Growing Up Global

By munnerlyn

As the parent of a TCK, I realize the value- educational value-of the trips/vacations/lay overs we take. This spring, we brought our eight-year old to Egypt for our first ever visit.

While we attended the NESA Spring Educators Conference, she was out and about in the city of Cairo with the NESA child care program. At 8:00 AM as we were entering the hotel ballroom for the Keynote Address, Sydney was on a bus to the Pyramids at Giza. Around 5 PM, when our final session of the day ended, she was just returning- tired, unbelievably dirty, but full of stories (and pictures) and confidence. The next three days followed this predictable pattern. All in all, Sydney saw more of Cairo then we did.

While I’ve always felt our trips were important, this time the value of this experience was articulated by Syd herself when she said “Mom, I think I really grew up while we’ve been in Egypt.”

As an educator of kids who are learning globally I wonder…

• How can we capitalize on these valuable vacations?
• What do we do with this knowledge when kids return to school?
• Why isn’t the TCK experience part of our social studies curriculums?