THINK global school
Q&A With TGS Founder Joann McPike
How did the idea to create THINK Global School come about?
Both my ex-husband and I have an insatiable curiosity about the world and an immense love of travel and adventure. When our son was young, we would take him with us on our journeys of discovery. We noticed that what he learned was so much more than what a textbook or traditional schooling could give him. When it came time to send him to high school, we didn’t want him to be stuck in a classroom and education system that would teach him that there was only one way of seeing the world. We wanted his education to continue being global and open-minded, so we decided to create a school that would give him and other curious students just that.
Traditional models of education have not really been updated to keep up with changing times. Why do you think this is, and what are we doing wrong?
I think that there is a lot of fear surrounding education. Change is always difficult. If you ask parents and teachers what they think education should be about, they will tell you it is to help a child become confident, to discover who they are and what they like, to learn to love learning and to be adaptable in an ever-changing world. But it you ask them what they think other people think is important in education they will say “test scores”. So we are stuck in this rut of not knowing that everyone actually wants the same thing, so doesn’t happen because when you think you are in the minority you don’t push for it. Teachers, students, and parents all do want the same thing.
Following on the above, who do you think is getting it right, and what does “getting it right” mean?
There are lots of smaller schools and initiatives that are doing it right; the challenge is being able to scale. To break through the fear of change. For a start, and this is no small thing: CAN WE PLEASE SUPPORT AND PAY OUR TEACHERS WHAT THEY ARE WORTH!!! Teaching is the most vital of our social support structures. Notice I didn’t say “schools” as schools can and should come in many different forms. For me, “getting it right” means giving students more agency, trusting them more, stop comparing them to each other with tests! Each student is unique - they should only ever be compared to themselves. Project-based learning keeps children interested, mastery helps them learn how to be self-motivated, resourceful, adaptable, and proud. These are life skills. It’s about being brave and stepping out of the comfort zone.
At TGS you provide scholarships to underprivileged children; how do these children find out about TGS and the scholarship programmes, and what sort of real-world support do you provide for them after they graduate (i.e., helping with CVs, the interview process, getting internships and jobs, etc.)?
We've always offered sliding-scale scholarships, as the most underprivileged recipients usually come from the direst of situations, provide unique insights to our community's conversations, and are best positioned to create change in their home countries. We receive a lot of inquiries from Afghanistan, Brazil, Egypt, India, and Pakistan, in particular, and these numbers have only increased since the start of the pandemic.
Word of mouth plays a significant role in how these students find out about THINK Global School. Our current students and alumni regularly communicate their personal experiences to those back home, and we often receive inquiries from prospective students looking to gain a similar experience of their own. Social media also plays a substantial part in building our brand recognition among these communities. One student in Egypt might learn about the school and, in turn, they'll share it on WeChat or WhatsApp, leading to sometimes 30 or 40 inquiries all on the same day. Some of our students possess influential YouTube channels of their own, which also helps present the school in a relatable and informed voice — they are sharing their own direct experiences and showing "this could be you."
Finally, TGS is well represented digitally through school directories, search engine results, and other marketing campaigns. We emphasize our sliding-scale tuition and education-for-all approach in all three. Our website features a tuition calculator so that we can give an honest assessment of a family's cost, even if that amount is zero.
Regarding life after THINK Global School, we're very proud of what our graduates have gone on to accomplish. Our student body is small and selective, so attendees showed something remarkable in their application regardless of their socioeconomic background. Their personal experiences and talents combined with their TGS education have almost always led to new pathways opening post-graduation.
Our school counselors begin gauging each student's aspirations upon arrival at TGS and help build a road plan to achieve their dreams. This includes building a robust digital portfolio, determining which university-entrance exams to take, and helping them with the overall application and matriculation process.
What is your dream for the future of THINK Global School?
Honestly, I would love to take every student traveling as I think it is one of the best ways to learn—they live their learning—but I know this is not possible. But TGS is more than just a traveling school; it is our learning philosophy that is so special. What I would like to do next is start a teacher-training academy to teach teachers (and administrators) how to do what we do so that they can take it back to their classrooms.
