{"id":7976,"date":"2020-07-03T06:24:26","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T06:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/?p=7976"},"modified":"2020-07-03T06:24:29","modified_gmt":"2020-07-03T06:24:29","slug":"why-is-there-not-enough-diversity-of-educators-in-international-schools-today-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/why-is-there-not-enough-diversity-of-educators-in-international-schools-today-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Why is there not enough diversity of educators in international schools today?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As an international teacher of color and proud TCK (Third Culture Kid), I often find myself being the only one or part of a minority group of teachers who are not the \u2018standard\u2019 international teacher, who fits the profile as \u2018native speaker, western, and light-skinned\u2019. The question that often arose in my mind and like-minded people is, \u201cWhat does native speaker mean?\u201d Does this question often relate to language skill, ethnicity, skin color or background? However, the more I pondered, observed and discovered in my experiences, this means more to the latter; which brings us back to the question of which became the result of skill vs ethnicity. Let\u2019s begin to really unpack and dig deeper into this. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Many researches have shown that diversity in schools are beneficial to our society. With the growing migration and international job opportunities around the world, the demand for international education follows suit which created different schools of thoughts, philosophies, curriculums and practices; all driven to provide a holistic, enriching and global-minded education to children. However, the reality is that educators who are hired to be the \u2018instructors\u2019 and \u2018role-models\u2019 of these great elements of education are often lacking in diversity. Considering the fact that most international schools have a diverse population of students from all over the world, shouldn\u2019t educators be represented by the same amount of diversity too? Where is the standard of being \u2018internationally-minded\u2019 and \u2018multicultural\u2019 represented in any given school? How do we rectify this and should we? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

From my experiences teaching internationally, I have been blessed and also cursed at the same time. Some experiences really made me feel like I am a contributor and part of something great in education; trying to make a difference in this world by doing small acts and making changes as an educator who believes that education is a right for all children, regardless of wealth, background and geographical location. However, there were some experiences which made me feel small, insignificant, rejected and unwanted because of how I look like, speaking with an accent and my multi-cultural background. It became a chore trying to explain my background, identity and who I am as a person which affected my job as an educator as I felt victimized and paralyzed. I kept questioning myself, \u201cIs this for real? Do all good educators have to be western, white and of certain look or speak a certain accent?\u201d It made me insecure and unsure about my decision to continue pursuing a career as an international educator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fortunately, travelling and a passion for education helped me to continue my career as an educator which also sparked a fighting spirit and determination to change the way education should look, sound and feel like. It made me realize that there are many factors contributing to the lack in diversity of educators in international schools. These factors range from cultural expectations, norms, economic prosperity, societal needs, income levels, status and background, and even unfamiliarity with change or others outside the group. All these add to the definition on what makes a good international teacher which often relates back to the specification of \u2018native speaker, western and light-skinned\u2019 profile. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few questions to extend and ask ourselves are, \u201cHow can we empower all educators to become the best teachers today?\u201d and \u201cAre we being fair to our children in giving them equal opportunities and knowing their identities through education?\u201d Hence, diversity is KEY to develop global-minded citizens who will lead and run the world as our future. Start embracing, accepting and promoting diversity and equality today if we want a better tomorrow! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Adika Cremet is living in Shanghai, China and teaching at an international school. She has been teaching for the past 16 years in New Zealand, Scandinavia, Europe and Asia and travelled around the world. Adika is a passionate advocate for TCKs (Third Culture Kid), inquiry-based learning, early childhood education, diversity and inclusion in schools. She hopes for a better understanding on being a global citizen and international education for the community of learners around her as she makes these her goals wherever she goes. <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As an international teacher of color and proud TCK (Third Culture Kid), I often find myself being the only one or part of a minority group of teachers who are not the \u2018standard\u2019 international teacher, who fits the profile as \u2018native speaker, western, and light-skinned\u2019. The question that often arose in my mind and like-minded […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[2806,2810,2808,2570,2809,2807],"class_list":["post-7976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-discussion-topics","tag-diversity","tag-internationally-minded","tag-minority-groups","tag-multicultural","tag-native-speaker","tag-third-culture-kid"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/hands-1939895_1280.png?fit=1280%2C960&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2flVT-24E","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8244,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-native-english-speaker-teaching-scam-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":0},"title":"The Native English Speaker Teaching Scam #2","author":"ISCommunity","date":"February 7, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"My previous blog post (The Native English Teaching Scam #1) described the deceptive and possibly racist distinction between Native English Speakers (NES) and Non-Native English Speakers (NNES) in international teaching job ads. Even if this distinction could be rectified, what advantage does an NES have over an NNES teacher in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/art-2026073_1280.png?fit=1200%2C600&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8308,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/lgbt-friendly-insight-into-12-international-schools-and-their-countries\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":1},"title":"Is Your New Workplace a LGBTQ+ Friendly International School?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"March 28, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"It could very well be that you are going to an LGBTQ+ Friendly International School, but your host country culture is not.","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-10.46.26-1.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-10.46.26-1.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-10.46.26-1.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-10.46.26-1.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Screenshot-2024-01-19-at-10.46.26-1.png?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8234,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/the-native-english-speaker-teaching-scam-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":2},"title":"The Native English Speaker Teaching Scam (Part 1)","author":"ISCommunity","date":"January 22, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"There is a clear form of racism - based on your country of origin - apparent in international teaching today. Recruiting educators can be based on their passport, rather than their skills, qualifications and experience. This is discrimination that everyone involved in international teaching must protest and actively renounce. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Discussion Topics"","block_context":{"text":"Discussion Topics","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/discussion-topics\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/Screen-Shot-2021-01-22-at-14.47.26-1.png?fit=1114%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8886,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/selecting-an-international-school-tip-1-local-vs-international-school-systems\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":3},"title":"Selecting an International School Tip #1: Local vs. International School Systems","author":"ISCommunity","date":"September 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"What reasons do parents think about when selecting a school for their children when they move abroad? Are they similar reasons why teachers choose to work at a school abroad as well?\u00a0 Many international school teachers are in teaching couples that have children.\u00a0 There are also international school teachers that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School"","block_context":{"text":"12 Tips for Selecting an Int'l School","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/12-tips-for-selecting-an-intl-school\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/high-school-gc67acbf97_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1274,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/highlighted-article-which-languages-are-the-hardest-to-learn\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":4},"title":"Highlighted article: Which languages are the hardest to learn?","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"A look at which languages are easiest and most difficult for English speakers to pick up. \"The foreign service institute of the United States Department of State compiles learning expectations for many languages based on the amount of time it takes a native English speaker to achieve speaking and reading\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Highlighted Articles"","block_context":{"text":"Highlighted Articles","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/highlighted-articles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/screen-shot-2012-06-12-at-10-39-19-pm.png?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1286,"url":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/common-myths-and-misconceptions-about-bilingual-children-4-bilinguals-are-like-two-monolinguals-in-one-person\/","url_meta":{"origin":7976,"position":5},"title":"Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children #4: Bilinguals are like two monolinguals in one person","author":"ISCommunity","date":"June 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"As teachers working in international schools, we are most likely teaching and working with bilingual children (or even, more likely, multilingual children).\u00a0 Many international school educators also find themselves starting a family; with potentially bilingual children.\u00a0 We all know colleagues that have ended up finding a partner from the host\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children"","block_context":{"text":"12 Common Myths and Misconceptions about Bilingual Children","link":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/category\/12-common-myths-and-misconceptions-about-bilingual-children\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/06\/img_0095.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/internationalschoolcommunity.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}