We spoke today with David Shapiro, the CEO of Mentor: The National Mentoring Partnership. Our conversation touched on the lessons that both COVID and Black Lives Matter has imparted on the youth mentoring field, the need for a collectivist approach in addressing inequity, and David's personal experience with youth mentoring. 

David Shapiro's bio:

Chief Executive Officer

David Shapiro is CEO of MENTOR: The National Mentoring Partnership, the national organization unifying and elevating the youth mentoring field through expertise, advocacy, and recruitment. For more than 13 years, he has dedicated his career to driving equity through the power of relationships and is a servant leader for the mentoring movement.

Under Shapiro’s leadership, MENTOR has partnered with leading global brands including the NBA family, Nike, Starbucks, LinkedIn and others to expand the mentoring movement through recruitment; grew its national footprint to include 24 local Affiliates in communities nationwide; and has worked extensively with the Obama Foundation to center mentoring through My Brother’s Keeper Alliance. Additionally, the U.S Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention selected MENTOR to establish and lead the National Mentoring Resource Center.

He is a husband, father, and mentor.

Clara Reynolds and Xoài David, international school alumni, are asking international schools to face their colonial roots and current practices in the spirit of anti-racism and decolonization. Listen to their stories of how their perspectives changed about the IB and International schools once they left school and moved on to university. 

Organisation to Decolonise International Schools

Twitter, Instagram: @decolonise_intl

Clara Reynolds is co-founder of ODIS, she is currently studying for a BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield. She graduated with an IB diploma from Tashkent International School in 2017. Clara is of Portuguese and British parents, and so far has lived in four countries: the UK, Germany, Uzbekistan, and the Netherlands.

Xoài David is co-founder of ODIS, a Paris-based book design student, writer and budding vlogger. Born of Vietnamese and French parents, Xoài has grown up in eight countries including Uzbekistan, Ghana, and Indonesia, and graduated with an IB diploma from Shanghai United International School in 2017.

Danau Tanu, author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School, discusses the Asian experience of racism and cultural hierarchies in international schools and what teachers, school leaders, students, and alumni can do about it. Danau is an anthropologist who spent one year embedded in an international high school in Indonesia where she researched these themes and the nuanced experience of the Asian third culture kid. .

Danau Tanu, PhD, is an anthropologist and the author of Growing Up in Transit: The Politics of Belonging at an International School, the first book on systemic racism in international schools. She is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Western Australia and was recently awarded a Japan Foundation Fellowship for postdoctoral research at Waseda University for 2021. Danau is Co-Chair of the FIGT Research Network and co-founder of TCKs of Asia.

You can purchase her book and redeem 25% off by going to her website here: https://www.danautanu.com

When Doni Aldine interviewed Robin DiAngelo, the author of White Fragility, for her Magazine, Culturs, Robin posed a question to Doni. "Does the problem of white fragility and supremacy apply to the globally mobile, international community?" At first, Doni answered, "It's different."" There was a long pause and then Robin responded, "I think it's the same." That moment led Doni on a nine month journey of introspection, research and critical analysis of the the expat, third culture, globally mobile world. In this podcast, we discuss some of the ideas she has been exploring and the stories featured in Culturs Magazine's lates issue, "It's Time to Change."

We use the following terms in this podcast:

Doni (Dah-knee) Aldine's Bio: A globally mobile Afro-Latina and first-generation North American who, by age 19, lived in & identified with seven cultures on five continents. Aldine is passionate about creating community for cross-cultural populations. She has presented around the globe as a Keynote, at conferences, universities & in media as a lifestyle expert focused on entrepreneurship, marketing & cross-cultural identity. With this background, she developed university curricula for global culture identity.

Aldine uses her global, multi-cultural background, academic training, and career experience in media, management and business to position CULTURS as the first-ever digital-first print publication & product marketplace of its kind - one that addresses global and mobile cultural identities, with emphasis on hidden diversity.

About Culturs: Culturs celebrates cross-cultural and intersectional identity: Because everyone should feel like they matter.

Our content focus is 21st Century Diversity (a culturally fluid outlook that embodies a vision of the world that fast is becoming our future). We reach 1.26 million people through a print magazine distributed in Barnes and Noble, Whole Foods, Books-a-Million, Sprouts, and independent bookstores; a digital magazine, an online magazine, mobile publication, email list of 500,000, and the soon-to-launch CultursTV with more than 220 videos on Youtube.

The missing "e" in Cultur[e]s represents the often-hidden diversities of Culturs’ audience. Our content sits at the intersection of social justice, geographic mobility, and people of color and the publication was founded to give voice to immigrants, refugees, intersectional identities (multiethnic, multiracial, multicultural), and other culturally-fluid underserved populations.

We do this by producing lifestyle content that celebrates the very fluidity that most people ignore -- the cultural fluidity that represents the voice of the future -- and brings that into the mainstream.

Subscribe or purchase: Cultursmag.com/subscribe

DIGITAL EDITIONS: Issuu.com/Culturs

FREE ARTICLES ONLINE/FREE RESOURCE SIGNUP: Cultursmag.com

Today we interview Amanda Bates, the founder and creative director of The Black Expat. We have a candid conversation about how international schools can improve the way they serve students of color, the untold stories of black TCKs, and Amanda's own experience growing up as a black TCK in both black majority and black minority countries. 

We use the following terms in this podcast:

Amanda Bates' bio: Raised bi-culturally in the United States and Cameroon, Amanda started navigating multicultural environments at a young age. As a counselor, she helps young people and the young at heart figure out the right professional choices for them.  Amanda is also the founder and creative director of The Black Expat, a digital platform focused on black identity + international living.

We interview Iain Sachdev, the head of school at the International School of Monza in Milan, Italy. We talk about prioritizing wellbeing in order for learning to flourish, the power of relationships and connectedness in school communities, and the evolving role that parents play in education during COVID-19 and, perhaps, in the future of education.

You can read more about the International School of Monza and Iain Sachdev in these recent articles in Quartz Magazine and the Express and Star. 

Express and Star:

Quartz Magazine: 

Iain mentions Sea Change Mentoring's "Ten Strategies for Educator Wellbeing: A Handbook for Schools During the COVID-19 Outbreak". You can access it for free here. 

We speak with Kirsten Durward, the founder of the 125,000 member Global Educator Collective group on Facebook (formerly known as the Educator Temporary School Closure for Online Learning). Kirsten talks about how to build a positive online community, what collaboration looks like across countries and schools systems, and the lessons and inspirations that have come out of this growing community. 

Kirsten participated in the ISS Educator to Educator Assessment Webinar on Wednesday 15th April - to view the recording check the ISS site. She is hosting a webinar on addressing Primary Transdisciplinary units through the lens of Current Affairs on Saturday 25 April at 3 pm GMT via Toddle Talks, with a recording available on Toddle Learning Library.  She is working with the team at Toddleapp.org to create The Inquiry Educator Summit (virtual) in May. To be added to a mailing list for this free event or future webinars and events via the Global Educator Collective please fill in the short form

For resources and support, please visit our website at www.seachangementoring.com/covid19

Kirsten Durward's Bio

Kirsten is the busy admin of the Global Educator Collective, a group set up to support the transition to online learning, which has become the place to be for international collaboration on learning strategies.  The group has now been offered a strategic partnership by Facebook as a constructive sustainable community and was recommended by International Education in a special report to UNESCO as a core resource in supporting the transition to emergency remote learning. Kirsten considers herself a global citizen, having lived in 17 countries from her childhood in Kenya, the Middle East and Europe through her extensive career as an international educator and volunteer, she has been privileged to learn from many cultures, situations and perspectives. Mostly her learning has encouraged her to be compassionate, grateful and open minded to ideas! Currently the PYP Coordinator at KIS International School in Bangkok, Kirsten is in the process of forming a Learning Focused Education Consultancy and a Global Educator Development platform in partnership with many leading international educators.  With leadership experience in 5 schools, her focus is working with educators to improve learning. An IB workshop leader, Concept based Curriculum Trainer and Cognitive Coach she offers years of expertise in Positive Pedagogy, Constructive Inquiry, Assessment Driven Learning, Transdisciplinary Learning and Curriculum Design. You can find her through her Facebook group, on Linked In or via Twitter @learnerfocused

We speak with Katie Rigg, the Head of Safeguarding & Student Well-being at the Council of International Schools. We discuss the difference between wellbeing and mental health, the state of mental health in schools before COVID-19 and what has changed now that we are living and working during this pandemic. 

To learn more about the Council of International Schools and to explore the support that the Council of International Schools is providing schools and universities at this time, visit their website.

To find more support for schools and educators, visit www.seachangementoring.com/covid19

If you are feeling hopeless, this is an indicator that you need to seek professional help and you need to talk with your loved ones about your feelings. Here are some trusted professionals and organizations that you can turn to. Please don’t try to get through this alone.

Katie Rigg's bio

Katie’s primary responsibility is to help CIS and school and university members to keep children and young people safe and to support and strengthen their mental health and well-being. In this capacity Katie carries out and supports research into new areas, develops resources, provides guidance and oversees professional development.

Prior to joining CIS Katie worked as a safeguarding and employment lawyer in London, where she helped her law firm to establish its Safeguarding Unit in May 2015. In that role Katie helped schools, universities and other organisations to prevent and respond effectively to harm and abuse. Katie has also worked in the areas of human rights and public interest law in Argentina and Hungary.

Katie is currently undertaking a professional doctorate at the International Centre for Research into Child Sexual Exploitation, Violence and Trafficking, focusing on how schools can build effective responses to abuse and harm between students. After graduating with a first class degree in history and political science from Trinity College, Dublin, Katie studied international public law at the University of Cordoba, Argentina and subsequently completed a law degree in England. Katie speaks fluent French and Spanish.

We speak with Michael Nachbar about his years of experience running one of the top blended learning organizations in our community. He shares with us the insights he has gleaned along the way, both for remote teams and remote learning. 

You can check out the resources that we discussed in this episode at:

https://globalonlineacademy.org/covid-19

https://seachangementoring.com/covid19

Join us as we speak with Michael Nachbar, expert in online learning. 

Michael is the Executive Director of Global Online Academy, a pioneering network of schools and educators reimagining learning to empower students and educators to thrive in a globally networked society.

Michael is a frequent speaker and workshop facilitator at national and international conferences, and presents on such topics as educational trends impacting schools, modern teaching and learning, and global education.

Michael is an active board member for several education organizations, including the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), Independent School Association Network (ISAnet), and Jump! Foundation. He has served as a founding board member of the Mastery Transcript Consortium, as well as for Summer Search.

You can follow Michael on Twitter at @michaelnachbar.

We speak with Dr. Suzanne Anderson, psychotherapist and expert in crisis response for schools. Dr. Anderson has been working with schools and the international community for the last 20 years and is currently supporting international schools facing the Coronavirus pandemic. 

She is the author of several articles circulating the international school world, including:

The Danger and Opportunity of Covid-19 for International School Educators

Understanding the Mental Health & Social Impact of the Coronavirus: Finding the Middle Path

Alongside the National Organization for Victim's Assistance, she recently co-hosted  the webinar, "Covid-19: The Mental Health Impact & Resilience for International Educators", which reached educators in over 17 countries.

You can find her work at https://www.restorativecommunityconcepts.com

We. mentioned this Facebook group in the episode and this book, SuperSurvivors

You can learn more about Sea Change Mentoring's work and find additional resources related to COVID-19 at https://www.seachangementoring.com

Speaker Bio:

Suzanne M. Anderson, DPST, MSS, RSW – 0145, CCR

Dr. Anderson is a psychotherapist in private practice with Restorative Community Counselling (a service

of Restorative Community Concepts) in Singapore where she has lived and worked since 1999. Suzanne

is a certified NOVA crisis responder and trainer. Over more than 20 years, Suzanne has trained crisis

responders and responded to crises in the United States, Canada, Yugoslavia, Singapore, India, Thailand,

Indonesia, Vietnam, China and Myanmar. Incidents to which Suzanne has responded include natural

disasters, industrial accidents and intentional-harm incidents (i.e. industrial plant explosion, hurricane,

tornado, plane crash, earthquake, cyclone, tidal surge, tsunami, terrorist attacks, drowning,

school-based crises, suicides as well as working with war refugees). Suzanne has provided crisis

responder training and supervision for local, national businesses and primary, secondary and tertiary

educational institutions. Suzanne’s doctoral research focused on investigating the impact of trauma on

women trafficked and sexually exploited in the Mekong countries and applying the research results to

the development of training for aftercare workers.