Ep. 120: The Scoop on International Schools Part I

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EQ:  How are international schools uniquely situated to fight, perpetuate or contribute to educational inequities around the world?

Guest: Yvette Santos Cuenco a school counselor at the Edmund Burke Independent School in DC.

In this episode Hope and Megan are joined by Yvette, an experienced international educator and school counselor. We discuss the historical context which led to the establishment of these schools throughout the world.  Listeners will learn a little about who attends, how they are designed, how the culture of the country impacts the school community and much much more. We also dip our toes into the DEIJ/social justice landscape in these contexts, reviewing such things as disparities in these schools, problematic hiring practices and the way they operate as predominantly White institutions often perpetuating (intentionally or unintentionally) white/colonial culture. 

Related Sources: 

Ep. 113: Equipping Young People To Lead

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EQ: How are young people around the world being equipped to address important social issues of our times?

Guest: Alisara (Ally) Christensen is from Bangkok, Thailand and the Jump! Foundation

Ally shares her experiences growing up in international schools and her passion for youth development. The Jump! Foundation offers a range of hands-on, experiential workshops to empower and equip students for exploring social issues, and specifically increasing their awareness on diversity, equity and inclusion. Although surprising for some, these conversations are somewhat new in international education. However, with access to technology and social media conversations about race and justice are now coming to the forefront of the conversation. We also explore the ever-evolving language around these issues of opportunity access. We finish the episode discussing the importance of having youth be the drivers of the conversation and bringing them along for the work rather than doing the work of change for them.

Resources:

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Ep. 68: Throw Out the White Canon #DisruptText Part II w/ Lorena German

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Note to listeners: This episode was recorded in mid-February as a part II to episode 65 “Throw Out the White Cannon #DisruptTexts

Shortly after this recording, Lorena German was featured in The New York Times “Bringing A New Vibe to the Classroom.”

EQ: What does it mean to teach in multicultural and multilingual classrooms and communities in 2020?

Guest: Lorena German, classroom educator and Chair of the National Council of English Teacher’s Committee Against Racism and Bias in the Teaching of English and co-founder of #DisruptTexts

In this episode, Lorena explains the origins of The Multicultural Classroom and its mission: “we aim to address the national issue of effectively teaching in multicultural and multi-lingual classrooms and communities. We believe that a culturally sustaining pedagogy can be practiced through targeted professional development.” Lorena also digs into her work on the NCTE Committee Against Racism & Bias and how it’s helped her advance her vision of effective and compassionate teaching in multicultural/multilingual classrooms. She talks about her role in co-founding #DisruptTexts with Julia Torres and Tricia Ebarvia and future projects she’s looking forward to. Read her post “Disrupting Shakespeare”.

Champagne 🥂 & Real Pain 👎🏻

🥂 Ibram X. Kendi

🥂 The Love & Lies of Rukhsana Ali by Sabina Khan

🥂 Black educators on Twitter (i.e. Kelly Wickham Hurst)

👎🏻 Revisionist history and people beating the drum about white history

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Follow us on Twitter @IWL_Podcast or Facebook: Interchangeable White Ladies Podcast

Ep. 43: We’re in the Fire: On Teacher Diversity & Genuine Equity

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EQ: What role does teacher training play in the health of our schools and the future of the teaching profession?

Guest: Tamar Krames, 2006 MIT grad, Art/ELL teacher, OSPI, currently adjunct faculty for the Master’s in Teaching at Evergreen State College

The journey to teaching is different for everyone and our amazing guest Tamar focuses on what it means to have a transnational perspectives. We discuss the relationship between literacy and language, then transition to the problem of lack of “teacher diversity.” Tamar challenges us and our listeners to expand the way we think about this and the way that all CURRENT teachers can strive to address the issue of representation (we can add books, artwork, and broaden curriculum choice). She also reminds us that teacher diversity isn’t just race, but also about language (English) supremacy (but one way to “write and think smart”) and additional intersecting oppressions that keep amazing people out of the profession. Systemically, we need to consider who is seen as an expert and make our schools places that teachers want to stay (teacher of color retention).

We transition to the role of teacher prep programs in diversifying the field, supporting culturally responsive teaching practices, and the unspoken assumptions that being a person of color means you’d be able to work cross-culturally. There are programs intentionally working to recruit and support teachers of color. Some reading:

Guilty Favesies:

  • Annie: vegan milkshakes

  • Tamar: Star Trek

  • Hope: Hi-Chews

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