The Foreign Service Journal, June 2021

62 JUNE 2021 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL EDUCATION SUPPLEMENT if it will help to support students and their families. Find a way to say yes, and if you can’t, then explore and act on how to change the regulation. Travel allowance. Parents who send their children back to boarding school face the decision to have their children travel solo, or (since all are not able to travel alone) accompany them. Board- ing schools now have new quarantine requirements, at times requiring a hotel stay off-campus. There is no allowance for this. Education allowance. If families determine it is in the best interest of their child to repeat a year because of the learning difficulties accrued during the pandemic, find a way for the educa- tion allowance to cover it. Parents and their children do not make such deci- sions lightly—trust them. Stories of Resilience Dr. Robert Brooks, a psychologist who has spent his career researching resilience in kids, states that “islands of competency” can be a great predictor of flexibility and tenacity in young people. That is, do they have hobbies and interests they can pursue? Where do they excel? Do they have a portable skill or talent that allows them to connect with others? Is there a way to translate their favorite extracurricular activity into something that works even in a pandemic? Stories abound of FS students who have led clubs and organizations in schools, performed theater and musical ensembles online, created studio art projects, engaged in service projects and political activism, raised money for those in need, volunteered, stepped up to help out family members, took courses online, learned a new skill, got paying jobs or internships—and more. Though the pandemic created per- sonal challenges our kids have never experienced before, the way so many have persevered and risen to the occa- sion is nothing short of inspirational. n RESOURCES Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds By David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken Raising Global Teens: A Practical Handbook for Parenting in the 21st Century By Dr. Anisha Abraham Emotional Resilience and the Expat Child: Practical Storytelling Techniques That Will Strengthen the Global Family By Julia Simens Raising Kids in the Foreign Service By Associates of the American Foreign Service Worldwide (Author), Leah Morefield Evans (Editor) The Emotionally Resilient Expat: Engage, Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures By Linda A. Janssen “Promoting Your Child’s Emotional Health,” The Foreign Service Journal , June 2011, Semiannual School Supplement, p. 73. International School Counselor Association Website: https://iscainfo.com Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence: https://www.ycei.org American School Counselor Association: https://www.schoolcounselor.org