The only piece of constructive feedback that I would give regarding the Global Education Symposium is that it was not long enough. It started at 6 p.m. on Thursday and was over by 2 p.m. on Saturday. We interacted with colleagues from around the country for ten weeks in our online course followed by another six weeks or so via Facebook and Oba, our online communities, and we barely had any time to mingle in person. And, it is increasingly more difficult for me to fathom that I may never see some of these new friends again. I wish we had had more time together. But aside from focusing on the negative, let me recap our final day together. It started with a delicious breakfast. (I'm telling you, the State Department fed us well.) We didn't have a speaker or a session during breakfast, so we were able to converse with our peers. Our Colombia group ended up sitting together, and we told stories and laughed and laughed and laughed. At 9:00, the administrators left us to go to their session, and the fellows had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams, an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Director of Peace & Justice Studies at Gettysburg College. Dr. Williams was one of our webinar speakers during our ten-week course, and we begged him to join us at the symposium. Apparently IREX listened. His presentation was entitled Diversity and Cross-Cultural Communication, and it was absolutely incredible. I found myself feverishly writing down everything he said, taking pictures of the slides so that I wouldn't miss a single thing. Dr. Williams is incredibly knowledgeable and a dynamic, engaging speaker. I wish I could take full classes with him. Our second and final session of the day was a joint session with our administrators and consisted of us creating an action plan as to how to bring global education back to our schools and districts. Janell and I brainstormed some challenges and opportunities as well as identified ways that we are already incorporating global competencies (namely on an individual rather than a systemic level). We were able to discuss this with other teachers and administrators as well. And then, just like that, our symposium was over. Colombia, here I come.
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The Global Education Symposium was so packed -- with both conference material and social outings -- that I could just not contain it in one post. Therefore, read on for Day Two adventures! The day started bright and early with a seated breakfast and welcoming remarks by Ambassador Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Educational and Cultural Affairs. During this time we also had the opportunity to hear from four Teachers for Global Classrooms alumni, who shared some of their incredible experiences abroad -- and how they have since utilized what they learned in their classrooms. After, we went to our first concurrent session: administrators diverged from the fellows and had an introduction to the global competencies while the fellows divided into their six country groups (Colombia, Peru, India, Indonesia, Senegal, and Morocco), where we discussed our upcoming international field experiences, viewed an itinerary from one of last year's trips, and had a multitude of questions answered by IREX representatives. We then reconvened with our administrators and split into different groups (based on content area, I believe). We briefly discussed global competencies prior to doing a gallery walk of student work. I really loved this part of the session, as we were able to see how our peers were infusing global education into their curriculum -- and what the students were producing as a result. There were some incredible lessons showcased, and I found myself taking photos of several projects, hoping to "steal" them for my own classroom. Following that session, we had a bit of a "working lunch." We ate delicious soup and sandwiches and then perused the Global Education Resource Fair, speaking to representatives from organizations such as the NEA Foundation, the Transatlantic Outreach Program, Peace Corps, World Affairs Council, World Savvy, and many more. I brought back a wealth of information for myself, my colleagues, and my school as a whole, and I'm looking forward to delving more deeply into the resources. Our last session of the day was spent reconnecting with our country-specific cohorts to discuss our capstone: this very website, the Global Education Guide. While this was our last TGC-sponsored event of the day, it was not even close to the end of our day. Rather, Deanna, Travis, Janell, and I went to First Dinner (because we're Hobbits, apparently) at Lincoln. This was a super cool little tapas spot, definitely where I would be a regular if I lived in D.C. The whole restaurant was themed after Abraham Lincoln, including a bar and wall with a penny mosaic, modern paintings of Honest Abe, and appropriately-named drinks, such as the Mason-Dixon Manhattan, Emancipation Punch No. 8, and Nightmare in Penn Quarter. Then, we went to a Lunar New Year dinner, an event that another TGC fellow (Seth) amazingly organized. (This was quite the undertaking, so I am incredibly grateful to him for having done so.) Approximately 50 of us went to a tiny restaurant -- Da Hong Pao -- for a family-style feast. Twelve of us sat at each table, and my friends and I decided to do a pre-determined menu, so food just kept coming and coming, and we really had no idea as to what we were eating. I do know, however, that I ate jellyfish for the very first time (noodle-type food in the top left photo), and it was delicious. The night didn't stop there, though. The Minnesota contingency (Deanna, Travis, Janell, and our new friend Matt, who teaches in Grand Rapids) went a couple doors down to ChurchKey, a neat bar above yet another restaurant. Janell and I took an Uber back to the hotel, where we met up with more friends in the hotel lobby. And then it was bed time. We had yet another early morning to round out the symposium.
After successful completion of the online course, the second stage of the fellowship was attending the Global Education Symposium in Washington, D.C. from February 15th through the 17th. I was so excited for this symposium. First, I mentioned that I love to travel, especially when someone else is paying for it. Truthfully, though, this was not my primary reason for being so stoked. Rather, it was the fact that I got to meet -- in real life -- the people with whom I had been connecting and communicating and commiserating over the prior few months. It's such a strange feeling: I felt like I had best friends across the country, but I had never even talked to them on the phone, let alone met them in real life. Jacqui, my bestie from Florida, and Ashlie, my BFF from Pennsylvania, were two people with whom I instantly connected, two friends I could not wait to actually meet. On Thursday, my flight left at 7 a.m., which means I had to be at the airport shortly after 5 a.m., which means that I woke up at 4:15 a.m. Because I was so excited for the trip, I barely slept at all; thank goodness for a Starbucks near my gate! At the airport, I met up with Deanna Wuotila, a fifth-grade teacher from Oakdale, Minnesota, and her principal, Travis Barringer. We had an uneventful flight to Washington, D.C., where we deplaned and then navigated the Metro to the historic Mayflower hotel, which would be our home for the next few days. I was famished, so we headed out in search of lunch. We stumbled upon a flock of food trucks in a nearby park, and Deanna (who will be traveling to Peru) and I settled on Peruvian fare. The cook immediately determined we were not from the area, and when we told him we were, in fact, from Minnesota, he smiled knowingly and said he had presumed as such based on our accents. Um, what?! The food was incredible, and it made us even more excited for our upcoming international field experiences. After, Deanna, Travis, and I headed to the White House. Neither of them had been to Washington, D.C., before, so that was a "must" on their "to-see" list. It was a quick visit (and not like we could do much other than take photos from the street) because we had to return to the hotel in order to officially register for the symposium and meet up with some other fellows to walk to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. I was floored that we were able to secure tickets. Thanks to two of my new friends -- Dave and Emily -- 12 of us were able to tour the museum. We had a mere two hours to explore this tremendous museum, so it ultimately felt like I sprinted through it. I want -- need -- to return in order to truly take it in. I feel like I could spend two full days there and only skim the surface.
After our museum tour, we kept going, going, going and attended the opening reception. There were passed h'orderves and some speakers, including one who presented my video as the winner. But the night did not end there! Janell, my assistant principal, was now in town, so she, Deanna, Travis, our new friend Sia, and I asked the concierge for advice, and we headed to the POV Lounge, a rooftop restaurant that overlooks the White House and other monuments, and Old Ebbitt Grill, an incredible restaurant nearby. After dinner, I finally went back to the hotel and crashed; it had been a long day, and I knew Friday was going to be just as action-packed. The first component of the fellowship included an online course. When we were initially informed of the course, we were told that it would be a graduate-level course and would likely take an average of eight hours per week to complete.
I, of course, thought this would be no big deal and honestly (and foolishly) assumed that it would be eight hours for everyone else and maybe two or three hours for me; after all, I was a stellar student, I am pretty good with technology, I am a fast reader and a strong writer, etc. Have I mentioned how humble I am? Well, friends, I could not have been more incorrect. I maybe spent eight hours on this course on an easy week -- and that is more likely a gross underestimate. This online course was more work than an entire semester's worth of graduate courses. But, it was worth every second of it. Prior to the course, I knew that global education was important, but I could not have told you anything more about it. If I were asked why it was so important, I'm not even sure I could have given an intelligent response. Over the course of ten weeks, however, I learned so incredibly much through various readings, videos, and discussions. Additionally, I utilized many new-to-me technology platforms, some of which you can find on the Digital Learning Inventory, and I even created the short video that you can find on my homepage. Many, many, many of the resources have already made their way into my classroom. While I was often exhausted due to the course requirements, I was genuinely sad when it ended, and I think many fellows felt the same. I learned so much from everything we did, and I didn't want that enlightening education to stop. Thankfully, I have come to realize that the course itself was just the start to my journey into global education, and I will learn so much more in the coming months. And I can't wait. For a number of reasons, I lovingly refer to myself as a huge nerd; namely, I truly enjoy learning and would give anything to be in school my whole life, but hey, that's not exactly feasible on a meager teacher's salary. Additionally, I love to travel and desperately want to see the world, but again, my less-than-six-figures income does not make that entirely possible. Accordingly, I constantly seek out ways that I can a.) learn and b.) travel on someone else's dime.
Enter: competitions, fellowships, awards for teachers. I have applied for countless opportunities, and while I have been lucky enough to have received a few -- like the Freedom Writers Institute, the Bridging Cultures Initiative, and the BRIDGE Program through iEARN-USA -- I have been rejected from far more. (Yet, I am relentless and continue to apply year after year after year. After all, someone has to win, right? I will keep on trying.) In the spring of 2017, I applied for another such opportunity: Teachers for Global Classrooms. My fingers were crossed; I mean, how cool would it be to get to travel internationally for a few weeks? And learn at the same time?! I did not get my hopes up too much, but I continued to obsessively check my email, just in case. Fast forward to June 26th: I was sitting on my couch with my mom, who just happened to be in town because I would be going into surgery the following morning. The familiar "bing" sounded on my phone, and I opened up Outlook to an incredible message: I had been awarded the fellowship! Over 450 qualified educators applied, and I was one of 75 selected for this life-changing opportunity. I read the documents a countless number of times and identified several things that I needed to get done -- like, as soon as possible. I knew that I would be heavily drugged after surgery and would not be in any shape to read and sign important documents, and I knew that I would also be out of commission on the driving front for several weeks following. Therefore, I had to get everything taken care of before going under the knife. I was so focused on this, in fact, that my mom and I even stopped by school to get everything signed and faxed on our way to the hospital the next morning: if that's not dedication, I don't know what is! Little did I know, this was just the start to an incredible, life-changing adventure. |
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