Researching the Trans-Saharan trade routes in Tangier, Morocco.

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 be of ‘Outstanding Universal Value’ with special importance for everyone. Everyone, that is, except Kristie and Christine’s students at Bacon Academy in Colchester, CT.

“Our rural public high school lacks diversity and global acuity,” said the teaching team. “Freshmen also take a year-long geography course that lacks geospacial technologies used by professionals in the field. We designed our fellowship to explore iconic sites of Catalan, Andalusia and Morocco. Documenting the destinations with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) linked world cultures with geography to emphasize WHY these places have value.”

Taking their lead from the UNESCO theme “Protecting our Heritage and Fostering Creativity,” Christine and Kristie started their fellowship at the Creativity Workshop in Barcelona. There, they deepened proficiencies in the “Four C’s of Deeper Learning” outlined by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills: work collaboratively, improve communication, critical thinking and creativity.

Then, they set off for the Iberian Peninsula to interview citizens and learn from local guides and docents how UNESCO sites represent the cultural landscape of each unique region. Their odyssey took them to:

• Antoni Gaudi sites, including Sagrada Familia
• the Alhambra
• Alcazar of Seville
• El Torcal de Antequera, and
• the “Blue City” of Chefchaouen

The question that guided all of their research was “What makes a place worth preserving?”

Kristi and Christine began the school by addressing the lack of Middle Eastern and European elements in their curriculum. An ESRI Story Map documenting the fellowship models for students how technology can bridge information with authentic learning in multiple aspects of their lives and their community.

“In keeping with our fellowship’s guiding question, students will be challenged to find sites that they believe are worth preserving in our town,” said Kristie. “Through research, inquiry and writing, students may influence the Historic Preservation Office of Connecticut to add additional sites to their register.”

“We’re now able to make text-to-world applications through our experiences and gathered artifacts,” added Christine. “By using new techniques, all students, including those who read and write below proficiency level, will be encouraged to participate in more personalized ways to tell their authentic stories, as well as those of our community.”

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Christine Troup has taught grades 6 – 12 in three states over the past 23 years. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and traveling, or any combination of the three. Kristie Blanchard has specialized in teaching 9th grade Geography and 10th grade AP Human Geography for nearly 20 years. Her career accomplishments include: the National Council for Geographic Education Distinguished Teaching Award, New England St. Lawrence Valley Geographical Society’s Friend of Geography Award, and the American Geographical Society Teacher Fellow.

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 at Marshall Primary School, Christa used her Fund for Teachers grant to compare and contrast the culture, natural resources and geography of Hawaii with Belton, SC, to create an integrated unit that increases students’ curiosity, global awareness, appreciation of diversity, and helps make connections between people and their environment.

At first glance, South Carolina and Hawaii have little in common; however, both are home to endangered sea turtles and both lie on faults in the Earth’s crust. (Marshall Primary School performs multiple earthquake drills throughout the year!) Both states also have petroglyphs dating back thousands of years; Christa photographed the markings carved into lava rock by ancient Hawaiians to compare with symbols created by Native Americans in South Carolina’s red clay. She’ll incorporate all of these topics, as well Polynesian culture and the history behind Pearl Harbor, into a new multi-week course that directly addresses state standards for Science and Social Studies.

“I have been in the teacher role for nearly two decades. As an FFT Fellow, I became the student,” said Christa. “This new perspective gave me an appreciation for the challenges of my students in seeking knowledge and understanding of the natural world and the diversity within it. It also inspired me to challenge myself to do things I was previously too afraid to do: flying around the world, hiking through a rain forest, driving up steep mountains at high elevations, walking on lava fields, seeing endangered species in their natural environment, and exploring 8 out of the world’s 13 climate zones! I have a new excitement for learning and teaching stemming from this wonderful experience.”

Christa is a National Board Certified Early Childhood Generalist. For nearly two decades, she’s demonstrated a passion for learning- both personally and professionally. Since 2007, she has partnered with the WebbCraft Family Foundation to provide tens of thousands of free books to children in the community. You can see more images from her fellowship on the dedicated Instagram account.

[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:

1. Personal and Professional Growth
2. Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community, and,
3. Imagining the Future

During the month of August, we’ll share some of our Fellows’ Passports to get us all in the “Back to School” mode. Today, we’re proud to share the reflections of Amber Neal, teacher at Almeda Elementary School in Houston, TX. In her grant proposal, she shared the inspiration behind her fellowship:

As a Black little girl, I grew up learning about Africa in school, but exclusively through the lens of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The curriculum and textbooks only reinforced stereotypes of Africans as remote village dwellers with spears and shields and co-existing with wild animals. Years later as an educator, I noted the elementary curriculum was greatly restricted by academic expectations and statewide annual assessments, completely lacking creative, culturally responsive texts or materials. In fact, our state’s education system actually came under fire for producing textbooks and curriculum that romanticized slavery, misinforming students that slaves were actually immigrants that made the decision to travel to the New World.

 

As a Black educator, I felt deeply offended that across the state, teachers were essentially educating students on historical half-truths. This trip will serve as a reminder that I am obligated to not only teach the standards of the course, but to recognize what’s not included and ask why. It is vital in our roles as educators to check our own perceptions and beliefs to become more cognizant of how important our part is in perpetuating stereotypes in the malleable minds of our students.

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Fellowship Description

Experience Tanzania’s history, language, culture and educational climate to deepen understanding of African refugee students and develop learning experiences that enhance global awareness, celebrate cultural differences and enrich classroom discourse.

Personal & Professional Growth

With Masai women sharing cultural & historical significance of bead work.

This fellowship expanded my worldview and enhanced my knowledge and understanding of East African cultures, languages and history. I’ve already utilized the acquired knowledge, skills and resources from Tanzania to develop instructional materials that will enrich authentic student learning experiences. Lastly, it has provided me a springboard to critically analyze what we teach, the methods in which we teach and the efficacy of the curriculum taught.

Observing Tanzanian teachers instruct and lead with upwards of 100 students per class was awe-inspiring! Tanzanian teachers are not always afforded the modern technological advances that are so prevalent in American schools; instead they use innovation, passion, inspiration and creativity to bring their lessons to life. I plan to incorporate various Tanzanian folktales, oral histories, and cultural artifacts in my ESL Reading classes to celebrate cultural diversity and improve global competence.

My greatest personal accomplishment was my ability to be completely immersed in the culture. Through this fellowship, I reaffirmed my identity as a Black educator by drawing connections between African-American and traditional African cultures, which will prove invaluable in my instruction of predominately Black students. I am also proud of the Swahili language skills that I acquired and plan not only to utilize them in the classroom setting, but will continue my study of the language.

Impact on Your Students, School & Community

While the current social studies curriculum mandates that 3rd-5th grade students learn both state and U.S. history, much of the curriculum lacks examination through a global lens. My fellowship experience will expose students to the beauty of the African diaspora by honoring history, celebrating cultures and recognizing the continent’s global impact. Students will develop their critical thinking skills by participating in activities that require critique and collaboration on real world issues.

I also believe that by sharing my experiences, curiosity among my colleagues will grow, inspiring them to seek out non-traditional professional development opportunities and challenge them to critically examine the curriculum and their own biases when working with students of color and students of historically under-served backgrounds. I want to be a role model for teaching a global citizenship curriculum, balancing critical literacy instruction and providing culturally responsive instruction.

 

Imagining the Future

Students will celebrate their new learning by reading the book Africa is Not a Country, which orients students to Africa as a continent through the exploration of the traditions and cultures of kids from 25 countries, including Tanzania. This interactive lesson will help students recognize country names, locations and regions while the mini-narratives in the book illuminates the immense cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity of the diaspora and dispels the myth of it being a country.

There is a large push in Tanzanian education reform for students to be a part of a global economy through their learning of the English language. However, in many public schools, the access to literature has been a challenge. I want to inspire my students to donate some of their favorite books to some of the primary schools, and include book reviews to inspire Tanzania students to read, in English. Through this experience, students will develop a sense of empathy for other students’ experiences.

This fellowship provided me the opportunity to explore the African diaspora, which was life changing, on a professional and personal level. The warmth of the people and my overall experiences felt like a pilgrimage back home. Through my journey, I have become more invested in my career as an educator and reaffirmed my passions as a lifelong learner. I will now bring my global experiences to the classroom and expose students to the world outside of the four walls of their communities.

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Amber (pictured picking up her FFT grant check) utilizes her social work background to improve students’ social, emotional and behavioral outcomes. She infuses culturally responsive materials to foster social justice, global awareness and civic engagement. A 2018 HEB Excellence in Education statewide finalist and 2017 Fulbright scholar, she also uses her global experiences to bring experiential, hands-on learning to her urban classroom.

The title photo of Amber was taken at Olduvai Gorge, considered the birthplace of humanity.

Have you seen Won’t You Be My Neighbor yet? So many wonderful quotes on education and children spoken by “America’s Teacher.” Before your new students enter the room you’ve worked so hard to prepare for them, we suggest preparing your spirit by revisiting the learning community of Mr. Rogers’ neighborhood.

Until then, here are a few special quotes, along with an interview of Fred Rogers and the official movie trailer:

“As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has – or ever will have – something inside that is unique to all time.” 

“It’s not the honors and the prizes and the fancy outsides of life which ultimately nourish our souls. It’s the knowing that we can be trusted, that we never have to fear the truth, that the bedrock of our very being is good stuff. That’s what makes growing humanity the most potentially glorious enterprise on earth.”

“I hope you’re proud of yourself for the times you’ve said ‘yes,’ when all it meant was extra work for you and was seemingly helpful only to somebody else.” 

“Please think of the children first. If you ever have anything to do with their entertainment, their food, their toys, their custody, their childcare, their health care, their education – listen to the children, learn about them, learn from them. Think of the children first.”

FFT Fellows are these kind of teachers, the ones who love their calling as a teacher and those they teach. You can learn more about these passionate professionals on our blog posts or on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds.

If you are interested in designing your own summer fellowship to impact your students, classroom and school community, watch for our 2019 grant application, which goes live on October 1.

[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:

1. Personal and Professional Growth
2. Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community, and,
3. Imagining the Future

During the month of August, we’ll share some of our Fellows’ Passports to get us all in the “Back to School” mode. Today, we’re proud to share the reflections of Jacqueline Catcher, teacher at Exeter High School in Exeter, NH.

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Fellowship Description
Tour literary sites associated with famous British authors, including William Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, and Horace Walpole; examine the impact of Gothic architecture in the development of characterization and theme in Jane Eyre; and study canonical literature at the Oxbridge Teacher Seminar at the University of Cambridge to create differentiated and engaging learning for academic and AP English students.

Personal & Professional Growth

Sitting in the teacher’s chair of the schoolroom where Shakespeare studied.

I am returning well equipped to integrate British literature, artwork, architecture, and history into all of my courses. I learned about unique ways to approach poetry analysis, which have students engaging in visual, auditory, and kinesthetic analysis. I can also see how various local museums, parks, and libraries offer unique opportunities for literary analysis based on these new techniques. This has been the most inspiring, exhilarating, and rewarding professional development I’ve ever had.

Oftentimes we teach art, history, and literature we’ve never actually seen. Now I am able to incorporate primary documents, pamphlets, photographs, books, and videos that I prepared throughout my trip and tailored to my lessons. I have photos of paintings and videos of interactive art installations that will help my students explore literary themes in unique mediums. I’m most excited to share the 3D and panoramic photos I took, so students can observe England as if they were actually there.

I challenged myself to create more adds-on units for traditional texts. I’m required to teach Shakespeare to my struggling readers, so I knew I wanted to build a Globe Theatre facade and host a night that would not only provide my students with an authentic audience, but it would also showcase their work. By collecting materials, visiting historic sites, and experiencing a performance in the actual Globe Theatre, I learned how to approach this project and production.

Impact on Your Classroom, School & Community

Students will read and discuss literature through visual, auditory, and kinesthetic methods that will engage them beyond the page. They will derive meaning from modern art, connect current historical and art exhibits to past literature, and think critically about how spaces and architecture frame both characters’ worlds as well as their own. They will visit England through photos and videos while at the same time physically constructing these spaces to share with their community.

“My students will build a massive facade of The Globe to hose a Shakespeare Night. This was my view watching The Winter’s Tale at the real one.”

I am collaborating with our school’s theater director to host a Shakespeare night. Our classes will work together to construct the facade of the Globe Theatre onstage and prepare a performance of various scenes, monologues, dances, and musical productions to honor Shakespeare’s work. In addition, I will also be collaborating with an educator from Pakistan who I met during my coursework. We are planning to lead short story discussion groups between our students via video chats.

Imagining the Future

“This art installation in the Bronte’s moors in Haworth was called ‘Literary Landscapes,’ fitting since I researched the impact of spaces like this on characterization in Jane Eyre.”

I believe the best way to celebrate student learning is by providing authentic audiences, which push students to educate others beyond their peers. Our community Shakespeare night will allow students to prepare and present their research, analysis, and performances for our local community. Additionally, my AP Literature students will construct small dioramas that look at natural and architectural spaces’ impact on characterization in Jane Eyre. These will be on display in our school library.

Too often we dismiss older literature as antiquated or out-of-touch. What we fail to recognize is that the reason these plays, novels, or poems are deemed classics is because they explore universal themes that help us contemplate the world around us. Literature can’t be read or even analyzed in a vacuum though. It is deeply social, overlapping with other subjects and cultures. I hope students can help others see that literacy and literature is valuable to understanding everything.

Observing the world as both a traveler and a teacher provides a unique vantage point. You absorb, discuss, photograph, and document everything with more intensity, knowing that you aren’t just seeing these places for yourself, you are experiencing them for the hundreds of students who will pass through your classroom. I can only hope my fellowship will change my students’ outlook on poetry, literature, art, and architecture as much as this journey has changed my life as an educator.

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Jacqueline teaches Freshman English and AP Literature, as well as pre-service teachers at the University of New Hampshire. She empowers students through independent reading and authentic writing experiences using a workshop model. Outside of the classroom, she enjoys serving as the vice president of the New Hampshire Council for Teachers of English and advisor of her school’s Government Club and Writer’s Club. See more of her fellowship and follow her on Twitter:[minti_social icon=”fa-twitter” url=”https://twitter.com/@JackieCatcher” target=”_self”]

We received this note from Lana Greenawald last week after she returned from her fellowship. Inspired by her work and her words, we’re pleased to share it with you.

To the Fund for Teachers team:

 

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for the opportunity to study the Spanish language and Mexican culture at the Spanish Language Institute for Teachers in Cuernavaca, Mexico, through a Fund for Teachers grant.

 

During my five-week immersive fellowship, I lived with a host family, attended Spanish classes 30 hours per week, toured local schools and important cultural sites, met local teachers and constantly interacted with people in Spanish.

 

English learners with disabilities are an underserved population in public schools. I am especially honored to have received a Fund for Teachers grant so I may work to change this. My improved Spanish language skills and understanding of Mexican culture will enhance my culturally- and linguistically-responsive assessment and treatment of this unique population.

 

I am also confident that my fellowship experiences will help me to be a more inclusive educator as I have improved my ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking families of students with disabilities. Additionally, the grant allowed me to purchase three speech-language pathology professional textbooks about issues specific to assessing English learners with disabilities and an additional 21 private Spanish lessons to continue my studies following my international fellowship.

 

Thank you again for an unparalleled learning experience that will impact my work with English learners with disabilities throughout my career.

 

Yours sincerely,
Lana Greenawald
Speech-Language Pathologist
Margaret Ross Elementary & Hopewell Elementary – Aliquippa, PA

Lana is a speech-language pathologist for the Hopewell Area School District in Pittsburgh. She has served students with disabilities in the public school for five years and was previously awarded the Vira I. Heinz Scholarship for Women in Global Leadership, which funded a learning opportunity in France.  Before school begins, Lana will speak to the district’s special education department about her experience living in a non-English speaking town in Mexico for five weeks, the power of home language use in instruction, and her experience visiting an inspiring local special education school for people with Down’s syndrome. She plans to serve as a resource for the department and students with communication disorders for years to come.

To be (relevant) or not to be (relevant), that is the question high school students ask when it comes to reading Shakespeare. In response, Fund for Teachers Fellows annually set out for Stratford Upon Avon and related sites to prove how a 400-year-old bard has still got game.

Gretchen Philbrick, teacher at Norwich Free Academy in Norwich, CT, crammed as much Shakespeare into three weeks as possible, seeking him out in three countries. She participate in the European Shakespeare Research Association convention in London; attended the Gdansk Shakespeare Festival in Poland; and explored Romeo and Juliet’s Verona.

“Shakespeare lessons ‘test my mettle’ as a teacher,” she said. “I must come up with relevant, properly scaffolded, high interest lessons in which students can discover just how capable they are and walk away as confident Shakespearean scholars.” She uses the Instagram feed named for a Shakespeare quote (@experiencebeajewel) to share videos, incorporates puppetry into readings and analyzes with her students global adaptations of Romeo and Juliet from locations as varied as Bollywood and Iran.

“Shakespeare marks a significant stage in a student’s development. Once students “get” a Shakespeare text, they beam & their sense of accomplishment is evident!” said Gretchen.

Danielle getting in character at The Globe Theatre.

Danielle Peck (Grosse Point South High School – Grosse Pointe Farms, MI) participated in the “Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance” program in London to learn new methods of teaching that inspired creativity through performance. Classes at the Globe Theatre informed her own, as she shares strategies for mastering texts through analytical reading and writing.

“Shakespeare now resides on our campus in multiple ways” said Danielle. “My students started a Shakespeare Club and I serve as advisor. This year, we held an in-school monologue contest and also traveled to Cincinnati to participate in the National Shakespeare Monologue Competition.”

Additional student activities include:

• a “Shakespeare’s Greatest Hits” staged reading by students and teachers of the most iconic scenes;
• a new semester-long course on the bard; and,
• an annual performance of Romeo & Juliet on campus in collaboration with a professional theatre company.

“My summer at the Globe was truly life-changing,” said Danielle. “It transformed me as an educator and as a human being and inspired me to keep learning and growing.  Thank you for trusting teachers to develop their own extraordinarily meaningful professional development programs.  In a time when it seems like teachers are given less trust and fewer resources than ever, your philosophy is a hopeful breath of fresh air.”

Engaging middle school students in classic literature and theatrical performance was the motivation behind Lyndsey Jones-McAdams‘ fellowship. In addition to participating in a Greek performance workshop in an authentic amphitheater, she conducted research at the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford Upon Avon. This week, her fourth and fifth graders at P.S. 264 in Brooklyn completed a “Classical Remix Theatre Collection” which she created. In collaboration with a professional theatre, students read original texts in an abridged manner and adapt them for the school community (comprised primarily of Middle Eastern immigrants).

“My students adapted A Midsummer Night’s Dream into an immersive theatre piece, where we transformed our school into Ancient Athens and students and families traveled our building to visit and become a part of the world of the fairies, mechanicals, and young lovers!” said Lyndsey. “At the end, they all (audience included) participated in a traditional Greek wedding dance to celebrate the weddings of the young lovers and the Duke and Duchess.

This summer, the following FFT Fellows will seek out Shakespeare on both sides of the pond:

Joan Williams (Knoxville, TN) will investigate political and folkloric history of Macbeth in England and Scotland, particularly differing performance strategies and historical interpretations, to establish thematic context for existing interdisciplinary courses (AP World History/Literature) and incorporate site-based research into a new Shakespearean Performance curriculum.

 

David Williams (Colchester, CT) will attend the Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance course at the Globe Theatre in London to learn practical approaches for engaging students from a variety of backgrounds and academic levels.

 

Julie Davidson and Ann Hasenohrl (Westlake, TX) will participate in Kristin Linklater’s Advanced Course on Shakespeare’s Monologues and Scenes in the Orkney Islands of Scotland to apply innovative and differentiated strategies that bring Shakespeare to life for diverse high school students.

 

Jacqueline Catcher (Exeter, NY) will tour literary sites associated with famous British authors, including William Shakespeare, the Bronte sisters, and Horace Walpole; examine the impact of Gothic architecture in the development of characterization and theme in Jane Eyre; and study canonical literature at the Oxbridge Teacher Seminar at the University of Cambridge to create differentiated and engaging learning for academic and AP English students.

 

Ryan Campbell (East Hartford, CT) will walk in the footsteps of Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” in England and Scotland to strengthen personal knowledge of British history and topography that, in turn, enhances literary competency and global awareness of International Baccalaureate students.

 

Diana D’Emeraude (Austin, TX) participate in a Shakespeare training program for middle and high school language arts/theatre teachers at the Globe Theatre in London to to create curricular units with authentic lessons for my students to help students develop critical thinking skills to be applied in the classroom and beyond.

 

Alicia Sirios & Cynthia Russell-Williams (East Hartford, CT) will explore social justice as presented through the Scottish Fringe Festival in Edinburgh and the Globe Theatre and Hip Hop Shakespeare Company in London to help students identify parallels between literature and their own lives and develop courage to face challenges presented by societal expectations. And,

 

John Matthiessen (Branford, CT) will participate in Globe Theatre’s “Teaching Shakespeare Through Performance” course in London to learn practical and play-filled approaches to teaching Shakespeare in the classroom and increase student engagement in the reading and performing Shakespeare.

 

“I dreamed of sharpening my teaching skills so all of my students can come to see Shakespeare,” said John, “not only as  a manageable reading experience, but as a doorway into a world where some of our lives’ most fundamental dilemmas take physical form and stride believably toward their inevitable resolution, whether comedic or tragic.” Although Hamlet says, “A dream itself is but a shadow,” John’s dream will be realized this summer on his fellowship. Follow him and all of our Fellows here on our blog.

“For the past two years, my eighth grade English class has used Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer-Prize-winning graphic-novel, MAUS, as our primary text to study the Holocaust. My students enjoy the fascinating imagery, the break from traditional textbooks, and Vladek Spiegelman’s captivating experience in Nazi concentration camps. While they enjoy the unit, it can be challenging for students to connect the story with the grave reality of the Holocaust.  This fellowship would allow me to ground the story in reality through the authority of my own experience and by creating short video journals which document the places described in the book.”

Filming at the gates of Auschwitz.

So began Nick Dykert’s FFT grant proposal — a desire to combine the Holocaust, YouTube and what The Washington Post deems “the greatest graphic novel ever written” into meaningful, relevant learning for students in his English class at James Monroe Elementary in Chicago. He spent two weeks retracing the steps of Holocaust survivor Vladek Spiegelman (aka MAUS) through Sweden, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Germany as described in the graphic novel.

“It was amazing to stand in the places that I talk about during my WWII unit. I can speak with greater authority and use the many videos I shot to engage my students,” said Nick. “In our current political atmosphere, it is so important to be able to empathize, slow down, and consider one another’s perspectives. Relating my firsthand experience and showing my videos brings my students one step closer to doing that.”

According to Nick, students are simultaneously loving the “vlog” and poking fun at him. “They think it’s funny to subscribe to their teacher on YouTube.”

WE think Nick’s videos, discussion questions and resources are remarkable. See if you agree.

Watch the first six videos by clicking here.

“Once upon a time there were two teachers in search of a way to make fairy tales come alive for their urban students.” This is how preK and kindergarten teachers Carmen Kaemingk and Kirsten Carlson began their FFT grant application, proposing a journey along the Fairy Tale Trail in Germany, Italy and France. By researching the origins of stories by Perrault (Little Red Riding Hood, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella), Collodi (Pinocchio) and the Brothers Grimm, they believed they could encourage students’ imagination as an alternative to technology-driven entertainment.

Turns out, they were right — sort of.

Students now use props their teachers brought back to act out fairy tales in class, expanding their language skills and building vocabularies. This exercise has proven especially fun (and effective) for English Language Learners. Students also write and illustrate their own fairy tales and their parents attended a Fairy Tales 101 night to learn how sharing stories from their own cultures can develop literacy and language skills in their children.

The “sort of” disclaimer is because the innovative teachers are using technology to enhance the fairy tale units. By strapping on Virtual Reality headsets loaded with images taken on the fellowship, students marvel at landscapes in which the familiar stories took place. They also dictate into recording devices their own narratives, learning digital storytelling techniques.

“Our goal was to take fairy tales off the movie screen and activate our students’ imaginations through the magic of reading fairy tales,” said Carmen. “While we’re accomplishing that goal, we’re also teaching them how to tell a story in correct sequence, a necessary reading skill that builds and strengthens students’ comprehension.”

And they are all learning happily ever after.

The end.

Preschool teachers have to be flexible, but Dianna Langdon (Park Early Childhood Center – Ossining, NY) is taking that necessity to a whole new level. She used her FFT grant to obtain certification as a registered children’s yoga teacher and now incorporates the practice daily to unite four-year-olds’ minds, bodies, thoughts and actions while also fulfilling state standards requiring preschoolers’ physical, social and emotional development.

Dianna partners with a student for a bridge pose.

Two weeks of instruction at the Bhodi Tree Yoga Resort in Nosara, Costa Rica, equipped Dianna to weave yoga and mindfulness into classroom instruction in English and Spanish to include the large percentage of students from Latin American countries. She also leads staff development sessions that empower all of the preK teachers and assistants to incorporate breathing and movement exercises that reduce student stress and increase healthy practices.

“My prekindergarten students now enjoy much needed opportunities throughout their learning day for movement, which helps increase their attention and stimulate their cognitive ability,” said Dianna. “Students are also developing mindful habits through the use of new meditative strategies I’ve learned such as mindful minute, guided visualizations, and affirmations.”

Despite their high energy level, the young yogis look forward to the chance to  relax together, according to Dianna. She leads some exercises, then students use their creativity to dream up and share their own poses (pictured). They also share thoughts about feelings, hopes and worries. “We even use yoga breathing strategies to support ourselves at other times during the school day and to modulate our energy during learning,” Dianna said.

Ultimately, she envisions daily yoga sessions developing in her students the principle of ahimsa, or non-harming.

“By teaching my students this principle and encouraging them to think about it in other areas of their lives, we will all go into the world outside our classroom with a focus on kindness toward the other.”

Namaste.

For more stories about teachers pursuing mindfulness strategies with their grants, read about the work of these Houston teachers, as well as the impact of these Fellows who learned under experts at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Massachusetts and a Buddhist monastery in France.

Wisconsin is home to the third largest population of Hmong immigrants in the country, but students at Pittsville Elementary knew little about their peers from Southeast Asia. Kate Van Haren turned to textbooks, but most social studies information focused on European ancestry. Online research surfaced only immigration statistics and an occasional Hmong recipe.

“I realized a key component of the American immigration story was missing from my curriculum,” said Kate. “My students interacted with the Hmong community due to the large number of families relocated here, so I knew it was a group of people I could create interest around. I designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to create a narrative around push/pull immigration that affirmed the fact that, despite our differences, most immigrants to the United States and their descendants share similarities with us, as well.”

Visiting the Elephant Jungle Sanctuary north of Chiang Mai, Thailand

Kate spent one month traversing Southeast Asia, researching Hmong culture and their modern societies in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. Along the way, she learned about the custom of story cloths — series of embroidered pictures that document daily lives and legends. She purchased one from a Hmong tribal woman and created curriculum for fourth grade Wisconsin History and fifth grade US History students. After learning about the Hmong culture and welcoming guest speakers from a local Lao community organization, students drew personal story cloths sharing their personal ancestries.

“The stories of Hmong families who settled in the area are both tragic and heroic, yet my students were unaware of the diversity in our small farming community. It has been amazing to watch how this project opened their eyes to the different groups of people living around them,” said Kate. “In the age of data analysis and standards based testing, developing a globally conscious curriculum becomes more difficult. This fellowship inspired me to continue meeting my goal of shaping students with global and cultural awareness.”

This February, Fund for Teachers is celebrating Black History Month by highlighting some of our Fellows’ journeys to bring a better understanding of the African American experience to all students. In this four-part blog series, we’ll be diving into everything from the Transatlantic Slave Trade to student advocacy. Our Fellows explored how black history is impacting student identity in our last blog. This week, we are taking a deeper look at how Fellows Pearl Jonas, Ashley Porter and Kaitlyn Kraushaar are considering the past in light of current events. Read on to learn more about their experiences in the classroom and how they are honoring Black History Month in their schools.

Pearl visited the childhood home of Senghor, Senegal’s first president, where she researched the origin stories and history of Senegal’s democracy.

Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward, you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” Our Fellows personify Jobs’ belief as they purposefully leverage history to change the future.

Establishing that African Americans HAVE a history is the beginning of Pearl Jonas’ teaching with students at Philadelphia’s Science Leadership Academy. She begins with the Transatlantic Slave Trade, then dives deeper into oral traditions as sources for understanding cultures and the past. Senegal and the surrounding countries provide the richest historical narratives, so that’s where Pearl conducted research on her Fund for Teachers fellowship. She now leads more engaging discussions that challenge how we think in the present based on how history was taught in the past.

“There are several myths, misconceptions and incomplete histories told about African societies,” said Pearl. “This has roots in some 19^th and early 20^th century European historians’ ideology that Africa has no history to tell.”

Conflict resolution inspired the fellowship of Ashley Porter and Kaitlyn Kraushaar. As teachers at Hixson Middle School, just twenty minutes from the 2014 shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white police officer in Ferguson, MO, Ashley and Kaitlyn struggled to give their predominantly white students perspective through this tumultuous time. To find new ways to shape conversations on diversity across their district, the teachers designed a Fund for Teachers fellowship to research how teachers around the world address social justice.

“The current climate in our city remains very racially charged and divided, and healing is needed on both sides of the issue,” said Ashley. “Bringing to light race relations and the struggles of other minorities in a safe and responsive environment is key in helping all of our students make sense of who they are and who they’d like to be.”

Principal Lee leading a restorative circle.

Students at Hixson now regularly participate in restorative circles, such as this one led by Principal Grace Lee, to reevaluate how they handle tense or even hurtful situations. Kaitlyn and Ashley also applied FFT funds to purchase a Safety Pin Box, conversation prompts and tasks designed to help students become allies for the black community.

“The Safety Pin Box is a great resource that is helping our school as we strive to eliminate the equity that still oppresses our students of color,” said Principal Lee.  “As a city, we are confronting racial inequities that support unjust systems. Hixson is at that table around those conversations and our kids are passionate about leading the work for change.”

America’s teachers no longer have the luxury of merely teaching one subject; instead, they are on the front lines of students’ academic and moral instruction, as well as their emotional and physical safety. Fund for Teachers is privileged to represent and advocate for our nation’s educators who look beyond current circumstances and resources to shape more informed and empathetic citizens.

We thank Pearl, Ashley and Kaitlyn for sharing their experiences and their students’ learning. Make sure to check our Black History Month feed on our blog here. Next week, our final post in this series will explore how FFT Fellows are addressing the achievement gap with students of color. Stay connected and find out when it’s live by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This February, Fund for Teachers is celebrating Black History Month by highlighting some of our Fellows’ journeys to bring a better understanding of the African American experience to all students. In this four-part blog series, we’ll be diving into everything from the Transatlantic Trade to student advocacy. This week, we are taking a deeper look at how history is taught with our Fellows Pearl Jonas, Kristen Peterson and Melissa and James Petropoulos. Read on to learn more about their experiences in the classroom and how they are honoring Black History Month in their schools.

History shouldn’t be subjective. Facts are facts. Who records and repeats the facts, however, often determines the truth that’s shared. Pearl Jonas, teacher at Science Leadership Academy in Philadlephia, PA, strives to reduce the risk of fragmented history by teaching with artifacts and primary sources. To teach African American history to freshman in an urban setting, she used her Fund for Teachers grant to go to where the African Americans’ history began — the Transatlantic Slave Trade in Africa.

Classwork at The Dakar Institute of African Studies, combined with excursions to historical sites such as Goree Island, once the largest slave-trading center on the African coast, now informs one of five different African history units. The first two units of her African American history class now include primary sources, concepts, and debates that she collected and engaged with while in Senegal. Topics such as the   Negritude literary movement and Islam in Africa, as well as discussion about how oral tradition influences history, also help students reconsider previous misconceptions.

“This kind of framework is not available in textbooks,” said Pearl. “We now spend time breaking down the Transatlantic Slave Trade and learning about why it happened so we can gain a deeper understanding of what drives people and a society to commit crimes against humanity.”

While Pearl chose to design a fellowship focusing on the pre-history of slavery to construct an accurate and mindful curriculum, Melissa and James Petropoulos realized that the curriculum they taught was simply wrong. Textbooks used at Rowayton Elementary School in Norwalk, CT, stated that slaves in Connecticut were “treated as family,” giving students false perceptions of enslaved Africans in New England. James and Melissa designed a tour of sites associated with slavery during America’s Colonial period to give students the real story.

Evidence of a slave’s resistance through sabatoging work – toe prints in the brick before it went into a kiln.

“In that erroneous history book, slavery was trivialized and in many other books there was little focus on the dignity of the enslaved,” said Melissa. “We wanted to make a clear point through this fellowship: humanity trumps slavery.”

The husband/wife team drove from Connecticut to Louisiana, stopping at museums and sites that honor the culture, beliefs, relationships, and memory of enslaved Africans. They now integrate a new story into history lessons, accompanied by artifacts and interviews collected from their fellowship.

“Rather than teaching about slavery from the point of view of slaves being victims, I now demonstrate how they were heroic, resistors and contributors to our shared American history,” said James.

As a white teacher in an urban district, Kristin Peterson, teacher at John A. Johnson Achievement Plus Elementary in Saint Paul, MN, realized that her own lack of knowledge about her students’ heritage hampered their learning and self-esteem. She identified the new National Museum of African American History & Culture in Washington, DC, as the most reliable resource for learning about the accomplishments and hardships African Americans endured during the past 300 years. On her fellowship, she spent four days roaming six floors of galleries in the Smithsonian Institution’s newest museum, photographing exhibits and filming presentations and interviews with museum staff. She also purchased items for students to experience the museum in multi-sensory ways, such as basket weaving kits, quilts, music, maps and even a cook book.

“While I understand that I can never fully empathize with the experience of African Americans, I feel like I now have a very rich understanding and insight for what people went through and what their lives were like,” said Kristin.

Kristin has since incorporated technology into lessons in order to share her experiential learning.  A “Virtual Field Trip Kit” houses catalogued items that can be checked out to teachers and students, as well. She also placed her research on a district-wide drive for access by every Saint Paul Public Schools teacher. Kristin is a perfect example of the ripple effect one fellowship can have in a learning community. Not only are her immediate classroom students benefitting (as future students will for years to come), but also students throughout the school, her colleagues and even teachers whom she doesn’t know.

Documenting exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

These FFT Fellows pursued knowledge in response to learning gaps. In Kristin’s case, her own understanding was enhanced in an effort to encourage students with their history. For the Petropouloses, the state’s incorrect information is what needed to be addressed so their students could learn true history. And Pearl used her grant to seek information that wasn’t available anywhere else. Fund for Teachers is honored to serve as a bridge that takes exemplary educators from where they are to where they want their students to be.

We thank Kristen, Pearl, Melissa and James for sharing their experiences and their students’ learning. Make sure to check our Black History Month feed on our blog here. Next week, we’ll be exploring the topic of identity with more FFT Fellows. Stay connected and find out when it’s live by following us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

FFT Fellow Chris Smith and 15 of his students recently hosted the first Chicago Immigrant Refugee Resource Fair at Mather High School. The story behind the event, shared below by Chris, demonstrates the true ripple effect of a Fund for Teachers grant. This high school music teacher designed a fellowship to attend the Blas International Summer School of Irish Traditional Music and Dance at the University of Limerick to enrich orchestra curriculum by integrating elements of Irish folk music, ensemble skills, and improvisation. He shares the progression of learning from there below. We are proud of you and your students, Chris!

“I have continued my study of Irish traditional music since 2013 when I was awarded the FFT fellowship, which was transformative to my teaching in many ways. Not only have I incorporated lessons that I learned in my teaching strategy, but my support from FFT has led to many more opportunities for me and my students

Chris with Martin Hayes during his 2013 FFT fellowship

Last summer, I attended the Swannanoa Gathering outside Asheville, NC, to again study under Martin Hayes, a teacher from Blas. I also received a small grant from the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, which I used to host a lecture/performance and workshop by members of the Irish Music School of Chicago.

Additionally, I was inspired at write a grant proposal (which was funded) which allowed for a residency at Mather High School by renowned traditional Irish performer Kathleen Keane. Over the course of two months, Kathleen visited Mather to perform and work with a small group of motivated orchestra students. She taught them a set of traditional jigs which they performed in concert.

Because of my FFT experience, I was also awarded the Teaching for Global Classrooms fellowship by the US State Department. In summer 2016, I traveled to India and, in part, taught music at a school in Vadodara, Gujarat.

Visit this website Chris created to document FFT fellowship in Limerick, as well as another site, including access to his resulting unit and lesson plans, following his TGC fellowship.

Based on my TGC fellowship, I was able to apply to then attend a conference for alumni of government sponsored international travel. As a participant, I was invited to apply for money to create a project on the subject of inclusion. I was awarded a grant from the State Department to organize and implement the Inaugural ChiUnderOneRoof: Chicago Immigrant and Refugee Resource Fair.  My students and I hosted hosted 25 local community organizations who work to support our immigrant and refugee population.

Parenthetically, since my fellowship, my wife has been awarded a fellowship along with one of her coworkers and three teachers at my school. These are just a few of the things that have resulted from the opportunities afforded me by Fund for Teachers.”

Click here to read Chris’ description of how planning the resource fair impacted him and his students.

https://youtu.be/YBqWNcvOd08?t=1s

Margret Atkinson’s language arts students in Zachary, LA, lead a double life. When not studying literature on historic and contemporary Upstanders, they operate an Educational Corporation aimed at engaging communities on the importance of choices that honor others. Initial investments by Donors Choose and Think It Up seeded the creation of their The Upstander Brand, a six-department, student-run business that produces bookmarks, stickers and wristbands advocating for empathy in action. To date, students have raised $1,000, splitting revenue between capital costs and donations to St. Jude’s Children Research Medical Hospital and the American Cancer Society.

“Students are learning skills essential for success in the 2020 workplace, as articulated by the World Economic Forum,” said Margret, who researched World War II Upstanders across Europe on two Fund for Teachers fellowships. “They’re learning cognitive flexibility, critical thinking and emotional intelligence while cultivating their own autonomy and moral paradigms.”

See students interviewed about their Upstander Brand by the CBS affiliate in Baton Rouge, LA.

Seventh and eighth graders founded the nonprofit in 2016 after deeply resonating with Margret’s fellowship research rooted in the Holocaust.  Students now self-select one of six departments at the beginning of the school year to create products, forge collaborative community relationships, and produce podcasts, newsletters and blog posts about their mission to create global good.

Meet The Upstander Brand’s leadership team on the video above, produced by the PR/Marketing team and visit Margret’s website to learn more about her fellowships and their role in catalyzing student impact.

The facts represent La Malinche (or Doña Marina) as a slave, advisor, mistress and emissary. Whether those roles positioned her as a hero, victim or traitor is up for debate — which is what the students of Glen Meinschein and Alejandro Avalos did this semester. Following a fellowship investigating one of the most controversial figures in Mexican history, Glen and Alejandro led their middle schoolers through an exploration of colonialism, feminism and indigenous history to reach a broad range of learners at the Brooklyn School for Collaborative Studies. They share the verdict below…

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One could say that Harriet Tubman founded the Black Lives Matter movement. After escaping from a Maryland plantation in 1849, she helped establish the Underground Railroad and became its most renowned “conductor.” Almost 170 years later, Houston students take their own Tubman-inspired trek during school-wide “Freedom Nights.”

Students from Quail Valley Elementary and Burton Elementary spend several months each year researching abolitionists and Civil Rights activists in preparation for a community evening during Black History Month. Civic leaders, educators and parents then recreate an Underground Railroad through a network of “stations” with activities and presentations: The music teacher leads freedom songs and spirituals; an Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority member discusses freedom quilts; and a local storyteller shares slaves’ oral histories. Students’ journey ends at a “Freedom Wall” on which they write what freedom means to them.

“Even students who weren’t African America became interested in their ancestry, which led to a larger study of birth places, culture and a realization that their heritage, Black or not, matters,” said Tawanna Cherri, an FFT Fellow. “A desire to share in someone’s story is not innate, but has to be sparked from within. Our Freedom Nights are the spark we need to explore and embrace each other’s cultures.”

To date, more than 1,000 students have participated in Freedom Nights, the vision of four Fund for Teachers Fellows who used their grant to research the Underground Railroad’s final station, known as “Midnight” (Detroit) to “Dawn” (Canada). Tawanna, Brooke Wilson, Destiny Parker and Kelly Caldwell designed this fellowship after realizing their students’ disconnect from their connection to this history.

To learn more about this team’s fellowship, click here.

We all remember a teacher who touched our lives. No matter how old you were or what they taught, I guarantee that our favorite teachers shared common traits…

• They believed in us.

• They believed we could be better and do more.

• They challenged us.

• They brought passion, purpose and joy to learning.

• They connected us to a bigger world beyond the classroom and put us on a new path for learning.

Every single one of our Fund for Teachers Fellows is like your favorite teacher. Every day they are changing the lives of their students. These teachers don’t sit back; they make change happen. They dream up ways to make learning more connected, more real, and more fun. They dissolve the walls of their classrooms and bring student learning into the community. In an FFT classroom, learning is necessary and urgent. It has purpose.

We see over and over that the learning sparked by an FFT fellowship ripples far beyond one classroom. Through FFT, you are helping to change the learning path of hundreds if not thousands of tomorrow’s problem-solvers and global citizens – the stewards of our future.  As I write, thousands of 2018 grant applicants are committing to paper the dreams they have for their students. In April, a new class of preK-12 teachers will join the 7,500+ FFT Fellows who dare to do more for their students.

We are the only organization in the country that invites teachers in any school, no matter the content or grade level, to think big, be creative and bring joy, challenge and passion to learning. Their aspirations and accomplishments seems a fitting symbol of the hope, light and humanity that fills this season of the year.

Your investment makes all of this possible. Thank you for playing your part. The Fund for Teachers board and staff join me in wishing you a Happy New Year.

Ever forward,