ is available in PDF format.

Past sessions

• Training 1: TCKs & Diversity (August 2021)
• Training 2: Creating an Inclusive International Curriculum

Resources

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging – Danau Tanu (2018, 2020)

Inclusion via Diversity, Equity & Anti-Racism Foundation Workshop by Council of International Schools (24-26 October 2023)

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition – Pollock, Van Reken & Pollock (2017). (Click here for Japanese translation or English webpage.)

Tanya Crossman is author of Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century and expert on TCKs who shared the story about the Polish student with me. See her website and list of recommended resources.

Alien Citizen: An Earth Odyssey – An award-winning film by Elizabeth Liang.

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Additional resources

TCKs of Asia live forums & podcast.

For more resources, see here.

How does mobility and structural racism intersect in international schools and affect students?

This is the e-handout for the online presentation for the SPAN Symposium held on 5-6 March 2022. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation and additional resources.

Core topics

• How does the hidden curriculum of structural racism show up in international schools?
• What happens when a child’s identity mirrors are distorted?
• What does internalized racism look like for international school students?
• How do the hidden narratives told by school staff impact students?
• How does transition issues related to mobility intersect with issues of structural racism?

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School. Danau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources mentioned in the presentation (in order of appearance)

Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Doug Ota, 2014.

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Dr. Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Children At Promise: 9 principles to help kids thrive in an at risk world. By Dr. Tim Stuart, 2003.

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Additional resources

TCKs of Asia live forums & Third Culture Stories podcast. Highly recommended for those who want to better understand the experiences of Asian third culture kids. Topics covered:

• cultural loss and shame due to the impact of cultural hierarchies on identity (Season 2, Episode 3: Mixed Loyalties – When Choosing is Difficult);
• hidden loss of language and intimacy with parents (Season 2, Episode 1: A Foreigner in My Own Family);
• internalized racism at the point of repatriation (Season 1, Episode 2: Language & Power).

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If your children are living away from the family with guardians or in a dorm, see also: Third Culture Kids & Parachute Kids – Building Their Resilience with experts Dr. Tim Stuart and Dr. Jang Eun Cho. Co-hosted by Dr. Danau Tanu & Sundae Bean.

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Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. Tanya Crossman, 2016. See also www.tanyacrossman.com

For more resources, see here.

This is the e-handout for the online Parent Session (English) in Singapore. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Core topics

• Hidden curriculum 
• Identity development (mirror concept)
• Cultural gaps with family
• Internalised racism

Themes

• Being ‘seen’
• The power of listening

Slide deck

The slide deck from the workshop is available in PDF format below.

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School. Danau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources (in order of appearance)

‘Decolonise IB: How international school alumni are mobilising to diversify the expat curriculum‘ (June 2020) in Medium by Xoài David, co-founder of ODIS (see below).

‘ODIS: A Student-Led Movement to Decolonise International Schools‘ (September 2020) in TIE Online by Xoài David and Anna Clara Fontoura Fernandes Reynolds, co-founders of ODIS.

Organisation to Decolonise International Schools (ODIS)

ISC Research: The international school student profile – The 2021 Report

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Dr. Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. Tanya Crossman, 2016. See also www.tanyacrossman.com

Salah Asuhan (Never the Twain) by Abdoel Muis. First published in 1928.

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

TCKs of Asia live forums & Third Culture Stories podcast.

If your children are living away from the family with guardians or in a dorm, see also: Third Culture Kids & Parachute Kids – Building Their Resilience with experts Dr. Tim Stuart and Dr. Jang Eun Cho. Co-hosted by Dr. Danau Tanu & Sundae Bean.

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Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Doug Ota, 2014.

Boarding School Syndrome review – education and the pain of separation

Letters Never Sent, a global nomad’s journey from hurt to healing by Ruth E. Van Reken.

For additional resources, see Resources section.

Breakout Sessions

BREAKOUT #1: Cultural gaps & family relations (8min)

Q. Do you experience any challenging cultural gaps between you & your child/children? Please describe it. How has it affected your relationship with them? 

BREAKOUT #2: Self-reflection: Being ‘seen’ (8min)

• Q1. Describe a time when you felt seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you feel seen?
• Q2. Describe a time when you did not feel seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you not feel seen?

INSTRUCTIONS

Work in pairs. 8 minutes total.

• Step 1: Speaker shares story (3 min)
• Step 2: The Listener retell the Speaker’s story using ‘Active Listening’ skills (1 min)
• Step 3: Swap roles. Repeat steps 1 & 2

ACTIVE LISTENING

Be neutral. Do not judge.
Be attentive (nod, etc), patient and don’t fill the silences.

Reflect back to the speaker what they said. Use their words as much as possible. Do not interpret. Do not add your opinion.

This is the e-handout for the online workshop for Learning for Leaders. It includes a list of resources mentioned in the presentation, the slide deck and additional resources.

Core topics

• Hidden curriculum
• Internalised racism & identity
• Identifying cultural gaps & privilege
• Role of educators

Themes

• Finding common ground
• Being ‘seen’
• The simple things

Slide deck

The slide deck from the workshop is available in PDF format below.

Main text

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School. Danau Tanu, 2018. 

Resources (in order of appearance)

• Acknowledgment of Country – What is it?
• Compare the Map of Indigenous Australia (or see here) with the official map of Australian states & territories.

‘Third Culture Kids: The Return Home’ by Tim Brantingham in Sandwich Parenting.

Misunderstood: The Impact of Growing Up Overseas in the 21st Century. Tanya Crossman, 2016. See also www.tanyacrossman.com

Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds, 3rd Edition. David Pollock, Dr. Ruth E. Van Reken and Michael Pollock, 2017.

Children At Promise: 9 principles to help kids thrive in an at risk world. By Dr. Tim Stuart, 2003.

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I was inspired to use ‘active listening’ by:

+ Isabelle Min, professional coach, mediator and facilitator. Founder of Transition Catalyst Korea (TCK) Institute www.tck.or.kr

+ Jessica Wei Huang, International Educator, Leader, & Coach, currently Vice Principal at UWCSEA. www.jessicaweihuang.com

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Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? by Dr. Beverly Tatum

Oxford IB Diploma Programme: IB Theory of Knowledge Course Book. Marija Uzunova Dang and Arvin Singh Uzunov Dang. Published by the Oxford University Press (2020). (You can also listen to the co-authors discuss the importance of teaching Knowledge & Politics to high school students.)

TCKs of Asia & Third Culture Stories podcast.

The Global Imaginary of International School Communities by Dr. Heather Meyer (2021). A detailed account of how the concept of internationalism is used to exclude local students. (Based on ethnographic research at an international school in Germany.)

Safe Passage: How mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it. Doug Ota, 2014.

Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) Symposium, March 5-6, 2021. For registration details click here.

Third Culture Kids & Parachute Kids – Building Their Resilience with experts Dr. Tim Stuart and Dr. Jang Eun Cho. Co-hosted by Dr. Danau Tanu & Sundae Bean.

The Strength of Weak Ties: for Campus Dynamics & Recruitment

For well being: Investing a little time to develop weak ties with students may help them feel more ‘seen’ and help the campus feel more inclusive

• Gillian Sandstrom’s research
• Leslie, Ian. 2020. “Why your ‘weak-tie’ friendships may mean more than you think.” In BBC (July 3).  

For recruitment: The concept of weak ties has been widely applied to diversifying job recruitment pools

• Weak Ties Matter
• How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams (via Joel Laban)

Original study: The concept of weak ties was originally developed to study what type of networking is useful for job search

• Granovetter, Mark. 1973. “The Strength of Weak Ties,” American Journal of Sociology (78:6), 1360-1380.

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Alumni voice

Organisation to Decolonise International Schools

ISC Research: The international school student profile – The 2021 Report

Association of International Educators & Leaders of Color (AIELOC)

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For more resources, see here or the resources tab in the website menu.

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Breakout Sessions

INSTRUCTIONS

Work in pairs. 8 minutes total.

• Step 1: Speaker shares story (3 min)
• Step 2: The Listener retell the Speaker’s story using ‘Active Listening’ skills (1 min)
• Step 3: Swap roles. Repeat steps 1 & 2

ACTIVE LISTENING

Be neutral. Do not judge.
Be attentive (nod, etc), patient and don’t fill the silences.

Reflect back to the speaker what they said. Use their words as much as possible. Do not interpret. Do not add your opinion.

BREAKOUT 1 – Self-reflection: Being ‘seen’

• Q1. Describe a time when you felt seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you feel seen?
• Q2. Describe a time when you did not feel seen by a teacher (or any adult). Why did you not feel seen?

BREAKOUT 2 – Self-reflection: Privilege

Q1. Describe a story that might indicate that you or your family doesn’t have privilege.

Q2. Describe an area in which you benefit from the existing social or historical context.