We now have a YouTube Channel so that we can better utilize video in our work. The first video I have included is an adaptation of the video that I used to introduce the new class to the students at Lister Academy last Spring. I made a few minor alterations and updates, but for the most part, this is the video that excited the students who chose to commit to a year of hard work and amazing learning. We're reading Walking With Wolf, each student has their own blog, and we're fundraising our way to Monteverde, Costa Rica. This is exciting!
If you would like to help support these students, please check out our website to see how. Thanks.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Power and Control
I am trying to utilize more technology so that the students have a variety of options for capturing their ideas. Up until this point, I have been suggesting that they take notes while reading the book, Walking with Wolf - similar to how I was taught and how I teach at the college - but I would like to hand them more options. I have created a Google Voice account so that they can possibly leave digital voice recordings of their thoughts as they read. I have tried it out here as a model. I'd love to know what people think.
Too often, teachers resist adoption of technology - and I'm guilty sometimes. I am hoping that use of multiple technologies can empower my students and shift more power and control to them - where it belongs. This feels more in line with our class, as we prepare for our learning about Monteverde, Costa Rica.
If you would like to help support these students, please check out our website to see how. Thanks.
Too often, teachers resist adoption of technology - and I'm guilty sometimes. I am hoping that use of multiple technologies can empower my students and shift more power and control to them - where it belongs. This feels more in line with our class, as we prepare for our learning about Monteverde, Costa Rica.
If you would like to help support these students, please check out our website to see how. Thanks.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Chilean Miners - a lesson in bonding
I first referenced the Chilean mining disaster to my Costa Rica class in early September - at that point we knew they were alive, but weren't expecting a rescue to happen until Christmas. It was a Monday and we were sharing the connections that came to mind while reading the latest chapter in Walking With Wolf. We had just read about their early settlement of Monteverde, Costa Rica and how they developed rudimentary hydro-electric power and dug their own wells for water. It seemed to me that if Wolf could hand-dig a well that would work for years, then, with all of our technological advancements over the last 60 years, we should certainly be able to dig out these miners in less than 4 months.
It turns out that the rescuers did their job in half of the expected time and all of Chili and the world has recently rejoiced as the last miner was lifted to the surface. When I think about this ordeal now, it is much more than a story of disaster, rescue, or even survival - it is a story of bonding. These men came together and jointly made decisions and commitments that kept everyone alive. Under stress it is very easy to just look out for "number 1", but this is an example of the good that comes from seeing the importance of the group.
I am especially intrigued by their agreement that they would all split the monetary gain that any of the men received from his story. Only time will tell if this holds true, but the very fact that they agreed to it is meaningful. I have been similarly impressed as the students in this Costa Rica class have been fundraising for their trip to Monteverde. While we started out with each individual student focusing on their own efforts and goal, the language I am more commonly hearing now is how "we" are doing for "our" goal. This kind of change and growth is even more rewarding than the academics involved.
If you would be interested in supporting these students, please check out our website and Facebook page where you can get information about our Leaf Raking, our fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse, or online donations.
It turns out that the rescuers did their job in half of the expected time and all of Chili and the world has recently rejoiced as the last miner was lifted to the surface. When I think about this ordeal now, it is much more than a story of disaster, rescue, or even survival - it is a story of bonding. These men came together and jointly made decisions and commitments that kept everyone alive. Under stress it is very easy to just look out for "number 1", but this is an example of the good that comes from seeing the importance of the group.
I am especially intrigued by their agreement that they would all split the monetary gain that any of the men received from his story. Only time will tell if this holds true, but the very fact that they agreed to it is meaningful. I have been similarly impressed as the students in this Costa Rica class have been fundraising for their trip to Monteverde. While we started out with each individual student focusing on their own efforts and goal, the language I am more commonly hearing now is how "we" are doing for "our" goal. This kind of change and growth is even more rewarding than the academics involved.
If you would be interested in supporting these students, please check out our website and Facebook page where you can get information about our Leaf Raking, our fundraiser at Texas Roadhouse, or online donations.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Let The Healing Begin
Kay Chornook, the author of Walking With Wolf, mentions several times how her experiences in Monteverde, Costa Rica acted as a hospice for her. This happens, first, as she recovers from a difficult divorce, and then again after she has been treated for Hodgkin's Disease. Part of my drive to create this class and bring my students to Monteverde is because I believe that it can have a similar healing effect for them - and it has already begun.
I am seeing commitment and perseverance in the classroom that I have rarely seen before. These students, unaccustomed to completing homework or having adults expect them to do so, are keeping up with the reading and taking copious notes. They're asking questions and pursuing answers, at times when they may otherwise have stayed silent. They are spending hours researching information that is related to the text and connects it to their interests. They are taking feedback and making changes to pieces of writing that they have labored over - both hard pills to swallow for students that have histories of just wanting to be done.
These changes extend to the non-academic as well. We just had a fundraiser this past Thursday night - selling raffle tickets at the Harlem Wizards game at Portsmouth High School - and I can't speak highly enough of how well the students stepped up. While other members of our school had a dinner out before the game, my students didn't complain when they had to miss out and come to set-up early. They stretched their comfort zones as they sold tickets at our table and even ventured out into the crowd to sell more. When I saw two, otherwise self-conscious, students stand at half-court with Senator Martha Fuller Clark to draw the winning tickets, I knew that this was only the beginning of a powerful change for them all.
I am seeing commitment and perseverance in the classroom that I have rarely seen before. These students, unaccustomed to completing homework or having adults expect them to do so, are keeping up with the reading and taking copious notes. They're asking questions and pursuing answers, at times when they may otherwise have stayed silent. They are spending hours researching information that is related to the text and connects it to their interests. They are taking feedback and making changes to pieces of writing that they have labored over - both hard pills to swallow for students that have histories of just wanting to be done.
These changes extend to the non-academic as well. We just had a fundraiser this past Thursday night - selling raffle tickets at the Harlem Wizards game at Portsmouth High School - and I can't speak highly enough of how well the students stepped up. While other members of our school had a dinner out before the game, my students didn't complain when they had to miss out and come to set-up early. They stretched their comfort zones as they sold tickets at our table and even ventured out into the crowd to sell more. When I saw two, otherwise self-conscious, students stand at half-court with Senator Martha Fuller Clark to draw the winning tickets, I knew that this was only the beginning of a powerful change for them all.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Developing Community
As I hear news reports about rebuilding Iraq and Afghanistan after the wars, and rebuilding Haiti and New Orleans after natural disasters, I can't help but think about what I'm reading in Walking With Wolf about how they built the community in Monteverde, Costa Rica. To be fair, there may be a difference between building and rebuilding, but it seems to me that the central questions are the same. Most everyone seems starts with "what does the community need?", and "how do we build that?", but perhaps it should be "who is the community?", and "how do they make these decisions?"
Many times when "settlers" enter a new area the indigenous people see them as something else - "conquerors". This was not the case when Wolf and the other Quakers settled Monteverde, which speaks volumes of their vision of community. In chapter 4, a local Tico talks about the arrival of the Quakers, saying that,
I find this all very inspiring and believe that a key part of its success is the Quaker belief in consensus. This is the practice of making decisions through unanimous agreement on the path forward, rather than being handed down from authority or even majority rule. It's an incredibly difficult and time consuming method, but has tremendous rewards. As I have been developing this Costa Rica Class, I have tended towards discussion and consensus-seeking when we have new problems and decisions to make. This has included grading criteria, structuring the class time, and fundraising. I have dictated very little, and the students have really stepped up to voice their opinions - and then own their decisions. I hope that you'll check out their blogs (links are on the right), and support their efforts.
Many times when "settlers" enter a new area the indigenous people see them as something else - "conquerors". This was not the case when Wolf and the other Quakers settled Monteverde, which speaks volumes of their vision of community. In chapter 4, a local Tico talks about the arrival of the Quakers, saying that,
"For us, it was a great thing when the Quakers came because they brought new ideas. But it was more than that..."The Quaker settlers were not only interested in creating a home for themselves - they saw themselves as becoming part of a community that included all those that lived there. Initially they created businesses that were centered on their needs and leadership, but they quickly incorporated the needs and voices of the larger community. This can specifically be shown in how they created a credit union to help the locals get loans, and then developed the Monteverde Cheese Factory as a co-op that eventually included far more Ticos than Quakers.
"It was like a new dawning and it was wonderful. Those of us who stayed became great friends with the Quakers. With them, peace came to our mountain."
I find this all very inspiring and believe that a key part of its success is the Quaker belief in consensus. This is the practice of making decisions through unanimous agreement on the path forward, rather than being handed down from authority or even majority rule. It's an incredibly difficult and time consuming method, but has tremendous rewards. As I have been developing this Costa Rica Class, I have tended towards discussion and consensus-seeking when we have new problems and decisions to make. This has included grading criteria, structuring the class time, and fundraising. I have dictated very little, and the students have really stepped up to voice their opinions - and then own their decisions. I hope that you'll check out their blogs (links are on the right), and support their efforts.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Why bring students to Monteverde, Costa Rica?
When my wife and I first went to Monteverde in the summer of 2009, we only spent a couple of days there as we toured different parts of Costa Rica, but that’s all it took to fall in love with the culture and the beauty of the surroundings. When I showed the pictures and told the stories to friends, family and colleagues, I mentioned that I would like to bring students there – and they smiled and nodded politely.
I hold an adamant belief that travel can be an invaluable, life-altering experience. Families that have the means to travel often see it as a luxury, and take for granted the incredible learning that they and their children gain. I work in an alternative high school – most of my students are from families that do not have anywhere near those kinds of means. Their experiences have been, in large part, a struggle and the larger world is mostly an abstraction – including the potential wonder and hope that it can hold. Monteverde epitomizes that kind of wonder and hope – blending the culture of indigenous inhabitants with that of the American Quaker settlers that arrived in the 1950’s, and balancing a model of conservation with becoming an international eco-tourism destination. The book, Walking With Wolf, tells this story in a remarkable way. When I went back to Monteverde during my next February vacation, I bought and devoured this book – changing my fanciful desire to my bring students there, into a passionate drive to do so.
When I returned from my second visit and spoke about my intentions to share this experience with my students, I no longer received simple smiles and nods – I was met with excitement, doubts of my sanity, and lots of questions:
I hold an adamant belief that travel can be an invaluable, life-altering experience. Families that have the means to travel often see it as a luxury, and take for granted the incredible learning that they and their children gain. I work in an alternative high school – most of my students are from families that do not have anywhere near those kinds of means. Their experiences have been, in large part, a struggle and the larger world is mostly an abstraction – including the potential wonder and hope that it can hold. Monteverde epitomizes that kind of wonder and hope – blending the culture of indigenous inhabitants with that of the American Quaker settlers that arrived in the 1950’s, and balancing a model of conservation with becoming an international eco-tourism destination. The book, Walking With Wolf, tells this story in a remarkable way. When I went back to Monteverde during my next February vacation, I bought and devoured this book – changing my fanciful desire to my bring students there, into a passionate drive to do so.
When I returned from my second visit and spoke about my intentions to share this experience with my students, I no longer received simple smiles and nods – I was met with excitement, doubts of my sanity, and lots of questions:
- What will students learn? They’ll learn everything from ecology to economics, history to agriculture, and community development to world affairs. Most of all, they’ll learn what wonders the world can hold and what role they are capable of having in that world.
- What will the class look like? It is a yearlong, interdisciplinary class that will include a significant amount of experiential education. We'll spend the fall reading Walking With Wolf and blogging about the learning adventures it sparks – I hope you keep checking back and follow the student blogs (links are on the right sidebar). In the spring, students will pick an area of personal interest and create an individual research project that compares some aspect of our home to that of Monteverde. Mid-spring, we’ll go to Monteverde for 10 days and students will determine the itinerary to meet the needs of their projects. When we get back, they'll be producing a culminating product to represent their learning. If all this sounds vague, that's because I'm not arbitrarily dictating the outcome - this is student-centered and student-driven.
- Am I crazy? Well, certainly not because of this. It is a challenge to do international travel with any group of students and plenty of people wouldn't dare do it with students that have struggled - but aren't those the very students that we should be doing this kind of inspiring thing with?! The students that I have in this class have made a commitment to working hard and they deserve a chance to prove themselves. They are turning their lives around and if I can be a part of that then I'll do whatever it takes - crazy or not.
- How will we pay for it? Hopefully, with your help. The students have already been working hard (even during the summer before the class started) and we’ll be including future fundraising information here, but we’d also really appreciate a check for any amount you can offer – we have to raise $15,000 by January. Checks can be made out to “Lister Academy – Costa Rica Class”, and mailed to: Robert J. Lister Academy, Attn: Bryan Mascio, 35 Sherburne Road, Portsmouth, NH 03801.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Walking With Wolf - Chapter 3
Making connections is what I love about teaching, what I do in everyday life, and why I decided to use Walking With Wolf for this class. When I read about history, I think about the world today. When I read about a foreign culture, I think about personal relationships. These things aren't that far apart, and that was what I was thinking about while reading this chapter.
More of the modern history of Costa Rica is revealed in this chapter, explaining how it developed following it's revolution in 1948. As a country renews itself, there are a lot of choices to make and each of them could hugely alter the future trajectory of its people (this is just as true during transitional times for individuals). Costa Rica is located in a part of the world that is notoriously unstable - yet it has been quite stable for more than a half-century. Is that because of the decision to have no military? When my wife and I were traveling there, tour guides said that the money which would have gone towards an army was spent on hospitals and schools - and now virtually every town, no matter how small, has adequate services. This has to impact the stability of a country. The lack of a military is certainly a major factor in why Wolf and the other American Quakers decided to go there - how many others chose to go or stay there because of that, and helped make the country what it is today?
On page 27, Wolf is recounting the little he knew about Costa Rica before he went there. A main feature is that the revolutionary hero Pepe Figueres "...invited people from developed countries to come and invest in Costa Rica." On the face of it, this seems like a natural thing to do during a time of transition - to bring in people that can help - but I believe that this kind of openness and tolerance was a courageous act. This act resisted two major tendencies that people follow, especially during times of difficulty and uncertainty: people tend to want to project power and confidence, and people tend to shift into an "us" and "them" mentality. It is rare to see a modern leader have the courage to admit that they need the help of outsiders. It is far more common for a leader to vilify outsiders or "them" so that people will come together and bond over a common fear. This kind of mentality can be seen throughout the world, or even here at home - but Costa Rica took a different path and opened themselves up. Monteverde is still largely influenced by the Americans that settled there and their children, as well as people from all over the world that come to appreciate what has been created.
This kind of openness made for a perfect home for Wolf and the rest of the Quakers. I was particularly moved by the group dynamics during the difficulty of finding the best location to settle. It had taken a long time and each new site turned out to have a major flaw, so the group considered splitting up to cover more ground. On page 31 we learn that they decided to stay together because, "...the more financially able members of the group remained committed to helping the younger members. Of equal importance was the group's belief that staying together for worship and schooling was essential to their future as a community." This value of the community and putting a greater good before your personal comfort, seems so rare now but it is precisely what we try to instill at our school. In a society that can appear so "me" centered, it can feel like an impossible task to teach people to be kind and giving - but I've already seen it from the students at our school and in this class. It was such a vital quality for Wolf and his community, and I think it will be of equal importance for us to be successful.
One of the things I love the most about Kay Chornook's writing style is how she weaves her story with that of the main character, Wolf Guindon, and that of the broader topic - be it the country of Costa Rica or the development of Quakerism. This is a writing technique that I remember first coming across in another one of my favorite books - Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer. On its surface, blending all of this information together could seem confusing, and I suspect that some readers find it such, but I love how it shines a bright light on the connections that exist all around us. Kay and Wolf are of different generations from different countries and different family traditions, but their stories are connected - and not just because of their time spent together or their love of Costa Rica. Their stories are connected in the spirit of their lives and in the message that they can tell us - and through this book, it's now connected to our story. When we travel to Costa Rica this spring, we will then be connected to all of that broader history that both shaped their decisions and was shaped by their actions.
More of the modern history of Costa Rica is revealed in this chapter, explaining how it developed following it's revolution in 1948. As a country renews itself, there are a lot of choices to make and each of them could hugely alter the future trajectory of its people (this is just as true during transitional times for individuals). Costa Rica is located in a part of the world that is notoriously unstable - yet it has been quite stable for more than a half-century. Is that because of the decision to have no military? When my wife and I were traveling there, tour guides said that the money which would have gone towards an army was spent on hospitals and schools - and now virtually every town, no matter how small, has adequate services. This has to impact the stability of a country. The lack of a military is certainly a major factor in why Wolf and the other American Quakers decided to go there - how many others chose to go or stay there because of that, and helped make the country what it is today?
On page 27, Wolf is recounting the little he knew about Costa Rica before he went there. A main feature is that the revolutionary hero Pepe Figueres "...invited people from developed countries to come and invest in Costa Rica." On the face of it, this seems like a natural thing to do during a time of transition - to bring in people that can help - but I believe that this kind of openness and tolerance was a courageous act. This act resisted two major tendencies that people follow, especially during times of difficulty and uncertainty: people tend to want to project power and confidence, and people tend to shift into an "us" and "them" mentality. It is rare to see a modern leader have the courage to admit that they need the help of outsiders. It is far more common for a leader to vilify outsiders or "them" so that people will come together and bond over a common fear. This kind of mentality can be seen throughout the world, or even here at home - but Costa Rica took a different path and opened themselves up. Monteverde is still largely influenced by the Americans that settled there and their children, as well as people from all over the world that come to appreciate what has been created.
This kind of openness made for a perfect home for Wolf and the rest of the Quakers. I was particularly moved by the group dynamics during the difficulty of finding the best location to settle. It had taken a long time and each new site turned out to have a major flaw, so the group considered splitting up to cover more ground. On page 31 we learn that they decided to stay together because, "...the more financially able members of the group remained committed to helping the younger members. Of equal importance was the group's belief that staying together for worship and schooling was essential to their future as a community." This value of the community and putting a greater good before your personal comfort, seems so rare now but it is precisely what we try to instill at our school. In a society that can appear so "me" centered, it can feel like an impossible task to teach people to be kind and giving - but I've already seen it from the students at our school and in this class. It was such a vital quality for Wolf and his community, and I think it will be of equal importance for us to be successful.
One of the things I love the most about Kay Chornook's writing style is how she weaves her story with that of the main character, Wolf Guindon, and that of the broader topic - be it the country of Costa Rica or the development of Quakerism. This is a writing technique that I remember first coming across in another one of my favorite books - Into The Wild, by Jon Krakauer. On its surface, blending all of this information together could seem confusing, and I suspect that some readers find it such, but I love how it shines a bright light on the connections that exist all around us. Kay and Wolf are of different generations from different countries and different family traditions, but their stories are connected - and not just because of their time spent together or their love of Costa Rica. Their stories are connected in the spirit of their lives and in the message that they can tell us - and through this book, it's now connected to our story. When we travel to Costa Rica this spring, we will then be connected to all of that broader history that both shaped their decisions and was shaped by their actions.
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