In Memory of FFT Founder, Raymond Plank

WWII Veteran, business leader, philanthropist and stalwart individualist, Raymond N. Plank passed away at his beloved home in Ucross, Wyoming on Thursday, November 8th, 2018 at the age of 96. Throughout his life, he continued working, writing, reading, learning and contributing to society. Plank founded Apache Corporation (NYSE:APA) and managed it for fifty-five years as…

Beyond Dia de los Muertos

Pixar’s Coco familiarized many with the tradition of Dia de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead.” And before Nancy MacBride‘s fellowship to Oaxaca, Mexico, the annual holiday inspired Voluntown Elementary’s singular art project honoring Latin American history and culture. Now, the celebration honoring life and death is just one in a series of year-long…

Wicked Good Learning

Happy Halloween! Today, we’re celebrating the clever teachers who incorporate creepy into their curriculum to engage students. Read on, if you dare… Emily Young (High School for Arts, Imagination and Inquiry – Brooklyn) investigated how places “haunt” writers and readers by exploring Salem, MA, and The Stanley Hotel (which inspired Stephen King’s The Shining) to…

Nature-ally Curious

Starr Weems’ students live in a state that ranks at the top in biodiversity, childhood obesity and unhappiness. Her answer: Get them outside. Scientists refer to the Alabama farmland surrounding Ardmore High School as “America’s Amazon,” but Starr’s survey of students revealed that 56% of them spend less than three hours per week outside —…

Today in History – Alaska!

  The name of our 49th state derives from the Aleut word alyeska, or “great land.” Many FFT Fellows would agree after experiencing the culture and ecology of the land that – 151 years ago today – was acquired from Russia for $7.2 million. In celebration of Alaska Day, enjoy the following images, insights and…

Tips from the Pros (aka Fellows)

Two weeks ago, Fund for Teachers opened the 2019 grant application. Have you been thinking about where you want to go and what you want to learn? For a little inspiration, today we share excerpts from a piece produced by the Stamford (CT) Education Association highlighting the learning of FFT Fellows from the area. Maybe…

Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples Day?

Columbus may have sailed the ocean blue in fourteen hundred ninety two, but South Dakota instituted October 8 as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in nineteen hundred eighty nine as a counter-celebration. This is the holiday Rebecca Zisook’s students will be commemorating today due, in large part, to her FFT fellowship this summer. “Previously, our third grade…

Peace is the Path

In honor of Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday today, we share the thoughts of teachers who analyzed his practice of ahimsa, or non-violence on their 2015 FFT fellowship. Katie Seltzer and Eric Berge spent five weeks in India learning about the teaching of non-harm present in Jainism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. They share some of their experiences and…

2019 Grant Application Available Today

Learning Out of Africa

“Travel changes you. As you move through this life and this world you change things slightly, you leave marks behind, however small. And in return, life – and travel – leaves marks on you. Most of the time, those marks – on your body or on your heart – are beautiful. Often, though, they hurt.”…

The Evolution of a Teacher and Fellow

Last week in Chicago, our board of directors meeting agenda included a special guest – 2017 FFT Fellow Paula Dell, teacher at Robert Lindblom Math and Science Academy High School in the city’s South Side. Paula used her grant to work with researchers and professors active in current excavation, research and teaching of human evolution…

What’s Worth Saving?

FFT Fellows take planes, trains and automobiles in pursuit of knowledge that will engage students. Kristie Blanchard and Christine Troup’s transportation of choice? Camels. UNESCO World Heritage Sites can be hard to get to. According to the United Nations Education, Scientific & Cultural Organization (UNESCO), World Heritage Sites are cultural and/or natural sites considered to…

At the Intersection of Lane and Kilauea

Fund for Teachers fellowships are NOT vacations. So when a teacher applies for a grant to learn in Hawaii, selection committees raise an eyebrow. The proposal has to be extra convincing that teacher learning and student impact will extend beyond beautiful sunsets and drinks with tiny umbrellas. Christa Phillips’ proposal passed muster. A first-grade teacher…

Passport to Learning – Part IV

[minti_dropcap style=”normal”]A[/minti_dropcap]s part of the “follow up” portion of an FFT fellowship, grant recipients complete a Passport that documents their learning and where they plan to go from here. Teachers answer brief questions in three categories: Personal and Professional Growth Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community, and, Imagining the Future. During the month of…

WHY Hail the Mighty State?

“Why?” is the response of elementary-aged students to virtually every statement, which is why many parents are happily walking their kids back through the school doors right about now. When Lori Lyn’s second graders at Houston’s Hicks Elementary used to ask WHY Texas was so great, she quoted the usual (ranks second in population and…

Passport to Learning – Part III

[minti_dropcap style=”normal”]A[/minti_dropcap]s part of the “follow up” portion of an FFT fellowship, grant recipients complete a Passport that documents their learning and where they plan to go from here. Teachers answer brief questions in three categories: Personal and Professional Growth Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community, and, Imagining the Future During the month of…

Now They’re Cooking

Last summer I traveled to Puerto Rico to explore the cuisine, flavors and agriculture of the island. One of the major concepts I focused on was the idea of “farm to table” and wanted to use an FFT fellowship to enhance my schools participation in Connecticut’s farm to school program. While in PR, I got…

Passport to Learning – Part II

[minti_dropcap style=”normal”]A[/minti_dropcap]s part of the “follow up” portion of an FFT fellowship, grant recipients complete a Passport that documents their learning and where they plan to go from here. Teachers answer brief questions in three categories: Personal and Professional Growth Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community, and, Imagining the Future During the month of…