What is the sum of an experience that takes an educator across the world and immerses them in the systems, culture, and policies of that country?
Perhaps, it is simply transformation.
It is a difficult thing to try and convey the bevy of emotions that surface once your feet step into a school, a university, or a college that is not your own; especially one in another country. The tip-tap of your shoes on the tile floors sound the same. The students’ laughter and their huddled cliques and clusters look familiar. Passing periods endure. Backpacks press down on shoulders. Bulletin boards, monitors, whiteboards, or chalkboards all carry the weight of wonder and new information no matter the language. But despite your sense of knowing this place– knowing schools and education– the leader inside of you (the wanderer and explorer) knows this peek behind the curtain is special. You are a welcomed guest, an ambassador of the United States and its own educational system, now privileged enough to sit with leaders in Portugal and Spain to learn about their approach, their values, and the intersection of their systems on teaching and learning.
This past year, I had the grand opportunity to be part of the AESA Global Leadership Academy. Over the course of 12 months, I convened with 25 chosen leaders of educational state agencies across the country as we embarked to prepare for a culminating trip to Portugal and Spain. The cohort-experience brought us to Washington, D.C. this past fall to engage with legislators on topics most pertinent to our schools on a national and local level. For my Illinois school districts, that meant immigration, concerns regarding ICE, and federal funding. Our cohort later convened in early December to discuss other national topics of relevance and the endeavors of our unique organizations. It was clear to us all that our most significant undertaking as administrators of educational state agencies was to amplify our voices (and those of the administrators we support), build partnerships, and realize our impact through clear goals and agency. We dove into our own personal narratives and how they were the catalyst of our work; bringing to the surface the human elements that could move our students into the future equipped to wrestle, dissect, and resolve the challenges that would taunt future generations.
The AESA Leadership Academy allowed us to connect these moments of realization and further our curiosity about the world (and other educational systems) by examining not only ourselves and our U.S. educational ecosystem, but those that exist within Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain.
Beyond the discrete conversations about government subsidized college or university tuition, we literally broke bread with presidents of higher-education institutions, university department chairs, and nonprofit executives to mull over the hurdles being faced in Europe. No surprise, the issues our students faced in the U.S. were the same pain-points of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe: mental health concerns, exponential advances in AI, and our obligation to environmental awareness and sustainability. “We are the lungs of Europe,” said many proud Portuguese people, as they showed off their crops of fresh fruits, vegetables, and olives. Plush, greener-than-green hillsides cradled town after town. And in Spain, the heritage passed down through the architecture, the music, art, and fashion yielded colorful school tapestries and confident students declaring the impact they would one day have on the world.
Topical issues reverberated and seemed to be woven into nearly every conversation. Inadequate minimum wage and the rising costs of goods and services were on the minds of many, as well. A helping of paella, a side of jamón Ibérico or a croquette made any troubles of the day all the more digestible. It’s true. The food, the language, the culture, the sites, the kindness, all became part of the experience and the learning. They became part of us and what we would essentially bring back home; our souvenirs.
The exchange was beyond words. We gave our time and our interest over to our professional colleagues in Portugal and Spain. This giving and receiving in kind came back to us, and like a wave the sharing of ideas and initiatives rolled in and out, back and forth among us.
Returning to my office after these 12 days, a surge of energy moved many of us to continue the conversations about how we might be able to establish programs allowing our students and educators the similar gift of visiting schools, universities, and organizations abroad. But how does one rationalize the time away from our roles and in the case of a student, their classes? What is the measurable impact of an encounter like the one with the AESA Global Leadership Academy? There is no data to justify my experience. There is no way to quantify what I have gained. There is no measurable outcome I can offer, other than I am changed. I am more aware; more informed and conscious. I look for the details in our work and elicit pointed questions with a more detailed eye for the educational underpinnings that make us all alike and different simultaneously.
If I had to pick one thing, the most cherished keepsake from this experience, it would be perspective. I have gained a perspective that can only fully be understood when I look into the face of a student, an educator, or a leader. A keen awareness of not only the facts and the statistics that prop up a country, but also the feelings behind thoughts and issues, decisions, celebrations, pride, and even hurt. Perspective is a widening of the tunnel. It allows people– no matter the direction they are traveling or the place from which they came– the opportunity to discover a path they might not have known even existed. Perspective meets potential meets tomorrow.
Gratitude (obrigada and gracias) to AESA for organizing this amazing experience
