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?