Looking Back to Look Forward

OK, so the pressure is ONNNN! I am back in the classroom for the first time since January (with the exception of an exceptional week at the COAR School in Moyobamba!).  I spent the week spinning my wheels, setting up my classroom, meeting with colleagues, sharing my video of the TGC trip to Peru, encouraging my fellow teachers to apply to Fulbright and have the adventure of a lifetime, and transitioning back into a person who can make or break a sixth grader’s year.  

I was pretty jittery when I left school this afternoon, feeling frustrated that I didn’t have a clear vision for how I want to establish my classroom this year. It’s kinduv like building a pool that you’re going to dive (or dip) into.  It’s gotta be deep enough that you don’t break your neck, and warm enough that you want to stay in for a long time. And I finally had my epiphany on the porch this evening~do what you did in Peru! Teach through theater! 

I’ve wanted to build a classroom based on Theater for years.  I used to have the luxury as an Artist in Residence, with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, to teach through theater, and for some reason, I just fell into the habit of doing what the other teachers were doing, or doing what I’ve done in the past that was successful, but I never really built a classroom around Theater.  I’ve written curriculums and unit plans and grants and scripts and wishes and dreams, but I haven’t fulfilled this wish yet.  Well, this is my year!

The collaboration at the COAR San Martin School brought me back to my roots as a Theater educator and guest artist, and the Fulbright experience allowed me to partner with inspiring educators who are each using their unique talents to tell the global stories that are most meaningful to them in the ways they are best equipped.  

My partner in Peru, Marci Ward, and our host teacher fabulosa, Julio Herrera, have already brainstormed our repeat collaboration and I mentioned doing a theater project with the students in his school. We are hoping to submit a Fulbright Teacher’s Grant for next summer. Perhaps I will begin that collaboration next week when my students arrive at Radnor Middle School for the first time. 

I feel so excited and so grateful for the experience I had through the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms.  My photographs from Peru will be hanging in the Main Office of my school as the new year begins. I am eager to share this glimpse of Peru with my school community.  I am also looking forward to beginning an exchange between my students and Sr. Herrera’s students.  

Thank you for planting this seed, IREX and Fulbright.  I am a new teacher because of my experience as a Teachers for Global Classrooms Fellow.

Where I'm From: Searching for My Cultural Identity in Peru & the Aftermath

My partner, Marci, and I landed in Moyobamba at the beginning of their biggest cultural celebration: The San Juan Festival. There was dancing and parades and food and tremendous joy and a sense of pride in sharing their culture. When the students asked us what our national dance was, or what our national foods were, we were kind of stumped. Uhhhh…we don’t really have a national dance or a national food, do we? I was suddenly faced with having to define “American culture” to a group of curious teenagers.

We began our residency by sharing our own “Where I’m From” poems and pictures, then we invited the students to create their own version of the poem based on the original by George Ella Lyon. Next, we challenged them to put their heads together and craft a collaborative version of the poem that is reflective of all of the members of the group, collectively. Marci and I did the same, struggling to write a US “Where I’m From” poem that is true to her experience growing up in Texas, and my childhood in the 60’s & 70’s in Florida, and my subsequent years (mostly) in Pennsylvania.

There was much to admire in Moyobamba. The James Taylor song “Secret of Life” kept playing in my head. There was just a beautiful balance between work or school and home life that seemed, well…respectful! There was an understanding that time at home with family is equally as important as time in school, and to impose your demands on a child after his or her school day was somehow robbing them of family time. There seems to be an understanding that playing a role in the family is critical to becoming a contributing member of society. And there is a kind of respect that is granted to elders and teachers that has dwindled in the U.S., perhaps, in part, because school and teachers here have literally invaded childrens’ private lives. We are in their homes on a daily basis with whatever it is that we have demanded be completed at home. In my school, teachers are required to post their assignments on Schoology, and some parents have these programs set up so that their childrens’ homework assignments arrive as alerts on their cell phones. If a parent hasn’t received this notification, there are sometimes complaints that because they were uninformed, they couldn’t enforce that the homework be completed. It’s crazy! So when Julio said that teachers at his school are not permitted to give homework, all that insanity was erased. Families could relax, because that’s what helps children rest and recharge so that they are better prepared to bring their whole self to class.

Part of me wanted to remain in this town that knows how to enjoy the passage of time, but now I feel motivated to bring that same awareness home to my school family. I honestly think I need to become acutely aware that I am not adding to the stress in my students’ lives. My focus is on awakening a passion for reading and learning about the world…sparking curiosity and teaching students how to use their words in powerful ways. I want them to know that they can use language to help repair the world if they’re well informed, passionate and persuasive. Now I have to live my vision. My identity as the teacher who has the pen pal projects that collaborate with kids in Uganda (and now Peru!) is my opportunity to forge an identity as a global educator, and to present my students in the best light possible. My students can combat the ugliness that is portrayed through our government We can partner with classrooms around the world and find common ground with kids from different cultures. And we can learn to inquire about our cultural differences in ways that are courteous and culturally curious. It’s time to put my “Make the Foreign Familiar Film Festival” into action. I hope to host a series of foreign films and have TED-style discussions about how various cultures are portrayed and how members of these cultures feel they are perceived in our school community. I am about to bust open some doorways and hope like hell that my school plays along. Time will tell. But as James Taylor croons: The thing about time is that time isn’t really real. It’s a new school year with a new principal and I have the newfound courage that comes with having been part of this dynamic Fulbright experience. With this team around me, it’s time to help my school community open their hearts and open their minds to forging a more culturally inclusive identity.

Crafting a nationalistic “Where I’m From” poem at the COAR School in Moyobamba

How Did Peru Change You? A Video Love Letter to the Peru Crew

How did Peru change you?

Bienvenidos!: Paying it Forward From Peru

Nothing makes you want to pay it forward more than when you go far away, and folks put themselves out to welcome you with open arms. I’m pretty sure that’s exactly what we need a lot more of. So, having been so generously and lovingly welcomed by the students and teachers and administrators and taxi drivers and servers and folks everywhere we traveled in Peru, I have a lot of gratitude to share. Holding on to that kind state of mind is the challenge.

How do I hold on to that sense of balance and simple kindness that I experienced on my journey? I am forced to commit to certain practices so they become ritual on in my classroom. It might be something as concrete as Ron Clark’s Rules for Success (or maybe a modified interpretation of that authored by the students? Maybe less than 55 rules?) And it continues with a genuine commitment to not assigning work at home beyond reading. (Maybe world-geography-games.com? FMAD? Word study?? Where does it end?!) Julio’s kids are not assigned work that is expected to be completed at home. How about: Read to younger sibling and upload a selfie of this? Help cook dinner? Set & Clear?

The challenge remains: How do I maintain the BALANCE that was so evident in Moyobamba? My head is literally spinning with ideas. Living those ideals is the next mountain. I just keep speaking these intentions out loud: I want kids to enter my room and breathe a big sigh of Ahhhhhh, I’m here! (while still covering the essentials). My job is to build passionate readers and writers with a sense of curiosity about the world and an awareness of the power they each possess to impact others with their words and actions. I want my room to be a reading and writing lab, and I want to be certain that I don’t add to the stress and anxiety in their young lives. I want to help them build the tools they need to seek out knowledge and to identify as readers and writers. I want them to want to travel and see other parts of the world. I want to make my classes purposeful and build toward a deeper understanding by constructing around big questions, like we did in Moyobamba. (Our Essential Question was: “What does a culture gain or lose when other cultures enter?” Our activities and readings built towards a broader and more informed response over the course of the week..

I want to have the power to stick to my intention. How will I maintain balance in my classroom this year?

How will I maintain this sense of balance in my classroom this year?

Peru: My Reflection and Revision of my Guiding Question

My original Guiding Question before leaving for Peru was: What makes learning memorable?  While I asked a couple of students directly, and had the unique opportunity to delve into this topic during one of the group seminars with Fulbright alumni from Peru, it really transformed as a result of my experience working with the students and teachers of the COAR school in Moyobamba.  Students said that the opportunity to discuss and collaborate with their peers made learning more meaningful and memorable, and my host teacher put tremendous emphasis on this in his classrooms. The larger and more looming question for me became, which aspects of Peruvian culture will I try to integrate into my classroom?

When I shared this question with the group through our WhatsApp chat, Hyam responded: “I hope that I bring back that welcome feeling.  That everyday I demonstrate a genuine excitement for each student coming through the door.” I agree. In the less touristy areas of Peru, it seems everyone acknowledges and greets everyone.  And not just with a grunt or a nod, but a full, “Buenos dios,” or “Buenos tardes,” or “Buenas noches.”  Sometimes you’d just get a “Buenos,” but there was still an acknowledgement of the other, and a genuine greeting.  I see you. I wish you well. I’m working on that by insisting that my students make direct eye contact and respond to my greeting each morning when they enter my classroom.

That human acknowledgement is connected to the part of Peruvian culture that I hope to hold on to; the sense of balance that I felt in this country that I feel is terribly out of sync in the US.  The pressure that students are under here to “be the best” doesn’t seem as prevalent in Peru. Contributing to the whole seems more important in Peru; collaborating and working together seemed more important than being the best.  So, I guess in some ways, this is what makes learning memorable. In order for information to embed in one’s long term memory, there has to be a receptivity, or a sense of calmness that allows one to probe deeply and process new information and make meaningful connections.  

Ultimately, I am left feeling that the relationships we establish set the tone for learning and encourage students to wonder beyond the surface.  In Moyobamba, we used theater games to get students into a playful, exploratory frame of mind, then we built on this sense of collaboration with essential questions related to nationalism vs. globalism.  We took Victory/Obstacle/Tactics/Expectation and played with contentless scenes, then looked at images of politicians and migrant families and applied the same thinking strategy. We presented our students with big idea statements and challenged them to Add/Subtract/Multiply/Divide ideas...these were impactful, critical discussions in English!!!  While these were all interactive, collaborative ways of delving into difficult topics, what I observed was a willingness to engage on the part of all the students in the room.  Perhaps there is the ability to engage more fully in the classroom because there is no expectation that the “hard work” take place in their private time outside of class. I hope to bring this sense of balance to my classroom.  To be certain that I am not creating more stress and anxiety in my students’ lives with work that takes them away from their families and personal interests.  Thank you, Fulbright & IREX for this life-altering experience. I’ll let you know how it goes!

The Secret of Life in Moyobamba...and Radnor

June 26, 2019 in Moyobamba

I am falling in deep.

I just came from a lovely dinner with four fun English teachers from Collegio de Alto Regimiento, and we had a great discussion about what our school cultures were like.  They were curious about my impressions of their country and their community. They wondered what I read about Peru before arriving and what my feeling was since being here. 

My sense about Moyobamba is that there is a balance here that makes me acutely aware of what’s made life in the US out of whack.  Our kids carry this backpack of stress and anxiety that is deeply impacting their ability to just be kids...and as educators, we have to look at what we’re doing that is contributing to this epidemic of anxiety that is strangling too many of our kids.  

To begin with, teachers in Moyobamba are not to give homework. They are expected to complete assignments in class, and this is an International Baccalaureate program!  There are tutors available for a couple of hours after classes, and students have adult support if they need it, and dedicated time to complete any class work, but once they leave school, their time is their own.  Many kids board at this school, so they have meals together and then time to bond, read, relax, reflect. And those who go home in the evenings have time to spend with family. This is considered sacred, and schools try to not interfere with family life, as far as I can see.

In class I mentioned to my host teacher that students who didn’t complete the assignment in class could do this as homework and bring it with them tomorrow.  His response to me was: “We are not permitted to give homework.” I was floored. I thought about how contentious the issue of homework is in Radnor schools, and it just seemed to make so much sense to me.   Suddenly I have to rethink everything I do and have done regarding homework. The week we conduct PA State Standardized Assessments is really the only week where no homework is assigned...and that is in many ways a giant sense of relief to both students and teachers.

That simple statement made me stop and think: What am I doing to contribute to the stress in my students’ lives? And how am I part of the problem, not the solution, to the extreme levels of stress and anxiety that my students are experiencing?  While my partner and I tend to give far less homework than most of our colleagues, there is still some expectation that students work outside of class time. I need to genuinely reconsider my role in this. It may mean giving up my lunch time; dragging kids up to the classroom to complete work that should have been completed in class, but I seriously need to think about my role in all of this. 

The James Taylor song: The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time kept playing in my head while I was in Moyobamba.  The sense of balance that the people of this small jungle town have accomplished serves as both an ideal and a goal that I will struggle to recreate in my life, both in and outside of school. That just may begin with something as simple as honoring the students’ time with family outside of school.    

Blast Off to Peru @ 2 a.m.

Eager to meet up with the Peru Crew at the Miami Airport for our 2 a.m. flight to Lima. Let the global adventure begin!!!!

TRAVEL...WITH GLOBAL VILLAGE CONNECT

My Toolbox

My students are my tools.  They're like paintbrushes, and this classroom is my canvas.

Balance & Spatial Awareness

Geography = Spatial Thinking

Spatial thinking requires that kids move through space.  Here we are trying to CREATE BALANCE by exerting an equal amount of force.