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Speaking Out by Teaching

Today marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. In November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly designated this day as International Holocaust Remembrance Day to honor the six million Jewish victims of the Holocaust and millions of other victims of Nazism. We choose to do so by sharing the story of Kimberly McCabe, social studies…

Everyone Can Be Great Because Everyone Can Serve

Martin Luther King, Jr, believed “everyone can be great because everyone can serve.” The students, teachers and staff of Morley Elementary in West Hartford, CT, bring this quote to life through their dedication to the children of Deschapelles, Haiti. On successive Fund for Teachers fellowships, two teams of teachers each departed Morley with supplies and a mission…

A Grand Education

Today marks the anniversary of Theodore Roosevelt declaring the Grand Canyon a national monument. Many FFT Fellows share our 26th president’s commitment to environmental stewardship and use their grants to pursue learning related to the 1.7 billion year old formations, albeit each with a different focus. Dory Manfre (Ashford, CT) designed a solo adventure of…

All Pride, No Prejudice

“It isn’t what we say or think that defines us, but what we do.” Jane Austen wrote it and FFT Fellows embody it. Especially those who research Jane Austen on their fellowships. Kelsey Nichols (Joel Barlow High School – Redding, CT) credits Austen with her decision to become an English teacher. Therefore, it stands to…

Making Space for Learning

Recently a group of sixty Fund for Teachers Fellows gathered in New Haven, CT, to consider how one’s environment impacts learning. Led by Laura Pirie, lecturer at Yale School of Architecture and principal of Pirie Associates Architects, teachers thought expansively and creatively about ideal learning modes and new learning places that could emerge to suit…

The Era That Will Live in Infamy

On Pearl Harbor Day, we remember the 2,403 people killed in the surprise attack by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service. The “date which will live in infamy” launched America’s entry into World War II; the bombings also resulted in the internment of 7,000 Japanese American citizens in relocation centers by order of President Franklin…

Giving Perspectives, Giving Thanks

Hundreds of families in Zionville, IN, will have a much better Thanksgiving, thanks to FFT Fellow Danielle Wilson and her students at Zionsville Community High School. After she spent two weeks last summer volunteering at a food outreach program in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Danielle inspired her students to undertake a similar service learning…

Paving the Way for Women

On this day in 1911, Suffragettes stormed Parliament in London. All were arrested and chose prison terms. Their leader was Emmeline Pankhurst – the focus of Eric Reid-St. John‘s fellowship. Eric, a theatre teacher at Spain Park High School in Hoover, AL, researched Pankhurst and the suffrage movement they incited. While in London, he found in Trafalgar…

Reflections of an FFT Program Officer

Program officers are Fund for Teachers’ primary point of contact for grant recipients. These individuals field applicants’ questions; support new Fellows throughout the summer; and continue to encourage them once back in the classroom. Other than living vicariously through the Fellows with whom they work, program officers’ favorite part of the job is meeting those…

A Mom/Teacher’s Work is Never Done

Barbara Walters said, “Most of us have trouble juggling. The woman who says she doesn’t is someone whom I admire but have never met.” FFT Fellow Helen Dole, however, seems to be managing fairly well. Helen teaches sixth grade at Lower Manhattan Community Middle School in New York City. With her teammate Molly Goodell, she and…

Reflecting on Education Post-911

America’s teachers were among the first responders on September 11, instantly becoming students’ source of information and calm. In the years following the tragedy, multiple teachers have turned to Fund for Teachers for grants to develop strategies and resources that help students process what happened and also provide context for those not yet born when…

This is Just the Beginning

“The congratulations email we got from Fund for Teachers on April 4 about our grant said “This is just the beginning…” Little did we know how true that sentiment was…” So began the note from 2019 FFT Fellow Kelly Whitaker. She and team mate Sherry Grogan (Monroe Area High School – Monroe, GA) designed their…

Leaving a New Legacy in Hiroshima

On this day in 1945, an atomic bomb flattened Hiroshima – one of two bombings that induced the Japanese to surrender and end World War II. FFT Fellow Kelly Loubier (Orville H. Platt High School-Meriden, CT) participated in the anniversary ceremonies at the Hiroshima Memorial Peace Park, where she also delivered to the Children’s Memorial…

Fellow Friday | Magical Mystery Tour

Fund for Teachers invites PreK-12 educators to design learning adventures wherever their imaginations can take them, which is the same thing author Mary Pope Osborne does for young readers through her Magic Tree House series. These award-winning books transport main characters Jack and Annie on quests that pursue people and topics they previously only read…

Final Tour of Auschwitz with Survivor Eva Kor

Middle school language arts teacher Amy Taylor designed her Fund for Teachers fellowship to accompany Holocaust survivor Eva Kor back to Auschwitz to learn about her subjection to Mengele’s twin experiments, her liberation from the camp in 1945, and her ability to forgive. It would be the last such tour Ms. Kor hosted. She died…

Fellow Friday | Whose American History?

This month, 230 prek-12 teachers are learning around the world with Fund for Teachers grants, making this our busiest “Fellow Season.” Highlighting one teacher for our weekly Friday Fellow post is tough, as our exemplary grant recipients are checking in from near and far with updates that inspire wanderlust from behind our computers. In light…

Helping Deaf Students Speak Up

Alexander Graham Bell’s most well-known accomplishment is the invention of the telephone; however, his first job was as a teacher. In fact, he was teaching at the Boston School for Deaf Mutes when he began creating a machine that changed the way we communicate forever. Deborah Tubbs and Dana Smith share a lot in common with…

Fellow Friday | It’s Never Too Late

The Wall Street Journal recently shared an article titled “It’s Never Too Late,” referring to how the “multiple cognitive peaks throughout our lives, and the talents and passions that we have to offer can emerge across a range of personal circumstances.” Such is the case for Larry Shortell, special education teacher at Explorations Charter School…