Blogs--International Teachers (Scholars) Sharing?

Recently I had the opportunity to join a SKYPE conversation among several international educators. We were all talking about how, over the years, we had kept journals of various kinds, some chronicled our travels and others were about our teaching experiences. We talked about sharing or not sharing that information. Then someone raised the issue of keeping a blog -- which many international teachers have begun in recent years. We talked about private journal blogs, for example. One of those joining the conversation later sent me this link: http://scienceblogs.com/confessions/2011/10/19/the-power-of-blogs-or-occupysc/  It is an interesting blog postings about the power of blogs; it was posted by a Science Librarian named John Dupuis. He presents a pithy overview and he concludes with this statement: "...blogs are certainly a way that scholars can take back their scholarship and control how it is disseminated." 

I have spent several days thinking about his summary statement and other information in the link. He is right. We as scholars, especially international scholars, almost have an unstated responsibility to share what we know about working in multicultural situations, especially if someone can benefit from it. By this I do not mean that you should say "School xyz is not a fun place to work!". I mean we should share the cultures we come to know in ways that will benefit those who are not so fortunate. I mean we should share the things we learn from our multicultural students and how they meld -- or the challenges they face. Maybe you know a lot about things that, as a scholar, you need to share via a blog.

What do you think? Do you have a blog you want to share?

A 6 min video from International Education Conference in Europe, March 2012

Published on Mar 8, 2012: (about six minutes).  International Education Conference: Introductory Video

 "This introductory film of the international conference on education "Diverse talents for the future of Europe" (5-6 March 2012) illustrates the position of youngsters with an immigrant background in the European educational systems and the contributions of civil grassroots initiatives of the 2nd and 3rd generation to Europe" to quote the YouTube description. 

Would this be useful to those of us in international education as part of an examination how education changes to meet the changing needs of various cultural contexts?

AAIE Annual Conference in San Francisco Informative

The Association for the Advancement of International Education  just held its annual international conference last week.  The overarching theme was Promoting Social Justice in a Diverse World, and there were keynote speeches and break-out sessions related to this topic. Kimmie Weeks spoke (Chalk & Gunpower: How Students Can Unite to Transform the World) on Friday morning, addressing the group while sharing powerful images from his own life, including when his child rights activism began at age 14 as a result of his own experiences with the war in Liberia. He told the story of his own journey and stopped at various junctures to illustrate what our students in our international school classrooms might do to reduce or eliminate child poverty and to protect children from war....or at least draw attention to the issue.

Also there were other presentations such as Promoting Social Justice in the Classroom: How Effective Teachers Impact Student Success  by Dr. James H. Stronge, College of William & Mary (http://wmpeople.wm.edu/jhstro). Kevin Jennings, newly appointed Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, a leading global foundation advancing pressing social justice and conversation issues, spoke specifically on advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) equality for students and teachers. 

These and the other presentations have relevance for international schools, even though such schools are known for the very diversity they embody.   Educators in international schools everywhere must be aware of and acknowledge changing issues, even if they seem remote and unrelated to where they find themselves at  this particular time.  Sometimes educators just need to know what is happening in the field as international educators in order to provide leadership as international schools address the issues, now or into the future. 

Are there any professional readings related to the AAIE overall topic (Promoting Social Justice in a Diverse World) the blog readers would suggest for inclusion in a faculty resource library for an international school?

The Telegraph (London) Article (02/13/13) on comparing international schools

"UK-style exam league tables do not travel well when considering international schools, says Suzi Dixon" (direct quote), followed by a rational & strategy for parents when considering an international school abroad.  As she also says, "... there is currently no official league table available to compare international schools on a level playing field".  Ms. Dixon continues to reveal some of the possible misunderstandings that may result from comparison, especially those in marketing materials. She cites statistics on the growth of international schools (something we have also noted and upon which we will comment shortly) and even includes links to various resources to illustrate her points. It is a good piece for international educators to read as well as parents.  Published 13 Feb 2013. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/expateducation/9868343/Rounded-approach-pays-when-choosing-a-school.html