The international school challenge
Monday, February 25, 2013 at 05:31AM As readers of this blog know, I get a chance now and then to work with international schools and organizations. These opportunities are probably both the most challenging and the most fun work I do. Over the past few years I've worked with a whole alphabet of international organizations including NESA, EARCOS, ECIS, AASSA, AISA, and CEESA as well as individual schools.
Selfishly, I often combine these engagements with a short vacation as well. Doing so has allowed me in the past few years to hike the Inca Trail, climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, clamber through Angkor Wat temples, dive the Great Barrier Reef, and camp in the Wadi Rum. (My bucket list of world-class hikes is still far from full!)
In about a week, I'll be packing my rolly-bag and triple checking for my passport as I head for Beijing to work with librarians at the ACAMIS (Association of China and Mongolia International Schools) spring conference. I'm looking forward to connecting with some friends (Hi Jeri), but this is basically a new organization and group with whom to build a relationship.
While international school libraries are more similar than dissimilar to U.S. libraries, they often face challenges and opportunities that we do not. These, in my experience, include:
- Host country Internet restrictions may limit available resources.
- Unreliable, slow or non-existent Internet connectivity is common in more remote schools.
- Slow or restrictive customs processing of books and materials keeps libraries from getting timely titles.
- A wide diversity of language and cultures in the school population - both in staff and students - creates the needs for collections of multiple languages.
- Small school populations often lead to multiple leadership responsibilites in the school.
- A highly mobile teaching staff creates special staff development needs.
- Special attention paid to the International Baccalaureate Program in many schools places heavy demands on libraries.
I would not hesitate for a heartbeat to have my grandchildren attend any of the international schools with which I've worked. They are among the most high-quality schools in the world.
But they are different.
We in the US have a reputation, probably well-deserved, of being very US-centric. My experience is that Cairo taxi drivers have a better handle on world events than most college-educated people with whom I work in Minnesota. I see this as a blind spot in our own culture and being mindful such a blind spot exists, I make an extra effort to learn something about the school or group with whom I will be working when I travel abroad. Creating a mailing list, sharing links, and opening a dialog with workshop participants is always my objective before I ever step foot in the airport.
Anyway, while I won't get a chance to play tourist much in Beijing (been there, done that, got the hat - see below), I do want to keep working with international schools and groups. And for us "independent consultants," we're only as good as our last job. If I do screw up, it won't be for lack of preparation.
I still have a lot of room for new experiences in my bucket...
Reader Comments (6)
Hi Doug,
Great post. I've worked in several international schools (Honduras, Indonesia) and am going to be moving to Manila, Philippines this summer to start as the HS Librarian at Int'l School of Manila. You make some great points. I'd also argue that, in some cases, international schools are sometimes behind the times with technology due to their somewhat isolated nature. I think that, especially if you're located in a more metropolitan area here in the U.S., you can be pushed onward and upwards by seeing what other area schools are doing. I know that's the case here in the Chicago suburbs. I'll be interested to see how this plays out next year. Safe travels to you in Beijing!
Hi Alicia,
Thanks for sharing your observation. Most of the schools I work with have been in pretty populous areas, even in developing countries. It is fascinating, though, to hear the stories from NESA or EARCOS conference attendees who come from very rural areas. Internet? Some are still getting electricity!
Good luck in Manila. I love the Philippines, but I found the city of Manila itself challenging. Keep in touch!
Doug
Doug - Please mention the International Association of School LIbrarianship (http://www.iasl-online.org/index.htm) to your group. Our 2013 conference is August 26-30 in Bali (http://iasl2013.org) so it's "in their neighborhood" the week after IFLA in Singapore. We have members from high-tech IB schools, from rural districts with unreliable electricity, from every type of school library you can imagine!
The free resources of IASL's GiggleIT Project are available to any school librarian anywhere, so we encourage them to help their students become internationally published authors (free!) as the library becomes the creative center of their school. We've just posted our Spotlight Projects for Lucky '13: Wishes, Luck, and Family Stories: http://www.iasl-online.org/sla/giggleIT/index.htm
Travel safely, and have a great time learning and sharing together!
**Katy
Thanks, Katy. I will add your message to the Librarian's Forum agenda.
Doug
I'm a Canadian Teacher heading to Beijing. I am bringing my family with me precisely so that they can get an international experience. I have never been to China. They will be attending the Canadian International School of Beijing. I want the hat, but more importantly give my kids an education..any suggestions?..must do's?
We will be there till the end of may, 2013
Hi lfoggs,
A couple months is a nice period of time. I have to say that when I have been in China, I did pretty much the standard touristy things - Forbidden Palace, Tianamen Square, Temple of Heaven, etc. If you can see some of the other parts of China, I'd do that too. I was fascinated by Xian, the walled city near the underground tombs with the terra cotta army; Ghulin and the beautiful karst mountains.
Having not lived in China, I'd check with the other expat teachers and find good local restaurants and places to see. To me. living in a place is a good motivator to read books about it and pick up at least a smattering of the language. I think just seeing how people live in other parts of the world is an education in and of itself!
Not much help, I'm afraid.
Doug