California Association of Independent Schools Faculty Newsletter Winter 2005 THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS INSIDE: The Advantages of Not Learning Another Language Making the Most of Multiple Choice “Who in their Right Mind Would Want to Teach?” ...and more Faculty Newsletter Winter 2005 From the Editor Through a Different Lens... EE ven without a devastating Southeast Asian tsunami to command it, winter usually brings a momentary pause. As before and after satellite pictures from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India circulate the Internet, the god Janus comes to mind. Janus was the Roman god of beginnings and endings, of gates and doors. He also is representative of transitions – between life and death, war and peace, childhood and adulthood, ignorance and understanding - and between old and new ways of seeing things. In fact, Janus might well be the defining emblem of our profession symbolizing among those other things, the perennial tug-of-war between the various canons of our disciplines and the need for contemporary relevance. The articles that follow have in common a Janus-like approach to their subjects. Whether the point-of- view is a second look at multiple choice tests, as Peter Brown, in his second installment, encourages us to take; a look back at a home culture from which an author is temporarily removed as Melissa Kanemasu, Kim Kohler and Martha Kermott experience; or a childhood curiosity about another culture finally satisfied for Kim Kohler; a look at teaching through the eyes of his students like Erich Reinholz, or her younger self like Tanaz Artega; or from the viewpoint of technology like Marla Bainbridge, a collegial adventure like Kevin Cummings, or finally, recreating an 18th century life for 21st century students alike Kathy Allison; all these standpoints offer an opportunity to see the usual and “normal” through a different lens. It can be a transformative experience. As I write, looking backward and forward here at CAIS, I see another exciting Regional Meeting on the horizon. We will be in the North this year, blessed by Sacred Hearts Schools’ willingness to once again be our hosts. The date is Monday, March 14th in Atherton. There are a total of 211 workshops being offered by 326 presenters, all but 16 of whom are you who teach in our schools. Since we had a waiting list left over from last year’s Retreat for Middle Managers, we are offering it again in Palm Springs April 10th-12th. Watch the website for details. Register on our website (www.caisca.org). Looking backward, I see that we have welcomed over a hundred new teachers to our CAIS programs in our beginning teacher retreats, and have progressed more than halfway through our slate of Professional Days. They are in the South this year and have been a great success. More than a few Northerners have contacted us wondering if we’d be offering the same thing in their area. Contact your friendly, local Northern Professional Services Committee member and suggest it! And, who knows, that could be you. Soon we will be sending a call to school heads asking for recommendations for people to fill the positions coming vacant, so if you’re interested let him/her know. It’s a wonderful way to work with folks from different school cultures and different disciplines – and dare I say it? – take a look at professional development through a different lens. — Sandee Mirell Director of Professional Development THROUGH A DIFFERENT LENS California Association of Independent Schools Winter 2005 C o n t e n t s What I Did During My Summer Vacation......................................................... 1 “Congratulations! You have been selected. .” ............................................... 3 A Secret Balance ............................................................................................ 7 The Advantages of Not Learning Another Language ...................................... 9 Making the Most of Multiple Choice .............................................................. 10 The Academy Model: Linking Initiatives through Professional Development..................................... 13 “Who in their Right Mind Would Want to Teach?” .......................................... 15 Collaboration Counts...................................................................................... 17 21st Century Students, 18th Century Lives......................................................... 18 Faculty Newsletter is published by the California Association of Independent Schools 1351 Third Street, Suite 303, Santa Monica, CA 90401 310.393.5161 fax 310.394.6561 www.caisca.org Faculty Newsletter Winter 2005 Math in the “real world” – one teacher’s experience What I Did During My Summer Vacation by Melissa Kanemasu Live Oak School Middle School Math [email protected] II walked into the building through the employee en- THE FIRST DAY OF WORK trance and held up my ID for the security guard who On the first day of work, I was reminded of what it gave me a nod and a cheerful, “Good morning.” I must feel like to be a new student on the first day of watched as the security gate flashed a green arrow school. I met many new people who would be my co- signaling that it was okay for me to enter and made workers during the next two months, and struggled to my way through rows of cubicles until I came to the remember all their names. I got lost several times in one with my name on it. I switched on my lights, the maze of buildings and rows of cubicles. At lunch- locked away my valuables, and secured my laptop time, I wondered if I would find someone to sit with or into its docking station. would I have to sit alone. This is definitely a far cry from how I usually start each school day at Live Oak. However, it’s how I started each workday for eight weeks this past sum- WORKING IN A CUBICLE mer. I spent the majority of my summer working as a Working in a cubicle was much more of an adjust- Lab Engineer at Intel in Santa Clara through a sum- ment than I thought it would be. I was surprised how mer fellowship from IISME. IISME, which stands for isolated I felt, and amazed at how difficult it could be Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education, to concentrate, especially when people in surrounding was founded 20 years ago by a group of Bay Area cubicles were on the phone. I realized how much I CEOs with the purpose of bridging the gap between missed the frequent interaction with kids at school, or industry and education. Their mission is to promote even adults, for that matter. interest in the areas of math, science, and technol- ogy by using teachers to affect change, and they pro- USING MATH IN “REAL LIFE” vide a number of different industry-related profes- Every year there is at least one student who asks sional development opportunities to teachers. me the question, “How will we use this (math) in real Through their summer fellowship program, I was able life.” Well, this summer, I experienced firsthand how to enjoy many different experiences. math is used in the “real world.” From hearing about --1-- Faculty Newsletter Winter 2005 “Working in a The author in front of Intel, where was reminded that she was cubicle meant to be a teacher. was much more of an adjustment than I thought it would be. I was usage tables to calculating speed, Over the course of the summer, I re- surprised forces and distances, math was defi- alized how important my role was in nitely all around me. Each time I the company even though I was just walked through the rows of cubicles, a very small part of a much bigger how I saw calculations or equations picture. In our day-to-day roles as scribbled on people’s white boards. educators, we often forget what an isolated I myself had to think back to my important role we play in our stu- trigonometry days of sine and cosine dents’ lives. Each teacher contrib- when consulting with someone utes just a small part of a student’s I felt, and about a polishing angle and an ac- entire education and each student ceptable margin of error. we teach is just a single person in an entire generation. However, each amazed BEING JUST A SMALL PART small part may be that one compo- OF A MUCH BIGGER THING nent that completes the whole. at how My task at Intel involved testing Although I am very happy that I an automated polishing machine, had the opportunity at Intel this sum- which prepared small microchip mer, the experience solidified the difficult samples for different types of analy- fact that I was meant to be a ses. The chips, which are used in dif- teacher. I was quite satisfied with ferent handheld devices such as cell my accomplishments in microchip it could phones, PDAs, etc., are frequently polishing, but not nearly as fulfilled analyzed for quality assurance as as when I see a student finally “get be to well as failure analysis. New tech- it.” I returned to Live Oak ready to nologies are also constantly being take on new challenges and eager developed and tested to make the to share my experiences of “math in concentrate.” microchips even smaller and faster. the real world.” --2-- Faculty Newsletter Winter 2005 A childhood home near Manzanar sparks curiosity later satisfied by a Fulbright visit to Japan “Congratulations! You have been selected. .” by Kim Kohler Chadwick School Art Specialist-Grades K-6 [email protected] MM y Japan adventure began in the fall with an e- groups of 200 to travel to Japan. Selected educators mail from my head of school containing a link to the are completely funded. The trips consist of a training Fulbright Memorial Fund. I began investigating, becom- weekend in San Francisco and three weeks in Japan. ing more interested, the further I read.