In this article, Gera-Klijnsma, the parent of a Third Culture Kid (TCK) and international educator with the experience of 10 international moves on four continents and two re-entries is interviewed by Natasha Winnard, an international youth empowerment consultant and parent of a globally mobile teenager.
Describe your TCK context.
Our two daughters were born in the 1990s, while we were living abroad. It wasn’t until the year 2000, during our first home posting, when we joined an international school, that I first heard the term Third Culture Kids (TCK), and realized that I had two children who fit the description. They had already spent their entire childhood in cultures outside their passport country. A few months later I heard David Pollock speak about his research into TCK’s, and that was the moment that changed my life. I wanted to know more, and learn how I could guide my own children through the rocky waters of growing up between cultures. I joined the newly started Transition Program Team at our school, and together with other moms we developed workshops for parents where they were introduced to the world of TCK’s, but also their own world of moving internationally: experiencing culture shock, leaving, and being left behind. David Pollock and Ruth van Reken’s book Third Culture Kids, Growing Up Among Worlds became my “bible.”
The Transition Program Team worked hard at familiarizing the entire school community with the challenges of global mobility, preparing not only students and their parents, but also the international teachers, as well as the local staff, who may not have moved themselves but work with those who have/are. I am very pleased to say that 25 years later that Transition Team is still going strong. Since those first years, I have read many more books on TCK’s and moving internationally, attended conferences, and joined organizations that focus on assisting globally mobile families thriving in their expat experience.
How has your TCK experience influenced your work in schools?
When we moved again in 2005, having experienced what a difference it made to our school and community, I saw the need for a similar program in our new international school. I started a Transition Team, which 15 years later, is still successful. After repatriating once more, I was lucky enough to return to our international school where I was able to continue my work with the Transition Team, now called A Safe Harbour. In 2024, I was very fortunate to be able to participate in the Safe Passage Across Networks (SPAN) Laws of Transition Certificate Course. As this course is a wonderful tool for transition teams in international schools, this certification brought my passion for advocating for TCK’s in international schools as well as globally mobile parenting full circle.
Were there any aspects of being the parent of TCKs that you found particularly hard?
As a monocultural parent who grew up on a tiny island, it was difficult for me to imagine how the constant moving influenced their sense of wellbeing and belonging, and how the changing of cultures, languages, and international schools, the saying goodbye and being left behind, would have a tremendous impact on their growing up. I always thought that moving internationally would only broaden their horizon. And although it certainly does, I had no idea how hard it could be for them to constantly have to adjust to a changing environment. Once I learned about TCK’s, they were already pre-teens. I still find it hard to think that I wasn’t able to help them navigate these changes, nor their constantly changing world, just because I had never experienced a move myself, let alone an international one. I always knew what home was- on my little island where my parents lived - but never realized that I was not able to truly give this most important sense of belonging to my own children when they needed it most. I am very proud to say that they both found their own sense of home, and have both settled down in a place that is both national and international, working for global companies where they travel the world and, thanks to the current social media, they can reconnect with friends from a distance or recent past, celebrating their international childhood.
On reflection, what guidance would you give to educators working with parents of TCKs?
I would most strongly advise any educators to please be aware of the special challenges that TCK’s and their families experience. If you are an international educator yourself, especially when you have a family of your own, who moves with you, then you know it is not a matter of fact to “just adjust.” Yes, it is wonderful that your children and students get to travel the world, visit the most wonderful places that contemporaries in their passport countries can only dream of, know first hand what it is like to live in cultures that are totally different to where their parents grew up, and therefore get a world view that few are lucky enough to experience. But, there is a down side: the only constant in their lives is change. They do not have a home like the one you grew up with. Not every child is as good in adapting, and especially those who are not can suffer from having to move all the time, leaving their best friends, trying to make new ones in an alien place, or being left behind while their best friend is leaving.
I would strongly advise educators to familiarize themselves with the phenomenon of TCK’s, as they are sitting in their classrooms, and may be so confused with the effects of constantly moving that they might not have their focus on learning, as they are struggling with their (or their parents’) emotional wellbeing, having to say goodbye, or summoning up the energy to say hello. When a student seems not able to absorb your lessons, please consider this possible struggle. It might be that your international school culture and way of learning and/or teaching is very different to what they are used to in their home culture, and they don’t know how to respond to your questions, or even understand what is expected of them. My advice, therefore, would be, if your school does not have a transition team yet, please start researching and find ways of bringing one to your school. It only takes one person to make a difference. Please be that person! It will make all the difference, not only to your students, but also to their families, and therefore ultimately to your school. A community that feels safe thrives, and, therefore, its school will thrive.
A very sincere thank you to Gera for sharing her experiences with us.
We often underestimate the full extent of the challenges globally mobile children and their families face. We all have so much more to learn together, home and school, to ensure that our children, and the children in our care, are healthy, happy and can thrive.
Read more about the TCK Journey: How a Global Childhood Shapes Teaching and Learning.
Gera Klijnsma is a Dutch repat, whose globally mobile life as a diplomatic spouse spans over 30 years, living in Brussels, Dhaka, Pretoria and Cape Town, Sana’a, Abu Dhabi, Kingston, Jakarta and London, while raising two TCK’s, who attended 5 international schools before moving back to their passport countries for their tertiary education.
Although Gera was a dedicated volunteer in most countries she lived in, she was lucky enough to work at international schools, where she was part of, started, and/or led transition teams, ensuring positive transitions care to the entire school community.
Recently retired, Gera’s aim now is to be the person she would have loved to have had when she needed it most: supporting (new) globally mobile accompanying spouses and their families, as well as sharing her experience with international school transition teams.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gera-klijnsma-36140010/
Natasha Winnard has come across many amazing young people in more than 20 years as an international educator, guidance and college counselor, and mentor in schools in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America. She is a facilitator for the Counselor Training Center, currently teaching the course Mental Health and Wellbeing in International Schools. Natasha Winnard Consultancy provides holistic, personalized guidance for young people and their families looking for support in the world of international education.
