Tag Archives: education

Going Global, Revisited

Last September, I wrote a blog as I was just starting a 10-week course with the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program. As I wrote that blog, I was just learning about global competencies for myself and my students. It has been eight months since then, and it feels like a lifetime. I’m not the same teacher I was at the beginning of the year. I’m better.

Rabat, Morocco

Let me explain how it happened. In December, after my 10-week course, I was assigned to a cohort destined for Morocco.  It was stressful finding out that I was in the cohort scheduled to leave the earliest, as they are spread out over the spring and summer months, with Morocco being the first of the five cohorts to go. We had just over two months to prepare to be out of our classrooms for three weeks.

In February the Fulbright TGC fellows attended a symposium in Washington D.C. where we learned more about global education and met teachers from Morocco and other host countries. We had security briefings and cultural trainings in preparation for our trips. I met with my cohort face-to-face, while other cohorts for other destinations (Peru, Indonesia, Senegal, Columbia, and India) met to learn the specifics of their journeys. It was exciting and overwhelming, especially since there were only two weeks between the symposium and our departure!

During the time between the symposium and my trip, I frantically scrambled to prepare my classes for my absence and myself for this otherworldly experience. I began a dialogue via WhatsApp with my amazing host teacher, Rachid El Machehouri, an English teacher in Tangier. As he built an agenda around my interests, it became exciting and real. I was on my way to Africa to visit teachers and students.

Junior high students, Tangier

 

And so it was that for three weeks in March I traveled to Morocco with my Fulbright TGC cohort. The experience was life changing. Any trip abroad, especially for a fairly inexperienced traveler, can feel like the whole world is finally opening up to you. But, this was more. I got to experience classrooms and teaching in another country.

In my first blog about Global Ed, I introduced elements from ASCD’s Global Competent Learning Continuum, a rubric that measures a teacher’s global competencies. You can explore the full continuum here.  

 

Now I would like to connect these ideas to the new teacher I am becoming. Likewise, if you are a teacher with the opportunity to bring the world into your classroom, either virtually or through your own travel experiences, I commend you. Your students are definitely better for it. Measure yourself by the same rubric. We all have room to grow.
Teacher Dispositions
1. Empathy and valuing multiple perspectives
2. Commitment to promoting equity worldwide

FEELING: I felt that I was strong in teacher dispositions from the start, but I have a whole new metric now. What can top the experience of being in a room full of Muslim students on the day of a massacre in a New Zealand mosque? Do you think I had the chance to value a different perspective from my own? When those students showed me compassion as the outsider, how did that impact my own idea of empathy? My commitment to teaching compassion and promoting equity grew tenfold.

Teacher Knowledge
3. Understanding of global conditions and current events
4. Understanding of the ways that the world is interconnected
5. Experiential understanding of multiple cultures
6. Understanding of intercultural communication

KNOWING: With travel and the learning that accompanies it, a teacher’s knowledge cannot help but grow. I learned so much about North Africa, about Muslims, and about Moroccan people. I learned about how we are all essentially alike, despite our differences. I witnessed the way a multilingual culture gracefully moves between languages, valuing linguistic diversity and encouraging communication of all types. Moroccans openly communicate verbally and nonverbally. They don’t shut out strangers. It is shocking and illuminating, as it contrasts so starkly with how Americans are often cut off from others. Continue reading

Fighting Together

By Guest Blogger, NBCT Bethany Rivard

On August 14th, I answered a phone call from my union president. She asked me to step up into leadership and head to a training in Longview to prepare our members for a possible strike. The possible strike turned into a likely strike, and then before I knew it we were out on the picket lines. There were MANY sleepless nights and massive amounts of anxiety swirling through my mind and body during this time. The strike both tore me apart and strengthened me, in equal amounts. The negativity we encountered paled in comparison to the support and solidarity we received.

Somewhere in the midst of those Twilight Zone like weeks, I stumbled upon a text I had been perusing pre-strike entitled, When We Fight We Win. I flipped to chapter two, “Grounded in Community: The Fight for the Soul of Public Education.” I learned about the Chicago Teachers Union Strike of 2012 over issues of excessive testing, increased class size, the school-to-prison pipeline, and corporate takeover of public schools. The strike was ultimately successful because impacted families (led by African American and Latino parents), community organizations and labor allies joined forces with educators. The strike shut down the nation’s third largest school district for a week. The entire community came together to fight for the heart of public education, and won.

The three days Vancouver Education Association members were on strike, we were joined full force by our community. The overwhelming support has been a common refrain through teacher strikes across the state; education allies consistently showed up and linked arms with us. Over 900 parents and guardians lined up outside the VEA office to sign declarations that their child would not be irreparably harmed by a work stoppage when we were threatened with an injunction. Many parents and guardians brought their kids to the picket lines to meet their teachers. Local businesses stepped in to donate and show their support for educators. Labor allies were consistently on the lines with teachers, ILWU, SEIU, LiUNA, Firefighters…the list goes on. We were not alone.

The negative vocal minority painted us the same way that Rahm Emanuel painted the Chicago Teachers Union: Greedy. I find this false narrative of educators insulting and ridiculous. It’s no secret that the educator workforce is overwhelmingly female, and that certain people find it “unseemly” for us to ask for professional pay, even if the state money was earmarked for salaries. We fight for smaller class sizes, increased supports, full day kindergarten, arts funding…and now, ourselves. The vast majority of educators I know literally pour their heart, soul and resources into their students and classrooms. We routinely spend our money on food, supplies and curriculum. We give of our time well above and beyond what we are paid for. We know the relationships we build with students and families goes well beyond our contract hours.

The strikes in Washington state are about valuing the education profession. We have a massive teacher shortage, so it is imperative that we find ways to attract new educators into teacher preparation programs and make it worth taking out hefty student loans. I want my culturally and linguistically diverse students to become future educators in my building, and to be able to stay in the communities they love. By standing up for ourselves, we are standing up for the future of public education in Washington state.

José, a fabulous former student who is also leader and organizer, gave a speech to bolster the spirits of my fellow Fort Vancouver High School Trappers when we were on the line. He knows what it is like to confront adversity, to confront power that seeks to silence. He told us, “It’s not easy raising your hand and declaring your opposition to injustice. I know how it feels, teachers. I know how it feels to stand up and use my voice only to be ignored. I know how it feels to be treated unfairly. I know how it feels to be promised something only for that promise to be broken. Keep fighting. Keep striking. Nothing is more beautiful that uniting for one cause. Being a teacher is an overlooked job, but they are crucial in every student’s life. There is no way around this, to get through it we must go through it. Do not give up. In the end, they have no choice but to hear you. Keep on fighting and follow the light that is surely at the end of the tunnel.” José knows that with solidarity, unity and community we can confront opposition and declare our worth.

Educators across the country are running for office because they know we need to be at the table to shape education policy. We have expertise on issues that directly affect our caseloads and classrooms, our kids and communities. These educator-leaders have inspired me to announce a run for my local school board of directors. I know I will not be the only educator running for an elected position this year. I hope many others have internalized their worth and realize they have much to offer and choose to run as well. I stand with educators. I stand with students and families. I stand with my Labor Union brothers and sisters. I stand for the transformative power of public education. When we fight, we win!

Bethany Rivard, NBCT, teaches English Language Arts and Theater at Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies and is a member of the Washington Teacher Advisory Council (WATAC). She is a 2016 Washington Regional Teacher of the Year and serves on the Professional Educator Standards Board. Bethany is a Vancouver Education Association member and recipient of the NEA Foundation California Casualty Award for Teaching Excellence. She lives in Vancouver with her husband and two daughters. 

What Teaching Internationally Has Taught Me About Life, Limits and Differences

By Guest Blogger, NBCT Sarah Applegate

Things that aren’t different:

  • Teachers complaining about staff meetings
  • New instructional initiatives that both inspire and tire teachers
  • Kids who turn in assignments late
  • Parent meetings that are stressful

Things that are different:

  • Where the staff meetings are held
  • The types of instructional initiatives that occur
  • Where kids turn in their late assignments
  • How long parent meetings last

Phuket, Thailand

Nearly two years ago, my husband and I finally finished our Search Associates application and did what we had been threatening/planning/talking about doing for years – we started actually searching for overseas teaching positions. What surprised us the most (we were naive) was how competitive overseas teaching is.  We had a very narrow search at first…Europe, some Latin American countries since Rob is a Spanish teacher. But we soon discovered that despite our (stellar) resumes, jobs were tough for us to land. After a year of frustration, we expanded our search, and, based on experiences our friends had been having at a school in China, we applied and were hired at the Dalian American International School in Dalian, China.

Fast forward a year, and here we are, living and working at DAIS. Literally since we live on campus. We live in a rural area about an hour outside of Dalian, a small city of 8 million people(!). We live a mile from a beach, our apartment looks out on a blueberry farm/wedding picture locale and we live with most of the people we work with in a six-story building. One plus- our commute is about 2 minutes.

I teach Senior and Junior Seminar (which focuses on college application and completing a research project) along with teaching technology at the elementary school. Rob teaches English and Social Studies to 7th graders. Our school is unique in that there is an international group and a Chinese national boarding program. Rob and I work with only Chinese students at the secondary school and the students I work with at the elementary school are all international (meaning, they hold a passport from a country other than China).

We had months to think about what work would be like here. And, many of our assumptions came true.

The students we teach are incredibly privileged and part of the rising middle and upper class in China. It isn’t surprising (anymore) to see a Porsche, a Range Rover and a Maserati at elementary pickup.

Students have a wide and varied range of educational experiences, both in the international and the Chinese national programs. In the international program, some students have lived all over the world, speak 2 and 3 languages, and see themselves as part of the broader global community- they have a deep understanding and acceptance that DAIS is just a stop on their journey as part of their parent’s work assignments.

Kids arrive and leave the elementary school frequently, and some are more ready to be in an English only program than others. In the Chinese national program, there isn’t a ton of turnover, but the language proficiency varies widely. Some of my seniors love to practice their language skills and have a solid understanding that next year they will be attending college in an English-speaking country so practicing now is valuable! Others are reticent and take shelter in the fact that 2/3 of the entire secondary school speaks Mandarin as their first language. They only speak in English when they are required to by the course or the teacher, and otherwise their day is in Mandarin. As someone who doesn’t have a second language and is a self-admitted lazy language learner, I can empathize- heck, I live and work in a gated community with other English speakers. However, my senior students are going to be in an entirely English university program in just 6 months! Gaah!

View from Hike

But, many of our assumptions didn’t come true:

Just because parents are shelling out a lot of money to attend a “western style” school, this doesn’t mean the students are motivated, take initiative and want to learn everything they can. They are still kids and teenagers, with moods, interests and skills that vary widely, and a broad range of understanding the privilege and opportunity they are being offered. We still have to bring our ‘A’ game every day. At least we have less of them to inspire. To be frank, class sizes are very reasonable.

Even working at a private school, even with the tuition, resources, etc., behind the scenes, we are still living in China, a developing nation. Thus working with technology can be incredibly frustrating. The government has a pretty tight monitor on information (apparently their website that filters all information that comes in and out of the China is the busiest in the world, which makes sense) but trying to be a technology teacher, providing 21st century experiences to worldly kids can be incredibly frustrating. We do a lot of sitting…and waiting for websites to load. As teachers, we all try to laugh it off, giving one another sympathetic “I know” looks whenever it is brought up at staff meetings (see above). However, as a technology teacher, I think I have a special and uniquely frustrating relationship with this reality.

China is different. So much different than the US, and the other two countries we have lived in (Mexico and Finland). There is so much I don’t understand- the language, obviously is a huge one, but layer that with characters that are pretty much unintelligible, traditions that don’t look like anything I have known before, and a public school educational system that is amazing (in the fact of how fast they have been able to increase literacy) but is entirely based on rote and routine memorization for an exit exam that requires a complete and exact regurgitation of the textbook information using the ancient and complex characters? Well, it is just a lot to take in every day. The first few weeks and months are a blur and people try and help- the question- “How are you adjusting?” is asked to every newbie frequently during the first few weeks. I vacillated between trying to stay strong (“We are great”) to honest (“I don’t know that I can stay here past October without having a nervous breakdown”).

In mid-November I had a quiet and brief epiphany: I can do it. I can figure out how to get groceries, coffee and exercise. I can appreciate the differences, I can laugh and relax just a little, and I can work on doing a better job of parenting, teaching and taking care of myself. I have a year and a half to go in my contract. I know I am going to be surprised at who I become and how I talk about these experiences in June 2019, when we plan to come home and “return to regular programming.”

PyeongChang 2018 Olympic Winter Games Ski Jump

Sarah Applegate has been teaching for 23 years and is excited to be new at something again! Sarah spent her entire teaching career in the same high school, first as an English teacher and then as the Teacher Librarian. In 2016-2017, she had the opportunity to work for CSTP working on teacher leadership initiatives and learned a lot about how to create the environment for teacher leadership to grow. Sarah has worked with National Board Initiatives in Washington State since 2002 and believes teacher leadership can improve student learning and transform schools. Sarah cannot believe how many miles she has been putting on her frequent flyer account over the past 10 months.

Janette MacKay

Yield jump

I have recently started teaching first grade in Seattle Public Schools. This is my 18th year in education. I’ve had the opportunity to live and teach all over the world (China, Guatemala, Hungary, Morocco, Los Angeles…), and have spanned the ages from Kindergarten all the way up to the university level.

I was born and raised in the Seattle area and went to the University of Washington (it’s hard to write a bio without finding some way to work in a little “Go Huskies!”). I never imagined I would be a teacher, but sort of stumbled into it, and discovered the tremendous joy of the classroom.

Teaching well means that we can’t lock ourselves in the classroom, building construction paper fortresses. It requires maintaining a healthy, balanced life outside of the classroom, as well as staying involved with the policies that impact our students every day. Participating in this blog is one way to lend my voice to the conversation.

Relationships

By Travis Picture 7

I took my sons to school with me on national Take Your Child to Work day. It humanized me. I have a good rapport with students because I care about them as people outside of my subject area. I know for many students the intricacies of Shakespeare’s language in The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet is not what is important for their survival that day. I also know that my class may just be a blip on their day of ups and downs. Given this, I work hard to make their time in my class an “up.”

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My One Cent’s Worth

By Travis

As I turned on my classroom lights this morning, I saw an envelope, sitting, in the middle of the floor. It was out of place. I paused as I picked it up, wondering. Someone had slipped the envelope under my door late last night (I left school at 6 pm) or the did so early this morning (I arrived at 7 am). 

Doc - Mar 7, 2012 1-18 PM

The note was from a former student. As I read, I was torn between the emotional beauty of being a teacher, and the sad reality of how Washington State views its teachers. I believe this is a feeling many teachers have had recently.

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It’s the Principal of the Matter

Picture 1By Travis

Principals are near useless. Near…I would not be so mean as to say totally. I know they serve a purpose. But, hey, let’s be honest. How often is your principal in your classroom? If you are lucky, it is twice a year for the district mandated formal observation. Principals do not teach classes so how could a principal possibly understand life in your classroom? They cannot relate. When seen in the big picture, principals do not do much to impact instruction, and as such, are near useless.

However, my principal is not. Lisa teaches.

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Trash Talking the Washington Ed Budget

Picture 2

 By Travis 

Not too long ago, Governor Gregoire’s educational budget cuts came out, and I have had some time to think about it.

Washington, you can continue to be a pillar of education strength.
Washington, you worked so hard to not have California-sized classrooms.
Washington, your students have already given up a lot.
Washington … you need to figure out your budget.

Please do not trash the future of our children's education. 

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The School Stool

Picture 1By Travis

A few weeks ago, Tom had a post that spoke to me, We Can’t Do This Alone. In this post, he states how parent involvement is key to a student’s success, but somehow it seems that the focus becomes teacher quality. The idea of a shared responsibility for a student’s education, struck me as important since it has come up a few times at Stories for School. It came up again. Last week. During my parent conferences.

Each teacher had a table around the perimeter of the gym with two chairs in front for the parents and student. Parents visited any of the teachers with which they wish to have a conversation.

To my left was a senior math teacher. To my right, a sophomore technology teacher. Me … I am a freshman English teacher. I had a variety of conversations that night with parents about family responsibility. I was getting worn out having the same conversation with parents about what they can do to keep their student on track and I started to listen to the conversations on my left and right, it was clear my conversations were not unique. Many families are not ready for how school is done.

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