Years ago, I stopped writing this blog because I did not feel I had the right to be the one to tell my children's story. As they became older, my experience as a mom overlapped too much with their experience as a human, and I wanted to respect their privacy. But, now, years later, I still want to write so I am bringing this blog back from the dead. It will need a new name for it's new purpose but for now, here is my "first" entry!
In the first reading of this prompt, my mind went toward a traditional definition of an “international environment,” meaning living, working, or attending school outside of my experience in the United States. As I reflected more deeply, I recalled memories from my childhood of sitting around the table at the home of my friend, Suli, and her family who lived on our farm during the summers. Around me, the chatter of voices- some English, some Spanish- all excited to tell the stories of the day while Suli’s Abuela supplied us with a never ending supply of fresh tortillas. As a very young child, I believed Suli to be my sister. We spent so much time together and could not understand why she had to leave and the accompanying sadness I felt at the end of those summers. Growing older, I recall the feelings of surprise, then disappointment, and then anger when I heard derogatory comments about the migrant families that populated our farming valley. My positive experience with Suli’s family led me to choose to work at the local migrant school for two summers during my undergraduate years. My final summer as an undergraduate, an opportunity arose for me to move to San Francisco to be a nanny. Here is where I had the great privilege to be invited into the Jewish culture. My family, the Zviblemans, describe themselves as non-traditional, yet evidence of their history resided throughout the home in the form of things such as the Star of David, the hamsa, the Menorah, and books. We would visit the maternal family where Bubbe would treat us to homemade latkes, knish, and apple cake. When the paternal family visited, I was shocked and humbled to see the numbers that still marked the arm of Zayde, while he regaled us with stories of humor over those of despair. I believe these early experiences are what began my fascination with stories of people unlike myself and why equity has become a grounding value in my work as an educator. I had the great joy of experiencing international environments and education second hand through my daughter, Tylie, who served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant in the Czech Republic. Vicariously, through conversations and her blog, as well as first hand, I discovered that prejudice and misconception exist everywhere. Upon being picked up at the airport and taken to the little town where they teach, her mentor, very matter of factly, pointed out the school they taught in, calling it “the good school.” I commented on the children’s drawings showing in the window of the school next door and she replied, “Oh, that school is for kids who can’t learn. We are lucky we don’t have them in our school.” As a special education teacher at heart, this took me by great surprise but my daughter shared with me that it was a common sentiment among many as was the very stereotypical view of BIPOC people. As an educator, I appreciate diverse cultures and am committed to improving systems to provide equitable experiences and positive outcomes. These experiences in Europe have strengthened this commitment. I have engaged in learning around culturally responsive teaching, specifically following the work of Zaretta Hammond, blending brain-based learning strategies from neuroscience with culturally responsive teaching. The experience of engaging in that workshop and subsequently designing a local course has caused me to engage in the important work of reflecting on my own biases. As our multilingual learner population increases within our state, I have been learning more about translanguaging. I am currently studying more on this topic. Inherently, I am an observer. I believe understanding how people use language in real life can help support my own learning of a new language and navigation within a world in which I would not be proficient as a communicator in all contexts.
These are the things I've been thinking about as I consider my place within education. Stay tuned for more musings.
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