by Lindsey Groves
Approximately one year ago I made the decision to pack up a handful of my belongings, put the rest in storage and set off on an adventure in Asia. I took a position teaching art and literature at an American school in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Teaching has turned out to be everything I expected and nothing at all that I expected. It has impacted my world and my view of the world at large to an intense degree. In light of the work I had been doing with This Is ME before I left on my adventure, I think I’ve looked at this experience from a unique perspective. It has been rewarding to know our students and learn about what drives them and what discourages them.
I think all schools are a community and should encourage their students to respect and contribute to their community in a positive light, but sometimes I feel that it is especially important to push this in our school. We have a small and culturally diverse student body that is comprised of 60 students ranging in age from 8 to 18 that hail from: Taiwan, Korea, Malaysia, France, Canada, South Africa, and the United States. Our students speak anywhere from 2-4 languages a piece. Some of them have grown up in Taiwan. Some of them have been living abroad for several years now. Some of them are brand new to this ‘international community’. As an adult I found the transition difficult. So I couldn’t help but think – growing up is hard and growing up while throwing one of the following into the mix: a new school, in a new country, in a potentially new or second language with students that span several different continents and several wildly different cultures, must be even harder. Especially for those students in the (often dreaded) Middle School age range. You’re struggling through the formation of a physical self. You’re struggling through the formation of peer relationships. School is getting intellectually harder. Your teachers and your parents are expecting you to have more self-discipline and to properly manage your own time and increased work load. Would there be some sense of general camaraderie among the students as they navigate an environment that could easily feel alienating? Would this cause a greater divide among them? With all the sincere and overwhelming stress that I felt these students might face, would they have less time to be concerned with the superficial pressures of the world and their peers? I am here to tell you, for the most part: teens still have plenty of time to be concerned with the superficial no matter their home country, current location, cultural background, appearance, or native language.
As a group my middle schoolers have struggled, academically and socially, this year. I have seen the most struggles with our female middle school students though. As someone who has worked with girls in this age range previously and who conveniently used to BE a girl in this age range, I empathize with them. They get angry with each other. They become jealous of each other. The new girl comes to town and regardless of whether she is actually cooler or just new; she attracts attention and rearranges alliances. They compete with each other. They lash out at each other when they don’t know what to do with or don’t understand their own emotions. They’re afraid of being embarrassed. They’re hard on themselves. They suffer extreme insecurities. They succumb to gossip. They want boyfriends. They read fashion magazines. A girl’s idea about beauty and popularity and what it means to be a girl might vary and be unique based on her individual cultural background – but they all have ideas about beauty and popularity and what it means to be a girl and these things influence them and can breed disappointment.
My observations may seem totally apparent to some readers. Some of you may be out there shaking your heads and thinking “of course girls around the globe share the same struggles!” I’d traveled previously and considered myself to have a well-rounded, cultured and observant head on my shoulders. I am learning so much about the world and humanity here though. I believe living abroad is an experience everyone should have. My students’ struggles with each other have been wearing and emotional for me at times. It’s hard to build a relationship with these girls, see parts of yourself in them, and see them struggle. I sometimes find it comforting though too. It doesn’t just make me realize that there is a certain sense of unity among girls and women (and people) everywhere, it makes me FEEL it. I wish every girl in the world could know what how that feels. We are not so far from each other in our ideals and concerns and questions and self doubt.
What another great reason for us to get out in the world and our communities and help each other through the rough spots. Not that we needed another reason other than, just to help each other through the rough spots.
