Tag: Diversity

Better Together

Reflecting on the state of world affairs and the challenges we have been facing, from a worldwide pandemic to historical political events to social injustice, among other critical issues, it would be easy to understand the impulse to have consigned 2020 to the local Ökihof (Swiss recycling centre) for recycling and become a distant memory. However, as difficult as the past year has been, and without diminishing in any way the immeasurable losses experienced by so many of our community members, 2020 has also taught us many lessons and forced us to learn more about ourselves, our work, and our communities. As 2021 is continuing to unfold, and many of the same challenges remain, I am hopeful that the experiences from both 2020 and 2021 to date will serve to provide a constructive and insightful pathway forward for our time ahead.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s book, The Fellowship of the Ring (a personal favourite), there is a lament from the main character wishing the challenges they were facing did not happen during their time. Gandalf replies, “So do I, and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us”. 

What our community of international schools has done with this time has led to so many inspiring stories about innovation, reinvention, and the learning of new skills. The importance of community, relationships, health, and well-being, and our ability to be present have all come to the forefront. We have been moved and buoyed by the kindness, compassion, and empathy extended by friends and strangers alike. There is no longer any doubt (if there ever was any) that learning is a social endeavour, and through our need to connect, we are reminded that our diversity and differences are among our greatest strengths. 

Perhaps the most enduring response during these challenging times has been the collective bolstering of our international community’s esprit de corps, from which we have emerged more aligned and unified. Borrowing from the wisdom young children often convey to adults, my three-year-old’s recent declaration may best summarise what has buoyed us: “We are better together”. I feel a profound sense of gratitude to be part of our International School of Zug and Luzern (ISZL) community and our larger collection of international schools and organizations as we work through challenges, seek positives, and embrace the new opportunities that have emerged from these difficult times. 

These are not pollyannish declarations; the pandemic has reminded us of how central schools can be towards uniting communities, achieving more together, supporting our collective well-being, and realizing our potential. It is also during these times when our schools’ missions are perhaps most relevant. In our context here at ISZL, I am grateful to be serving at a school with a mission in which we are committed to being a “community of learners determined to make the world – or our corner of it – a better, kinder place.” And, similar to schools around the globe, it is this very commitment that leads to the realization of our vision to help every student turn their learning into action, creating opportunities to stretch themselves further and achieve more than they believe possible.

Featured Photo Credit: ISZL Communications Team

Photo Below: Me, a cellphone, and a fortunate moment

Our three-year-old reminding me that we are all “better together”

Inclusion & Community

‘We are all ISZL’ are the words that best capture our recent work in the area of inclusion. For the past year, ISZL staff and representative groups of students and parents have been engaging in professional development sessions, workshops, and discussions focused on inclusion and what we value as a community.

The International Baccalaureate (IB) plays a vital role in supporting this effort. The IB’s mission is “to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect”. As an IB School, ISZL has been embracing inclusion and acceptance of different perspectives and people for years. It is a priority to ensure that every member of our community feels safe and has a sense of belonging. Our commitment towards realising this goal is achieved, in part, through the adoption of the IB’s learning principles and learner profile, in addition to engaging and fostering a welcoming international community. The IB’s mission statement serves as an important additional reference as we further articulate ISZL’s values and beliefs, foundational documents, and associated policies.

In order to further advance awareness associated with inclusion, a group of teachers, leadership team members, and counsellors partnered with Educate and Celebrate, an organisation from the United Kingdom that supports schools as they work to ensure environments that prioritise inclusion. From this partnership, ECCO (Educate and Celebrate Coordinators) was formed to identify and implement 31 action items over the next two years. One of the most critical action items was to update the ISZL Inclusion policy:

ISZL agrees to support, respect and seek inclusion with regards to the safety and care of all community members. This includes but is not limited to: age; disabilities; ethnicity; gender; gender expression; gender identity; health needs; languages spoken; marital status; mental health; national origin; political affiliation; race; religion; sex; sexual orientation, and any additional characteristic protected under Swiss law.

ISZL endeavours to understand and protect the civil and human rights of all individuals within the community, striving to maintain a high level of multicultural awareness and knowledge about all applicable laws and statutes related to non-discrimination and inclusion. This policy relates to all decisions and advocacy regarding staffing, recruitment, student care, suitability of external organisation partnerships, and curriculum. ISZL will review this policy, as well as practices and procedures, periodically.

The policy was then transformed into a poster that shares the essence of the updated inclusion policy and the sentiment that ‘We Are All ISZL’. You can see this poster below.

If you are interested in learning more or getting involved in supporting the work of this group, please contact our Counsellor Stephany Herzog. I look forward to sharing more developments in this important area throughout the coming year.

“We Are ISZL Photo” by ISZL’s fabulous publications and communications team.

Feature Photo by Timon Studler on Unsplash

Stronger Together

Versão em portuguêsVersão em português

“We are stronger not despite our differences, but because of them.” ~Prime Minister Trudeau

The recent horrific and tragic attack at the mosque in Quebec and the subsequent categorical response from Canadians and concerned citizens around the world is a poignant reminder of one of our primary purposes as educators. As learning institutions, we must model and live by the highest standards associated with tolerance, empathy, and understanding while categorically rejecting all acts of hate, bigotry, and discrimination. The unique opportunity to serve as an educator includes an unwavering commitment to model and stand up for the values we hold dear in our schools.

While it is not the role of a teacher to promote and impose personal political views and beliefs, it is a teacher’s responsibility to denounce, without exception, all comments and actions that are not in full adherence with the school’s focus on valuing plurality, difference, understanding, respect, and tolerance. As intolerance is usually a result of fear and fear is often generated from a lack of understanding, the focus on learning in schools plays an ever-important role toward deeper understandings. The hope is that the suspicions and uncertainty that result from a lack of understanding or knowledge will be replaced with curiosity, support, and appreciation.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s response to the shooting was a call to action and the coming together as a nation: “We will not stand for hatred and bigotry. Together we will ride from this darkness stronger and more unified than ever before. That is who we are… love, always love, instead of hate.” It is also heartening and inspiring to witness the commitment of our education colleagues and the focus of so many schools and organizations to take a stand against all that divides us. The message is clear in that if one of us suffers, we all suffer. By way of example, Asger Leth’s video, Three Beautiful Human Minutes, is a moving testimonial conveying the message that there is more that brings us together than we think. Teachers are also regularly seeking ways to embrace and learn from our differences. Alison Schofield recently posted a helpful article entitled, “How Teachers can Honor and Nurture all Students’ Languages and Cultures within an International School.” The University of Minnesota, where I am currently engaged in graduate studies, just launched a “We All Belong Here” campaign, with five key messages: 1. Our differences drive our greatness, 2. Respect everyone every day, 3. Rise above intolerance, 4. Stand up to injustice, 5. Strive to be inclusive.

This work is not easy, though it is of paramount importance. The studies of a colleague at the American School of Brasilia, Gavin Hornbuckle, highlights one of these challenges. Gavin conducted extensive doctoral research in the area of intercultural competencies. The results of his study and others indicate that “while teachers often believe that they possess the intercultural skill-set required to [help students to develop intercultural competence], in reality, this may not be the case” (Horbuckel, 2013). The research also stresses that the majority of educators have more of a monocultural mindset, while our students show evidence of being more sophisticated in their intercultural development” (Cushner, 2012). It is a fact that intercultural competence does not come naturally and is an area that we, as educators, need to continually work at, particularly as we seek to understand, embrace, and celebrate our differences.

Returning to Prime Minister Trudeau, one of his recent statements may serve as a guiding principle for our schools: “If we allow individuals and organizations to succeed by scaring people, then we do not actually end up any safer. Fear does not make us stronger, it makes us weaker. We are bound by one, unwavering, unshakable truth: we are stronger not despite our differences, but because of them”.

References:

Cushner, K. (2012). Planting seeds for peace: Are they growing in the right direction? International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 36(2), 161-168.

Hornbuckle, G. C. (2013). Teachers’ views regarding ways in which the intercultural competence of students is developed at an international school in Southeast Asia: a mixed methods study. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Featured image: cc licensed (CC BY-NC 2.0) Flickr photo by Roel Wijnants (Painting): https://www.flickr.com/photos/cosmosfan/14628522324

Versão em Português

“Nós somos mais fortes por causa das nossas diferenças e não apesar delas” ~ Primeiro- Ministro Trudeau

O recente, horrível e trágico ataque que ocorreu na mesquita no Quebec e a resposta subsequente dos canadenses e cidadãos preocupados ao redor do mundo é um lembrete pungente de um dos nossos principais propósitos como educadores. Como instituições de aprendizagem, devemos modelar e viver segundo os mais altos padrões associados à tolerância, à empatia e ao entendimento e assim rejeitarmos categoricamente todos os atos de ódio, intolerância e discriminação. A oportunidade única de servir como educador inclui um compromisso inabalável para modelar e defender os valores que prezamos nas nossas escolas.

Embora não seja papel do professor promover e impor pontos de vista pessoais políticos, éticos e morais é responsabilidade dele denunciar, sem exceção, todos os comentários e ações que não estão em total adesão ao foco da escola na valorização da pluralidade, diferença, compreensão, respeito e tolerância. Como a intolerância é, geralmente, resultado do medo e o medo é, muitas vezes, gerado a partir da falta de compreensão, o foco na aprendizagem nas escolas desempenha um papel cada vez mais importante para entendimentos mais profundos. A esperança é que as suspeitas e incertezas que resultam de uma falta de compreensão ou conhecimento serão substituídas por curiosidade, apoio e apreciação.

A resposta do primeiro-ministro Justin Trudeau ao tiroteio foi um apelo à ação e à união como nação: “Não iremos defender o ódio e o fanatismo. Juntos, vamos cavalgar a partir desta escuridão, mais fortes e mais unidos do que nunca. Isso é o que somos…amor, sempre amor, em vez de ódio.” É também animador e inspirador testemunhar o compromisso de nossos colegas de educação e o foco de tantas escolas e organizações em tomar uma posição contra tudo o que nos divide. A mensagem é clara, se um de nós sofre todos sofremos. Como exemplo, o vídeo de Asger Leth,Three Beautiful Human Minutes, é um emocionante depoimento que transmite a mensagem de que há mais coisas que nos unem do que pensamos. Os professores também estão regularmente buscando maneiras de abraçar e aprender com nossas diferenças. Alison Schofield publicou recentemente um artigo (article) útil intitulado “Como professores podem honrar e nutrir todos os idiomas e culturas dos alunos dentro de uma escola internacional.” A Universidade de Minnesota, onde estou atualmente envolvido em estudos de pós-graduação, acaba de lançar uma campanha “We All Belong Here”, com cinco pontos-chave:

  1. Nossas diferenças impulsionam nossa grandeza;
  2. Respeite a todos, todos os dias;
  3. Eleve-se acima da intolerância;
  4. Posicione-se contra a injustiça;
  5. Esforce-se para ser inclusivo.

Embora seja de suma importância, esse trabalho não é fácil. Os estudos de um colega da Escola Americana de Brasília, Gavin Hornbuckle, destacam um desses desafios. Gavin conduziu uma extensa pesquisa de doutorado na área de competências interculturais. Os resultados de seu estudo (study) e outros indicam que “embora os professores muitas vezes acreditem possuir um conjunto de habilidades interculturais necessárias para [ajudar os alunos a desenvolver a competência intercultural], na realidade, isso pode não ser o caso” (Hornbuckle,2013). A pesquisa também ressalta que a maioria dos educadores tem mais uma mentalidade monocultural, enquanto nossos alunos mostram evidências de serem mais sofisticados em seu desenvolvimento intercultural (Cushner,2012). É fato que a competência interucltural não vem naturalmente e é uma área em que nós, como educadores, precisamos trabalhar continuamente, particularmente enquanto procuramos compreender, abraçar e celebrar nossas diferenças.

Voltando ao Primeiro-Ministro Trudeau, uma de suas recentes declarações pode servir como princípio orientador para nossas escolas: “Se permitirmos que indivíduos e organizações tenham sucesso ao amedrontar as pessoas, não estaremos mais seguros. O medo não nos torna mais fortes, porém mais fracos. Somos ligados por uma verdade inabalável, sólida: Somos mais fortes por causa das nossas diferenças e não apesar delas”.