Author. Speaker.
Author
World Class: One Mother's Journey Halfway Around the Globe in Search of the Best Education for Her Children
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For parents, teachers, students, and legislators at schools, clubs, organizations, corporations, and conferences.
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To empower parents, students, and schools in their global commitment
Book NowAn Amazon Best-Seller! An eye-opening firsthand exploration of why Asian students are outpacing their American counterparts, and how to help our children excel in today’s competitive world.
Pre-order the World Class paperback, now with reading guide, endorsements and blurbs.
@NumCog Yes they are!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼...
Read More@jaketapper Wow. Just.... wow....
Read More@NumCog That is wonderful! Especially in times when educators largely feel overwhelmed and undervalued trying to teach in pandemic conditions. A mark of a teacher who cares deeply about including parents in the process....
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Just getting through it, literally, hour-by-hour. Somewhat holding my breath with feelings of defeat, optimism... while more often feeling grateful. Everyone is feeling massive change and imbalance. Nervousness.
I make lots of lists trying to figure out what I have to do for the kids when & what I have to do when work wise. I now find myself deleting news more than engaging with it. Sanity.
Still in pajamas. My youngest took this photo.
🌍 While so much doesn’t feel right in the world right now, we see clearly what we need to be doing. 👁 What wasn’t working that we must change. Here’s one 👇🏽
The world we’re living in continues to become more global. Our country faces issues that are global in scope, which require us to collaborate with our counterparts in every corner of the world. Such challenges (and opportunities) include climate change, global health epidemics, food security, refugee crises, and energy. 🌪🍲📈⛽️
Both in the classroom and at home, we need to discuss current events within and outside our borders. We may think we’re shielding our children from troubling events, but how will they develop empathy for refugees without understanding why people flee their home country? How will they understand the value of our democracy without learning about our world? ⚖️
From World Class, page 113 📖.
You get out of bed because you have to. I was so grateful for them because I don’t think I would have survived my first year in Shanghai without them. Nothing seemed right except them. They were my one responsibility that I needed to get right. They were 1, 4 and 6 years old.
I lived in an ex-communist tenement in an old lane in the center of Shanghai. (Swipe left.) I couldn’t speak much Mandarin at the time and I had 3 kids in a country where everyone only had 1... by law. 2 different local public schools for the older two and one at home with parent-child playgroup twice per week.
I didn’t think I was going to make it. Within 5 months, I thought I had a cognitive health problem because I couldn’t seem to remember anything. My GP told me it was my body’s way of handling stress — to forget to be able to move on.
In those months, my son had been hospitalized for 2 weeks in a public hospital with a leukemia misdiagnosis, we had countless termite and rat infestations, and it was a lucky day when we had hot water and it didn’t smell like an open sewer was running through our home. I felt lucky to be able to go to the market to purchase flour without bugs or even a pint of ice cream that was not already opened and partially eaten (the stores started keeping those in locked boxes.) I felt completely alone.
That’s all to say that living where and how I did was most humbling. It made me appreciate all the privileges I had. I felt completely stripped and helpless.
It did make me stronger. I came through those trenches with some of my closest friends and a far deeper compassion for humanity. I take far less for granted. I certainly became a better parent. And, I started on my career path.
It’s a reminder. I’m grateful for that time. I like myself far better. We get through it and come out stronger. And our kids really do.
On light of the world today and on #MentalHealthDay #worldmentalhealthday #worldmentalhealthday2020, it’s a reminder for all of us.
What are your goals for your kids? It’s especially confusing now. I feel like we are holding our breath everyday with whatever news may hit us. Swipe to next slide to read mine 👉 👉 from World Class. Comment below and let's discuss.
Growing up, I would tell myself that I wanted to be a good mother one day, no matter what. I was the only child to a single mom and that came with it’s challenges. She was also an immigrant which made me the only kid in my grade who spoke another language at home. But I’m grateful. I was taught to be pretty independent and to see things from diverse perspectives.
When I had my own kids, I didn’t know how I was going to show them any kind of grit, which I felt came from overcoming hardship. So when the opportunity came up for me to raise them overseas, I left the US and knew that I needed to send them to the local public schools there. It was tough at times, but they would gain a similar global perspective. I didn’t want them to coast or have a culturally white perspective. Frankly, I didn’t think I would be able to relate to them if they did. And I was very sensitive to it.
So, today, our America is full of freedoms. Freedoms often not appreciated by those who have never not had them. It must be respected. And giving up a bit of freedom — sacrificing — for the greater good is the gold standard, to me. It’s the foundation or community.
So, I ask that we all consider *how teaching our kids and modeling that we are all a part of a larger global community* is essential to their education. The moment to teach this is now.
📸 This photo is of my son entering his Shanghai public elementary school.
How can we be the best models for our kids? Focus on educating them.
This is an unsettling time for many. But the US is great because we are inventive. 💡We come up with creative solutions. We don’t give up. We are passionate. So let’s get our education system right. Because we can. 💪🏽
World Class is now available in paperback with added reading guide. 📖 I am trying to do my part, albeit in a seemingly small way, with World Class. Maybe you can snuggle up with my book. 🧸 I wrote World Class for you.
Link in bio for more in my October newsletter. 📬
Road tripping 🚘 to school drop off. 👉 Swipe for...
Joy, Hunger, Pranks, Nostalgia , Mom’s too old (🤣), Expletive-laden lyrics😵, Vulnerability, Cacophony (and quiet).
Love you, Handsome. I’m so so proud to be your mom. Truthfully, the last 6 months with you were a gift. Miss you already. You know that. XO always.
#flightreacts 🤷♀️
At the @whitneymuseum. I really was looking at his knee to perfect the pose... 🙈(Artist is Arthur Lee, Rhythm) swipe 👉
Was blown away by the Vida Americana exhibit. Art as a means to mobilize and connect people in the midst of social discord. Is 2020 one of these moments where we are in need of a rebirth? Does the documentation of our history and our political activism take the form of social media posts and tweets?
The last picture is the Kitchen by Liza Loud, a tribute to the unsung labor of women throughout time. Again, painfully timely in this pandemic.
Are your kids independent? Do you want them to be? 👉 swipe to see the full thread 👉
We have them home more, so set them free more.
Here's my youngest on her way to school during her first week of first grade... in Tokyo. All first graders get to and from school on their own. Her yellow hat denotes her age and school and a ribbon on her bag assigns her specific commute route. She has her emergency buzzer (the white box hanging from the strap) and the yellow covering over her backpack (for first graders only throughout Japan). Fellow pedestrians, crossing guards and public transit passengers keep a lookout. Community.
Japanese children are taught to be independent at a very young age. As the Japanese parenting philosophy goes, rather than sheltering children, let them overcome mistakes and experience incremental hardships and failures, so they can grow into independent individuals. "To the adored child, send them on journeys."
Swipe to watch another typical commute for a young student in Japan, traveling solo to school.
We have a golden opportunity now to teach our kids independence... early. Teach them to be accountable and know their larger place and influence in our world. Raise them to be prepared for anything. And we've seen that greater success comes from having and collaborating with communities: local, school, national, global.
Model it, teach it, practice it -- it starts at home.
Video credit: @thefeedsbs, @cbsnews @cbsthismorning
🚨Announcement!🚨My book World Class will be available to purchase in paperback on October 6th, complete with a reading guide, new blurbs, bios, and photos! 🌍✈️🎓
The pandemic has cracked wide open our US education system like never before. The silver lining is that solutions on issues like parent involvement, community, equity, funding, education governance, technology, global competence are discussed in World Class in a relatable way from my parent and researcher perspective. 👩👧👧
I promise that you as a parent, grandparent, student, teacher, policy maker will find guidance, advice and many laughs in its pages. 📖
World Class has given me the opportunity to learn from and now collaborate with my education heroes. Thank you for these kind words @arneduncan @oecd_education_skills @senblumenthal @nickmelvoin 📝📚
Link in bio to preorder!
Some lightness. 😊
Because it’s sunk in that summer is over, and I’m starting to feel a bit more of the uncertainty I felt back in April. 🌱🍃🍂
So much shifting around me on the individual and larger systemic levels. People moving, variations on schooling, the economy, warnings of the next wave, the election, SCOTUS, civil disorder, climate change... we are all dealing with a lot. 🌀
So for now... let’s laugh. 🤪
A Stalwart 💪👏🧠 Thank you, RBG. Thank you.
What do you think is an education? 📖 Why do your kids go to school? 🚌 Why do THEY think they go? 🤷🏽♀️ It’s the perfect opportunity to have these conversations at home. 🛋
Kids need buy-in. 💰What’s in this for them? How can families shift perspectives 💭 and have transparent conversations 🔎 about the positive aspects ➕AND negative ➖ aspects of learning (all kinds) this year? 🧰 We can consider how to reimagine vital life lessons, skills, and experiences that a school building and community would usually provide. 🏡 Those who adapt can flourish 🌈🌱 #opportunity
🎥 Clip Credit: @momswhoknowpodcast Parents Who Know Summit. Register for the full talk via link in my bio!