Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds

by David C. Pollock

  Conceptualized in this manner, the kaigai/kikoku-shijo experience can indeed become a tremendous asset, but only if handled carefully. Parents have a heavy responsibility in this process, and should be concerned first and foremost by the emotional stability of their children, rather than by their own nebulous yearning for an “internationalized” offspring. In fact, I believe that children are better off not being regarded as international but feeling an insider in their own country, rather than the other way around.

  It is clear that “cross-pollination,” or learning from different approaches to the same phenomenon, can be extremely fruitful. On one hand, the study (and general perception) of kaigai/kikoku-shijos would greatly benefit from such a shift in focus. On the other hand, the study of third culture kids should also take into consideration the societal factors unique to each country of return, and how these can produce tremendous variations in the experience of those children.

  Tribute

  Remembering David C. Pollock

  by Betty Lou Pollock

  OUR DAUGHTER, MICHELLE POLLOCK BOWER, likened her father to a great spreading oak tree, having deep roots and spreading branches. How apt a picture. His roots rested deeply in the soil of faith and hope. David endured massive storms while providing rest, shade, and enabling for many; his networking resembled not only a root system to sustain him but to connect others who became more effective for their interrelatedness to him and others. David was a catalyst and connector; he was always pleased to foster growth and development in others. Branches do not thrive and grow expansive without strong roots.

  Many have asked how David became interested in third culture kids (TCKs). It was largely due to his exposure to internationals, international students and missionary kids, some of whom were also TCKs. Dave realized that “someone should do something for these people”—that is, to help them ameliorate the challenges and enhance the benefits of their mobile childhoods. Words of a Dutch diplomat years later underlined this. He said that the benefits (of being a TCK) are social; the challenges are personal. Yes, and if the personal challenges are addressed, people grow freer to use their talents and knowledge.

  David was equally at home behind a lectern in a Singaporean suit or running his chain saw in jeans frayed at the cuffs. He was comfortable in so many places in the world striving for cultural balance and assisting others in achieving that as well. Dave was a lifelong learner and was always proud of our family learning new things, even when we were separated due to his travels and life work. He loved teaching to make a positive difference.

  David never believed it was a bad thing for parents to live and work and raise cross-culturally. He did believe that preparation, intervention, and care could promote fewer shocks or trauma and greater health on all levels for entire families. He use to say that when TCKs were in charge of the world leadership, different decisions would be made, because he understood the heart and minds of those who know that humanness is universal. Can he know that Barack Obama was elected to lead the USA in 2008? Or that he has gathered around himself some high skilled and bright TCKs? Does he know how much he is missed?

  In April, 2004, David collapsed in the middle of presenting his TCK Profile to a group of teachers at the American International School in Vienna. He died nine days later, on April 11. Over many years and since his death, I have heard from countless TCKs who tell me how much David’s work changed their lives. We still feel the expanse, the spreading branches of that oak tree.

  NOTES

  CHAPTER 1

  1. Carolyn D. Smith, The Absentee American (New York: Alethia Publications, 1994).

  2. Brian Knowlton, “Americans Abroad Get an Advocacy Group in Congress,” International Herald Tribune, March 11, 2007.

  3. Graeme Hugo, “An Australian Diaspora?” International Migration 44 (1), 2006, 105–33.

  4. Ted Ward, “The MKs’ advantage: Three Cultural Contexts,” in Understanding and Nurturing the Missionary Family, edited by Pam Echerd and Alice Arathoon (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library, 1989), 57.

  CHAPTER 2

  1. Definition of TCK by David C. Pollock in The TCK Profile seminar material, Interaction, Inc., 1989, 1.

  2. Global Nomads International is an organization formed by Norma Mc-Caig in 1986 for TCKs of every background and nationality.

  3. Families in Global Transition is an organization that sponsors an annual conference for those living and working with globally mobile families of all sectors. See www.figt.org.

  4. Ruth Hill Useem, “Third Culture Kids: Focus of Major Study,” Newslinks, Newspaper of the International School Services 12, 3 (January 1993), 1.

  5. Ruth Hill Useem, “Third Cultural Factors in Educational Change,” in Cultural Factors in School Learning, edited by Cole Brembeck and Walker Hill (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1973), 122.

  6. Ruth Hill Useem, “Third Culture Kids,” Newslinks, 1.

  7. Norma McCaig preferred to call those who grew up outside the parental culture(s) because of a career choice global nomads.

  8. Dr. Ruth Hill Useem in a personal letter to David C. Pollock, February 1994.

  9. Momo Kano Podolsky, “Kaigai-Shijo Socialization in Toronto,” IJJS, Number 3, 11. See appendix B for a more detailed discussion on kaigaishijos.

  10. Ximena Vidal, “Third Culture Kids: A Binding Term for a Boundless Identity” (Senior Essay, April 10, 2000).

  11. From the video Global Nomads: Cultural Bridges for the Future, coproduced by Alice Wu and Lewis Clark in conjunction with Cornell University.

  CHAPTER 3

  1. Brice Royer, owner of TCKID.com, in a personal e-mail to Ruth E. Van Reken, September 28, 2008. Used with permission.

  2. Personal conversation with Ruth E. Van Reken, December 22, 2008.

  CHAPTER 4

  1. Alex Graham James, “Uniquely Me,” in Scamps, Scholars, and Saints, edited by Jill Dyer and Roger Dyer (Kingswood, SA, Australia: MK Merimna, 1993), 234.

  2. Hans Christian Andersen, The Ugly Duckling, adapted and illustrated by Jerry Pinkney (New York: Morrow Junior Books, William Morrow Publishing Co., 1999).

  3. Paul G. Hiebert, Cultural Anthropology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1983), 28–29.

  4. Ibid., 25.

  5. Gary Weaver, “The American Cultural Tapestry,” eJournal USA, June 2006. http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0606/ijse/weaver.htm.

  6. Ibid.

  7. Ibid.

  8. From the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Book by Joseph Stein, music by Jerry Bock, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, based on Sholom Aleichem’s stories, Fiddler on the Roof, 4th Limelight Edition (New York: Crown Publishers, 1994), 29.

  9. Figure 4-2 is adapted from a figure by Norma McCaig.

  10. Ruth Hill Useem, “Third Cultural Factors in Educational Change,” in Cultural Factors in School Learning, edited by Cole Brembeck and Walker Hill (Lexington, MA: Lexington Books, 1973), 126.

  11. Helen Fail, “Some of the Outcomes of International Schooling” (Master’s thesis, Brookes University, Oxford, England, 1995), 76.

  12. John Denver, “Leaving on a Jet Plane,” ©1967.

  13. Joseph McDonald, e-mail communication, October 1995. Used by permission.

  14. Personal correspondence from a TCK to David C. Pollock, November 1995. Used by permission.

  15. Mary Edwards Wertsch, Military Brats (1991: reprint, Putnam Valley, NY: Aletheia Publications, 1996), 6.

  16. This article by Crystal Chappell appeared in the Spring/Summer 1998 issue of the Bastard Quarterly. Copyright 1998 by Crystal Chappell.

  17. Paulette M. Bethel and Ruth E. Van Reken, “Third culture kids and curriculum issues in the international school system: recognizing (and dealing effectively with) the hidden diversity of third culture kids (TCKs) in the classroom.” Paper presented at “A conversation on educational achievements globally,” Comparative and International Education Society Annual Conference, March 12–16, 2003, New Orleans, Louisiana.

  18. Barbara H.
Knuckles, in a personal e-mail to Ruth E. Van Reken, September 25, 2008. Used with permission.

  CHAPTER 5

  1. Sara Mansfield Tabor, Of Many Lands: Journal of a Traveling Childhood (Washington, DC: Foreign Service Youth Foundation, 1997), 1

  2. Paul Seaman, Paper Airplanes in the Himalayas: The Unfinished Path Home (Notre Dame, IN: Cross Cultural Publications, 1997), 7–8.

  3. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed., (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

  4. Frances J. White, “Some Reflections on the Separation Phenomenon Idiosyncratic to the Experience of Missionaries and Their Children,” Journal of Psychology and Theology 11, no. 3 (Fall 1983), 181–88.

  5. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying (New York: Touchstone Books, 1997).

  6. Mary Edwards Wertsch, Military Brats (1991: reprint, Putnam Valley, NY: Aletheia Publications, 1996).

  7. Sharon Willmer, in a personal letter to David C. Pollock, 1984.

  8. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th ed. (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 2003).

  9. John Bowlby, Attachment and Loss: Attachment, Vol. 1 (New York: Basic Books, 1969, 1982).

  CHAPTER 6

  1. Rachel Miller Schaetti, “Great Advantages,” in Notes from a Traveling Childhood, edited by Karen Curnow McCluskey (Washington, DC: Foreign Youth Service Publication, 1994), 49.

  2. From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Luce.

  3. Fareed Zakaria, “The Power of Personality,” Newsweek, December 24, 2007

  4. Ibid.

  5. Joseph McDonald, e-mail message on www.mknet.org, October 1995. Used with permission.

  6. Jean Fritz, Homesick: My Own Story (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1984), 148–50.

  7. Steve Eisinger, “The Validity of the ‘Third Culture Kid’ Definition for Returned Turkish Migrant Children” (research report submitted to The Ministry of Culture in the country of Turkey, August 31, 1994), 16.

  8. Pico Iyer, “The Empire Writes Back,” Time, February 8, 1992.

  9. Ibid. Italics ours.

  CHAPTER 7

  1. Norma M. McCaig, “Understanding Global Nomads,” Strangers at Home (New York: Aletheia Press, 1996), 101.

  CHAPTER 8

  1. Andrew Atkins, “Behavioral Strings to which MKs Dance,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly (July 1989), 239–43.

  2. Nancy Ackley Ruth, “What the World Needs Now. . . Global Skills,” seminar presented at Families in Global Transition, Houston, Texas, March 6–8, 2008.

  3. Nilly Venezia, “Ethics of Intercultural Education and Training,” paper presented at SIETAR Europa Congress 2007, April 24–29, 2007, Sofia, Bulgaria.

  4. Jeannine Heny, “Learning and Using a Second Language,” in Language: Introductory Readings, 5th ed., edited by Virginia Clark, Paul A. Eschholz, and Alfred F. Rosa (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1994), 186.

  CHAPTER 9

  1. Ruth E. Van Reken, response from original research survey on ATCKs,1986. See Appendix A.

  2. Paul Seaman, Paper Airplanes in the Himalayas: The Unfinished Path Home (Notre Dame, IN: Cross Cultural Publications, 1997), 8.

  CHAPTER 10

  1. Ruth E. Van Reken, original research survey on ATCKs, 1986. See Appendix A.

  2. Ard A. Louis, in an e-mail on MK issues, August 1996. Used by permission.

  3. From an e-mail on MK issues, August 1996. Used with permission.

  4. Mary Edwards Wertsch, Military Brats (1991: reprint, Putnam Valley, NY: Aletheia Publications, 1996), 263–65.

  5. Van Reken, original research.

  6. Hugh Missildine, Your Inner Child of the Past (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1963), 245–46.

  CHAPTER 11

  1. Sophia Morton, “Let Us Possess One World,” Third Culture Kids: The Experience of Growing Up Among Worlds, 1st ed. by David C. Pollock and Ruth E. Van Reken (Boston/London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing/Inter-cultural Press, 1999, 2001), 307–12.

  2. Sharon Willmer, “Personhood, Forgiveness, and Comfort,” in Compendium of the ICMK: New Directions in Mission: Implications for MKs, edited by Beth Tetzel and Patricia Mortenson (West Brattleboro, VT: ICMK) 103–18.

  3. Ruth Hill Useem and Ann Baker Cottrell, “TCKs Experience Prolonged Adolescence,” Newslinks, 13, no. 1 (September 1993), 1.

  4. “When Is a Child an Adolescent?” from www.4troubledteens.com/adolescence.html.

  5. Judith Gjoen, in a personal letter to David C. Pollock, November 1995.

  CHAPTER 12

  1. Poem by Alex Graham James. Used with permission.

  2. Elisabeth Kübler Ross, On Death and Dying (New York: Touchstone Books, 1997).

  CHAPTER 13

  1. Robin Pascoe, Raising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand World (Vancouver, BC: Expatriate Press, 2006), 30.

  2. Leslie Andrews, “The Measurement of Adult MKs’ Well-being,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly (October 1995), 418–26.

  3. Shirley Torstrick, seminar handout. Used with permission.

  4. From “Phoenix Rising: A Question of Cultural Identity” by Barbara Schaetti (www.transition-dynamics.com/phoenix.html).

  CHAPTER 14

  1. Anne P. Copeland, Global Baby: Tips to Keep You and Your Infant Smiling Before, During and After Your International Move (Boston: The Interchange Institute, 2004).

  2. Ibid.

  3. From a personal conversation with Ruth E. Van Reken, July 1997.

  CHAPTER 15

  1. Pico Iyer, “Living in the Transit Lounge,” in Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global, edited by Faith Eidse and Nina Sichel (Yarmouth, ME and London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2004), 9.

  2. Brian Hill, “The Educational Needs of the Children of Expatriates,” in Compendium of the ICMK: Manila, edited by Beth A. Tetzel and Patricia Mortenson (Brattleboro, VT, 1986), 340.

  3. Helen Fail, “Some of the Outcomes of International Schooling” (Master’s thesis, Oxford Brookes University, June 1995), 8.

  4. Jill Dyer and Roger Dyer, What Makes Aussie Kids Tick? (Kingswood, SA, Australia: MK Merimna, 1989), 139–40.

  5. Helen Fail, “Some of the Outcomes of International Schooling.”

  6. Personal correspondence to David C. Pollock by Barbara F. Schaetti,Transition Dynamics, October 1998.

  7. From Ruth E. Van Reken, research on 300 adult missionary kids, 1986. See Appendix A.

  8. Leslie Andrews, “The Measurement of Adult MKs’ Well-Being,” Evangelical Missions Quarterly, Vol. 31, no. 4 (October 1995), 418–26.

  9. John Useem, Ruth Hill Useem, Ann Baker Cottrell, and Kathleen Jordan,“TCKs Four Times More Likely to Earn Bachelor’s Degrees” Newlinks 12, no. 5 (May 1993), 1.

  CHAPTER 16

  1. Read by Hendrik Verrijssen at the Procter & Gamble International Transferees, Inc. (PGITI) Conference, April 24, 2007, Cincinnati, OH. Used by permission.

  2. Ted Ward, Living Overseas: A Book of Preparations (New York: Free Press, 1984).

  3. Peter Gosling and Anne Huscroft, How to Be a Global Grandparent: Living with the Separation (Oakham, Rutland, UK: Zodiac Publishing, 2009).

  CHAPTER 17

  1. Faith Eidse and Nina Sichel, Eds., Unrooted Childhoods: Memoirs of Growing Up Global (Yarmouth, ME and London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2004), 195.

  2. Esther Schubert, “Keeping Third-Culture Kids Emotionally Healthy: Depression and Suicide Among Missionary Kids” in ICMK Compendium: New Directions for Missions: Implications for MK, edited by Beth A. Tetzel and Patricia Mortenson (Brattleboro, VT, 1986).

  3. Barbara F. Schaetti, “A Most Excellent Journey,” from Raising Global Nomads: Parenting Abroad in an On-Demand World by Robin Pascoe. (Vancouver, BC: Expatriate Press Limited, 2006), 214.

  4. Robin Pascoe, Homeward Bound: A Spouse’s Guide to Repatriation (Vancouver, BC: Expatriate Press Limited, 2002).

  5. Craig Storti, The Art of Coming Home (Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 1997).

  6. Conversation between
Ruth E. Van Reken and Rosalea Cameron, author of “Missionary Kids: Why They Are; Why They Are What They Are; What Next” (Queensland, Australia: Cypress Trust, 2006). Used with permission.