Interbeing

How can we work with our students to understand their political and cultural identities in a world of constant change? In this episode, we’re joined by three educators to discuss the domain of political economy, identity, privilege and culture with a futures focus.Loretta Smith is an educator with more than 20 years of experience in international schools. She grew up between cultures, moving several times during her childhood. She is also the mother of two multi-racial, Cross Culture Kids. Her experiences of straddling several cultures as a child, adult, parent and educator have made her aware of how people negotiate belonging in different spaces. This tension drives her curiosity, inquiry and research into belonging. Her study on young children’s perceptions of belonging in culturally, ethnically and linguistically diverse settings is a part of the recently published Handbook of Research on Critical Issues and Global Trends in International Education. Loretta has the privilege of serving the Frankfurt International School Wiesbaden Campus as their associate principal and curriculum coordinator.The Acting Head of Primary at Renaissance College, Hong Kong, Jason Doucette is originally from Prince Edward Island, Canada. He has worked in Hong Kong since 2002, in various kindergartens and primary schools, as a teacher, Head Teacher, PYP Coordinator and Vice Principal. Jason is a member of the IB Educator Network (workshop leader), an IB School Visiting Team Member, and a qualified Performance Coach. When not spending time with his wife and three young children, he enjoys reading, exercising, and travelling.A grown up third culture child, British by birth, but raised in Hong Kong, dual British/Canadian citizen, Neil Scott has taught in South Korea, Qatar, Ontario Canada, and now in Hong Kong. He has 16 years experience in education and is currently finishing up an M.Ed. He is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lead at Kennedy School, Hong Kong.Our guests shared the following resources - Sylvia Duckworth’s Wheel of Power and Privilege - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Wheel-of-Power-Privilege-and-Marginalization-by-Sylvia-Duckworth-Used-by-permission_fig1_364109273Emily Meadow’s Wheel for International Schools - https://www.cois.org/about-cis/perspectives-blog/blog-post/~board/perspectives-blog/post/can-diversity-equity-and-belonging-initiatives-create-division-in-schools-and-a-framework-to-help--------------------------------------Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.comContact the team about our Futures-Focused Pledge at https://zcal.co/t/makingstuffbetter/talktotheteamYou can find us on Linked in atMatt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Many international schools are working hard on confronting issues of inequality, justice and global politics. Involving the wider school community can be challenging without a guide or a framework to follow. Our guest in this episode, Homa Tavanger, poses some thoughtful questions to start the conversation.In this wide-ranging discussion, we talk about student activism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, thinking about the future in a liminal age, and confronting colonial heritage. Homa Tavangar is the co-founder of the Big Questions Institute and the Oneness Lab.She brings 30+ years’ experience helping diverse organizations and individuals to build cultural, racial and global competence, strategic governance, and visionary, generative leadership in diverse schools and organizations. She coaches leaders on accountability for equity, leading through crisis, and advises on strategic design and planning across five continents. She has co-authored seven books for educators, and is the author of best-selling Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World (published by Random House) and Global Kids (Barefoot Books). Her most recent publication is 12 Big Questions Schools Must Answer to Create Irresistible Futures with Will Richardson (forthcoming, 2025).A graduate of UCLA and Princeton, Homa was born in Iran, has lived on four continents, speaks four languages, and has heritage in four world religions. She serves on several Boards, including ISS (International Schools Services) and is a judge for the Templeton Prize, considered the “world’s most interesting prize” with a purse calibrated to exceed the Nobel Prize. She is married and the mother of three adult daughters, and resides in Villanova, Pennsylvania.--------------------------------------Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.comContact the team about our Futures-Focused Pledge at https://zcal.co/t/makingstuffbetter/talktotheteamYou can find us on Linked in atMatt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/ 

How are the opportunities and challenges that come with the future of technology being felt in schools? This episode, we’re joined by three educators, Rachael Thrash, Yasmine Aslam-Hashmi and Rory Douglas, to discuss futures focussed technology in education.Rachael Thrash is the CEO and Co-Founder of Belong Hub, student leadership kits and services that guide adults and students to collaboratively create a belonging-centered school culture.  Rachael is a school leader and master teacher with 20+ years experience in the field of education.  With a Masters from Brown University, she has taught and led initiatives in independent US schools, public community colleges, and international IB schools, most recently the International School of Helsinki in Finland.Yasmine Aslam-Hashmi is an international school educator with over 18 years of experience. She has taught in Canada, South Korea, Vietnam and Switzerland where she currently resides. Having taken on multiple roles within schools as a teacher, department head, curriculum developer, instructional coach, and an academic and action researcher – Yasmine is an inclusive and equitable schools' specialist, with additional specialist in learning support and teaching English to multilingual learners. She has taught middle school Mathematics, Science, Learning Support, English as an Additional Language, and Grade 11 and 12 Theory of Knowledge. She is currently a co-facilitator for the ECIS DEIJ Leadership Development Cohort, and is teaching at an international school in Zurich, Switzerland.Rory Douglas currently serves as the Innovation and Learning Coach at Kennedy School in Hong Kong. He has been working with the ESF schools group in Hong Kong for the past 6 years, 3 at Beacon Hill School and 3 at Kennedy, as a Year 5 & 6 teacher. Before that he worked as Head of Early Years in East London, before making the move to Hong Kong. He is an ESF Centre for Research Fellow and also spends time supporting classes across the school in STEM subjects.Our guests shared the following resources - "We are in the midst of a historical transformation. Current times are not just part of normal history." Sohail Inayatullah, ed., The Views of Futurists. Vol 4, The Knowledge Base of Futures Studies. Brisbane, Foresight International, 2001.Jonathan Haidt:  The Anxious GenerationThe Right Question Institute https://rightquestion.org/10 to 25: A Groundbreaking Approach to Leading the Next Generation—And Making Your Own Life Easier by David YeagerTechnology & Ethos - Vol. 2 Book of Life by Imamu Amiri Baraka (LeRoi Jones)The TIM - Technology Integration Matrix - https://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/Where Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson--------------------------------------Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.comYou can find us on Linked in atMatt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

For many, contemplation of the technological domain, the massive swift growth of generative AI, for example, comes with fear and trepidation. So we’re delighted to be joined today by Tricia Friedman, who brings calm, inspiration and fun to the challenge of imagining future technologies.In this conversation we talk about not just generative AI, but also cross species communication, mobile phone bans in schools, and how to involve everyone in the conversation about technological change.Tricia Friedman (she/her) is a long-time educator who has worked in the US, China, Thailand, Morocco, Ukraine, Indonesia, Switzerland, Singapore and now currently lives in Canada. She’s founder of Allyed.org and Director of Learning and Strategy with Shifting Schools. Tricia is an avid podcaster, you can catch her on Be a Better Ally, Unhinged Collaboration, Shifting Schools, and if you listen closely you might occasionally hear her dog weigh in too.Connect with her on LinkedIn where you’ll catch her talking about the intersection of #AILiteracy #InformationLiteracy #MediaLiteracy and how #DEIJ is integral to those literacies and leadership.https://www.linkedin.com/in/tricia-friedman-allyed --------------------------------------Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.comYou can find us on Linked in atMatt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

For our introduction to season 3, we’re delighted to be joined by Patrick Alexander from Oxford Brookes University. Over the summer we’ve been working with Patrick to research and create a new collaborative paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools.We intend this to be a provocation to leaders, to think differently about the future of education and their role in the creation of this future.Today we’ll be talking through the key concepts and tools within the paper, and posing some questions for you to ponder as you listen to season three. In this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world, how can you develop the future literacies needed to lead the school of today into tomorrow?Dr. Patrick Alexander is Professor of Education and Anthropology at Oxford Brookes University, where he is also Research Lead for Education and Chair of the Children and Young People’s Research Network. Patrick’s research focuses on the anthropology of schooling, concepts of the future, and the professional learning of school leaders and teachers. Find him on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-alexander-1082803/--------------------------------------Find out more about MSB and download our paper, Futures-Focused Leadership for International Schools, at www.makingstuffbetter.comYou can find us on Linked in atMatt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Welcome to the Principled podcast.In this episode, Matt Hall and Naomi Ward of Making Stuff Better are joined by Dee Lanier, Lead Learning Designer at Lanier Learning and Education Coach for Samsung Education. Award winning TEDX speaker and author of Demarginalising Design, Dee Lanier is dedicated to co-designing equitable learning experiences for school leaders, staff, and students, and helping schools to implement technology in meaningful ways.They discuss design thinking as a mindset, the importance of empathy, and solving the problem ‘with’ versus ‘for’.How can we find out what really matters to the communities in and around schools to create an environment of change and development? Might there be a disconnect between what leaders and administrators recognise as challenges, and what the community they lead recognise as challenges? How can we begin to bridge that gap?--------------------------------------To get in touch with Dee, you can find him online here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deelanier/Demarginalising Design: https://www.amazon.com/Demarginalizing-Design-Elevating-Problem-Solving/dp/0578286556Lanier Learning: https://www.lanierlearning.com/The Liberated Educator podcast: https://wavve.link/LiberatedPod/episodes--------------------------------------To get in touch, please find us online here:Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=enAdditional links to follow:Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Gill Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillkelly/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Nicholas Janni, renowned speaker and author, discusses leadership as healers and the impact of childhood trauma on leadership. They explore the power of reverence, intuition, and connection. The conversation delves into unlocking connected, intentional leadership and improving organizational health.

Shane Leaning, international school leadership and organisational development coach, joins Matt Hall and Naomi Ward to discuss cultural differences in communication, decision making, authority, and criticism in international schools. They explore the power of a coaching-style approach to leadership and the importance of adaptability and curiosity in navigating intercultural challenges.

Welcome to the Principled podcast.In this episode, Matt Hall and Naomi Ward of Making Stuff Better are joined by Ryan Persaud, school leader at VERSO International School, a “school of the future” in Thailand.  They discuss overcoming barriers and leading with courage, authenticity, and purpose; the importance of returning to the vision; and the power of mentorship.What is culturally responsive leadership and how can leadership teams in international schools foster it? What role does our bias and our privilege play in how we lead and influence others?--------------------------------------To get in touch with Ryan, you can find him online here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-persaud/VERSO International School: https://www.verso.ac.th/--------------------------------------To get in touch, please find us online here:Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=enAdditional links to follow:Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Gill Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillkelly/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/

Welcome to the Principled podcast.In this episode, Gill Kelly and Naomi Ward of Making Stuff Better are joined by Candice Smith, meeting & workshop facilitator, coach, and founder of The Thinking Field, through which she helps leaders to “create cultures of collaboration, inclusion, belonging and innovation.”They discuss the responsibility we have to acknowledging the influence of previous generations, the importance of intentionality in setting up organisations that help our bodies and minds to thrive, and the tension between building profit and building a culture of thinking.What is a ‘thinking environment’ and how can we actively create one? What is the role of collaboration, deep listening, and connection in this mission? How much damage can interrupting someone really do?--------------------------------------To get in touch with Candice, you can find her online here:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candice-smith-a76944a/The Thinking Field: https://www.thethinkingfield.com/--------------------------------------To get in touch, please find us online here:Website: https://makingstuffbetter.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/makingstuffbetterltd/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Makstubet/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingstuffbetter/?hl=enTwitter: https://twitter.com/stuff_better?lang=enAdditional links to follow:Matt Hall: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-hall-msb/Gill Kelly: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gillkelly/Naomi Ward: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-ward-098a1535/