Andrews Osborne Academy celebrates 29th Annual International Day

Andrews Osborne Academy’s International Day has experienced a multitude of changes since it was first held in 1989, including an expansion of theatrical and musical performances, educational showcases and artistic galleries.

For the 29th annual event — unofficially “International Week” — the tradition included a visit from Homa Sabet Tavangar (author of “Growing Up Global: Raising Children to Be At Home in the World”); topical assemblies; and an evening encore student performance for the community held April 20.

Created in 1989 by French teacher Delia Armonas during the time she was at Andrews School, the event continues to celebrate all the countries represented at the school, today equaling 17. The signature event continues to be an integral part of the AOA experience.

This year’s theme, “Come Sail Away,” included a Culture Fair and International Food Fest, both being staples of the event in recent years. All food at the fest is prepared by the students themselves, with dishes representing over 20 different countries. An online cookbook with the selected recipes served during International Day will soon be available. At the conclusion of the fest, the annual student performances were held in the Osborne Building Auditorium.

In a word, International Day is bigger, according to Head of School Larry Goodman.

“Previously the event was contained within a single, jam-packed, day,” he said. “This year we have extended the scope to take place over an entire week. We were looking for a fun way to reach out into the local community and invite them to be part of our international festivities.

“It occurred to us that everyone likes a party, so we thought about an event where we could celebrate the international flavor of Willoughby, and our immediate surroundings, and came up with the idea of having the different countries/ethnicities represented be ‘ports of call.’ The sailing metaphor follows pretty quickly thereafter, as you can imagine.”

In addition to praising the staff, faculty, students, International Committee and local businesses, including Sol and Willoughby Brewing Co., Goodman extolled Tavangar for traveling to the campus to speak about the significance of being a “global citizen,” an allusion to her work, and specifically her lecture delivered earlier this week: “Preparing ourselves and our children to succeed and become happy, informed global citizens.”

“We’ve all heard for a while now about the need for us to become ‘global citizens,’ but what does that really mean? The term is not exactly intuitive in the way that, say, ‘lifeguard’ is,” Goodman said. “And if the term is a bit obtuse, the skillset associated with it — and which educators need to consider when planning the curriculum — is even more so. Having an expert like Homa Tavangar come and work with students, faculty and parents was very beneficial in ‘unpacking’ this important concept (global citizenship).”

Tavangar, whose family came to Cleveland from Iran a few months before her second birthday, attended pre-school on a scholarship in Cleveland, followed by public schools, then UCLA, and Princeton, where she attended graduate school.

“I’ve been reflecting on the power that quality pre-K had on the course of my educational career,” said the resident of Villanova, Pennsylvania. “The fact that Andrews Osborne Academy is dedicating energy to learning about cultures, and the world, makes it a friendlier, more open environment to build on global citizenship, which, by the way, helps build good local citizens, too.”

Married, and the mother of three daughters, Tavangar has also co-written five books for educators.

Though she works with many different types of organizations, including private companies and media groups, her favorite thing to do, “by far,” is to visit a school and work with students, teachers and parents.

She was able to do all three at AOA.

And when it comes to experiencing vast arrays of cultures, she has simple yet earnest advice.

“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes,” she said. “People will recognize your genuine interest and encourage you to learn more, or more likely, keep feeding you. I always describe a global citizen as a ‘friend to the whole human race.’ Begin to explore the world and new cultures from a lens of friendship and let those principals guide you. Never be driven by fear.”

In a world seemingly defined by division on a daily basis, Goodman shares in the author’s cultural fortitude.

“Our great hope is that the residents of Lake County start to come and celebrate the global diversity found within Lake County as we celebrate the global diversity on our campus,” he said. “We want them to join us — we want them to share their cultural wealth.”

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