Begin Again | TIE Newsletter 13 August 2025 | The International Educator (TIE Online)

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TIE NEWSLETTER

13 August 2025

NAVIGATING IN POLARIZING TIMES

Managing Polarities

By Jennifer Abrams

In uncertain, polarized times, leaders can model emotional maturity by managing tensions thoughtfully and fostering balance, curiosity, and connection... more

Bringing the Real World In: A Case for Short, Frequent Guest Speakers

By Michael Kramer

Bringing the real world into the classroom through guest speakers deepened engagement, improved learning, and showed that less can be more... more

Begin With Belonging

By Courtney Primus

Some simple, connection-centered activities to help you start the term with a focus on belonging, identity, and growth… more

Moving Internationally Over 40

By James Mattiace

A personal guide to navigating international moves and finding good friends in new countries after the age of 40… more

PEARLS OF WISDOM

Reflect on Wellbeing

By Steve Petraglia

In this Pearl, Steve shares a reminder that cuts through the noise of back-to-school planning: prioritize wellbeing, both yours and your students’... more

The Coaching We Never Got: One School’s Experiment in Supporting Parents

By Will Warren

Romerike International School offered coaching to support parents, not parenting—fostering wellbeing, reflection, and community through an impactful initiative... more

NEURODIVERSITY IN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

Eryn Harnesses Creativity and Passion (Bipolar)

By Diana Rosberg and Bridget McNamer

Eryn uses her bipolar diagnosis to leverage creativity, feedback, and self-awareness to lead effectively, proving neurodiversity can strengthen school leadership... more

Ethical AI: Why the Monkey in the Middle Matters

By Bill Tolley

Ethical, purposeful AI integration empowers students as decision-makers, cultivating agency and critical thinking through inquiry-driven learning… more

Empowering Young Creators

By Regina Maniaci and Grade 5 students

Through skill-based mini-lessons, students build confidence in techniques, media, and visual storytelling while exploring ideas that matter to them... more

The PTC Offers New Online Course: Leading Recruitment in International Schools

This four-week online course challenges outdated norms and introduces a refreshed, evidence-based approach to recruitment... more

What Happens When We Trust Them?

By Rachel Caldwell

AISB students led a mission redesign, empowered by trust, shaping a purpose-driven vision: “Think Fearlessly. Act with Kindness. Shape Tomorrow”... more

RETHINKING PODCAST

The Truth About the Attention Crisis With Historian Daniel Immerwahr

By Adam Grant

In this episode, Adam and Daniel dive into evidence that what’s changing is not our attention spans, but the objects of our focus... more

From the (Virtual) Room: Instructional Supervision Trends We Can’t Ignore

By Lianne Dominguez

While most educators were taking a well-earned summer pause, a cohort of school leaders and instructional coaches from across the globe chose something different: to sit in a virtual room, for seven days, to confront the messy, emotional, and often misunderstood world of instructional supervision and evaluation... more

A New Dawn Beyond University

By Shwetangna Chakrabarty

What if I say do not go to university for the next two years? How would you react? Let me explain. In a world rattled by wars, economic instability, political polarization, and technological disruption, the once-stable institution of higher education is on shaky ground. For students considering entering university soon, this may be the moment to pause... more

This Is Learning

By Matthew Piercy

To learn is not to watch. To learn is to do. To fail and try again. To feel the cold water and the burning sun. To fish and not catch. To pitch a tent, use the fly as a ground tarp and to be “swimming” in your sleeping bag. This is learning. I wrote this in the last article I posted back in May. Little did I recognize that two months later I would co-lead 17 teens on a three-week trip across Croatia and Slovenia. We hiked, biked, kayaked, white water rafted, zip lined, and camped. This WAS learning... more

The Hidden Reality of Edtech Work

By Matt Brady

As I look ahead to the new year, I’m stepping back from traditional “edtech coaching” goals toward something that feels more authentic to the work I actually do, and what’s most needed in my schools: building collaborative infrastructure/capacity... more

Not a Ladder, but Waves on the Beach

By Nicholas Alchin

We all know that examination times can be fraught. Even when they are not public ‘high stakes’ exams, everyone wants to do well, and so things can feel pressured. When they have not done as well as they would have liked, students can sometimes feel, that they are not making the progress they want, or even that they are moving backwards. That can be uncomfortable... more