From the Fall 2011 Caller

By Hannah Hay-Smith

I lived with an 18-year-old named Mhakbé, who attended the public high school. Every day she walked two miles to her overpopulated school, which consisted of three concrete buildings and a large soccer field. On my first day of school, we had morning track and field. Each exercise was a competition, in which the most and least athletic students in the class were revealed. The most competitive of these activities was the high jump. We jumped, one at time, over the elevated bar and landed on the mat below. If you successfully cleared the bar and stuck your landing, you passed on to the next round. The other students, along with the gym teacher, judged each high jumper. I passed the first two rounds, but in the third round I hit the bar on the way over. The class snickered as I joined the other girls who had already been eliminated. I felt annoyed that the teacher let us be publicly humiliated and realized that no Catlin Gabel teacher would allow our peers to laugh at us, as he did. It was a reminder of the differences between the two schools.

Catlin Gabel now makes it possible, through financial aid funds, for every Middle and Upper School student to participate in at least one global education trip abroad during their years at Catlin Gabel.

Catlin Gabel students helped paint a mural to welcome First Lady Michelle Obama to Botswana. The First Lady visited the Botswana-Baylor Centre for Children’s Excellence to highlight the organization’s efforts to develop a new treatment and counseling facility for HIV+ teens.

Thirteen students assisted local artist Lesedi to sketch and paint traditional Botswana figures, designs and backgrounds on a 30m concrete wall. The group also developed educational play activities for HIV+ youth awaiting treatment and counseling appointments.

In addition to the Baylor Centre, Catlin Gabel students provided support to the Maru-a-Pula Orphans and Vulnerable Children Fund, SOS Children’s Village, a health clinic in Thabala, and high school students in Gumare. Students met with Dr. Ava Avalos of the Ministry of Health and Thobo Mogojwe of PING (Positive Innovation for the Next Generation).

The Botswana-Baylor Centre is one of many partnerships between the Ministry of Health and international organizations, part of a coordinated, national effort to combat AIDS. Approximately 30% of all adults in Botswana are infected with HIV.

Each year, Catlin Gabel welcomes one Maru-a-Pula exchange student to Oregon. Catlin Gabel students are currently traveling through Botswana as part of the school’s global education program.

Further information:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13910916
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/24/us-obama-botswana-idUSTRE75N6DA20110624
http://www.bipai.org/
http://botswanateenclub.wordpress.com/
http://maruapula.org/support-map/orphans-vulnerable-children-bursary-fund
 

All the fourth and fifth year Japanese language students in Yoko Iwasaki’s classes were selected for the Living Language Experience (LLE) Program, which builds bridges between classrooms and the Japanese business world. The 19 students were accepted into the program based on their outstanding Japanese language proficiency — the largest group of qualifying students in Oregon. Students had to pass the Oregon Benchmark Level 4 exam to qualify.

Few outsiders are given the opportunity to visit U.S.-based Japanese companies and observe their inner workings. The students interacted in Japanese with native Japanese business professionals to arrange their visits, tour the facilities, and engage in conversation about the products or services.

Rohan Jhunjhunwala, Gene Yamamoto, and Cole Williamson visited JAE Oregon, Inc., a manufacturer of electrical connectors.

Lizzie Medford, Danielle Shapira, Megan Stater, and Ramtin Rahmani visited Pacific Nutritional Foods Inc., a tofu processing and packaging plant.

Jackson Morawski, Anthony Eden, Will Jolley, and Koichi Omara visited Tokyo Ohka Kogyo America, Inc., manufacturers of photoresists and auxiliary chemicals.

Jesse Kimsey-Bennett, Cameron Boyd, Emrys Dennison, and Lauren Spiegel visited Pasco Corporation of America, a bakery, deli, and food service products manufacturer.

Alex Foster, Sabin Ray, Qiddist Hammerly, and Andrew Hungate visited Nippon Express U.S.A. Inc., a division of Nippon Express Group, the world's largest full-service freight forwarder.

Members of Shokookai, a Japanese business alliance in Portland, are interested in how the LLE program works at the high school level (colleges participate, too), and are eager to know what effect the experience has on students. To that end, Yoshio Oda from Epson Portland, Inc., and a board member of Shokookai, and Miwa Pierce, a Shokookai staff member, came to Catlin Gabel to attend student presentations about their visits to Japanese businesses. Yoko will speak at an upcoming Shokookai meeting.
 

Nineteen students and three chaperones from Martinique are hosted by the Middle School. French language students provide the homestays.

By Carrie Gotkowitz
Los Niños/Via International is a community development organization headquartered in San Diego, California, and Tijuana, Mexico. Our family has been involved with Los Niños for many years – my son Daniel's grandfather, Joseph Gotkowitz, started the microcredit program in the early 1990s. I was familiar with the Los Niños programs through contacts in San Diego, but had never visited any of the program sites. 

During spring break 2010, Daniel and I spent two days at the Los Niños program in Mexicali, Mexico. We visited a cactus farm, a beehive cooperative, a ladrillera (brickmaking business), and a preschool, which is the site of a xeroscape landscaping and playground installation project. We ate meals and slept at the Los Niños dormitory in Mexicali.

Los Niños Mexicali volunteers have helped with sustainable farming development projects, bridge building, xeroscape landscape installation, and playground construction. Volunteer work is directed by agronomists or construction supervisors. Los Niños provides Spanish language interpreters. Voluntourism trips include discussion and education on community health and nutrition, local and global economic forces driving migration, and U.S.-Mexico border relations. Volunteer and community contributions are used to fund projects.

Los Niños/Via International has a 37-year history in community development work. The organization focuses on family health and food security, nutrition, and ecology training, microenterprise and microcredit, community leadership education, and voluntourism programs. Los Niños offers voluntourism programs in San Diego, New Mexico, Tijuana and Mexicali, Mexico, and Guatemala.

Los Niños International

Welcome to our international students

Please join us in welcoming four international students who will spend the year at Catlin Gabel: sophomores Jossette Solís from Costa Rica and Louise Jürgens from Denmark, junior Karl-Julius Ueberhorst from Germany, and senior Mmaserame Gaefele from Botswana.

Two Guatemalan students will join our Middle School from October 16 to December 11. The 6th grade will host Victor and the 8th grade will host Santiago.

Where in the world are we going?

We are excited to announce the global trips for 2010-11. Check out the website for information about Upper School trips to Senegal, Guatemala, and Botswana, and Middle School trips to Tawain and Costa Rica. Happy trails!

And while you’re at it, visit the blogs written by students and chaperones currently traveling and living in Japan.

Save the dates

Upper School assembly, Thursday, October 7, 10:40 – 11:40 a.m.
This assembly features global activist and World Pulse founder Jensine Larsen. As a young freelance journalist covering indigenous movements and ethnic cleansing in South America and Southeast Asia, Larsen had a vision—to use the power of media to unleash the creative human potential of women across the globe. Parents and guardians invited.

The Viewfinder Global Film Series movie nights for 2010-11 are October 21, December 2, January 27, February 24, and April 14. All films are shown at 6:30 p.m. in the Vollum Humanities Building unless otherwise stated. Childcare available for potty-trained children. » Link to Viewfinder schedule

How are trip destinations determined?

We draw upon the breadth of international experience in our own community when we plan trips abroad. Basing trips on these existing connections provides our students with opportunities for meaningful, safe, and educational experiences—and enduring relationships.

The school’s goal is for each student to participate in at least one international trip during his or her Middle School and Upper School years.

Financial aid and trip expenses

Trips range in cost from $2,000 to $4,000. Families are encouraged to begin saving funds for their child’s global travel experience early in Lower School. Each year about 25 percent of students in both the Middle and Upper Schools travel on global trips. A 5 percent surcharge is added to all trips to subsidize financial aid. Financial aid is available to all qualified applicants, but a student may receive aid for only one trip during their tenure in each division. Families who do not receive financial aid for tuition, but who require aid for an international trip, are required to submit an SSS form.

More information about global education

Information about the global education program, upcoming trips, speakers, and events can be found in the global education section of the website.

Last year I applied for a Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching.  Much to my amazement, I was awarded a grant to study for a little over three months in Israel. On the application, I wrote a proposal for connecting students using graphic arts software to help overcome language barriers. How naïve I was. The first issue my mentor, Jay Hurvitz, pointed out was that I had hardly proposed a topic which could be researched. No problem, I countered. Being a mentor teacher in the United States, I was more than willing to look at how student teachers were being trained to teach with modern technological tools. In my mentoring, I had discovered that student teachers were proficient at using technology, but had little training in how to teach with technology.  I told Jay I was also interested in how veteran teachers were acquiring the new skills necessary to teach with emerging technology. 

I was not a researcher prior to this Fulbright Award. I teach children. I have done so successfully by most measures for nearly thirty years. Teaching is about building relationships. My students learn because of the relationship I have with them.  In order to learn about the state of technology in Israeli education, I began developing a personal learning network (PLN.) I created a blog that, according to Google Analytics, has received more than 700 visits.  Each visit lasted an average of 2:36. Clearly, people are reading what I have written. 

Actually doing research was my problem.  I was going to be in Israel for 102 days.  I spent a week getting acclimated.  95 days left.  Israeli universities have a semester break in February. Down to 80 days left.  K-12 students have a spring (Passover) break. That left 70 days for me to complete my research.  I learned a great deal while in Israel. Yet I am just now beginning to understand how little I know, and I will be teaching Catlin Gabel seventh graders in 14 days. As a wise Israeli fifth grade teacher reminds her students, “When you travel, you learn a lot about other cultures.  But, you learn more about yourself.”  What did I learn about the Israeli education system?  What did I learn about myself?

I was eager to begin my research into the Israeli school system, but I don’t read, speak, or write Hebrew very well. I needed to talk to people who spoke English, read articles in English, etc. But Hebrew is an important part of Israeli culture. It is one of the ties that bind people. Speak Hebrew and one is seen as an Israeli or at least trying to be part of the culture. Speak English and people might be tolerant or even translate, but I was still an outsider. Fortunately, I met many people who talked to me in English, newspapers such as Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post have online English editions, and both Google and Microsoft have passable translators. Technology became my lifeline. It kept me afloat, yet did not quite allow me to swim. I could translate Hebrew into English, verify my understanding with Israeli colleagues, and e-mail people on my laptop. I had a cell phone for person-to-person conversations and interviews. I learned that Israeli educators deal with many of the same issues facing American educators. Finding similarities eased my language anxiety a bit and allowed me to focus more on some of the differences.

Education in Israel is a complex enterprise. I divided my study between higher education folks and K-12 schools. Beyond this basic divide, there also are secular schools, religious schools, ultra-religious schools, and Arab schools. Funding and political power are unequal. While much funding is federal, schools are administered by municipalities, which means wealthier neighborhoods have schools with more resources, parental involvement, etc. There are areas where the school is the only building in a village with electricity. I visited one Bedouin school, near Be’er Sheva, where a generator the size of a camping trailer was providing the school with electricity. Residents, by contrast, relied on solar power, if they had electricity at all.
Israeli schools are faced with a wide spectrum of issues. Often, technology isn't a high priority. I wanted to talk about technology and how teachers were being trained in its use and using it with kids. But I kept reading about violence in schools, poorly paid teachers, high teacher turnover, lack of qualified teachers, curricular differences between religious, ultra-religious, and secular schools, and schools refusing to teach certain students.  Perhaps most importantly, education in Israel has to deal with security measures unlike any I have ever experienced as a teacher in America.  Every school in Israel is not only fenced, it has an armed guard at the gate. The guard won’t actually admit anybody, but will allow visitors to contact the office. Even when I visited schools as part of a team of Israeli educators, we still had to be admitted by someone who worked at the school, not the guard. Schoolchildren on field trips are accompanied by at least two armed guards the entire time. While no one mentioned the effect of security on kids and most Israelis take security precautions in stride, it has to affect the kids and the adults.   Learning about Israeli schools is, as the ogre, Shrek, says, “Like an onion.  Peel it back one layer at a time.”

A good mentor tries to develop independence in his charge, and Jay was an excellent mentor. He accomplished four major tasks with me. Jay helped me become independent as a traveler. Israel has a terrific bus system, but it took a number of trips before I felt comfortable. I am now able to travel to any part of Israel to meet educators, visit schools and colleges, and return to Jerusalem safely. Jay introduced me to a few educators who are doing unbelievable work in the field of education technology.  Sometimes he attended these meetings, other times I met with people on my own. I joined Israeli educator forums, which required more Google/Bing translation work, and I have been a contributor to these forums since my arrival. One of my suggestions is currently being tried out on Edureshet, a Ning group of technology-using educators. Jay also introduced me to a group of college instructors who were learning how to use technology in their courses. My skills as a technology director and technology-using teacher came in handy, as I was able to participate in class even though my Hebrew was not up to the level it needed to be to participate fully. More than once, after I made a comment, someone would remark, “Oh, so you understand Hebrew.” I didn’t and still don’t, but I understand what is on a screen and have been a presenter often enough to correctly guess what was going on. Lastly, under Jay’s guidance, I attended conferences at Mofet, a unique Israeli institution. Meeting colleagues of all stripes at these conferences was a highlight of my time in Israel, and I look forward to keeping in touch with many of the fine educators I met. While I know Jay did his best to broaden the circle of people with whom I met, and even though he knows, in one way or another, many educators active in the education technology field, my exposure to these people was inevitably influenced by his circle of friends and acquaintances.

More than anything else, I treasured the time I had to read, think, and write. I have followed a few blogs for a number of years, but my blogroll has now grown substantially. Speaking with Israeli colleagues and observing teachers in their classrooms piqued my interest in areas of technology to which I had not previously paid much attention, including ways to incorporate Facebook, Diigo, and other social networking sites, Google forms, and submitting assignments via Moodle. School visits caused me to reflect on my own teaching methods and curriculum. Reading what others wrote on the subject and commenting on posts connected me to educators not just in Israel, but the entire world. I’m not sure where I will find the time to continue all of the reading, but I suspect I will find ways to keep up, or I will join the legions of tech folks who have way too much to read. Thinking about my own teaching, how I approach learning, how I incorporate programs such as All Kinds of Minds, how I utilize the rich resources available to today’s students and teachers, and which skills I want kids to have when they leave my class are all areas I have been lucky enough to explore during my Israel Fulbright.  I have shared some of these thoughts in my 33 blog posts. 

Now that I am preparing to return to the US, what have I learned about the topics I wanted to explore?  There are some Israeli schools engaged in global sharing projects. Perhaps Catlin Gabel will join the growing list of schools participating in global sharing when I return. Some of the software I wanted to share does not “accept” Hebrew input. I have an ongoing correspondence with three software companies encouraging them to tweak their programs to accept Hebrew characters. According to the Israelis, it should be no problem. 

There is an ongoing program in Israel, the Athena Fund, whose stated goal is to address the current poor state of the education system, wherein a gap of digital understanding exists between teachers and students, teachers showing fear of computers and not using them for the purpose of teaching and communicating, and their general status in the eyes of their students is at its lowest. The Fund's main project is "a laptop for every teacher."

The Athena Fund aims to complete its work by 2012. From my limited observations, most Israeli schools have a long way to go. Israeli student teachers are not part of the Athena Fund program. This is unfortunate because, if they were, they might be ready to teach with technology when they began their own teaching careers. Instead, they become part of the program only after completion of their training. If I could make one recommendation it would be to give every teaching candidate a laptop at the beginning of their training. Teacher training is stuttering. Early adopting teachers are moving ahead, but many teachers are simply hoping, “this, too, shall pass." What few in the education community are talking about is that Israeli kids already bring cell phones to school and the phones are creating the same problems as cell phones in schools do in the US – distraction of peers through inappropriate use, ringing during school time, class distinctions between students who have “cool” phones and those who do not, etc. There are so many “turf battles” being waged in the education sector that it is difficult for all the folks involved to move in the same direction. 

Cutting-edge teaching is always inspiring! I visited schools where creative teachers were involved in innovative programs. I observed students in middle schools where each family had purchased a laptop for their child to use, conduct research, create tables in a word processor and upload the document to Moodle, all in a 45-minute period. I met teachers whose students were creating audio files to go with their stories, which they then used as part of an English lesson.  I brainstormed with teachers who were setting up a program to get parents more involved in their local school by having parents and children learn together about using computers. I learned more about the importance of social networking in education than I can possibly recount. This is, of course, a two-edged sword. Students enjoy social networking because they use the tools all the time, they are familiar with them, and they don’t seem like “real work.” But teachers need to help students understand the responsibilities involved in using social networking sites in classes. This includes focusing on school projects, not just updating status, checking on friends, etc. The issues surrounding “proper use” of social networking are not limited to Israeli or American schools/students.  Increasingly, corporations are either filtering or intensively monitoring what employees are doing/viewing/ while connected to the corporate network. 

Teaching is about making connections. I have done that during the past three months in Israel. Current technology will allow me to stay in touch with the educators and students I have met here. As a Fulbright Distinguished Teacher, I have learned new ways of looking at my teaching, improved my teaching, and I have been fortunate enough to have begun working with others to collectively improve education in both the United States and Israel. As Brian Jones stated after he and his partner had just completed the first around-the-world balloon flight, “I am an ordinary person to whom something extraordinary has happened.”

The April 23 Upper School Diversity Conference for students and teachers celebrated the diversity in our community – scholastic, civic, and global. Students determine the structure and thematic focuses of the event each year.

This year's Diversity Conference began with an assembly with performances by Catlin Gabel students and teachers. The Jefferson Dancers performed after morning workshops, and the Maru-a-Pula Marimba Band followed the afternoon workshops. (The marimba performance is open to everyone.)

Students and teachers worked together to design and lead the workshops.

Morning Workshops

Critiques of Notions of Diversity / Multiculturalism
Offering critiques of the notions of diversity and the multicultural model

Homeless Youth & Education
Learning about issues affecting homeless youth

Masculinity / Re-defining the 21st Century Man
MALE PARTICIPANTS ONLY Two opinionated guests lead discussion of American masculinity

Israel and Syria (The Syrian Bride - film)
The interaction of Israeli and Syrian cultures

Living with Blindness
Hands-on experience of living with blindness

Fashion Influences Across Cultures
Who influences whom in the world of fashion?

Vietnamese Cooking
Learn to cook Vietnamese cuisine

Un Dia Sin Mexicanos (A Day Without Mexicans - film)
Would America work without Mexicans? Watch the film…

Race, Drugs, and Prison Sentences (Snitch - film)
Film discussion on race, drugs, and prison sentences

The Genetics of Race (film)
Film discussion on the genetics of race

Dance with the Jefferson Dancers
Learn about dance with Jeff Dancers -- no experience needed

Diversity in France (The Class - film) 
How is France handling culture clash? Watch the film…

Surgery on a Shoe String
Medical adventures in sub-Saharan Africa

Minstrels to Gangstas – Race and American Popular Music
How does pop music create / reinforce racial stereotypes?

Mercy Corps – Global Conflict Resolution
Mercy Corps guest leads discussion of global conflict resolution

Southern African Cultures
An exploration of Southern African Cultures

Factory Farming & Monoculture
The problems inherent to large-scale monocultural farming

Global Cooking
Learn to cook dishes from around the globe

Afternoon Workshops

Access to / Progress of Technology Worldwide
Who has access to technology? Who uses what you throw out?

Child Labor & Human Trafficking
Study of human trafficking and child labor in today's world

Immigration in Context
Discussion of the contemporary immigrant experience

Hispanic Heritage
An exploration of Spanish-speaking cultures & cooking

Middle Eastern Cuisine
Learn to cook healthy food from the Mediterranean & Mesopotamia

The Modern Woman / Contemporary Femininity
FEMALE PARTICIPANTS ONLY What does it mean to be a woman in contemporary America?

Muslim Culture, in America and Abroad
A look at Muslim communities across the globe, perception vs. reality

The Sexes – How We See Each Other
An exploration of sex / gender relations at CGS

Contemporary Religious Practice
Panel discussion of contemporary religious identities at CGS

Use of Sexuality in the Media – Lady Gaga, Adam Lambert
SAFE-led exploration of sex / gender in the media

The Journey Towards a Multicultural Identity
Exploring biracial / multiracial identity

Political Diversity – Conservatives / Moderates at CGS?
Moderate and conservative political points of view, discussion

Bollywood and Bollywood Dance
Learn about Bollywood and Bollywood-style dance

Comparative Fairy Tales / Mythology
Learn about universal motifs in folklore from different cultures

Cognitive Diversity
Learn about learning styles and discover your own!