This will be the first of several posts about the Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Orientation. This week has changed my perspective, given me new insights, and really gotten me (if possible) more excited about this wonderful program and adventure.
The people I met this week are some of the most passionate, enthusiastic and inspiring educators I have ever had the privilege of collaborating with, and I am so excited that they are now a part of my Professional Learning Network.
I found myself wondering why in the world I was selected for this program? – what made me stand out from the applicants? – and most of all how lucky and blessed I was to be a part of this experience. Many of my fellow teachers expressed the same feelings – the magnitude of the program really didn’t hit until we were all there, together, in community. Being there, together, mattered. The feelings matched those feelings I had when I was selected as a Coca-Cola Scholar and came to Atlanta for the Scholars weekend. Scholar friends – remember that feeling? I know many of us have had this discussion over the years).
Just take a look at the global diversity represented in this amazing group of teachers.
- 44 Teachers from the US going to 13 different countries (Botswana, Chile, Finland, India, Mexico, Morocco, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Palestinian Territories, Singapore, South Korea, The United Kingdom and Vietnam)
- 21 International Teachers from 10 different countries coming to the United States
- 17 Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Alumni who had completed their programs and were there to give us tips, tricks and advice.
However, these facts don’t tell the story – so I made a map with each of us plotted on it. International teachers are light blue, while the teachers from the US are color coded according to their host country (Which SORT of match the text colors of the countries above), and alumni are in silver.
Feel free to zoom in – and check out the group. Teachers’ markers are at their schools, or in some cases the city their school is located in.
The 2016 – 2017 Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Recipients
Each teacher is required to complete a inquiry project focused on a topic that we are passionate about. (More on this later). What this meant is that the conversations about our students and our subject areas and passions crossed global boundaries and created an atmosphere like no other. Our meal times, break times and discussion groups were LOUD – in a constructive, working collaboratively in the classroom kind of way. We discovered our similarities crossed borders as we discussed how to best reach our underserved students – and that regardless of ethnic, religious, culture or geographic differences we all share the same struggles to best serve our students. We shared a goal and a passion – to make the world more collaborative, more peaceful and more accepting for all of our students.
While I am still processing the information of this week – one thing is for certain – each of these teachers have left their mark on me.
Teachknowlogista 