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BIG Questions Institute Update

June 27, 2025, No. 187 (Read online)​

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Holding Multiple Truths at Once When It Feels Like the Truth is Hard to Come By

Plus, Some Summer Reading Recommended by Educators Around the World!

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Thank you to many friends and colleagues who have reached out to me since the bombing on Iran. Your concern is deeply appreciated. As I have tried to express, it’s difficult to put the complex emotions and their repercussions into words, as almost any statement has a quick contradiction alongside it, or forty more layers of complexity. So many things seem to be true at the same time. It comes down to feeling deep empathy, grief, and concern for people (especially those unjustly and inhumanely imprisoned or repressed, who are now more vulnerable than ever), and separating the people from the actions of those in power.

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Ironically, even though it felt like WWIII might start on Monday, by Friday the doom seems to have receded in the rear-view mirror, only to be replaced by the spectacle of a gaudy $40-million wedding, a new spate of US Supreme Court decisions, or whatever else makes the algorithm of your newsfeed.

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I shared the difficulty of summarizing the many ideas and emotions with a thoughtful colleague recently, who named my experience “trauma informed.” What I realized later is that whatever one’s background, if we are paying any attention to the meta- and polycrisis across the world, we likely all would benefit from the learnings of trauma-informed perspectives.

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Such perspectives will accept that people, including one’s self, will struggle and sometimes suffer from past and current traumatic experiences. The “informed” part might look in practice like more intentional action and consistent presence on the part of leaders who care about their teams, deeper listening and compassionate communication, support for resilience-building practices (including rest and a break from emailing), and a commitment to psychological and physical safety.

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Acceptance that so many of us are carrying a heaviness is part of “radical acceptance,” a disposition that has informed a great deal of my work with school leaders who are continuously confronting challenge and complexity. Radical acceptance is the ability to accept situations that are outside of your control without judging them, which in turn reduces the suffering that is caused by them. It doesn’t mean you don’t try to change things.
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As Emily Esfahani Smith, in The Power of Meaning notes:

Accepting that we each hold multiple truths is part of our shared humanity. It deepens empathy and the ability to navigate complexity. I’m inspired by those who have been clinging to hope through their actions, their creativity, and even their defiant joy.

With Hope,

Homa
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What are you reading this summer?

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I asked connections on LinkedIn and a few friends and colleagues about their summer reading recommendations and here are some of the responses.

Some new gems:

Maria Perez Talavera, Director of School Strategy and HS Librarian among other hats at American International School of Chennai, India and a rock star reader and author shared a stack of books, among them: Safe Passage, how mobility affects people & what international schools should do about it (for PD), and Ocean Vuong’s new The Emperor of Gladness (for fun).

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Tricia Friedman, Director at Shifting Schools, recommends The Future of You: Can Your Identity Survive 21st-Century Technology? And don’t miss Tricia’s podcast series on The Future World of Work​

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Frankfurt International School’s leadership team is reading Marc Brackett’s Permission to Feel.

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Connecting us to the earth and life:

Naomi Ward, Head of Learning at Making Stuff Better, found Is a River Alive? by Robert McFarlane stunning, and You are the Future: Living the Questions with Rainer Maria Rilke as a lens for living.

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Emily Liebtag at EdReimagined and Zoe Badcock, who teaches Environmental Systems and Societies at ISZL Switzerland and is a Warm Data Lab host, both recommend The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Zoe also suggests Humankind: A Hopeful History, and Emily recommends Nexus by Harari.

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Along with the Serviceberry, lots of friends, like Kyra Kellawan, recommend Braiding Sweetgrass, also one of my all-time favorites.

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Trillium Hibbeln from NEASC is unplugging with Fresh Water: Women Writing on the Great Lakes.
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Some 'classics':

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Katrina Daniels-Samasa, Director of Community and Belonging at Atlanta International School, is reading Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides.

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Juan David Lopez, Head of Campus at American School Foundation of Monterrey, Mexico, recommends Leadership on The Line by Heifetz and Linsky.

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Gisou Ravanbaksh, who is leaving Beijing for the Townsend School in the Czech Republic, is reading perennial hits, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and Dare to Lead.

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AND… Thanks to Mark Ulfers for recommending Jacinda Arden’s new book, A Different Kind of Power: A Memoir, which I’ll discuss in more detail for the next newsletter.

I also received some great podcast recommendations, which I'll share soon, too. Do you have additional book, listening, or watching recommendations to share? Please do!!

Learn (and Partner!) With BQI

If you are making decisions for next year's budget, consider partnering with the Big Questions Institute.

Our team can support your inquiry into teaching, learning, strategy, student, and community-wide engagement (including more powerful, human-centered AI use). This could take the form of an opening keynote or professional development day, support to your strategic planning, your Board, or other thought partnership.

Upcoming Governance Sessions:

• Registration for the Governance as Leadership Training Institute in Hanoi, Vietnam , September 13-14 at the United Nations International School, led by Homa Tavangar and Rami Madani, is still open.
• The following week Homa will co-facilitate the NAIS Leadership Through Partnership Academy in Chicago.
• Watch this space for more regional Effective Governance institutes around the world, or reach out to inquire about a session near you.

You can reach out directly to Homa Tavangar: homa@bigquestions.institute to schedule an exploratory call.

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