facultynewsletter SPRING 2009 Adat Ari El Day School All Saints’ Episcopal Day School Alverno High School The Archer School for Girls Archway School Army and Navy Academy The Athe- nian School Barnhart School Bentley School Berkeley Hall School Besant Hill School Bishop Garcia Diego High School The Bishop’s School Brandeis Hillel Day School The Branson School Brentwood School Bridges Academy The Buckley School The Katherine Delmar Burke School Calmont School Calvary Chris- tian School Campbell Hall Carden Arbor View School The Carey School Carlthorp School Castilleja School Cate School Cathedral School for Boys Center for Early Education Chadwick School Chandler School Chatsworth Hills Academy The Children’s School Children’s Day School Chinese American Inter- national School Clairbourn School Clare Cherry School The College Preparatory School Contra Costa Jewish Day School Cornelia Connelly School of the Holy Child The Country School Crane Country Day School Crestview Preparatory School Crossroads School Crystal Springs Uplands School Curtis School Drew School Dunn School The John Thomas Dye School Echo Horizon School Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley The Family School Flintridge Preparatory School Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy Foothill Country Day School French American International School French American School of Silicon Valley Gateway School Georgiana Bruce Kirby Preparatory School The Gillispie School The Girls’ Middle School Golden Hills School The Gooden School The Hamlin School Harbor Day School The Harker School Harkham Hillel Hebrew Academy Harvard-Westlake School Gideon Hausner Jewish Day School Head-Royce School He- schel West High Point Academy Hillbrookthe School Hillcrest Academy Hollywood Schoolhouse Idyllwild Arts Academy Immaculate Heart High School Interna- tional School of the Peninsula Julia Morgan School for Girls Kadima Hebrew Academy Kehillah Jewish High School Keys School La Jolla Country Day School Laguna Blanca School Laurelcrest School Laurence School Lick-Wilmerding High School Live Oak School Los Encinos School Lycée Français La Pérouse Mai- monides Academy Marin Academy Marin Country Day School Marin Horizon School Marin Primary & Middle School The Marin School Marlborough School Marymount High School Marymount of Santa Barbara Marywood-Palm Valley School Mayfield Junior School Mayfield Senior School Menlo School Mid-Pen- insula High School Midland School Milken Community High School The Mirman School Morasha Jewish Day School Mount Madonna School Mount Tamal- pais School New Horizon School New Horizon School Westside New Horizon Elementary School Irvine New Roads School The Nueva School The Oak Grove School Oakland Hebrew Day School The Oaks School Oaks Christian School Oakwood School Ojai Valley School Pacific Hills School Francis Parker School The Pegasus School The Peninsula Heritage School The Phillips Brooks School Pilgrim School Polytechnic School Presidio Hill School Prospect Sierra School PS #1 Elementary School Redwood Day School Ring Mountain Day School Rolling Hills Preparatory School Sacramento Country Day School Sacred Heart Schools Sage Hill School Saint Andrew’sright School Saint James’ Episcopal Day School St. John’s Episcopal School St. Margaret’s Episcopal School Saint Mark’s Episcopal School Saint Mark’s School Saint Mark’s School St. Mary and All Angels School St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School St. Matthew’s Parish School St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School St. Patrick’s Episcopal Day School St. Paul’s Episcopal School Saklan Valley School San Diego Jewish Academy San Do- menico School San Francisco Day School San Francisco Friends School The San Francisco School San Francisco University High School Santa Barbara Middle School Santa Catalina School Schools of the Sacred Heart Sea Crest School Seven Arrows Elementary School The Seven Hills School Sierra Canyon School Sinai Akiba Academy Soille San Diego Hebrew Day School Sonoma Country Day School Sonoma Academy South Peninsula Hebrew Day School Stevenson School Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School Tehiyah Day School The Thacher Schoolmix Town School for Boys Trinity School Turning Point School The Urban School of San Francisco Valley Beth Shalom Day School Valley Preparatory School Viewpoint School Village School Walden School The Webb Schools The Wesley School Westerly School of Long Beach Westland School Westridge School Westside Neighborhood School Wildwood School The Willows Community School Windrush School Windward School Woodland School Woodside Priory School Ronald C. Wornick Jewish Day School Yavneh Day School York School From the Editor... Inside: Usually I find, without having to force the the linkage too much, that the articles we receive after sending out a Call for Articles cluster around a particular theme. This year - not so much. Still… 2 Teaching and Learning as a Migratory When describing to someone unfamiliar with CAIS who we are and how all of Journey: How a Yearlong Theme Connects our schools are private and independent, as opposed to just being private - i.e. non- Students, Teachers, Content and Purpose public schools, I often add - “and the operative word is independent.” I am proud of the fact that I work for an association that includes religious schools (of many faiths 5 and creeds) and secular schools, traditional schools and progressive schools - even Be the Change: Our Book Drive and the a military academy. Recently, in conversation with another teacher who has, as I do, Impact of Service Learning both public and non-public school teaching experience, I realized that in comparing the diversity quotient of teaching assignments in an independent school and a pub- 8 lic school, the independent school where I was on staff had a more diverse student Wilding the Tame Corner and parent body than the public school did. In this issue, for instance, we have an article written by a teacher from Mount 10 Blast Off to the Future Madonna School, a school set within an intentional community inspired by Baba Hari Dass and the practice of yoga. There is another written by a teacher from a 12 Jewish day school, one from a Catholic high school teacher and others from schools The Civil Rights South: In the Footsteps of the seeking to provide the widest possible mix of religious, cultural and economic diver- Movement with Julian Bond sity, and a school founded originally for a beloved son and his friends. There is after all, though, a common thread - connecting not just CAIS teachers, but public and 15 non-public school teachers as well. We are all passionate about learning, and about Every Vote Counts: A School-Wide sharing that passion and that learning with others. Following are articles written by Multidisciplinary Unit on Citizenship and people who are passionate about teaching and learning. Democracy Enjoy the mix! 17 — Sandee Mirell “Ment” to Be: Reflections from a Mentee and Mentor FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 2 Fourth grade teacher finds a way to teach thematically and articulates her

Teaching and Learning as a Migratory Journey: How a Year-long Theme Connects Students, Teachers, Content and Purpose By Carrie Symons • 4th Grade Teacher • Mount Madonna School • [email protected] “Learning is aided by experiencing wholes, not just bits and pieces. Who are we? We need to experience the big picture in order to make sense of all Where are we going? the little detail.” (Peterson, 1992, p. 5) How do we get there? What do we bring? In years past, I tried to teach thematically. I knew that These essential questions are driving my curriculum this year. learning was about making connections, but my curriculum was They are the underpinnings of my yearlong theme: migration. My always chopped up and didn’t connect back to the bigger theme. students and I launched our year with these questions, and we I had been unable to make the yearlong theme large and complex continue to return to them. Not only do they remind us of what we enough to span the standards I was required to teach and beyond. value, they frame our exploration of the inner terrain, to one an- And my smaller units of study were meaningful, but often were other, to content, to concepts and the greater fabric of life beyond not planned in a way that helped me see the connections between the classroom as our theme of migration serves as the connective them. As with many best practices, thinking and teaching themati- tissue. cally fostered good intentions, and failed attempts. Until this year. Last year, the word “migration” came to me, but its potential Who are we? as a theme was not clear. I simply wrote the word “migration” on a If we view teaching and learning as a migratory journey, and small sticky note and stuck it to my printer. the people in our classroom community as our fellow travelers, we Months passed. Summer pressed on. Fall was right around need to know one another and ourselves before we depart. We have the corner and so were the new students. I brainstormed a list of a long journey ahead and I want to know with whom I am travel- ideas based on the theme of migration, but I still had yet to find ing! the anchors or points of purpose greater than the content itself. After a brief introduction to our yearlong theme and our es- I pulled out a large piece of white paper, and wrote the word sential questions, we began the year with a “heart map” project in Migrations at the top. I knew Migrations could serve as a fulcrum which each student constructed a three dimensional representa- with multiple conceptual entry points: internal transformation, tion of their heart - of what they cared about most. This auto- cultural migration, animal migration, movement of the earth, and biographical art, accompanied by personal identity poetry, not even our evolution as a community of learners. I I positioned small only addressed our first essential question, but it introduced the pads of sticky notes beside me, and I asked myself, “What are the students to thinking metaphorically, a disposition they would need essential questions here?” And they emerged, each one a different to become accustomed to under a thematic structure. color: FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 3

Where are we going? “ When you learn, you get closer to Content pieces began to find their fully understanding. Always moving way underneath the essential questions. forward. Always learning.” - Emma The question, “Where are we going?” led to thinking about outcomes. What will the How do we get there? students understand by the end of this and To migrate, we need an inner compass. how will they demonstrate it? After examin- In terms of teaching and learning, our in- ing our own inner terrain with the heart ner compass is the process of constantly map project, we found our way into study- assessing and reflecting upon where we are ing the migratory patterns of animals. Each now in relation to the past and the future. student studied an animal and synthesized And we continue to return to the questions their research in the form a narrative non- as our guideposts as our theme carries us fiction pop-up book. like the current in our river. “… I constantly have to push Having already been exposed to nar- Such questions can be called “essen- myself to see the deeper rative structure and poetic language in tial questions” because they point to the connections between my the heart map unit, they integrated their essence, or heart, of the theme. “To get at students’ lives, content, and understanding of a writer’s craft into a new matters of deep and enduring understand- genre. The end result was multilayered in ing, we need to use provocative and multi- the larger world outside of its meaning. The audience for their writing layered questions that reveal the richness the school’s walls. Then my was their second grade buddies with whom and complexities of a subject” (Wiggins & charge is to create experi- they would share both their process and McTighe, 1998, p. 28). Hence, the questions ences that facilitate each their book. The story itself had a beginning, “Who are we? Where are we going? How do middle and end. Being a pop-up book, the we get there? What do we bring?” engage us student’s discovery of this artwork in the book literally moved. And personally and connect us to the discipline interconnectedness. Learn- each student’s learning process, docu- of studying migration. ing is making connections.” mented through written reflection, was an To stay together, we must communi- inward journey with its own challenges and cate and know that we do so both verbally achievements. and nonverbally. Making our expectations Thinking in terms of demonstrable out- and goals explicit is finely balanced with al- comes and authentic audiences within the lowing enough space for the essential ques- thematic context of migration prevents me tions to work on us, all the while listening from simply assigning activities for activity’s ever so closely to those traveling with us, sake. By the end of the year, each student our students. will have examined migration as both an in- To begin, we envision what we want to ward journey and an outer one. As has been create, what the end product will look like. said by many, the process is the destina- In writer’s workshop, we study author’s tion. craft by closely examining a particular genre In the middle of the year, I asked stu- or more specifically, the work of an author dents to reflect on the theme of migration who serves as a “mentor” for us. Byrd Bay- and how having this conceptual thread af- lor was our first mentor author this year. fected their learning. Here are some of their After immersing ourselves in Byrd Baylor’s responses: books for a few weeks and reading like writ- “Our class is like a herd. Our learning ers, the students generated a chart of what is the migration. Our mind is taking a they noticed. migration, the learning is the difficulty For the pop-up book project, the of the migration.” - Simran students and I developed a checklist of essential pieces to be included in their “The learning process is like a migra- book. When expectations are made explicit tion because it all takes a long time. through think alouds, mentor texts, model- Once you take on the journey, you ing, checklists and rubrics, the students can’t turn back and if you think about have a clear sense of what’s expected and it, life is like a big migration.” –Tyler what’s possible. The external examples eventually synthesize into the students’ in- “I learned that migration was about herent sense of quality and from there, they any person, animal and even thinking can construct their own rubrics and begin because even your thinking grows and to work from their own high standards. migrates to your memory.” – Kevin FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 4

What do we bring? the question, “Why is this important for It is through the act of deeply listen- my students to understand?” and if my an- ing to our students, and helping them swer is limited to ensuring they acquire a Student’s Name ______see the power of deeply listening to one skill set that is only important for school, I Animal of Study ______another, that we discover the gifts we bring know I will be doing them a disservice. Ev- along. Just as a writer sits down to a blank erything we teach can inspire our students page, we are genuinely unsure of what to dig deep for greater meaning. I want my Narrative Nonfiction Pop-Up Book Checklist strengths and challenges will come forward students to be able to find some piece of in the year. themselves in what they are studying. So I Writing Each group of students is unique constantly have to push myself to see the and therefore deserving of a curriculum deeper connections between my students’ _____ The genre is accurate: Narrative Nonfiction – a story based on facts. designed specifically to draw upon their lives, content and the larger world outside interests and develop their areas of need. of the school’s walls. Then my charge is _____ The author’s story builds to a “hot Tailoring the curriculum demands integrity to create experiences that facilitate each spot” and creates an arc with a begin- on the part of all involved; it calls upon us student’s discovery of this interconnected- ning, middle, end. to be fully present and alive in the class- ness. Learning is making connections. room each day. Only then can we discover Valuing interconnectedness influ- _____ The author uses at least 3 different what we and our students bring because ences the way I plan, what I teach and how descriptive techniques - show don’t tell, what we bring reflects what we value most. I facilitate interpersonal conflicts between frame-by frame, active verbs, modifiers. Ron Ritchhart from the Harvard Project students. I see myself in them. I speak to Zero group refers to a teacher’s core values them with the honest belief that who they _____ All conventions are adhered to as a “red thread.” are greatly impacts me and the rest of the (spelling, capitals, punctuation, para- graphing). The red thread is used in a variety of classroom community, and if I want to cre- cultures as a metaphor for connecting, ate an environment of trust and collabora- binding, and uniting… In Hebrew, the tion, then I need to genuinely trust that my Science word theme translates literally as “the students are bringing the best of them- red thread.”…The red thread does not selves forward in each moment. Trust and _____ The author includes the animal’s represent a single belief, however, but love cannot be manufactured. It can only habitat and creatively weaves details of a set of deeply held beliefs. (Ritchhart, come from each one of us connecting with its food sources, shelter and breeding 2002, p. 181-2). what we care about most and allowing grounds into the story. As Ritchhart suggests, our values express that care to express itself in our work. In themselves in how and what we teach. If this way, a thematic unit on migration is a _____ The author establishes a setting we see the connection between what we curricular manifestation of a much deeper with the ecosystems components (water, land, plant and animal life). value and how we teach, we can use our value that drives who I am as a teacher integrity as a gauge for our own personal and how I build my classroom community. _____ The author creates a character growth and continued inspiration. If we We have an opportunity each year to whose motivation to migrate is clear. know our own red threads, we can more create an investigative journey with and for easily recognize them in our students. our students by offering a yearlong theme, _____ The author builds the animal’s life a red thread, which simultaneously carries cycle into the story. My Red Thread us and anchors us as we build our ever- One of my core values is my belief expanding web of understanding. Together, that all of life is interconnected, that our we can discover new ways of connecting actions impact one another and ourselves. our minds and hearts, new ways of being. Illustrating & Pop-up Techniques Whether we approach this concept scien- _____ The illustrations reflect the text and tifically, spiritually, or politically, it is the Citations the text is enhanced by the illustrations. basic premise to some of the most funda- McTighe, J. & Wiggins, G., 1998. Un- mental teachings we find in education. It is derstanding by Design. Association for _____ The illustrator uses at least 3 dif- the reason we teach children to be kind to Supervision and Curriculum Development: ferent pop-up techniques out of all those one another, to the planet, to themselves. Alexandria, VA. that were taught (table, window/L-fold, It is the reason we teach children how to mouth, landscape/panel, pull-tab, flip). communicate nonviolently, to solve prob- Peterson, R., 1992. Life in a Crowded lems and collaborate. Place: Making a Learning Community. My belief in our interconnectedness Heinemann: Portsmouth, NH. sets the tone in my classroom. It shapes the way I view my curriculum and my de- Ritchhart, R., 2002. Intellectual Character: sire to infuse every piece with meaning and What It Is, Why It Matters, and How to Get purpose. When planning, if I ask myself It. Jossey-Bass: San Francisco, CA. FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 5

Inspired by the power of books and an urge to serve the community, a sixth grade teacher finds a way to inspire others and fulfill dreams

Be the Change: Our Book Drive and the Impact of Service Learning By Leighann Pennington • 6th Grade Teacher • Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School •[email protected]

Squeals of delight and anticipation! Visits from The Book books you love—I asked students to only give any old book lying Fairy! Towers of cardboard boxes, six feet tall, full of books lining around, but some of their most memorable, beloved books. the back wall of my classroom. Forty-five impassioned and persua- sive public speakers and aspiring librarians. Faces glowing from Sources of Inspiration the excitement of perusing the shelves and opening a new book. On a long weekend, many teachers are ready to catch up on How did these events come to pass? a pile of grading. I was excited to have a stretch of uninterrupted Last year, during February and March, the 6th grade class time to read Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the at Tarbut V’Torah Community Day School (Irvine, CA) embarked World, One Child at a Time by Greg Mortenson. I was inspired by upon a challenge that required all of our energy, enthusiasm, how he fulfilled his nearly impossible dream to build a school for verbal skills and more. We collected donations of over 2,200 high- girls in Pakistan, high in the Himalayas. After reading, I desper- quality (new or gently used) books to build a library in partnership ately wanted to help, too! I sent in a donation to their program, the with Access Books and the students and families of Orange County Central Asia Institute, through the Internet, but I still felt helpless Educational Arts Academy, a public charter school in Santa Ana, at the magnitude of problems in our world. I thought, “What can I CA. They had been waiting for a full library since they first opened do, right now, to make the world a better place?’ their doors years ago. Reading the book, I thought about the power of books, and remembered something I’d always wanted to do: share my favorite Sharing Our Favorite Books books with others. I’ve always loved to read, and since I was four One day last February, I asked my students: Where do you years old, the library has been one of my very favorite places to be go when you need a new book to read? Students mentioned going - a place of peace and consolation and new adventures—a piece of to the bookstore to buy new books, dropping by the library with the larger world in a small space. Years ago, I donated my college their parents, and we also visited our school library once a week. textbooks to “Books for Africa.” However, this time I needed some- In this way, I introduced the idea of the book drive to the students, thing closer to home. I looked up “book drive” and “inner-city L.A.” and discussed why sharing the books we’ve loved with others is so to find out about opportunities in my area, which is how I found vitally important. I framed the project as an opportunity to share out about “Access Books,” a non-profit organization centered in Southern California. FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 6

Facilitating Hands-On (and Minds-On) 1. Build a library collection at our in your school community who are looking Service Learning partner school and make the library an for ways to give, to be active and generous When I read about Access Books, their inviting place to read. in the larger community. program stood out to me because we would 2. Create socially aware/conscious not be blindly donating—we would meet students Why a Book Drive? Why Access Books? the children and families, we would work 3. Develop leadership skills and a In her research, Access Books founder, hard to build their library collection and heart for service while integrating the val- Rebecca Constantino, found that reading be librarians for a day: cataloguing, sort- ues of our school for pleasure is related to higher reading ing, and shelving books. We would use our scores on standardized reading tests. Thus, artistic talents to paint famous characters students need books to read for fun, not from literature and creative murals at the I wanted to act on the just textbooks; the process of reading for entrance of the library. Students in my deep-seated reasons fun will improve students’ academic per- class returned home on the day of the book formance. Well-appointed school libraries drive buzzing about the murals of Olivia I became a teacher are especially important in poverty-stricken the Pig, Junie B. Jones, and Harry Potter. — to play a part in areas, where students’ only access to books Through this process, their love of read- may be their school library. Throughout ing was reignited as they recalled favorite creating compassionate California, public libraries are closing books from their younger years. students with a social down, and there is no funding allocated What I read when I first perused the to schools specifically for public school Access Books website shocked me and conscience who will libraries. Where will these children get broke my heart. I shared many statistics become service- books, and how will they learn to read well with the students so they could be in- without access to books? For our class, this formed about the purpose of our project, as oriented leaders. information was a call to action— we could well as anecdotes like the following: alleviate this problem by collecting books. Many children have no idea that 4. Involve students every step of the The book drive project was empower- hardback books exist— having only way: Students should understand, plan, ing for students and allowed us to live out had access to copies of books. In and implement the service learning project, one of our school’s values: tikkun olam, one case, a group of 12 year old girls so that in the future, when they discover which is about repairing the world, making take regular 3 hour (round trip) bus a “cause” they are truly passionate about, it a better place for everyone to live. As part rides to the closest mall in order to they will know how to move their idea from of the project and English curriculum, we read copies of their favorite books in inception to completion. practiced persuasive speeches in a unit the bookstore. 5. Act with a sense of social justice: with the theme “Raising Global Aware- Later, in a persuasive speech, Alexia “Be the change you wish to see in the ness.” Students chose an issue of con- advocated the book drive and described world,” is a familiar quote by Gandhi that I cern; several students chose to write their why we should help: “Do you have books try to live. Instead of merely lamenting the speeches about the book drive. I wrote a at your house? Most of you do. Well, there problems in the world, we can act upon model speech, and one of the lines became are many kids our age who don’t have any. them. However, there are so many prob- our mantra: “All kids deserve a chance to They have never been able to lie down on lems in the world, it can feel overwhelming. read books, because books are the stepping their beds and immerse themselves in a That is why we chose something that we stones to a fulfilling education and a better great book.” truly care about. life.” As you can see, these images truly We used these persuasive speaking impacted the students in my class. There How did I begin the project? What skills when we wrote a dialogue about our were so many things I wanted us to ac- should you think about when beginning project. The students were so excited to complish through the book drive. I hoped a school service project? present their ideas to the upper school’s to unite my inspiration for the project (the Establish a clear and simple PUR- town hall meeting that they came to my book I’d just read and my lifelong love of POSE. At any given moment, you and your classroom during recess to write and prac- libraries) and the values of my school with students should be able to answer the tice the dialogue. We also did a commercial the need raised by Access Books, and the question: “Why are you doing this project?” on the school news show, wrote blurbs demands of the 6th grade reading and in a few sentences. for the parent newsletter, e-mails, a press writing curriculum. I wanted to act on the Instill a PASSION for the project in release, and most importantly, shared our deep-seated reasons I became a teacher—I others. You can’t be everywhere at once. enthusiasm daily by visiting classrooms wanted to be a part of creating compassion- You want everyone involved to internalize and communicating the meaning of our ate students with a social conscience who the passion and purpose, to realize why project. will become service-oriented leaders. this project is meaningful and be able to These presentations led to raised communicate that message. awareness and many book donations. The What are the goals of this project? Don’t forget to establish parental sup- Book-O-Meter in the front of my classroom port: there are many phenomenal parents quickly moved toward our goal: 2,000 FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 7 books. The cardboard boxes full of books in the corner began to together. This reminds us that storytelling and reading are commu- cover the entire back wall of our classroom. Students could often nal endeavors, experiences that human beings have been sharing be found there before and after school ready to make posters, col- since language was invented. lect books from classrooms throughout the school, and inventory Have you considered forming a book drive at your school? In our progress so far. Alexia’s words, “Books take us to a new world, help us explore, and much, much more…Let’s spread the word! We can help Access Sharing Books, Sharing Experiences Books! We’ll work together, because…Reading is Power!” Consider Another theme of Three Cups of Tea gives the book its title: a the impact such a program could have on your students: read the Baltistan proverb states: “The first time you share tea with a Balti, thank-you note that Eitan wrote, check out the photos of smiling, you are a stranger. The second time, you are an honored guest. happy, learning children. The third time you become family.” Building schools was Morten- son’s way of “sharing tea” with those who had helped him in the Get involved Himalayas. For us, sharing books was a bridge to new friendships Is your school near L.A. or Orange County? Involve your school and a fresh enthusiasm for reading and service. Through spending with Access Books: http://www.accessbooks.net/ time together, sharing our favorite books, we learned more than we could ever have predicted. Remember this: an integral part of our Recommended Reading: education comes from interacting with people both like and unlike The Kid’s Guide to Social Action: How to Solve the Social Problems ourselves—our experiences and theirs are enriched when we meet You Choose-And Turn Creative Thinking into Positive Action by new people, become friends, and learn together. Barbara A. Lewis Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to Change the World, One In May, we returned to OCEAA to meet several classes of stu- Child At A Time by Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin dents, from ages six to twelve. Parents we’d worked with were there Young Adult Version: Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Journey to to show us the improvements in the library’s organization, still a Change the World, One Child At A Time by Greg Mortenson & David work in progress. Overall, the service project makes our learning Oliver Relin more relevant. My sixth graders this year students are sharing Children’s Version: Listen to the Wind: The Story of Dr. Greg and book recommendations with their pen pals at OCEAA. We’ll write Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson & Susan L. Roth back and forth and plan to meet at the end of the year and read

Dear Ms. Pennington, Thank you so much for organizing the program today. I had a lot of fun cataloguing the books, shelving them, and painting Harry Potter. I felt that it was really important for everyone to contribute to this community service program, even if they donated just a few books. These children had no books, aside from textbooks for homework, or even a library to keepthem in. Now the kids’ learning level is going to go up, just because we donated 2,000 books and our time out of our busy schedules to make this possible. After leaving the school I felt like I had done such a huge mitzvah that I will never forget it. I hope everyone felt that way. I only wish that I could see the kids’ faces when they walk into the library on Monday. Thank you again.

Your Student, Eitan Jaffe FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 8

Middle school math teacher finds inspiration and an apt metaphor in his school’s organic garden

Wilding the Tame Corner By Glenn Kenyon • 7th and 8th Grade Math Teacher • The San Francisco School • [email protected] “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” which would most likely not be a garden at all. It could produce -Aristotle some food, but it might be difficult to find and potentially present dangers to the harvester. A garden whose purpose is to produce Nature certainly is marvelous and yet, in remarkably short food would ideally fall somewhere between these two extremes supply in San Francisco. Take our school: bordered by a freeway and could be thought of as a “taming of the wild,” but in modera- to the east and many blocks of treeless streets in other directions. tion and with an eye towards preserving the wildness inherent in However, as you pass through our front gate, you are drawn to a nature. fascinating garden cultivated over the years by our school librar- School curricula can be thought of as gardens that produce ian and resident gardener. We call it the Adventure Playground. It thoughts, ideas, skills and concepts. There is often a diversity of is with a renewed sense of adventure that I have been using this tame and wild ideas governing our instructional choices. Each garden to consider the nature of our school curriculum in general teacher seems to bring their individual sense of tame and wild to and math instruction more specifically. Let me explain. their classroom. In addition, some subjects inspire more tame- From the Project Zero Summer Institute I learned of a con- ness, like math, while others can inspire more wildness, such as tinuum between tame and wild ideas in school curricula. Tame humanities. ideas tend to be closed learning experiences with defined input and Teachers are charged with “taming the wild” so that our stu- predictable output. Two examples of tame ideas might be classify- dents can make sense of complex ideas appropriate to their age. ing objects by whether they sink or float and learning the standard The question we have to ask ourselves is at what point have we algorithm for long division. Wild ideas are unpredictable, open- tamed them too much? ended experiences. With the sink and float, for instance, this might Let’s take math as an example. In this analogy, “lawn” cur- include things that sink as well as float or different liquid mediums riculum would be texts with very specific procedures on how to in which to compare objects. With long division student could long divide with remainders, add unlike fractions or find the slope learn a variety of ways to think of division and how to represent between two points on a line. It feels neat, defined and controlled. the answer according to various contextual problems. Perhaps more importantly, it feels like the math we learned our- In terms of very tame gardens, imagine a classic fertilized and selves in school. irrigated lawn in the middle of arid California: little diversity and Of course there is another extreme to this curriculum: leaving great predictability as long as you put in the effort and time to the students to figure out the “jungle” curriculum on their own. maintain it. It produces minimal benefit other than the satisfaction With few tools at their disposal, what sense could they possibly of having sculptured a landscape. The very “wildest” of gardens, make of the mix of plants before they succumb to frustration and on the other hand, would be nature left to its own resources, hunger? FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 9

There is the temptation to tame the muck around in the patterns that slopes math concepts students learn to the point of all straight lines possess. I observed Teachers are charged with that critical thinking and logical decision- students freeze when faced with similar making are effectively removed. This makes problems out of the context of the perfectly “taming the wild” so that math feel safe and accessible. Pressure is controlled input. At the other extreme, I placed on the math teacher from students, used to ask my 4th and 5th graders to “in- our students can make parents, colleagues and administrators to vent” different methods for multiplying and sense of complex ideas tame the curriculum to the point of steril- dividing multi-digit numbers without first ization. But that does not make it neces- having been guided by me through some appropriate to their age. sarily useful nor does it always provide investigation of existing and time proven students with the logical thinking skills methods. In this instance some students The question we have to crucial to their success. simply gave up when faced with the respon- ask ourselves is at what In my own practice over the years sibility to create all their understanding I have seen the effects of overly tame or without sufficient guidance by me. point unduly wild teaching. For example, I have As a result of these types of experienc- carefully parsed out a series of equations es, I have been wondering how professional for determining slope of a line with given experience influences the degree of tame- information without letting my student ness and wildness in my own instructional choices. Is it true that the lon- Camila Camel’s harvest, worth its ger I teach, the tamer I man- weight in gold, consists of 3000 ba- age to make the curriculum for nanas. The market place where the my students? Do I drop ideas stash can be cashed in is 1000 miles that are too wild and cannot away. However, Camila must walk be effectively tamed? If any of to the market, and can only carry up this is true, can I identify ways to 1000 bananas at a time. Further- to “wild the tame corner” for more, being a camel, Camila eats one both my students and myself? banana during each and every mile One area in which I have she walks (so Camila can never walk felt success balancing the anywhere without bananas). tame with the wild is using How many bananas can Camila get Problems of the Week (POW’s). to the market? These problems are complex, This problem does have a best answer messy, somewhat obscure but (highest number) but actually there are not impossible to solve if one many good answers that are perfectly persists. One of my favorite acceptable as long as the reasoning is POW problems involves a explained. More importantly, I can think of camel crossing a desert: several different strategies to work on this problem. The necessary math skills are not particularly complex. The entire success of an answer depends on flexible thought and the ability to discern a pattern in the data. It is a wonderfully wild problem that can be cultivated using a previously learned skill set. E.M. Forster once wrote: “Spoon feed- ing, in the long run, teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.” It seems to me that if we succumb to the temptation of merely breaking down math (or any subject) to its bare components, we are teaching how to take care of a lawn rather than how to promote diverse gardens. Let’s look at math from an organic gardening perspective. Let’s wild the tame corner! FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 10

LONGTIME PE TEACHER USES NASA ASTRONAUT PROGRAM TO STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFELONG FITNESS

Blast Off to the Future By Kim Nygaard • P.E. Specialist • Peninsula Heritage School • [email protected]

As I reflect on the past 28 years of confidence, self worth, awareness of their teaching PE, I ask myself as I’m sure we physical surroundings, acceptance of win- all do, “How can I still be so enthusiastic ning and losing, challenging trust, breaking about teaching the same subject for so through barriers, and the Whole Child! many years?” In my office hangs my favor- The big question is how we succeed as ite quote from Allen Russell: “Of all subject professionals only given a few sessions of areas taught in school, Physical Education PE a week. At my school, which includes is the only subject which by the very nature children in Kindergarten through 5th of its content, has the potential to affect grade, students are allocated three thirty- how a person will feel every moment of minute sessions of PE a week. We are a every day for the rest of his or her life.” small school with only one class per grade, Through those words I realize just how and the largest class has 24 children. important our job as the physical education This is a benefit for me. With smaller class teacher really is, especially to young chil- sizes I am able to work on, and complete dren today. Children learn through physi- national standards for each grade level. cal experiences how to use self-control, However, only three sessions a week, class perseverance, respect, cooperation, conflict after class, this becomes a challenge for my resolution, and many other important char- students and for myself. I am always look- acter qualities needed to survive in today’s ing for new and exciting adventures for my society. If we think about our roles, we classes. I have units on Survivor, Amazing actually help children develop more than Race, Pirate Adventures, Iditarod dog sled just physical skills, we help develop self races (and more) that I have shared over FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 11 the years at the Regional Meeting. I am with you. The program is called NASA Fit dren and working on conflict resolutions. happy to bring you my latest adventure: Explorer Challenge! I had seven Mission Groups with my 4th (my students really enjoyed this one!) (http://www.nasa.gov/audience/foreduca- and 5th graders and a mission leader. Each Blast Off to a New Year is a great pro- tors/fitexplorer/home/) mission group was given a 3 ring binder gram designed by a partnership with NASA Training like an astronaut brought notebook with all the information. The and Disneyland that sent Buzz Lightyear enthusiasm and excitement to PE. This groups were pre-selected by me and were into space, calling it “To Infinity and Be- program targets 3-5th graders, but I actu- introduced to the materials on the first day. yond.” NASA has an excellent program for ally introduced it to my Kindergarteners The site mentions that the children will PE, which I used and would love to share through 2nd graders too. NASA’s Fit Ex- practice skills and be involved in research plorer program is a scientific and physical during the time of training. I devoted four approach to human health and fitness on weeks to this lesson plan, and also encour- the Earth and in Space. I asked my stu- aged the students to work on their mission After asking just a dents questions like: logs during recess time to help them gain • Why must astronauts be strong and more points, which would result in earning few questions, my healthy? higher awards by the conclusion of this • Do astronauts have to train to go program. The children practiced walking students were ready into space? to their base station, coordinating muscle • Why is gravity so important? movement for a space walk, strengthened to prepare and train • Why is balance so important? their bones with jumping exercises, par- • What happens to your body (muscu- ticipated in strength training for stronger like astronauts, and lar & skeletal) systems in space? muscles, developed eye-hand coordination, After asking just a few questions, my developed an understanding of the impor- I was ready to be students were ready to prepare and train tance of balance, and developed post-mis- like astronauts, and I was ready to be their sion improvements all around. their trainer! trainer! Not only was this a fun and challeng- This program has all the materials for ing unit for my students, it was a success- you to explore, which gives you a chance ful way to exercise, research, and learn to decide how you might want to run your about how the body works, even with own program. The astronauts. This also helped my students children can earn see beyond “just PE” or “the athlete.” It points towards differ- gave them an extra push into thinking of ent reward certifi- the importance of a healthy and fitful life- cates individually or style, and hopefully the children will realize in mission groups, just how much physical fitness plays an which is how I set my important role in their lives and the lives of program up. I like to others around them. combine classes and Good luck, and if you would like to give them opportuni- contact me with questions or tell me about ties to work coop- how your program worked, I would love to eratively in groups. hear from you. This helps maintain responsibility of chil- FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 12

Sixth grade civil rights teacher walks where history was made

The author with Julian Bond The Civil Rights South: In the Footsteps of the Movement with Julian Bond By Joan Rosen • 6th Grade Teacher • Center for Early Education • [email protected]

During my twenty-eight year tenure, the Center for Early Designed to encompass one weekend and four days of active Education has provided a generous and expansive professional de- lectures and site visits, this journey took participants from Atlanta velopment program. Thanks to this program, I have had opportu- and Dr. King’s beloved Ebenezer Baptist Church and through nities to study Arthurian legends at Oxford, Shakespearean plays Tuskegee, Montgomery, Selma and, finally, culminating in the in Charlottesville, musical theatre in Hartford, poetry in Lexington watershed city of Birmingham, with its tragic, yet inspiring history. (and on and on) and finally, at long last, civil rights in the Ameri- Meeting Julian Bond and the other 45 participants in Atlanta can South. on Day 1 was beyond exciting. My heart pounded as I introduced I teach a year-long American civil rights unit that I integrate myself to the man whose phone calls I had taken 35 years earlier, into the curriculum. This unit and its inherent ethical and moral as a young aide in the office of Congresswoman Yvonne Braith- components have provided a stimulating learning experience both waite Burke. The broad range of experiences (life, work, region, for myself and for the students, who are incredibly shocked and age, and ethnicity) created an extremely diverse group with the moved by the pervasiveness, depth, and apparent “legalities” of the commonality being a shared passion for the movement and for injustices of Jim Crow. lifelong learning. The scheduled itinerary, agenda, and guest list A continuing interest in and passion about both this part of all caused shivers of excitement and anticipation, even as the bus our country’s history as well as the world’s ongoing struggle toward was first boarded to venture off for the opening dinner at Paschal’s tolerance and inclusion led me to search for the ideal experience restaurant. that would further my knowledge and enhance my teaching. With There luck would have it that I dined at a table of eight, which the help of the Internet, I discovered that, as part of the University included Dr. Bond, Congressman John Lewis, and one of the men of Virginia’s Travel and Learn department, civil rights veteran, his- who drove for Dr. King in the 1960s. Congressman Lewis spoke torian, and current chair of the NAACP, Julian Bond, would lead for over an hour, giving a detailed account of his experiences as a a weeklong odyssey through some of the pivotal sites of the civil leader of the Nashville sit-ins, a participant in the Freedom Rides, rights movement. This was it! a speaker at the March on Washington, a co-front-liner in the FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 13

Selma March across William Pettis Bridge treated to an interpretative dance troupe, Dexter, Dr. King was tapped to head the and finally, a survivor of the “Dark Days” spirituals, and excerpts from historical boycott. The civil rights movement and the of April, 1968, following the assassination speeches. A moving end to perhaps the future of Dr. King’s legacy had thus been of Dr. King. While savoring the familiar longest, fullest day that I can remember fully launched. I could easily imagine Dr. taste of southern fried chicken and collard was a discussion with Reverend Robert and King standing in the pulpit, making the

My heart pounded as I introduced myself to the man whose phone calls I had taken 35 years earlier, as a young aide in the office of Congresswoman Yvonne Braithwaite Burke.

greens (my mother is from Richmond), Mrs. Graetz, the only Montgomery white case for the boycott, instructing those in Mr. Lewis openly shared stories, answered minister (and wife) who openly supported the audience about the philosophy and questions, and repeated the phrase that the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His book, value of nonviolence, and looking forward reflects his moral and fearless leadership, A White Preacher’s Message on Race and to the day when “justice could be no longer “We didn’t give up, we didn’t get bitter, we Reconciliation, is one of the many that await denied”. didn’t become hostile.” my summer attention. While I’ve loved being a Center teacher, The next day in the “Sweet Auburn Tuesday was all about Montgomery. It there is no question that, in my next life, I’ll Historic District” included a moving Sunday was thrilling to learn of the power of teach- work at the Southern Poverty Law Center. service at the New Ebenezer Baptist Church ers in the civil rights movement….teach- Its Civil Rights Memorial Center is no more (the original across the street was closed ers who were members of the Women’s than a block behind Dexter, and the memo- for refurbishing), a walk around the Dr. Political Council (WPC) which was based rial designed by Maya Lin (perhaps more Martin Luther King, Jr. and Coretta Scott on the League of Women Voters. According widely known for the Vietnam Memorial in King burial site, and a long meander at the to Bond, who remains an active profes- D.C.) encourages a tactile experience as fascinating King Center. In fact, the entire sor at UVA, the Montgomery Bus Boycott visitors touch the names and chronicled afternoon was spent in this area that had continues to be studied as a model for how deaths of 40 individuals killed during the been the heart of Black Atlanta throughout a social movement begins, grows and suc- struggle. After Richard Cohen (current the 20th century. After spending time in ceeds. The Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, president) talked on the history of the Dr. King’s birth home, a few of us decided where Dr. King preached during this time, SPLC, the group viewed moving exhibits, to forego the group “deli” lunch, and wan- stands in the heart of downtown Mont- which detailed stories of horrific deaths of dered off to a nearby window front (Ron- gomery where, ironically, just up the hill in activists and others. It was an emotional nie’s) that served pulled chicken, black- the state capitol, George Wallace’s portrait experience as each of us, in an adjacent eyed peas and, yes, more collard greens remains visible to all. In the basement of room, added our names to a cascading list, …primarily to locals. It was a real treat! Deciding to squeeze in another adventure rather than to return to the hotel with the group, we four ventured off to the Carter Presidential Library where we perused the legacy of Jimmy Carter that ended the ‘70’s decade. On Monday morning, we boarded the bus bound for Tuskegee. There we learned of the significance of the town and the Institute, founded under the leadership of Booker T. Washington. At the Tuskegee Multicultural Center we met Fred Gray, the 77-year old practicing lawyer who signed books and shared his experiences defend- ing Rosa Parks as well as supporting the legal justification for the Montgomery Bus Boycott and the efforts to desegregate the city’s buses. After the drive to Montgom- ery and dinner at O’dessa’s Blessing, the exhausted yet still exhilarated group was FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 14 representing individuals who have made a church’s bold determination to hold mass connected with one another and thus with commitment to “work in their daily lives for meetings and thus to defy ordinances that the “experience of a lifetime”. justice, equality and human rights.” After prohibited more than three African-Ameri- moving on to the Rosa Parks Library and cans from gathering together in one place Check out the 2009 Travel and Learn offer- Museum, we wrapped up our day with an- has made it an historic landmark to “man’s ings of the University of Virginia’s School other great southern meal and, with weary inhumanity and his capacity for love and of Continuing and Professional Studies at brains and heavy hearts, rested up for the forgiveness.” www.virginia.edu/travelandlearn/ next day’s adventure. The 3-hour return trip from Birming- Even though for years I’ve shared ham to Atlanta was a quiet, reflective with students both live footage as well as one. So much to digest in just six days... fictionalized versions of the Selma March, a movement, in fact. Emails continue to fly nothing could have prepared me for step- among participants who reach out to stay ping onto that bridge. While thinking of John Lewis as he led that “Bloody Sunday” march and suffered, perhaps, the beat- ing of his life, silence fell over the usually garrulous group. Along with the haunt- ing memories of Sheriff Jim Clark, cattle prods, and billy clubs, the names of four supporters of the protest whose lives were sacrificed as a result of Selma thickened the heaviness of the air. The historic Brown Chapel AME church, where mass meetings had been held throughout 1965, was the only one to willingly defy a court injunc- tion against more than three black citizens gathering in any place. It took those acts of defiance to make a movement! After din- ner at the Whistle Stop Café (yes, of Fried Green Tomatoes fame and, of course, I had the tomatoes…and the greens…and the black-eyed peas….), we called it a night and prepared for the final destination, Birming- ham. In the city then better known to some as “Bombingham,” an uneasy calm marked the period around 1963. Now, the somber proximity of the Sixteenth Avenue Baptist Church to Kelly Ingram Park, the “epi- center” of the “Sixties” marches, creates an emotional gasp. Onlookers can, in the same field of vision, gaze upon the site of “Bull” Conner’s fierce fire hoses and vi- cious attack dogs portrayed in dramatic sculptures as well as the church basement window that was blown up along with four innocent young girls… in a vicious retali- ation for all civil rights progress. One of the many perks of traveling with Julian Bond was the eagerness of locals in every community to join our group and tell their stories. In Birmingham, we heard firsthand accounts by participants who, as children, crawled through classroom windows and risked school expulsion to join the march. We also heard from those who were in the church when the bombing occurred. The FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 15

Middle-schoolers take the lead in running an upper school-wide mock election, bringing to life the values symbolized by the American flag

Every Vote Counts: A School-Wide Multidisciplinary Unit on Citizenship and Democracy By Michelle Merson • Academic Dean • Crossroads Middle School • [email protected]

Every four years, Crossroads Middle School gives its teachers webgame called The Redistricting Game, and a comedy writer for and students the time, liberty and resources to experience current late-night television. politics and citizenship for themselves. Nicknamed Government In The rotation concluded with Name That Party, a panel discus- Action (GIA) some years ago, this recent unit adopted the par- sion in which a delegate from each of the Libertarian, Democratic ticular theme Every Vote Counts, with the hopes of encapsulating and Republican parties explained their personal experiences and the ideals of fairness and objectivity. This year’s GIA was palpa- values, political beliefs and hopes for their future without reveal- bly different than years passed, bumper stickers on binders and ing their specific party affiliation. Following the presentations, party talking-points repeated by students as indisputable fact students used their snack time to register to vote in the upcoming are to be expected in any election year, but this year hearts were mock election. 6th graders new to campus embraced the registra- involved like never before. Enamored by the party conventions, tion drive as a way to meet and talk to the older kids, and they students spent the summer registering voters, campaigning for energetically pursued all middle school community members who their candidates, and arguing with and questioning their families, had not yet registered to vote. their neighbors and their peers. Students wanted to know more The energy and momentum of the fall intensified as students about politics and the election process, and most importantly, they and faculty delved into a variety of independent projects. Each dis- wanted – needed - to see their individual beliefs and values objec- cipline developed a few key projects for each grade that integrated tively represented in the hallways, classrooms and assemblies. some of the skills and material taught in their courses with any GIA consisted of a voter registration drive, a mock election, an of the GIA themes: Democracy, Citizenship, Immigration, Media assembly day with guest speakers, independent student projects Literacy, Civil & Military Service, Elections, the changing political and a culminating evening festival showcasing the students’ work. landscape, issues of environment and energy, faith and the State, In September our GIA kick-off and voter registration drive en- Katrina today, Gay Rights, Terrorism and the wars in Iraq and abled the middle school to learn from: a political cartoonist for the Afghanistan. Los Angeles Times, two active-duty servicemen, the designer of a FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 16

In math courses, students had the school was literally humming with political 30 voting booths with ink-a-vote recorders opportunity to create a U.S. map that noted expression and thought. from the LA County Registrar, as well as the number of electoral votes each state The mock election took place in mid- six or seven student created ballot boxes. held, and how each candidate could poten- October, enticing the entire middle and up- The feeling of anticipation and the impend- tially win the electoral votes of the nation. per school communities to participate. 450 ing significance of the national election was Science classes invited students to consider palpable throughout the campus. themselves as scientific advisors to the in- Staffed by middle school With the increasing weight of the coming president and to prepare a brief on national issues at hand and the close three current scientific topics, ranging from students, the polling place proximity of the election, students and fac- global warming, offshore oil drilling, and contained thirty voting ulty found themselves not only enthused, land conservation/preservation. booths complete with ink-a- but invested in their beliefs, and having Comparisons of Ancient Roman already voted themselves now anxious meritocracy cursus honorum to modern vote recorders from the L.A. about the national outcome. One student American political ascendancy was one County Registrar, as well as angrily inquired why our American flag was of the many options for Latin students, six or seven student created no longer flying in the alley (it had been while studio art and graphic design classes removed because of construction); while examined the logos and symbols of the ballot boxes. another student’s mother questioned if her various campaigns and devised their own child could win a debate arguing that John political posters and symbols. Finally dance McCain was the best candidate for Com- classes choreographed a piece to accom- mander-In-Chief. pany excerpts from Dr. King’s speeches. In Admissions interviews, prospective Core classes, which integrate the families carefully queried, “Could a fair studies of history and literature, not only discussion of diverse political values hap- created independent projects for students, pen in a progressive independent school in but re-wrote much of their fall curriculum Southern California? Is it safe to assume or in order to fully embrace the substantial correct to equate liberal educational prin- student curiosity and interest in the politi- ciples with liberal political ones?” Each of cal season. In 6th grade classrooms, stu- these questions echoed the same concern, dents chose between exploring how to read “don’t teach what to think, teach how to political bias in journalism, researching the think.” role of women in presidential elections, or At the GIA festival finale, 6th graders using the internet to research third party proudly cheered for the mock election re- candidates, their parties and platforms. sults that they helped gather and tabulate, Many of the 6th graders chose not only to while 7th graders listened to the stump complete a project in class, but to staff the speeches of their various self-designed polling place, create ballot boxes and count political parties. The 8th graders eagerly the ballots. awaited the championship debate. The In 7th grade, the Core faculty collabo- young debater won his debate by logically rated and designed an entire unit on politi- and articulately convincing the champion- cal parties to coincide with GIA. 7th graders ship debate judges (faculty, peers and US researched the history and formation of students) that McCain was indeed the best American political parties and then created candidate for Commander-In-Chief. He won their own distinct parties, replete with a out of a total of 978 6-12 students and staff because his speech was well researched, philosophy, platform, slogan, candidate and faculty voted - a 46% voter turnout for thoroughly rehearsed and he was a dy- and symbol. At least seven unique parties our mock election. Middle school classes namic persuasive speaker, not because of were formed, and the students proudly were scheduled to visit the polling place the judges’ political beliefs. Even-handed vied for party membership amongst their in twenty-minute intervals, minimizing discussions of diverse ideas must happen peers. In the 8th grade, many students interference in an otherwise busy school in schools, if we are to nurture criti- blended their current study of Russia with day. However, the polling place was open to cal thinkers and intellectual risk-takers. GIA by creating their own replica of a Soviet any and all faculty, staff, and upper school Educational principles do not equivocally propaganda poster or by designing their students, and all were eager to participate. translate into political values. With the own ceramic plate based on the ceramic art Many of the upper school students remem- construction completed, our American flag from the Russian Revolution. In addition, bered when they voted in our last mock will return to its home on campus. In its students striving towards a mark of Honors election, while others took the opportunity absence our patriotism was defined not in the first term prepared and debated the to express their hopes and fears for the up- by the flag, but by our inquiries, research, resolution that John McCain is the best coming national election. Staffed by middle creativity and passions. choice for Commander in Chief. The middle school students, the polling place contained FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 17

A follow-up to the on-going story of one school’s creation of a new teacher mentor program

“Ment” to Be: Reflections from a Mentee and Mentor By Josie Bahedry • Asstistant Head K-3 • The John Thomas Dye School • [email protected] with Rosalyn Won, K-3 Science Teacher and Laura Street, First Grade Teacher Last year we began a new and improved Mentor/Mentee pro- questions and be a sounding board for those days when I didn’t gram at The John Thomas Dye School. I wrote an article about our understand how things worked. Laura supported me by sending fledgling year that was published in the CAIS Winter 2008 Faculty emails, or leaving me a cup of tea (she knew I didn’t drink coffee!). Newsletter. As part of our reflection on the experience, I have asked She made me feel like part of the community. Even from a personal two of the teachers who were part of the program to write a follow standpoint, I felt welcomed in my new city. up article to chronicle their experience. It helped me that JTD had a structured mentoring program. I was given a welcome bag at the beginning of the year containing Mentee Reflection – Rosalyn Won, K-3 Science Teacher items such as an abridged version of the faculty handbook, a year- It was the middle of August 2007. My then-fiancé and I had book, and alumni newsletter. These items offered a quick glimpse just completed a nine-day cross-country road trip from New York into the school and its culture. Monthly meetings with the mentor- to Los Angeles. We were shopping at Target to set up our new ing team also gave me a chance to learn about upcoming school home in LA. New city, new school, new life after eight years in the events and how to prepare for them. Big Apple. I was waiting in line to pay when my cell phone rang. It I believe two keys to the success of the JTD mentor/mentee was Laura Street, a John Thomas Dye School teacher, saying that relationship was that Laura and I got to know each other outside she would be my mentor for the coming year. That was the first of of school, and we were a good match for each other. One of the many conversations I would have with Laura over the school year. wonderful perks of the program was an entertainment stipend that I will admit I was skeptical at first about the JTD mentoring Laura and I could use to meet informally off campus. The stipend program. I had six years of experience at an independent school in helped us not only build a collegial relationship, but a friendship New York. Although I never had a mentor, I was able to ask fellow as well. We are close in age, and have similar interests and teach- colleagues for help to navigate through my first year. I wondered ing styles. It was easy to ask Laura questions, or to vent about if I would really need a mentor, or if she would actively guide me something because I knew she was not only my mentor and col- through the whole year and be attentive to my needs. league, but also a friend. In some ways, I felt like a first year teacher all over again. I This year I have the privilege and responsibility of passing on had to adapt to JTD’s four types of schedules, understand car- the knowledge I gained last year to a new colleague. In a reversal pool procedures, fill out report cards differently and a host of of roles, I am now mentoring a new kindergarten associate teacher. other things. It was comforting to have Laura answer my endless I am confident that the program’s structure, from the mentoring FACULTY NEWSLETTER — SPRING 2009 18

John Thomas Dye Mentor-Mentee Group 2007-8. Laura is 3rd from the left and Ros is 4th from the right.

meetings to the entertainment stipend, will give me the tools to be my students three times a week; these all made our pairing more as helpful a mentor as Laura was to me. successful Our administration, also provided an entertainment stipend to go out and enjoy off campus time together. Sitting at Mentor Reflection - Laura Street, First Grade Teacher dinner for a couple hours, eating and chatting, helped us get to I remember the first phone call I made to my mentee, Ros. I know each other on another level. had never been an official mentor before, and I was excited to have Ros was great about reaching out to me if she needed some- the opportunity, but at the same time I wondered if the experience thing. But I wanted to be there for her in case she wasn’t feeling so was going to meet my expectations. I remembered so vividly what comfortable making that first step. I made it a point to pop over to it felt like in my first year at the John Thomas Dye School, and her room, both when she was teaching and often when she wasn’t, the many times I was overwhelmed by trying to understand all the so we could have time to catch up. Another strength of our mentor- subtleties of fitting into a new school community. ing program is that we have regularly scheduled meetings, which So here I was, about to call and establish a relationship with usually coordinate with upcoming events at school (report card someone I had only seen for a few minutes six months earlier dur- time, the holiday program). Still, I knew that informally touching ing her interview lesson. Now I was partially responsible for helping base was just as important. her feel well adjusted, comfortable - like she had made the right Over the course of the year, I know I learned a lot about Ros, decision in coming to JTD. Not only was she new to our school, but but also from her. As she explained how things had been in her old also new to Los Angeles. I called, introduced myself, chatted for a school, I got a deeper understanding of her as a teacher. Some- few minutes, and then said we’d meet up that week at school. The times things had been done the same way at JTD, and sometimes groundwork had been laid. completely differently. We always had a meaningful conversation After that phone call, the first few months of school getting to about the differences -the pros and cons of each approach, and know each other a little better personally, and countless conver- how we personally felt about them. These conversations helped me sations of explaining exactly how things worked in our school see my school through a new set of eyes, and I know they made me community blur together. I wanted Ros to know that it was okay to a more well-rounded mentor. be overwhelmed, to question whether or not she was in the right Being a mentor helped me grow professionally. I felt pride that place, completely happy in her position, or to feel whatever other I could share some of the wonderful aspects of our school with emotions came her way. It was important that I was a safe place someone new, and make her feel like she was part of the team. In where she could vent about first-year frustrations, or where she my first or even second year, I would not have been able to make could come with her joys and triumphs. I believe it is essential that connections between my experiences and how they might benefit a mentor be there to answer all the logistical questions, but I know someone. My first year as a mentor involved much reflection on anyone who reflects back on their first year remembers more the my part - things like how I got to where I was, and what had been person who listened to them and helped them through. instrumental to my success. Those were the things I wanted to What I didn’t know was that Ros and I would grow to become pass on to Ros. I could not have been happier with the experience. friends. As we got to know each other, we realized we had people I learned about myself, made a friend, helped ease someone’s tran- and places in common in our pasts; this only added to our con- sition, and represented my school. I believe the mentoring program nection. On one hand, that was good planning on the part of our is an integral piece of our school’s success, from each individual to administration. They knew some factors about us ahead of time, the community as a whole. our age, our experience, the fact that Ros would be working with