Educators Going Global

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! How do you tame your curiosity and limit your questions when talking to a man who sings opera, speaks five languages, and consults with hundreds of organizations ranging among the fields of education, financial services, beauty and fashion, non-profits, and the arts? This was our task when interviewing Dr. Derrick Gay on the topic of helping school communit...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Are you a small school wishing you could expand your course offerings? A student who has always wanted to explore a new area of study? Or maybe a teacher longing to teach about a passion topic area that is not offered at your school? Well, look no further! The Global Online Academy, in operation since 2011, addresses all of these issues. The Academy partner...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! What is bullying? What are the roles we see in a bullying situation? What can we do to help reduce the incidence of bullying in schools and on social media and to arm students with the social skills to help them avoid becoming victims? Alain Pelletier joined us for this episode to talk about his work in schools to raise awareness around bullying.  Alain is...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! We were so happy to interview fellow podcaster Nick DeForest!  One of our wishes has been to have a guest who could explain what co-curricular programming looks like at international schools after school and on weekends. Nick, with his GLOBETROTTIN’ ADs podcast and website, is at the center of a global network of athletic directors and activity coordinators...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Wouldn’t it be great if everyone, regardless of their race, ethnicity, gender identity, and belief system could have a champion? Well, they do! It’s the Association of International Educators and Leaders of Color, founded by Kevin Simpson. Kevin joined us to speak to his efforts through AIELOC to expand DEIJ learning in international schools.  Kevin is a na...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! This was a special episode as we caught up with some of our previous guests who are finishing either their first or second year of international teaching. As expected, they had many lessons and tips to share! Tonya Busse joined us from Kingston, Jamaica. Jessica Simmons connected from Abuja, Nigeria. And Mel Idema and Cole Savage dialed in from Abu Dhabi. ...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! "Mr. Data, make it so"  For the non-Trekkies out there, meet Chris Smith, academic data analyst. Chris joined us to speak about the importance of using data to improve multiple aspects of our schools.   Through his 25 years in international education, Chris noticed schools and educators collecting data but seeming overwhelmed by it or needing help...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! We all -- students and teachers alike -- long to belong.  Douglas Beam from Global Online Academy joined us to share his insights on the importance of working to build a sense of belonging for students in our schools. He also discussed his doctoral work on gender and sexual minorities in international schools.  Douglas has been a teacher and leader in schoo...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! It is such a treat to reconnect with a former student and to discover where their life has led them. In this episode, we reconnected with Claire Gaul, a student from our Saudi days. Claire and her husband, Jamel, teach at their third international post, a school in China.  They shared so many great insights that you might have to listen to the episode twice...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Can you feel the energy in the air? This was a zinger of an episode! Kam Chohan, the Executive Director of the Educational Collaborative for International Schools (ECIS), joined us for this episode.  With a background in education and leadership, Kam Chohan is a learning leader who brings insight, wisdom, and compassion to the role. She demonstrates the abi...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Warning: Show contains critical amounts of meaty information!  Ken Shelton joined us to discuss how schools can effectively design and implement new programs. He used DEIJ as a case study for managing the change process.  Ken Shelton is an award-winning educator and international keynote speaker addressing critical issues from multimedia literacy to cultura...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! What keeps international school heads awake at night? What all-important areas of decision-making currently occupy their thoughts? What trends in international education are they focused on? To find out, we again reached out to the very well-connected Laura Light, Executive Director of the Association for the Advancement of International Education.  Laura j...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! International teacher consultant Jacqueline Mallais joined us once again from Guadalajara, Mexico, for this episode.  Jacqueline is a former international teacher and school leader with over 20 years of experience in six countries on four continents. Since heading overseas in 1996, she has helped numerous teachers secure amazing opportunities abroad. Origin...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Who is the go-to resource for the lowdown on the current state of international school recruiting? Thanks to an introduction from super-connector Laura Light, we were fortunate enough to connect with one of the best-placed people for answers to our recruiting questions. Pauline O'Brien is the Global Recruitment Business Strategy Development Director at...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Are you going recruiting? Is your résumé up to date? Are you prepared for your interviews? If not, maybe you’d better see V! Yes; that’s the tagline for Valeria Laitinen, an international school principal who moonlights as a consultant helping educators prepare for the international recruiting process. She can help with all aspects of the job-seeking endeav...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Audrey and David dive into the blog post “ Profiling Schools, Cities, and Countries ” to bring listeners’ attention to the importance of planning for their next move. The post provides criteria for comparing and ranking schools, cities, and countries to help you be more objective when 1 - planning which schools to apply to and then 2 - comparing job offers...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! !Hola a todos! You are in for a real treat today. We were fortunate enough to speak with Michael Adams, Executive Director of the TRI Association. This is an association of schools in Mexico, Central America, Colombia, and the Caribbean. Michael embodies the spirit of community, connection, and sharing that supports the TRI mission. He also represents yet a...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! What happens when you speak with two leaders in the field of educational technology? You learn a lot! We were fortunate to speak with Dan Taylor and John Mikton, who, in their spare time, host the big dog of international education podcasting, The International Schools Podcast . Dan has been involved in the Google for Education community since 2006 and is t...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Imagine being a candidate to become a new Head of School! What would that be like?  If you are a veteran international educator, you have most likely either participated in or witnessed your school finding a new Head of School. If you are going global for the first time, you might wonder how international schools are structured administratively  — and if yo...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Over a year and a half ago, Audrey envisioned a website and podcast to help educators “go global”. She asked David to join her, and the work began – to provide written and audio content for our followers. Our first podcast episode went live in December of 2022, which makes this our first anniversary. Let’s celebrate our podcast guests and the growth of our...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Sometimes we happen to read articles and blog posts that ring true to us. Occasionally, we may even think, “Hey, this author could be talking about me and my experiences!” Well, guess what? I had this sensation when reading an article in TIEonline entitled “My Identity as an International Educator.” The article really nailed the character strengths, disposi...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! You might have noticed that we like to ask big, juicy questions that our guests can sink their teeth into. We intend to provide you with as much information and rich detail as possible, which guides us in designing our questions. In this interview with Dr. Alan Knobloch, we went super big! We asked Alan for his insights on the future of education.  Alan was...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! What is it like “going global” in an Africa-based international school and community? Educators are often intentional in choosing to live and work there. Could you be a good fit for an international school in Africa?  Thankfully, we have a veteran international educator who led a school in Africa and now consults with schools across the continent to answer...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! We continue to share with you what it means to be an international educator. We speak to the dispositions and character strengths many engage to be outstanding educators and remarkable human beings. Our guest for this episode exemplifies such character while demonstrating how flexibility and a growth mindset led her to various leadership roles in schools an...

Text us with topic or guest suggestions! Growing one’s network is a common theme in many of our interviews. We probably will not find a more connected person in the international schooling community than Laura Light! Laura is the current Executive Director of The Association for the Advancement of International Education (AAIE), which she joined in September 2021. She brings to AAIE many years of...