Identity is a complicated thing

Today was my first day getting to see a bit of life at the school.  Sure, there have been delightful breakfasts and meetings and opportunities to meet colleagues.  But today was new family orientation (featuring around 100 families) and the middle school peer helpers were there along with middle school tech leaders.  I had forgotten how funny middle school kids can be.  Between the two groups, there were about 50 students - including new middle school students - and there was energy abounding.  While I had no specific role as of yet, I have agreed to help with the peer helpers and the separate tech club after school.  I am excited to have direct contact time with students and to be back in a community.  Today was a breath of - well - pre-teen air though, that's for sure.

Sol, the original tech integrationist in our position and my partner, began with taking the tech leaders and having them make short videos about the Responsible Use Plan for our Macbook Airs that we are handing out this week.

Sol with the Tech Leaders 

After they finished their videos, many of these students continued on to be peer helpers for the new students who had arrived for orientation today.  This was a bit more of a rambunctious group.  They did some important things like getting their schedules, their locker combinations, and working through some of the groups to meet new students.  It was all kinds of awkward though.  There were several kids who were just standing on their own, there was the group of girls who were at the top of the social food chain, it was real life middle school (which I haven't been privvy to in years) unfolding right before my eyes.  Luckily, I'm awkward enough to jump in and talk to whomever, so that's what I did.  

Here's the group of new kids and peer helpers in one of the commons areas

Part of the time with the new students was to meet new kids and then introduce them to the group.  What a fascinating exercise.  It's one that play out in classrooms across the world, but is especially interesting to me as a new staff member in an international school for the first time.  The kids were "from" all over the world - Argentina, China, Venezuela, Poland, the United States, Canada, Vietnam, but their identity is not something that can be described in a 20 minute name game.  Though one particular kid was born in Connecticut, he told me "but I've never been there so it's not actually home." Which is fascinating because by default - if he were born there, he had been there though his point was not lost on me.  He considers himself Polish because though he was born in the states, he has spent most of his time here, but speaks perfect fluent English (and Polish).  His mom is Polish and his dad is from "the UP."  He was not so thrilled with his summer because the town they stay in while in Michigan doesn't have a Buffalo Wild Wings and "that's why people go to the US, isn't it?"  

The introductions of students to one another is a seemingly innocuous first day activity, but brings about perspectives, cultural differences and understandings that I have never encountered and I'm fascinated to learn more.  It's got to be interesting to be some of these kids.  In a way, they're more worldly than many people I know.  At the same time, I bet there is a lot of pressure on them.  They have made a significant adjustment in their lives as I have, but they're 11, 12 and 13.  One student I talked to came here from the states, and had never been out of his state.  Can you imagine?  Granted, every day school life is fairly similar to what it would have been in back in the USA, but jimminy christmas.  When they consider where they are from, they can include where they were born, where they have lived and who their relatives are mixed with experiences that drive their lives.  That's a lot to boil down to a one place answer to "where are you from?"  Incidentally, I was wearing my Minnesota necklace so there was no question where my identity and loyalty rests.  Though when I stop to consider things, my life was impacted tremendously when I lived in Hungary - even for that short time - and I wonder how I will juggle my developing identity as I incorporate my time, experiences and growth from living in Poland... 

Now, each time I ask a student where they are from, I will give them time to dig into the answer and give me time to understand how each of their experiences add to their concept of "home."