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Growing Up in Transit on Your Campus – Resources for the AIELOC Summer Institute

Main reading

Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School (Berghahn Books, 2020)

The Educator & Self-Reflexivity

Breakout Questions

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?

Q3. Describe the privileges that you have and don’t have. How might it impact your interaction with students?

Acknowledgment

Some of the design of this section (especially the active listening exercise in the breakout session) was inspired by Jessica Wei Huang‘s design of an Asian Pacific Islander (API) Educators Community Support meeting that she co-facilitated for AIELOC.

The School & The Narratives

Parker, Lyn. 2003. From Subjects to Citizens: Balinese Villagers in the Indonesian Nation-State. London: Routledge.

Anderson, Benedict. 1983. Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism. Verso Books.

Willis, Paul. 1977. Learning to Labor: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs. Columbia University Press.

Meyer, Heather. 2021. The Global Imaginary of International School Communities. Palgrave Macmillan.

Breakout Questions

Q1. a) Identify and describe an example of a negative narrative that is being told about students at your school. In what way are students being blamed for it? In what way are the staff contributing to the “problem” or acting as gatekeepers? 
b) Discuss with each other how teachers and administrators can model a solution for the students.

Q2. Have you ever experienced the type of intercultural discomfort that was mentioned in the presentation? Share an example and discuss what you or the school can do to address it. 

The Student & the Hidden Curriculum

Tanu, Danau. 2021. The Hidden Curriculum

Decolonising math by Ecolint (International School of Geneva)

Language & Power by TCKs of Asia – on structural racism in international schools & internalised racism. There is a link to the recording on the page.

The Strength of Weak Ties
Original study

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

For well-being

Gillian Sandstrom’s research

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

For recruitment

Weak Ties Matter

How the Best Bosses Interrupt Bias on Their Teams (via Joel Laban)

Breakout questions

Q1. Describe an example of a hidden curriculum or bias in the curriculum taught at your school. Discuss ways to address the bias or to decolonize it.  

Q2. Discuss ways you or your school can learn more about your students’ perspectives.

Q3. Discuss ways to engage parents.

Intergenerational Cultural Gap

Videos created by the International School of Dalat for parents to watch before they enrol their children at the school. See ‘School Culture Videos’ in the right hand column.

Third Culture Kids & Family Ties & A Foreigner in My Own Family: The Hidden Loss of Language & Intimacy by TCKs of Asia. There is a link to the recordings on the respective page.

Other resources

Japanese TCKs on their experiences of learning in a second language – A short video by two Japanese TCKs on what adults did to help them feel ‘seen’ even when they couldn’t speak English.

Third Culture Stories – a podcast by TCKs of Asia.

Identity-Centered Learning by Daniel Wickner

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TCKs of Asia: Language, Family & Power – #FIGT2021

I’ll be speaking on a panel with four others at the Families in Global Transition Virtual Conference 2021.

TCKs of Asia: Language, Family & Power
‘TCKs of Asia: Language, Family & Power’ at the Families in Global Transition Conference, 12-14 March

TCKs of Asia: Language, Family & Power

We’re quite proud of this panel. We’ll talk about aspects of the Third Culture Kid experience that are rarely talked about.

We’ll talk about how the experience of mobility in childhood varies depending on their backgrounds – cultural, linguistic, racial, class and so on.

The panel is made up of Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese and Indonesian-Japanese TCKs. So, we’ll also touch upon a topic that is considered sensitive in the region. The elephant in the room.

We’ll talk about the way the history of the region affects how children interact with each other.

As adults, it’s important that we set an example on how to maintain friendships & connect meaningfully even when we are from different sides of history. I’m particularly proud of how we cover this.

And by ‘we’, I mean:

Isabelle Min, CEO & Founder of Transition Catalyst Korea (TCK) Institute and former radio host and television broadcaster for KBS. Founder of FIGT Korea Affiliate.

Aiko Minematsu, Co-Founder of the FIGT Japan Affiliate & a university lecturer in Tokyo

Saeko Mizuta, Founder & CEO of TCK Workshop. Co-Founder of FIGT Japan Affiliate

Danau Tanu, Research Fellow and author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School 

Jane W. Wang, Founder & Coach at Multicultural Hero’s Journey 

Hope to see you at the conference! Also, lookout for the TCK Coffee & Connect sessions in the conference community rooms.

To register for the Families in Global Transition Conference 2021, visit their website here.

Conference registrations close on March 10. Pre-conference Forums have started.

*By the way, ‘Power Panel’ sounds rather grand but it’s the name of the type of panel at the conference.

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AIELOC’s 2021 Book Club on Growing Up in Transit

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! 🙂

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.

BUY THE BOOK

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.

To register, click here.

They are also creating new space for Black women in international schools.

For more information about AIELOC and their events, please visit their website at www.aieloc.org or their Webinar & Events page.

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TCK Vocations & Career—Spotlight Interview with Among Worlds magazine

I am feeling very grateful to be featured for the Spotlight Interview in the December issue of the third culture kid magazine, Among Worlds.

READ THE PREVIEW

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:

  • Amanda Bates of The Black Expat,
  • Michael Pollock who is the co-author of Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds & Executive Director of Interaction International,
  • 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 (生きがい), as they say in Japanese, that expresses who we are.

  • Marilyn Gardner, public health expert & author,
  • Ute Limacher-Reibold, PhD, intercultural language consultant,
  • Rachel Hicks, writer, editor and poet,
  • Anna Oken, writer and poet

Hope you enjoy it!

Get a copy of the December issue of Among Worlds

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How do we learn to belong?


‘The opposite of belonging is fitting in‘
-Brené Brown-

Belonging. It’s a simple word with a lot packed into it. Is belonging something that just is and can’t be changed: we either belong or we don’t? 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.

LEARN MORE & REGISTER
Poster. TCKs of Asia presents an open forum: How do we learn to belong? Third Culture Stories from Asia. 'The opposite of belonging is fitting in' by Brene Brown. Date, time & registration link.

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 – 3pm Lagos & Amsterdam – 10pm Singapore & Perth

REGISTER
Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School - book cover (Asian Third Culture Kids)


Paperback release this December!
Pre-order now and get 25% off!