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Slowing Down Time #TeacherMom

One of the puzzled responses I’ve gotten from riding my bike or taking transit around town with my kids is why I would spend that time when driving is so much quicker.

The more I’ve considered this, the more I realize: the slowing down is a large part of the point for me.

I tend to pack too much into my days, trying to move through my to-do list as quickly as I can, working not to feel to frantic when plans fall through. I know that it is in my own best interest to deliberately build into my day blocks of time when I am forced to slow down. 

As much as I miss being in the classroom (another few years to go until our youngest is in school & I’ll resume), I can see that this time is a precious gift that I am privileged to have. I have the choice to slow down, and I intend to take advantage of it, hoping to learn as much as I can from the experience. Not only is this self-care; it is also a way for me to enjoy the time I have with my kids.

With that, I want to share a poem that has been forming in my mind for a while regarding ways I’m learning to intentionally slow down my time with my children.

“Slowing Down Time”

Where does the time go flying by?

Why must they grow so fast?

How can we slow the pace of life

and make these moments last?

I search for ways to cup the time;

it sifts between my fingers.

But over time I start to find

some ways to make it linger.

We first have seen the love of books,

their words hold time spellbound.

When stories help to weave our day, 

More togetherness is found. 

We’ve also learned to walk outside,

or bike, or skip, or glide,

The destination takes back seat

to memories made wayside.

The ways are varied, small, unique

to cherish what we hold.

They may seem strange, but they are ours

to guard and to be bold.

Featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Inquiry into SDGs: Partnerships for the Goals

This is a series of provocations designed to provide resources for students to inquire into the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs. For more, click here. 

Finally! I made a plan over a year ago that once I finished my series of provocations on each of the PYP essential elements (and then a brief series of provocations on learner identities), I would begin a series of provocations for each of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. At last that day has arrived. The SDG’s are part of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We are working to be part of that plan by providing resources to help students think about their own contributions, both now and in the future.

Partnerships of the Goals is one of the SDG’s themselves. It:

“seeks to strengthen global partnerships to support and achieve the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda, bringing together national governments, the international community, civil society, the private sector and other actors.” (source)

Below are resources to help students inquire into what this goal means and how they might apply it themselves.

Resource #1: Further Up Yonder by Giacomo Sardelli (I recommend using subtitles)

Resource #2: Amazonia Security Agenda by Moth

Resource #3: Flying Rhinos by Green Renaissance

Resource #4: Where Do We Go From Here? by RSA

Resource #5: A Declaration of Interdependence by Tiffany Shlain & Let It Ripple Film Studio

Resource #6: Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

Provocation Questions:

  • What is a partnership like?
  • Why do good partnerships matter? For ourselves? For our communities? For our world?
  • What is our responsibility to work together?
  • What are the different perspectives on partnerships, and how do they sometimes create barriers in our ability to make partnerships?
  • What is the connection between global citizenship and partnerships for the SDGs?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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7 Questions to Ask About Your School Fundraiser

Fundraising season is in full swing. On the one hand, I completely understand the sad need for fundraising in our underfunded schools; on the other, I am growing increasingly concerned about our tactics.  The more I consider my own experiences, from childhood through adulthood, the more full of questions I become. Here are a few so far:

Do the prizes for top sellers tend to go toward one racial or economic group of students? I still remember the name of the boy who won the top prizes every year when I was in elementary school; his dad was a surgeon, which also meant his work colleagues were able to load him up with purchases. If a fundraiser serves to reward kids who are already privileged, we should re-evaluate.

Do the prizes highlight haves & have-not’s in any way? My first job after graduation was at a school that used school uniforms. Students who brought $1 on the last day of each month were permitted to dress in casual clothes the next day. Though this was a more affluent area, I was still horrified to see how it shamed the few students left in uniform who could not afford it (often because they had a lot of siblings). We should be wary to avoid creating such a spotlight.

Are there ways to celebrate school-wide efforts? My daughter’s school is planning to have a school-wide special assembly to celebrate everyone’s efforts (whether they were able to sell or not). I love this because it builds school-spirit and removes individual pressure from students.

Do the prizes create status issues among students? Winning badges & trinkets for selling X amount may seem trivial to us, but within kids’ social circles, they can MATTER. SO. MUCH. We must be careful not to add to their burdens, especially when so much is out of their control. And we must protect the privacy and dignity of families who may be struggling.

Are there more discreet ways to fundraise? Amazon Smile gives .5% of all purchases, the annual Target grant offers $700 for field trips, several chain restaurants offer portions of meals, DonorsChoose, adding a donation button to your school Facebook page (100% goes toward your school), & more.

Are the prizes actually attainable? If we’re pulling students from valuable classroom time to be dazzled at an assembly by prizes they are unlikely to even earn, we might want to revisit our approach.

Are you selling something the community wants? Try asking what the community would be interested in purchasing before deciding on that year’s fundraiser. Do they really want more wrapping paper, or maybe they’d prefer bags of potatoes from local markets? Or maybe they really would just prefer a donate button on your school’s website or social media page. Whatever the case, if we’re going to ask students to solicit the community, we should do our homework first in finding out what the community wants.

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Messy Beautiful Learning Happens When… #TeacherMom

…play is seen for what it really is: “the work of childhood.”

…children are permitted to make a space their own.

the desk of the 4 year old. Play dough, dinosaurs, magnetic letters, arctic animals, and some super heroes, all with an important and cohesive role for him.

…they are permitted choose to toss the instruction manuals, mix-and-match, and re-imagine what’s possible.

She decided to mix all the “sets” together to design her own city.

…they are encouraged to plan their time while also given the skills to identify balance and foresight.

…we stand ready to guide, shape, and support their inquiries, while also respecting their choices, voices, and sometimes messy ownership.

via Kath Murdoch’s blog

…we respect our students as the human beings they are, giving feedback grounded in relationships rather than judgement. (much less tidy than a clip chart for behavior, but much more likely to yield growth and learning).

What do you find to be the best conditions for messy, beautiful learning?

featured image: DeathToTheStockPhoto

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Announcing the 2019 Scholarship!

I’m excited to announce the 2019 scholarship here at HonorsGradU, sponsored by Honors Graduation.

We were overwhelmed at the ways high school seniors worked to improve their communities last year, and so we have decided to continue the design thinking community improvement format. Once more this year, there will be another five $10,000 tuition scholarships awarded, with the top recipient receiving another $5,000 toward another iteration of his/her project.

Check out the new requirements and information here, and please share with any high school seniors planning on attending an accredited college in the United States next fall.

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Interviewing the 2018 Scholarship Awardees: Bryan

By Cynthia Boyadjian

This is part of a series of interviews with our 5 scholarship recipients for our 2018 Build A Better Future scholarship sponsored by Honors Graduation. We hope you will find their stories as inspiring as we do! This is to lead up to our 2019 program announcement on September 28.

The response to the scholarship was incredibly inspiring this year. What started 5 years ago as a small program has grown beyond our expectations. We wanted to see the students doing more for their communities, starting conversations, and inspiring people. So we raised the stakes and offered five $10,000 scholarships with the top recipient receiving an additional $5,000 to further fund their projects.

I had the opportunity to speak with our top recipient, Bryan Banuelos. Bryan comes to us from Taylorsville, Utah where he recently graduated from Taylorsville High School. Originally, he is from Mexico and he came to Utah to pursue a higher education. After speaking with Bryan, it became clear that he is very passionate about his work this year. One of his advisors at school is an advocate for undocumented students at Taylorsville High. Bryan was inspired by her to create “The Warrior Dream” program to reach more undocumented students and to help them achieve higher education.

As he launched his project, Bryan was able to break through one of the biggest stereotypes, “all undocumented students are Latino/Hispanic.” This helped him to broaden his perspective as well as to understand what it truly means to be undocumented. He has been able to work with many students who are struggling to afford college. His biggest hope is that the program will inspire these students to push through the barriers and achieve all that they aspire to achieve.

Through this experience, Bryan says he has gained skills in making connections, scheduling interviews, and building responsibility and leadership. This has allowed him to share all of his knowledge and ideas with those who also want to be a part of the program. He has also learned to listen other ideas and inquiries. The most important lesson, however, has been discovering that everyone has the capacity to help their community or enhance it in some way, shape or form. Bryan describes this experience as one of the most rewarding and satisfying he has had in his life so far.

Bryan has been happy and surprised to see that the community aspect of his program is growing the fastest . Multiple students have reached out to him to become a part of the Warrior Dream Program. The more he talks about it with them, the more interested and inspired they become. He says the best part of increasing connections is the number of ideas and suggestions he has received, as well as witnessing the growing creativity and enthusiasm for the program. Some students have offered to donate piano presentations for fundraisers while others have offered to serve as intermediates between the program and the school. Today, the Warrior Dream Program is composed of seven people, and they will soon host a meeting to plan for the next school year. Bryan has also increased connections by speaking with Granite School District, The Dream Center at the University of Utah, The Chicano/Chicana Scholarship Fund, Gear Up, AVID, and the Latinos in Action advisors. He hopes these connections will bring more opportunity and growth for years to come. Because he is the top recipient, he received a $5,000 grant. He has plans to put this back into the program mainly for a scholarship, but to also fund the program expenses and pay for fundraisers. Regarding the community aspect, an essential goal is to host fundraisers throughout the year to raise funds for a scholarship for one undocumented student per year at Taylorsville High School.

Bryan is a graduate of the class of 2018 at Taylorsville High School and he will be continuing his education this fall at The University of Utah. He still plans to be a part of The Warrior Dream program as much as he can; however, he trusts that he has people with the same goals and aspirations as him to continue with his vision for the undocumented students of Taylorsville High. Bryan’s work has been truly inspiring for his family, peers, teachers, as well as all of us at Honors Grad U. Congratulations Bryan, we know you will do amazing things for years to come!

Link to donate to the scholarship he has since founded through a local school district foundation can be found here.

See other awardees’ interviews here:

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Interviewing the 2018 Scholarship Awardees: Austin

By Cynthia Boyadjian

This is part of a series of interviews with our 5 scholarship recipients for our 2018 Build A Better Future scholarship sponsored by Honors Graduation. We hope you will find their stories as inspiring as we do! This is to lead up to our 2019 program announcement on September 28.

Austin Fitzgerald recently graduated from The Charlotte Latin School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Having always been passionate about playing the violin, she received one of the $10,000 HGU Build a Better Future scholarships for her work in developing the Mindstrings program in her local community. Her father works as a teacher in the local public school where she saw first-hand the disadvantages that these students face every day. After seeing the vast difference between public and private schools in Charlotte and the lack of funding in public schools, she felt compelled to action. Through Mindstrings, she devotes a large portion of her time interacting with and helping low-income students to implement music into their education.

The Mindstrings program is currently in place at Sedgefield Middle School in Charlotte North Carolina where she works closely with the school orchestra. She has been able to give free violin lessons to students at the school in both private and group settings, where she also provides the instruments. With permission from the principal at Sedgefield, she is able to use the school facility to the hold the group lessons and has been able to continue this throughout the summer. For the private lessons, she travels to the students and teaches them in their homes. When I asked Austin how she feels that this has impacted her community, she said that this hasn’t just impacted the students, but also their families. She is welcomed into their homes and they are very grateful for what she is doing for them.

Austin is a self-proclaimed introvert and this program has helped her to put herself out there to be more outgoing. She has also refined her presentation and networking skills through the process of creating, designing, implementing and maintaining Mindstrings. Through her desire to increase funding for Mindstrings to take root in her community, she has gained confidence in herself to present her ideas and gain those relationships. In doing so, Austin was successful in gaining 3 violin donations from the Charlotte Latin Service Council as well as the Latin Arts Association

One of her biggest hopes for Mindstrings is to be able to expand the program to more schools. She is currently negotiating with a second school in the area to get the program going for the upcoming school year! Austin is also working on implementing Mindstrings as an officially sanctioned volunteer opportunity for upper middle and high school students in the Charlotte area. With that, she would love to have a formal program within Mindstrings to teach students proper etiquette when volunteering with low-income students. Austin says that she has learned a lot about herself as a person, an advocate and a community activist. She hopes that this will also inspire the participants, to also give back to their communities, building an even larger collective impact. She shares, “By providing the skill of learning to play an instrument or helping in classrooms, these students are acquiring not only the skill of playing an instrument, but also the cognitive skills that come along with it; such as a stronger attention span and the practice of discipline and hard work. It also provides mentorship to students in the program.”

While Mindtrings is currently a small program in Charlotte, she plans on taking it with her while she attends school at the University of Chicago in the fall and hopes that she will be able to expand Mindstrings. She aspires to turn Mindstrings into a non-profit organization, build a website and obtain more scholarships and donations to help her program flourish. After she is able to reach non-profit status, she will replicate herself and establish a board of directors with a Community Development staff of volunteers to continue this work locally. She feels that a strong foundation for students in low-income communities must be provided to access their potential and continue on to a higher education.