So let’s take a look at my living room bookshelves, shall we? In amongst the volumes of African fiction and non-fiction, political science, voluntary simplicity and environmentalism, biography, classics, personal essays and creative non-fiction (much of it travel literature), there’s Tales of Female Nomad by Rita Golden Gelman (hardcover). Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. Monkey Dancing, by Daniel Glick (hardcover).
70s crush, Timothy Bottoms.
Hmm. I’m detecting a trend here. Person/family leaves everything behind to travel the world/start new life overseas. No, I don’t have any surprises in store for Husband Dear, but I guess I have long entertained the fantasy/dream of ditching everything and moving overseas…or at least traveling for an extended period of time. (Does it say anything to you that I loved, loved, loved The Dove back in 1974?) I’ve spent a total of seven years of my life living overseas (six with Husband Dear) and as I’ve written here before, the only thing I have ever explicitly told my kids they must do is spend an extended period of time living overseas, be it high school exchange, gap year, junior year of college, Peace Corps….
Meanwhile, my downstairs bookshelf is weighted down with books about education and homeschooling and giftedness.
Enter The New Global Student: Skip the SAT, Save Thousands on Tuition and Get a Truly International Education by Maya Frost. Which had me at … the cover. Reading Frost’s book felt like being in a benevolent Vulcan mind meld or chatting with my upbeat new best friend. I devoured it.
Seamlessly combining my longheld vision of a life overseas and all my hardwon “radical” out-of-the-box educational notions/solutions/knowledge, Frost’s book coalesces the ideas and impulses that have been swirling around in my brain–and makes me want to do it all NOW.
Drat you Maya Frost!
Why? She’s kicking my snoozing dragon, that’s why. “The Plan” had always been for Husband Dear and me to bid the suburbs farewell and pursue international careers as soon as M. was in college. Over the years we’ve told the girls, more than half seriously, “When you’re out of here, we’re out of here.” But after reading The New Global Student I found myself spinning out different scenarios, accelerated timetables. Because if you’re already as far along as I am in questioning the whole educational industrial status quo, and in believing that we are in the midst of a fundamental global and societal shift–then what Frost lays out is simply the next logical move outside the box.
And what exactly is Frost saying?
- Step away from the herd. Step away from “doing time,” checking off the “right” extracurriculars and all the other “givens” of high school and college. Step away from the fear. To quote Twain: “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.
- It’s a whole new world (pity this year’s graduating journalism and finance majors)–and one that is ready and able to compete with us here in the US on all levels. Creativity, flexibility, initiative … these are the skills to cultivate in our kids, and the ones that will be rewarded in the future.
- Total immersion in another culture during the formative adolescent years is indeed crucial.
- And here, in an enthusiastic, step-by-step fashion, is how to do it.
C. actually grabbed the book before I started reading it. She has a pretty clear picture of what she needs to do to get where she wants to go, which includes university overseas. A few things, like IB, she’s already doing. But after reading The New Global Student she did for the first time express interest in doing a homestay exchange experience rather than just going solo somewhere, and she is now talking about wanting to have conversational Spanish in her skill set, something she pooh-poohed before. Meanwhile M. hasn’t even read the book yet, but just based on my oohs and ahhs she has taken to lobbying–hard–for us to move overseas sooner rather than later. In the past week there have been heated arguments with C. over whether we should move to somewhere in Latin America or to Thailand, whether Husband Dear should start a restaurant or be a CPA. “Mom,” she’s intoned, “I’m already out of school. And life here is stressful.”
Dear Husband is now in chapter two. Will be interesting to see his reaction.
Step away from the herd. Step away from “doing time,” checking off the “right” extracurriculars and all the other “givens” of high school and college. Step away from the fear. To quote Twain: “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
OMG, does this post speak to me! If I was less sensible, I’d stay up all night and chat with you about this. That whole outside the box thinking (I’m talking us, the parents), dismay over the whole industrial education complex, the “high achieving” high school with all the cookie cutters. Wow!
But it’s 12:51 am, DD is away, no homework pressures (perfectionist, can take a while) and I may as well cash in on the good times and hit the sack.
We’re going to have to have coffee IRL someday, J. And I think you’d like the book.
Thank you SO MUCH for this wonderful review! I am delighted that The New Global Student resonated with you. I apologize and/or cheer for wherever it takes you and your family!
Keep me posted—I’d love to hear about your process and the adventures that ensue, and I’m always happy to answer any questions.
Hugs,
Maya
Thanks for stopping by, Maya! Whatever happens, it will be here on the blog. And yes, we’ll definitely have to talk further.
It worked well for me growing up–got out of school, saw half of Europe and the US, parts of Africa, Mexico, and China, and most of the Caribbean before getting halfway into an undergraduate degree. I learned a decent amount of many languages, became accustomed to many different cultures, which has helped me with my research now, and learned a variety of other skills–sailing, mountain-climbing, Chinese medicine… I wouldn’t have traded the experiences for anything. The only question now between DH and me is whether we pack up the family and go to Latin America for a while (focus of his career) or to Africa (my focus) after I finish my MD/PhD. His childhood was similar, living in Mexico with family for many vacations and summers. I doubt either of us would have gotten to this point in our lives and careers if we would have done the traditional route and not discovered passions and tools while abroad.
OC sounds like you’ve packed some wonderful experiences into your life so far. It’s the kind of life I wish for my kids. Thanks for stopping by!
Funny how great minds think alike
You’re the second mom of a gifted student I know who had a similar reaction to mine after reading The New Global Student Here’s my friend Jennifer’s take on the book.
I believe I’ve mentioned this before, but one of the best experiences of my life was the summer I spent working as an au pair in Provence between high school and college.
My DH and I had a long conversation after I finished Ms. Frost’s book about the possibility of his spending a year at his firm’s London office so that our kids could travel through Europe. There’s precedent for his doing so, but he’d need to make partner first (he’s on track for that in 3-5 years). Keeping my fingers crossed!
Crimson, I strongly believe in listening to great minds and the universe
. It’s the gifted, the homeschooling, the global. A trifecta, my perfect storm.
London for a year sounds like a fabulous opportunity should the time come. Would love to see your take on life over there reflected in your comments across the blogosphere. I’ll cross my fingers for you.
This is the third time in a week this book has been thrown in my path. I guess I’d better pick it up.
Same goes for you Jenny! The universe speaks! I’m waiting to see it hit the profoundly gifted community…only a matter of time.
My daughter just got back from a trip to France where she spent a week attending a French school. I think she would have happily spent the whole two week trip just attending class at the lycee, especially if they’d have let her sit in on the S classes (she only got a chance to sit in on ES & L classes).
Now, there are rumblings about attending a Grand Ecole at some point. Hmmm.
I’ve reserved the book at our library — they have 5 copies on order, but none are in yet. I’m first in line. Thanks for the pointer.
Yes, coffee. Lunch would be better! Let’s do it. I WILL follow up on this soon. Busy two weeks while DD is away. Want to clear much stuff off my desk so I give her my undivided attention when she returns. Goodness knows I (she) needs it!
J.
Oh, wow, the author herself stopped by. What a treat! Hello, Maya! I cannot wait to read this book. It really resonates with me.
It’s the gifted, the homeschooling, the global. A trifecta, my perfect storm.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Maya, what you describe is, in effect, what I see in the gifted homeschool world. And it’s what led us to finally take that plunge the year before high school and how it’s taken me three years to get over leaving that behind, and how I’m still very much not over it.
Many of the gifted homeshooling families I know don’t have the money to truly follow their passions. But what they do, what we did, on a shoestring budget, was awesome.
Right here in Washington, DC, there is so much to do and learn for free. Just spending hours and hours each week in the library, almost daily field trips the Smithsonian, walks in the frozen woods while we dissected the finer points of Shakespeare, sunset and poetry at Huntley Meadows in Fairfax County; just doing all that, close to home, all free but already head and shoulders above what she would have gotten in school, the canned curriculum, the endless tedious hours of homework drudgery, the lock step approach, the compliance, the check off the box, the sleep deprivation. And all this in a GT Center!
Had we gone longer, somehow we would have found the opportunities for travel abroad. What we lack in money, we make up for in resourcefulness.
Thanks for posting about this book! I’m going on vacation and looking for a good read, and this sounds perfect. DH and I have discussed an overseas year for our DS when middle school hits (he’s just 5 now).
Although I did my study abroad stint really late (law school), it was still a fabulous experience to live in Paris and study at the Sorbonne.
And top of my list of things to do when I win the lottery: travel.
As noted in our twitter exchange our house is up for sale, DH is out of a job (I can do mine anywhere I get wifi, but don’t make enough to support us) and school is, well, iffy. I’m scared to pick up this book. Maybe if I get it for my husband he’ll finally get some wild ideas in his head, rather than them coming from me. Maybe I’ll thank you some day, LOL.
Kim, your bad news (job loss) could just turn into an amazing gift. Take your family and skip off somewhere!