TCKs in OIS

3rd March: Meeting 1

What is a PLC?
Professional Learning Community
Collaborative Work amongst educators
Big Ideas:
Improving our school
Being sure our students benefit
Experience in collaborative work
Growing as a professional
Essential Understandings
Respecting each others:
Time
Expertise
Opinion
Knowledge
Growth
Areas for Growth
Respecting the group goal
Which is to build a strong support system for TCKs in OIS
Learn how to support TCKs
Teach others how to support TCKs
 A Third Culture kid is1

Someone who has spent a

Supporting Our significant part of their life out
of their passport country.
Third Culture Someone who may have a hard
time defining where home is.
Kids at OIS Someone who is just re
entering their passport or
A Call for Teachers! parents home country
Neither full of the culture of
their parents or full of the
culture where they spent their
formative years.
And further.
What can we do at OIS to support them?

Recognize them! (Hidden Immigrants)

Listen

Help them capitalize on their experiences

Build a R.(reconcilation)A.(affirmation)

F(farewell) T. (Think! destination) for

leavers

Support stayers

Work with parents

A Call for Teachers! (Sign Up Here!)
Dhanya, Pradnya, and Hannah are facilitating a Professional Learning Community to build a good
foundation at OIS for TCKs and their parents. Here are a few things well be doing:

Read research and look at the stories of OIS kids

Plan entrance questions for students
Plan lunch support sessions for students
Plan parent coffee meetings
Plan a short PD for teachers during a secondary meeting
Plan a system for leavers and stayers (students and teachers)
Become the experts in our school and take advantage of an opportunity to professionally learn

Every other Friday from 3:10 pm-4:10 pm starting 3/3 until 26/5

Expect about an hour per week of work/reading.

Schedule of Meeting Times
3rd March - What are TCKs? General Understandings

24th March- Benefits/Downfalls of being a TCK

7th April- How do we get our kids stories? What questions should we be asking? Why?

21st April- How do we engage our Parents in understanding/ Teachers understanding and changing our
classrooms

5th May- Building a system/ RAFT for leavers, stayers, and helping them as they come in

19th May (Preperation for Secondary Staff Training- TBD)

30th May (Secondary Staff Share Out)

Blog Comments
http://thirdculturekidsplc.weebly.com

Bookmark this website^^

Before each meeting, we all should have commented on the new blog topic.

I will keep editing, adding, and compiling parts of this website.

 TCKs in OIS
3rd March: Meeting 1
Intro video (5mins)
Jane Barron Article
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-i-wish-my-international-school-teacher-kne
w-me-jane-barron

Break out groups (20 mins)

Pico Iyer TED Talk (15 mins)
https://www.ted.com/talks/pico_iyer_where_is_home?language=en#t-825256
What is Home? (Vimeo Video)
https://vimeo.com/41264088
Before the 24th
Read Chapters 1-3 (about 40 pages)
Respond to the prompt on the Home page of the blog.
Let me know if you know youll miss a meeting, so that I can send you
information in advance.
TCKs in OIS - Meeting 2
24 March
Agenda
Review/ Reflect on last weeks readings (main take aways)
Pollock and Van Reken Chs. 1-3
Create a plan on collecting data
Who do we ask?
When do we ask?
How do we ask?
Brainstorm a list of benefits and pitfalls of being a TCK

Data Collection
Use this google doc to fill in how you feel we should collect data:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i6FsxeUHbz2AbbUZ9jOo39buJHTPQE0vl
VQuWY7kLEk/edit
Brainstorming
Benefits: Pitfalls:

Globally minded Relationship skills

International -sense in the classroom - benefit Rootlessness and restlessness

from each other culturally
Forced adaptation
Be more empathic
Friendships
Flexible
Dont fit in

In transition
Next Blog Topic: Please post by 7th April

24th March- Benefits and Pitfalls

After exploring and learning about the benefits and pitfalls of being a TCK, take a second to think about what OIS does or
does not do to help maximize these benefits and/or ease these pitfalls. Is it possible for OIS to do this? To what extent?
7th April Meeting
Track meet. So NO MEETING! :)
Flipped Style.
Ill share resources with you all, compile our answers to the prompt from before, and send you
the new resources. Ill send this next week.
Last meeting agenda
Please review the chapters I sent out two weeks ago about the benefits and pitfalls of being a TCK then reply a
comment on the blog (Chapters 6 and 7)
Please read chapters 8 and 11 in the attachment and respond to the blog
Could you all give some feedback on the survey
How might parents of TCK's feel based on the issues Pollock and Van Reken discuss in their book? What might they
need more guidance on? Present a plan of action for OIS to help meet this need.
What to do about parents?
Education
Book Recommendations
Book Studies
Survey the issues?
Coffees with round table type discussions?
Parents of TCKs Readings
http://denizenmag.com/2013/12/preparing-expats-for-the-emotional-challen
ges-of-living-abroad/
http://denizenmag.com/2009/01/part-1-tck-goes-to-college/
http://denizenmag.com/2011/07/showing-sophie-her-cultural-heritage/
http://denizenmag.com/2015/02/to-return/