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The Role Social-Emotional Learning Plays in Teaching White Children About Race

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The Role Social-Emotional Learning Plays in Teaching White Children About Race

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A short read on how we can leverage our understanding of the SEL competencies such as self-awareness to develop the cultural intelligence of a school community, and build greater equity and inclusion for all.

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One night when I was in graduate school, I stayed up late talking with a friend. Our conversation meandered from one topic to another, and I ended up telling her about my family: my parents who came to the U.S. from Jamaica, and the Caribbean traditions that shaped my experience growing up Black in America.

My friend, who was white, listened with interest. "I'm jealous," she said. "You have so much culture and tradition. I'm just plain old American."

Over a decade later, I was sitting in a professional development workshop on race and racism. The speaker asked participants to partner up and share stories about our personal experience of our race, within a cultural context.

"I'm having a hard time with this prompt," my partner, a white colleague, said. "I don't have any stories. I'm just plain old American."

The words rang in my ears, and I thought of my grad school friend. "I'm just plain old American." What did that make me?

When you grow up white in America, you learn that you are simply American. If you're not white, you learn that you have to qualify your identity: African American, Asian American, Latin American. Children pick this up at a very young age. Non-white children figure out that they are different, they are "other," they are not the standard; the world was not designed for them. White children learn the opposite-that they are at the center and that others are defined by their difference.

As we now face a long-overdue reckoning with systemic racism in our country, I wonder whether we are finally ready to address the way we raise our children to understand their own race. What would happen if we taught white children that they are not just Americans, but white Americans or European Americans? That they are not the yardstick against which everyone else is measured?

Teaching them to be aware of their racial identity would allow them to better understand the privileges that accompany that identity, and to see how those privileges shape their lives and relationships. And if they were taught how the concept of "whiteness" was created, they could be on the lookout for ways to disrupt and dismantle the toxic racism that robs us all of our full humanity.

Social and emotional learning (SEL) has an important role to play in that education. At Open Circle, the evidence-based SEL program for school-age children that I direct, we work to develop children's skills for recognizing and managing emotions, empathy, positive relationships, and problem solving. These competencies promote intrapersonal, interpersonal, and cognitive knowledge, skills, and attitudes that support lifelong success. One of the core competencies we focus on, as a necessary foundation for the others, is self-awareness. That self-awareness must include race.

There have already been calls to incorporate a racial lens into SEL, which can actually do harm when it is based on white, cisgender, patriarchal norms and values. " Transformative SEL," a concept developed by Dr. Rob Jagers of the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), elevates the importance of calling out and attending to racial identity within the field of SEL. Based on his work, CASEL says that developing self-awareness with an equity lens can help students and adults "examine what it means to belong to a group or community, including how ethnicity and race impacts one's sense of self and beliefs," and "recognize biases and understand how thoughts, feelings, and actions are interconnected." Also: "SEL competencies can be leveraged to develop justice-oriented, global citizens, and nurture inclusive school and district communities."

These sound like exactly the kinds of citizens and communities we need, now more than ever.

The Center for Reaching & Teaching the Whole Child (CRTWC) also integrates SEL and equity, focusing on bringing SEL skills together with culturally responsive teaching practices. It points out that cultural competency is as important as social and emotional competency when it comes to providing a foundation for academic achievement and lifelong success. That means that an understanding of context is key-whether it is one's family, community or the broader cultural and sociopolitical environment.

These organizations have led the way in thinking about how SEL should incorporate race and equity. Now we must do the work of transforming these theories into action. Integrating SEL and equity needs to be a priority as we consider how education must change in response to the challenges we face.

Though there are no clear frameworks around how to fully merge these two approaches, Open Circle is working on developing one. It needs to start with funders willing to invest in research and building the capacity of programs for thought partnership and curriculum development. We must take an integrative approach that calls on the leadership, expertise and lived experiences of BIPOC who are not often elevated as the experts in this field, but who have done this work in communities for generations.

In the midst of a pandemic, the challenges are many. But we can't wait any longer to make talking about race an integral part of our children's education.

If my grad school friend and my colleague at the professional development workshop had been taught to understand the racial context of their lives, they might have been able to see that they were not just "plain old American." They are white Americans, and I'm a Black American, and we all grew up within a cultural context, with its own values, beliefs and traditions that shape our understanding of ourselves and our relationships with others.

We are doing white children a disservice by teaching them to think of themselves as not possessing race within a racialized society. We are doing children of color a disservice by teaching them to think of themselves as "other." Imagine how our society might change for the better if the next generation can be taught differently.

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The Role Social-Emotional Learning Plays in Teaching White Children About Race - EdSurge News

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One night when I was in graduate school, I stayed up late talking with a friend. Our conversation meandered from one topic to another, and I ended up telling her about my family: my parents who came to the U.S. from Jamaica, and the Caribbean traditions that shaped my experience growing up Black in America.

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The Importance of Cultural Intelligence for Teachers 

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The Importance of Cultural Intelligence for Teachers 

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Explore why culturally responsive teaching is vital for today's educators.

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We've got some fantastic insight on what could be the most significant contributing factor to your success as an (international) educator:

"The number one predictor of success in today's borderless world [is your] cultural intelligence." - David Livermore

Research conducted in 30+ countries over the past ten years revealed that those with high cultural intelligence - otherwise known as CQ - are more equipped to handle challenges in life and work, especially considering contemporary society's global nature ( Livermore).

Experts have found that, regardless of your profession, even more, important than your resume, your expertise or even your IQ is your CQ ( Livermore).

First, let's take a look at what CQ is in a broader sense.

We'll then launch into the importance of CQ for teachers or culturally responsive teaching as it's referred to in the education sphere.

Let's dive into cultural intelligence in the classroom and why culturally responsive teaching is vital for today's educators.

What is cultural intelligence?

Soon Ang, a professor of management at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, and P. Christopher Earley, dean of the school of business and economics at the University of Tasmania, Australia, have defined CQ as "the capability to function effectively in a variety of cultural contexts" ( BBC).

David Livermore, who has conducted extensive research on the topic and wrote the book, The Cultural Intelligence Difference: Master the One Skill You Can't Do Without in Today's Global Economy, adds to the definition put forth by Ang and Earley as follows:

CQ or cultural intelligence can function effectively in various cultural contexts--including national, ethnic, organizational, and generational... a whole new way of approaching the old topics of cultural sensitivity, racism, and cross-border effectiveness.

Composed of cognitive, physical, and emotional/motivational development, CQ draws on intelligence from your mind, body, and heart.

Livermore explains that by improving your CQ Drive, CQ Knowledge, CQ Strategy, and CQ action, you'll contribute to a lift in your overall CQ.

Let's unpack each of those a little bit:

CQ drive - your level of determination to operate in other cultural contexts

CQ knowledge - your level of cognition about core qualities of other cultures

CQ strategy - your ability to understand different cultural experiences and plan for future experiences

CQ action - your ability to adapt your behavior in different cultural contexts. ( IESE Business School, University of Navarra)

Can anyone become more culturally intelligent?

We know that some people will have a naturally higher CQ than others due to different life experiences.

But, the big difference between CQ and other standard measurements for intelligence, like IQ, is that anyone can improve their CQ.

Here's the thing:

While improvement may be more challenging for some people than for others, CQ drive, knowledge, strategy and action are all competencies that any person can boost.

On top of this, there's no ceiling for the growth of your CQ.

So much of your learning will be driven by experiences, like moving to a new city or country, changing workplaces, and meeting people who have different backgrounds from yours.

And since you'll never have every experience ever, there's no limit to what you can accomplish when it comes to CQ.

What does cultural intelligence look like in the classroom?

Our team at Teach Away got to thinking about what CQ looks like in the classroom.

We wanted to discover how teachers could develop their CQ and apply it in their day-to-day.

What we ended up with is an online course for teachers to improve their CQ.

Culturally responsive teaching: Connecting with students and parents of different cultures is a CQ growth course built specifically for the education space.

The course is the best way, other than experiencing diverse cultures, that educators can develop their CQ drive, knowledge, strategy and action.

In an article I published last June, Why culturally responsive teaching matters now more than ever, I outline a real-life scenario to demonstrate what a school's cultural competence might look like.

The scenario highlights how higher CQ drive, knowledge, strategy, and action on the teacher's part would have paved the way for a much more comfortable situation for the teacher, student, and parents.

You can read the scenario in full here.

Essentially, CQ in the classroom, or cultural competence, is:

"having an awareness of one's own cultural identity and views about difference, and the ability to learn and build on the varying cultural and community norms of students and their families... the ability to understand the within-group differences that make each student unique, while celebrating the between-group variations that make our [world] a tapestry" ( National Education Association).

A teacher with a high CQ is capable of "empower[ing] students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impart knowledge, skills, and attitudes" (Ladson-Billings).

Why is cultural intelligence especially vital for teachers?

Whether you're teaching at home, online or abroad, cultural intelligence is a growing necessity for all teachers.

CQ is so fundamental and of increasing significance for teachers in the United States.

There is a cultural gap in many schools across the United States.

The most recent projections from the Census Bureau show that minority students will account for more than half of all students in US public schools by 2020.

One out of every five students now speaks a language other than English at home.

As a result of this significant student demographic shift, a growing number of US teachers are struggling with how they can better serve students from cultures other than their own. ( Teach Away, PRWeb, 2017).

Why is cultural intelligence important for expats working abroad?

eacher's CQ on home soil is primarily a key factor in serving students and families with diverse cultural backgrounds.

Likewise, CQ abroad can be incredibly impactful for expats in unfamiliar territory looking to settle into their new working and living environments.

CQ has been identified as one of the most influential factors on expatriate job performance; "those with the highest initial CQ will find it easier to adjust to their new life" ( BBC).

As we know, the best way to learn about unfamiliar cultures is to experience them first-hand. And professional development or training focused on CQ can also be an effective method to boost one's CQ.

But just how effective can CQ training be?

A study reported by the BBC found that it can reduce the amount of time it takes for an expat to become fully functional in their new environment by two-thirds, from nine months to three:

Expat bankers moving to the Middle East and Asia appeared to have fully adjusted to their new life in just three months.

Without the training, it usually took expat employees nine months to become fully functional ( BBC).

The world needs more CQ.

For that to happen, for our young learners to adopt CQ in their youth, teachers around the globe - both at home and abroad - are the ones who need to impart their knowledge.

Training and experience are the keys.

Ready to up your CQ for the classroom?

Every student deserves to feel welcome, seen and heard in the classroom.

As a teacher, it's important to become a more culturally responsive teacher for the sake of your students.

Enroll in Culturally Responsive Teaching today.

Ready to experience a new culture firsthand?

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The importance of cultural intelligence (CQ) for teachers | Teach Away

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We've got some fantastic insight on what could be the most significant contributing factor to your success as an (international) educator: "The number one predictor of success in today's borderless world [is your] cultural intelligence."

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A practical survey that links students cultural norms to their learning and communication preferences

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By Dave Stanfield, Head of Research & Development at CIS & Peter Welch, Independent Consultant

As an international educator, you have likely experienced firsthand the profound impact that students' cultural identity has on learning. Various cultural theories exist that attempt to explain differences between cultures. Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory is one of the most established and commonly cited in literature. The theory consists of five cultural dimensions-power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance index, and long-term orientation-which are useful concepts to understand cultural differences. There is even a handy website called Hofstede Insights that allows you to compare country-level results across the dimensions. But, how transferable are these findings to an international schooling environment?

Results from the CIS Cultural & Learning Survey call the suitability of Hofstede's and other cultural theories into question. The rationale will resonate with experienced international educators. Many of our students are exceedingly multicultural. Like the student that holds a British passport but has never lived in the UK; grew up in Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, attended international schools, and made friends with other students of equally diverse cultural backgrounds. Should we be surprised that cultural theories derived from studies of monocultural groups may not accurately capture our students' cultural dispositions?

From the survey results, for instance, students from international schools that identified strongly with Dutch culture indicated a preference to learn in teacher-centered classrooms, which is surprising given that the Netherlands is a low power distance country. Whereas, students from Kazakhstan, designated as a hierarchical society, preferred a student-centered classroom. In another example, Bulgarian students that completed the survey had a strong sense of individualism in a collectivist society.

The study is already providing robust evidence that international schools that label students with a nationality may be creating a stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson,1995) that can limit the expectations we have for our students. So, for example, a receiving teacher may be told that they have a new Japanese student arriving next Monday. This one descriptor may be the worst possible information as the teacher may communicate in a more formal and polite way, following a stereotype, when the new student actually prefers to communicate in a very different way. What conclusion should teachers and leaders draw from our initial results? Simply put, don't assume you understand students' learning and communication preferences based on the nationality (or nationalities) listed in your enrolment database.The initial results from this survey tool are both fascinating and counterintuitive. Though results from some students did align with their cultural heritage, many did not. This challenges the idea that students in international schools conform to the national stereotypes for cultural communication proposed by established cultural theory. The initial data indicates that mobile international students often develop cross-cultural preferences for communicating and learning. This ongoing research will support schools in understanding how students in international schools are able to develop these skills.

The CIS Culture & Learning student survey helps teachers pay attention to very different learning and communication cultural styles and also to individualize teaching strategies as a result. We designed the survey as a tool to confirm students' preferences across categories critical to effective teaching and learning:

Expectations of teachers/students in the classroom

Students' sense of individuality

Students' motivations to learn

How students like to work with other students

Communication styles

Cross-cultural understanding

The survey only takes students a few minutes to complete and provides actionable results that teachers, leaders and parents can use to improve learning outcomes.

For more information about using the CIS Culture & Learning Survey please email davestanfield@cois.org.

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How well do you really know your students?

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By Dave Stanfield, Head of Research & Development at CIS & Peter Welch, Independent Consultant As an international educator, you have likely experienced firsthand the profound impact that students' cultural identity has on learning. Various cultural theories exist that attempt to explain differences between cultures.

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The psychology of culture | Fernando Lanzer | TEDxAUBG

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The psychology of culture | Fernando Lanzer | TEDxAUBG

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The psychology of culture | Fernando Lanzer | TEDxAUBG

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Learn a new culture | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxArendal

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Learn a new culture | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxArendal

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We all see the world through cultural glasses, by changing glasses you can change the way you perceive the behaviours of others

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Learn a new culture | Julien S. Bourrelle | TEDxArendal

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Black Lives Should Have Always Mattered: An Open Letter to Search Associates

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Black Lives Should Have Always Mattered: An Open Letter to Search Associates

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Dear Search Associates,

During a Black Lives Matter march held in Ontario, a friend of mine Sarra Ismail carried a poster voicing her sentiments as a woman of African diaspora, "From Sudan to Canada #black lives matter". Although the struggle of being black in North America includes the diversity of people who identify or are seen as black, it manifests itself differently to each one of us. Being black is how the world sees us, but each one of us black people living on this planet is a complex palette of identities woven by ancestry, history, cultures and experiences to name a few.

Reading the statement sent by email from The Search Associates Team conjured up a strong reaction in me. Your words felt borrowed, designing and frankly, audacious. I would like to humbly decline your sentiments, as a Black-African-Muslim-Woman international teacher who was a client of Search Associates. Your words are not felt sincerely nor genuinely. They seem to be an afterthought; the reactionary stance of a traditional, predominantly white male organization that is scrambling to jump on the bandwagon.

You do not get to use the words 'shocked, outraged and heartbroken' and sign-off with 'in solidarity' as leaders in the international school circuit for over thirty years. You have consistently failed to use your privilege to advocate for teachers of colour and leadership of colour in the international school circuit. You have acted as gatekeepers, preserving a majority white institutional world. As an international organization that proudly boasts over three decades of recruitment services, you should be pioneers, promoting diversity in an authentic manner. You should be the organization that has the answers, and has the models of empowering people of colour.

Instead, for thirty years you have helped white male administrators bounce around the world exchanging headships, uninterrupted, some with heinous scandals trailing behind. You stood by watching white privileged teachers getting hired for being in the same fanbase of a football or hockey team as the head of the school, or the familiarity of shared white cultures, hometowns and cities. You have witnessed schools operate as mid-twentieth century colonial schools in order to keep their local expatriate populations happy. You have witnessed bright and promising teachers of colour, especially ones with passports like mine, from Africa or the 'less-preferred' countries in Asia, left with slim pickings and leftovers of jobs. You have witnessed teachers of colour unable to break the glass ceiling and achieve positions of paid leadership, no matter how small. You have witnessed teachers of colour unable to access job fairs because of visas and passport complications. You have witnessed nepotism and outright racism in hiring and supervising teachers, and you have stood silent all these years, all the while waving the flag of globalism and internationalism.

I am a brilliant teacher, and I will say that because few white administrators will. I have been bullied by white administrators in my own home country, Sudan, scoffed at, underpaid, brushed aside, dismissed, cornered and blatantly put down as I have continued to teach across the world. I have met teachers of colour who have worked under the same white administrators, who share similar stories and experiences. Yet these administrators have continued to reign, thrive and grow their careers. I am my mother and father's daughter; a well-educated Sudanese firecracker of a woman, so I was never silent wherever I went. I have boldly confronted racism, stood my ground, and made administrators rethink their words and behaviour around me, but fighting systemic racism with little support is exhausting.

I cannot tell you how many schools I have applied to over the years, how close I have come, and how much I have impressed. Yet I never got hired at any of the 'top tier' schools, or the tiers beneath them for that matter. I have hustled with my connections, written cold emails to administrators, and everything else under the sun, verging on compromising my self-dignity just to 'be seen and heard'. Not only is my passport underprivileged, but I also have a non-teaching spouse and child, and that just becomes "too much baggage" for schools to take on because I already do not fit the mold; too foreign, complicated and probably too black. I am one of the finest international teachers out there because I bring a skill set, a worldview, and an intelligence unique to my identities and experiences. I have worked damn hard to learn and grow as an educator. I am loved and appreciated for years after I bid farewell to my students and families, because I was that teacher, the one-of-a-kind schooling experience.

What support have I received from Search Associates? None. At one point, I was unable to attend a job fair because my four-month old baby was refused a visa to accompany me to that country. I asked my associate directly, to please connect with two competitive schools who were expecting to meet me there. I requested that he apologize for my absence and explain my situation. He flat out refused in a curt two-sentence email.

I left the international school circuit at the end of last academic year 2018-2019. I have decided that life is too short, and I have too much to give to beg for it to be received. I am thankfully privileged enough to be this brave. I am not privileged in money or connections or resources, but in conviction, belief and the power of reinvention. Do better, Search Associates, much much better. Start by being honest. Instead of writing a statement of generic support, write a reflective letter of apology, acknowledging your organization's shortcomings. Ask for feedback and answers from those who know, those who have been crippled by your lack of responsiveness towards them. Own your privilege and use it to serve those who truly deserve it.

Yours sincerely,

Safaa Abdelmagid

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Black Lives Should Have Always Mattered: An Open Letter to Search Associates

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Dear Search Associates, During a Black Lives Matter march held in Ontario, a friend of mine Sarra Ismail carried a poster voicing her sentiments as a woman of African diaspora, "From Sudan to Canada #black lives matter".

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A first-person narrative of what it’s like to be the only African American student at the American International School of Bucharest.

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"Write an article for Black History Month." This was my assignment. Pretty straight forward, really-a first-person narrative of what it's like to be the only African American at AISB.

But we're now well into March and I'm just now finishing it. Writing this article for this community was much, much harder than I could've ever imagined.

Coming to Bucharest in my final year of school has been quite an experience. For starters, I went from a public school in Florida to the Diploma Program. I've had to take mostly 11th grade classes as a senior. And, the most jarring: I feel like a minority.

Don't get me wrong, I've been a minority before. Technically, all people of African descent are minorities in America, the place where I've lived most of my life. Yet, this is the first time I've been aware of it. There are so few black students at AISB in fact, that by next year, there's a good chance that no one in the secondary will have black skin.

Should that not be scary?

Is it weird for me that it is?

It's not that I'm scared to be the only black person at the school; that's not really the issue. It's that there's part of black culture that has spread throughout the student population that reeks of ignorance. I hear the N-word on a daily basis; I see gang signs being tossed around as if they hold no other significance than a flick of the wrist.

Students say it's okay because it's part of rap culture, which most of the student body listens to; but it's not. I hear the whispers of others making fun of my skin tone, yet I'm mocked if I wear a chain. I'm stared at by others and confronted by questions such as if I am related to another dark-skinned person in this community because "we look alike."

I am either too black or not black enough; yet no matter what, I am in the wrong. The stares weigh over me like a thick smog, the whispers cloud my hearing, and on this campus I am left an outcast. Isolated. Alone.

The first time I heard the N-word at AISB was shortly after I arrived. It was after school in the secondary building's upstairs lobby. I was talking to two other classmates about the rigors of the DP. Across from us, a group of peers played chess at one of the tables. Paying them no attention, I began to tap away at my computer's keyboard.

I don't know what caused it, but there seemed to be a move made that provoked one of the players to voice his frustration out loud, causing him to let the word slip from his mouth.

We all knew it was intended for his friend, but I couldn't stop the way my stomach dropped at hearing such a word used. They even had the audacity to freeze afterward; and from my peripheral, I saw them turn their heads to look at me and gauge my reaction, his friend chiding him in a rushed whisper. I knew it was wrong, they knew it was wrong, yet the weight of their stares sewed my mouth shut and glued my eyes to the computer screen.

So he said it again, in a different sentence, but a little louder as if testing the waters once more, and when my body grew taut and my mouth refused to open, they giggled. And repeated it another time, with renewed strength, laughter almost euphoric as I sat frozen in place, unable to continue typing and forcing my finger to drag across the mousepad so it looked like I was doing something. Anything.

I felt sick to my stomach. To continue breathing felt like a chore. To sit there and not cry was almost unbearable.

This blatant display of racism came from the same person who, earlier in the year, had made me do a double-take when I heard soul music coming from his phone's speakers.

I remember looking up from my laptop in shock, nodding along to the slow and sensual beat of the tune as the artist serenaded on. For a moment, I was transported to Chicago, to my grandma's house, as she blasted music from a time before. Her house so full of life, full of loved ones, listening to our category of music-music that's been bred throughout our hardships and pain, our suffering and accomplishments, the type of entertainment meant to keep us going when the world told us to stop.

I had looked up at this boy, jarred and even at a loss of words for a moment, because in the same place where I was facing extinction, I was also seeing my culture honored. He sung along so easily, voice heartfelt and a small smile splitting his face as if he understood just what this music meant to me-like it held the same importance to him as it did for me. I had felt light and giddy. I had felt more at home in AISB than I ever had.

Now, I just feel stupid for ever thinking we had something in common. For feeling included.

Since the chess incident, I've heard the N-word more times than I can count. In fact, calling each other such a word has become commonplace in the presence of the secondary lobby. This by no means, makes it hurt any less.

This word, each letter claiming its own heaviness, is tossed around as if it weighs no less than a feather by the ones who use it. Yet for black people, the people who it applies to, it feels like a bag of stones being tossed directly at us and we cannot move out the way.

Brown, my last name, is the fourth most popular surname in the US. It was given to my ancestors by white slave owners who decided that they weren't worthy of being called anything other than the color of their skin. So they called us Brown-the color of dirt. And, they called us niggers-the ultimate word to convey the purest sense of hatred.

My last name is Brown because my ancestors suffered as no one ever deserves to. They were tortured and traumatized and raped and much, much more. No protest was allowed because of the color of their skin, and every crime committed against them was justified by this single word.

Imagine having to go through life with this knowledge, knowing your name is gone and you have this sense of diaspora engraved in your blood, and you find yourself surrounded by peers who praise the actions of the past relentlessly throughout their day by using this word, which was simply an excuse for all the transgressions committed against us and a form of oppression to keep us down, and practically telling you that it is deserved because they want to be cool. They want to be funny.

They want to be black.

But then, they don't.

These students are proud of where they come from, but they also identify with "black culture," meaning rap music, hip hop apparel and sneakers. But this is only the shiny, pretty part. They don't identify with, nor want, the high-maintenance hair care, the nose shape, or the lips. They don't want to fear being pulled over on the interstate, or getting reminded by parents to walk down the street without earphones so that ignoring a police officer isn't an excuse to be shot. They don't want to be the minority, and they definitely wouldn't want to be called a nigger.

You can appreciate our genre, you can listen to our music, but this is no excuse to piggyback off our suffering and claim that you "get it." You don't, and I pray that you never have to.

The N-word is something that African Americans have carried for generations, and when we use this word in our music and to one another, it is as a form of empowerment. To remind ourselves how far we've come. We are no longer tossed atop one another on a ship with limited water and food. We have left those fields we were forced to maintain. We have left the whipping post we were strung to. We have left the houses we were told to clean but weren't good enough to sleep in, to eat in, live in.

We can finally vote and read and sing and dance and play and cry and work and live our lives.

We have reclaimed that word as our own. We can use it, and white people no longer can.

When it leaves our mouths it is because we, and only we, have to power to change its connotation. When we say it, we of all people know best what it means but we refuse to let it define us. We give it new life and meaning, we grow up hearing it as an achievement. It's used as a term of distinguishment, of endearment, and camaraderie. We use it for our brethren who have suffered no differently than we have, but also as a reminder to fight in a world that continues to punish us for the color of our skin.

My peers know the unspoken rule that they cannot say this word, yet they've taken it upon themselves to use it as if they feel they deserve to. Afterall, who is going to defend a culture that is not their own?

Cultural appropriation is an issue that is ignored here, yet the reality of it is everywhere. When our hairstyles that were manifested from our pain, tribulations, and cultural growth are cut and pasted on the heads of people who laugh out of ignorance. When I hear students giggle while watching a kid with a heavy Hindu accent say the N-word. Speaking in ebonics, even though they have no idea what that even is; everything is just "lit" or "cap/no cap" or "fire."

Yet I know for a fact that if you dropped them in Southside Chicago, where my family is from, they would suddenly know better than to behave like this. They wouldn't toss their gang signs around or speak that word... ever. And that is because they know that these things would undoubtedly be met with confrontation, and they only get away with their actions because of the lack of African presence in this community.

For months I have tried to ignore these things, to just integrate inside and out of AISB and hope it stops. But it hasn't.

I have to be the one who speaks up. I have to make them realize what it feels like to be called the N-word as a black person. And though I was not boarded on a ship from the 1500s to the 1800s, nor did I have to fight for my rights during the 1900s, I am here in the 2000s and the trauma in my DNA still knows the meaning of those syllables.

I know this is just the beginning. There will always be people who just don't get it. But this is the first step of many. I'm finally putting my foot down on the ground and it's going to stay there.

This is what it means to be black.

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To Be Black: An AISB Experience - The Bite

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"Write an article for Black History Month." This was my assignment. Pretty straight forward, really-a first-person narrative of what it's like to be the only African American at AISB. But we're now well into March and I'm just now finishing it. Writing this article for this community was much, much harder than I could've ever imagined.

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Cultural intelligence: the competitive edge for leaders | Julia Middleton | TEDxEastEnd

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Cultural intelligence: the competitive edge for leaders | Julia Middleton | TEDxEastEnd

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What is CQ, how do you master it and why is it so important in a smaller but more interconnected world?

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Cultural intelligence: the competitive edge for leaders | Julia Middleton | TEDxEastEnd

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Cultural Intelligence: What is Core and Flex?

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Cultural Intelligence: What is Core and Flex?

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Julia Middleton, author of Cultural Intelligence, explains what Core and Flex are

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Cultural Intelligence: What is Core and Flex?

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An Open Letter to the International School Community: Our Role in the Black Lives Matter Movement and Anti-Racism Work

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An Open Letter to the International School Community: Our Role in the Black Lives Matter Movement and Anti-Racism Work

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International school communities in the Global South are connected through the curiously unique experience of attending or working at an international school. Many of us find it difficult to explain our very nuanced experiences as students or teachers in said communities, and often find friendship in other individuals who have had similar experiences, who may understand. For reference, an international school can be defined as an educational institution which adopts curricula differing from that of the host country's, with an emphasis on global citizenship.

Those who have attended international schools in the Global South may fondly recall the diversity amongst our graduating classes, as well as the days we spent celebrating cultures other than our own, like Diwali or Chinese New Year. These institutions also provided us with the ability to travel to places far and wide, generally on service trips presented as a means to aid those less fortunate than ourselves. For most, thoughts of international schools conjure up images of racial harmony and tolerance, a utopian society where matters of race simply do not exist; an example of a post-racial society, if you will.

Now, as protestors in the United States march against systemic anti-Black racism and police brutality, some international school students - particularly those living outside of the United States - might wonder what this fight has to do with them. Even more dangerous, they might conclude, "This has nothing to do with me." To that end, we must understand that our upbringing in an international school setting does not mean we are exempt from being racist, either overtly or covertly. Contrarily, our upbringing and success has been contingent on the maintenance of global White supremacy, demonstrated through our ability to assimilate in Western countries, privileging their cultures, languages, and educational systems before our own.

The birth of the international school can be traced back to the migration of European expatriates and diplomats to developing countries in the Global South. Understanding that their time - and in effect, their children's time - in said context would only be temporary, diplomats and expatriates sought to create an educational system comparable to those in their home countries, which would eventually recognize and transfer their children's educational credits when they moved back. And so, the international school was born.

Today, there are more than 11,000 international schools globally, and over 5.6 million students attend such institutions. However, they do not only cater to the children of Western diplomats and expatriates. Today, international schools also function as a pathway to Western higher education for local, wealthy families. As such, admission into Western higher education institutions is a symbol of success, and one many local students in the Global South aspire to.

Access to international schooling in the Global South, however, remains financially exclusive. Most annual international school tuition fees are comparable to annual tuition fees of universities in the United States, which are notoriously high and unaffordable. In comparison to the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in most countries in the Global South, international school tuition fees are simply not feasible for the vast majority of its citizens. Thus, international schooling in the Global South is primarily reserved for the upper class. In effect, the international school system both contributes to and exacerbates global inequality, as only a select few in the Global South are afforded what is considered to be a world-class education.

Sociologists William I. Robinson and Jerry Harris understand this phenomenon as the formation of the transnational capitalist class (TCC). Robinson and Harris contend the TCC transcends national borders. Under the transformative forces of globalization, this shift in ruling class is distinct: "global class formation has involved the accelerated division of the world into a global bourgeoisie and a global proletariat, and has brought changes in the relationship between dominant and subordinate classes" (Robinson and Harris 2000:17). As such, it is paramount that international school students and alumni acknowledge our privilege not only on a local or regional scale, but also on a global scale. We must contextualize our opportunities and achievements within a global context, as well as understand how we benefit from global systems of inequality.

For those with ties to the international school community in the Global South, we must face the reality of our curated existence in the global cities we resided in; we existed in a parallel universe to most, one completely unrepresentative of the lived experience of those less fortunate than us. We found ourselves able to enjoy the thrills of the global cities we resided in without having to acknowledge the staunch wealth inequalities, racism, and structural injustices which also characterized said cities. The gates delineating the school grounds acted as a protective barrier, leaving our campuses untouched from the issues and inequalities that plague our respective societies, which, in turn, allowed us to exist in our constructed racial paradise laden with economic privilege.

In the context of race, international schools in the Global South are often advertised as sites of racial diversity, tolerance, and acceptance. Thus, many in the community believe there is little to no work to be done in reckoning with the racism that exists on international school campuses. This, of course, is false. Worse, it engenders a culture of bystanders to racism, allowing overt and covert racism to exist and remain unchecked. As such, instead of educating a cohort of youth who are more likely to stand up against acts of racism and commit to being anti-racist, international schooling in the Global South creates a culture of complacency, of youth who believe "this doesn't pertain to me," who may fail to identify racist acts as such because it was never explicitly discussed in their educational institutions.

International schools, then, become susceptible to colorblind racism, where folks claim to "not see color." This gives way to racist behavior from those who are either consciously or unconsciously committing acts of racism. This often leads many students of color in such settings to suffer at the hand of racism by their peers, but to stay silent on such issues, as they may lack the language to identify and articulate their experiences.

Other students of color, who may not have personally suffered from racism during their years at their respective international schools, may have experienced their first racist encounters at the Western higher education institutions they attended. They may have been asked, "Why do you speak English so well?" or had racist slurs and epithets directed towards them by their peers. Sometimes, they may have been unaware of the racism directed towards them behind their backs. Regardless of how or when, many students of color have experienced racism firsthand. We should thus be aware that we do not live in a post-racial society, and that the shelter of our international school campuses can only do so much for us. Conversely, this shelter has failed us, as we were unequipped to handle acts of racism head-on, whether directed towards us personally, towards our friends, or towards a stranger, oftentimes while we watched as bystanders.

On the other hand, White students in international schools in the Global South have benefited from the celebration and prioritization of their Whiteness. Many thrived in this very niche space as they were able to draw attention to themselves for traveling to "exotic" islands and countries, the ability to hold basic conversations in their host country's language, or even for having friends of color. Many saw themselves as non-racist for these very reasons, amongst others. The fact of the matter is that the educational institutions they attended were built for them. They were able to enjoy select parts of their host country's culture while still existing in predominantly culturally White spaces. To ignore the social, cultural, and economic privilege of Whiteness in the niche space that is the international school system in the Global South would be entirely negligent, and would fail to acknowledge the structural racism and inequality embedded in such institutions.

In the same vein, many White folks might define themselves as "global citizens" or "third culture kids." However, blurring racial identities under the umbrella of vague terms, such as the aforementioned, fails to acknowledge the variegated lived experiences of international school students, especially in the context of race. It trivializes the privilege of Whiteness in the Global South. For White folks: students, administrators, and teachers, it is important to deeply interrogate what opportunities your Whiteness has afforded you and why. The same is true of half-White folks who are able to adapt and switch when they choose, who have also similarly benefited and continue to benefit. I contend it is essential to avoid using such terms in international spaces, and instead, acknowledge our varied positionalities and how they function to benefit some while harming others.

For the author, as a half-White individual and a product of international schooling in the Global South, I enter adulthood continuing to disentangle the false narratives I've been fed over my years of schooling. Instead, I am committed to acknowledging the international school system as an inherently racist and Eurocentric one. Further, I continue to actively reckon with my own racist beliefs and behaviors, and my own internalized racisms.

To those who may be reading this, we must do better. We must do the work and commit to being anti-racist, as opposed to just "not racist." As you post your graphics on social media, attend your marches, and demand justice for the many innocent Black Americans murdered by a vicious and racist police force, remember your own role in these events. Many of us have comfortably said the n-word, either while singing along to a popular song or in casual conversation. Many of us have expressed racist sentiments against Black people. Many of us didn't know why this was wrong. Some of us still don't. The fact is, the systemic oppression and brutalization of Black people is not a problem specific to the United States; it is a global one, one in which we are all complicit. Black people continue to be discriminated against in Thailand, in South Africa, in Australia, in the United Kingdom, in Germany, in South Korea, in [insert your home country here].

The question we should ask ourselves when we watch the powerful protest of a community angry, hurt, and exhausted over the news of yet another Black life stolen by an inherently corrupt and racist system is not, "What does this have to do with me?" Instead, we must ask ourselves: How am I complicit? How can I grapple with my own racist behaviors and beliefs? How can I further educate myself on this global phenomenon? How can I do better?

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An Open Letter to the International School Community: Our Role in the Black Lives Matter Movement...

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International school communities in the Global South are connected through the curiously unique experience of attending or working at an international school. Many of us find it difficult to explain our very nuanced experiences as students or teachers in said communities, and often find friendship in other individuals who have had similar experiences, who may understand.

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Building intercultural competence through virtual team collaboration across global classrooms

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Building intercultural competence through virtual team collaboration across global classrooms

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Building intercultural competence through virtual team collaboration across global classrooms.

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CRAWFORD, I., SWARTZ, S., LUCK, S. and BARBOSA, B. 2019. Building intercultural competence through virtual team collaboration across global classrooms. Presented at the 2019 Learning, teaching and student experience conference of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (LTSE 2019), 14-15 May 2019, Manchester, UK.

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In an increasingly diverse business environment, managers must be able to navigate through the thicket of habits, gestures, and assumptions that define their coworkers' differences. Foreign cultures are everywhere-in other countries, certainly, but also in corporations, vocations, and regions. Interacting with individuals within them demands perceptiveness and adaptability. And the people who have those traits in abundance aren't necessarily the ones who enjoy the greatest social success in familiar settings.

Cultural intelligence, or CQ, is the ability to make sense of unfamiliar contexts and then blend in. It has three components-the cognitive, the physical, and the emotional/motivational. While it shares many of the properties of emotional intelligence, CQ goes one step further by equipping a person to distinguish behaviors produced by the culture in question from behaviors that are peculiar to particular individuals and those found in all human beings. In their surveys of 2,000 managers in 60 countries, the authors found that most managers are not equally strong in all three of these areas of cultural intelligence.

The authors have devised tools that show how to identify one's strengths, and they have developed training techniques to help people overcome weaknesses. They conclude that anyone reasonably alert, motivated, and poised can attain an acceptable CQ.

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Reprint: R0410J In an increasingly diverse business environment, managers must be able to navigate through the thicket of habits, gestures, and assumptions that define their coworkers' differences. Foreign cultures are everywhere-in other countries, certainly, but also in corporations, vocations, and regions. Interacting with individuals within them demands perceptiveness and adaptability.