 While I have played witness to conflicts throughout my lifetime both at home and around the globe, the last 10 years working and living in Iraq, Turkey and Spain have challenged my worldviews significantly. As an international educator, I feel compelled to dig into concepts related to interculturalism, global citizenship and sustainability. We all experience the world differently given our own schema - funds of knowledge and identities. It is an ongoing endeavor to train my brain to listen for understanding as an open-minded observer: to understand other ways of seeing, hearing and doing as well as to accept these differences while looking for the commonalities. Then, it is our common humanity - human dignity that surfaces to the forefront for me. I can build cultural bridges for constructive relationship that work from a place of care and wisdom. My time in Iraq was impactful as I arrived during the war with DAESH. My students were daughters and sons of parents who had experienced the Baathist party's war on diversity, free speech and thought. This experience drove me to focus two of my research papers for the University of Bath doctoral program on Iraq so I could better understand the region, the constant turmoil that leads to waves of conflict and the history of my husband's Kurdish family. What I uncovered through touring the Kurdish north, teaching Kurdish children for 3 years during the ISIS war and then through my research is reflected in the image below. What happens when we begin to see people as others, less pure, worthy, intelligent, or human? I leave you to draw your own conclusions... 
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 In 2023, we immigrated to Spain for two years. My first trip to the Reina Sofia Art Museum, I got to spend time observing Picasso's work, Guernica (which I have now seen on 3 different occasions). I have to admit, at that time, I was ignorant about the Spanish history behind the painting entirely. The painting itself is massive with so much symbolism and I found it difficult to understand as I lacked the background knowledge. I knew quite a lot about World War II and had visited many memorials across Europe back in the 80's and later the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC. I had read books and taken World History and Geography at the university. However, I had yet to understand the role of Spain, Franco and Spanish fascism during that time period as well as the history behind the Spanish Civil War. I had seen movies (in Spanish) that impacted me like Pan's Labyrinth (El Laberinto del Fauno) and Butterfly's Tongue (La Lengua de las Mariposas). So like I have done in other countries I have immigrated to, I began to educate myself more about Spanish history by traveling and visiting museums to learn my host country's stories, perspectives and challenges.  One of our first trips was to the Basque region in northern Spain as I wanted to learn more about the region. Picasso's painting provoked significant curiosity to learn more. We booked a place just outside of Bilbao, in a hotel that was a converted mansion (see image to the left). This trip took place over a long weekend because of The National Day of Spain (October 12) that celebrates the voyage of Christopher Columbus and the spread of Spanish culture and language across the Americas. When we arrived at the hotel, I quickly realized that the Basque region does not celebrate no do they appreciate this holiday. Over the weekend, I learned about the uniqueness of their language, culture and historical experiences. Basque is a language that is uniquely its own with no connections to Castellano or any neighboring countries' languages for that matter. The people have safeguarded and protected their language by using it; it is taught in schools, used in public signage and menus and in daily interactions.  The Guernica Peace Museum [Museo de la Paz de Gernika], Spain The trip to Gernika (Guernica) did not start as an inquiry into peace for me. It unfolded throughout the visit to the museum itself. It is a powerful museum that confronts the visitor with the concept of peace through an epistemological lens. Additionally, I made connections to my prior research that I did for my coursework at University of Bath as well as life experiences while living abroad. I spent a lot of time that morning slowly reading the various case studies highlight in the museum. These activists over the years who have fought for peace by advocating for freedom of speech (economic status, race, gender), equal representation (economic status, race, gender), an invitation to participate equitably in the legislative process and the access to equal rights for all. Provocative questions ran throughout the exhibition...
While there, I purchased this book by William Smallwood (pictured above) who was the first reporter to arrive and document the events from primary source survivors. Following this short visit to the Basque Country, I began to get to know my neighbors in my urbanización [apartment complex] while lounging at our common pool area together. I learned that several of my neighbors grew up abroad and only returned to Spain in the late 70's following the death of Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo 'Franco' Bahamonde (November 20, 1975), the former General and dictator of Spain since 1939. At work, I began to listen deeply to my Spanish colleagues and the families. I began to see that there are histories, wounds and conflicting beliefs that continue to create tension points for the Spanish around me. The Spanish film industry continues to tell stories about the past and I highly recommend these:
Hopes for a Sustainable World As an international educator now for over 22 years, I have internalized a more global perspective that seeks to understand other cultures, countries and peoples rather than to categorize, label and de-value them through "othering" or by using a deficits-based lens. Over time, I have felt increasingly connected to the cultures and countries who have welcomed me to contribute to their society through residency. Now, I see the world increasingly intertwined, as interdependent sectors who can support and benefit from one another for a sustainable global future. I find myself fully aligned with the ideals of the United Nations as stated in these documents below: Universal Declaration of Human Rights UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Secondly, I recognize that I stand on the shoulders of so many women who came before me to fight for equal rights - the right to citizenship independent of a man, the right to vote, to own property, to have a bank account, to drive a vehicle, to travel independently, to determine a career path... it is a long list for certain. Current global events challenge the very fabric of what I have taken for granted - the norms of honor, integrity, respect and global collaboration ever since the formation of NATO and the end of World War II. If we all have human rights, why do governments exclude demographics and excuse themselves from obligations to honor those rights with distinct people groups? Look at the following timeline:
 Global norms are shifting, cracking and begin to break down. The world as we know it may be changing beyond what Artificial Intelligence is changing. As an expat, it is hard to believe and accept. I am unable to accept the increasing rhetoric of hate as well as the ostracizing tactics that I hear coming from politicians in the country of my birth, the USA. What does one do in the face of polarizing political rhetoric? Or the dehumanizing actions by government officials who we expect to protect us? Or the outright aggression that results in wars?
The nagging in the back of my brain returns to the concept of peace. And the ways we can guide our students to be inquirers into the concept of peace. We cannot hide our students from what is happening in the world. One action international educators can take is to use the current events as points for an inquiry into peace.  Position Statement – Strand D: Leadership, Management, and Teacher Development
“Alliance for International Education World Conference 2025” hashtag#AIE2025 Our schools must be places where young people and our wider communities experience and demonstrate peace, social justice, and equity not as abstract ideals, but as lived realities shaping their daily learning and growth. As leaders, researchers, and educators within international education, we affirm our collective responsibility to embody peace, social justice, and equity in both vision and practice. Leaders play a pivotal role in ensuring that these values are not only articulated in mission statements but lived daily within our institutions. Together, we commit to leading with courage, compassion, and integrity, ensuring that international education remains a force for peace, justice, and shared humanity
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AuthorAs an international educator, I work with colleagues in my local and global network regularly to implement inquiry through concept-based approaches to learning and teaching. It is a journey of discovery, learning and growing our own understandings about the ways children learn. Categories
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