Check out a photo gallery of the VEX Robotics Club latest meeting on March 3, 2010!  You can view students meeting after school preparing their robots for competition.  Click here to view photos!

Looking back through my records recently, I noted that I have been fortunate enough to receive four CEEF grants over the past five years.  These grants have been essential in helping me develop what started as an after-school Lego robotics program for middle school students and what is evolving into an after-school Robotics and Engineering program for students in Pond Cove through high school, coupled with the development of an Engineering elective course for seniors.

What is my motivation?  Well, I have a degree in Engineering.  Chemical Engineering in fact.  I worked for five years in the environmental engineering field.  However, the longer I work in education the more I am comfortable stating that engineering was probably not the best career fit for me.  When I was in high school, I excelled in math.  The advice I got was "if you're good at math, go into engineering."  There was a certain appeal to that career, so that's what I did. 

Why did I leave engineering?  It probably has most to do with personality.  Now I don't want to "broad brush stroke" engineers too much, but the best engineers I worked with had a certain "let's do it, this is fun" attitude towards solving problems that were both physical and mental in nature.  My educational background, I felt, was largely that of solving paper-and-pencil problems.  I had a hands-on void.  Now that's not to say I couldn't have found an engineering niche where I was more comfortable, and I certainly want to encourage students interested in engineering to pursue this career, but for me, once I sampled teaching (quite by accident), I knew I had found a career in which I could contribute and be very happy.

Back to the after-school Robotics and Engineering program.  Robotics is a great program because it indeed offers "hands-on, minds-on" challenges that I believe simulate the real world of engineering.  The Lego Robotics and VEX Robotics competition programs are global.  Academic curricula for high schools to support VEX Robotics engineering is available.  This is the aspect of our program that is tied to national, if not international, standards for excellence.

I think there can be an equally-important home-grown nature to our afterschool Robotics and Engineering program as well.  With the support of CEEF, I am reaching out to the local and greater Portland communities to develop sustained after-school programs in electronics and small engines.

I also believe there are members of the community who could work on small one-time projects with students.  During the 2008-09 Engineering elective course for seniors, members of the local and greater Portland communities helped with projects that had students converting a bicycle to a moped, and had students refurbishing and racing an electric car at Beechridge Speedway.

The final component of the Robotics and Engineering program, which has yet to be developed, is that of organized job shadows.  In this age of rapid communication, it seems that interested students could be rapidly connected to members of business and industry during times when they are performing something of educational value.

It is my goal to keep this blog updated with the status of each of these program components.  Thank you, CEEF, for all the support you have given me!

Click here to see a photo gallery of Evan Thayer's students at work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

         I once had a teacher that used to say “If you want an education, sell your books and buy a pair of shoes.”   I have always agreed with my teacher who felt that real-life experience is where true learning takes place. It would be impossible to understand the ways in which music and dance is integrated into life in Ghana without experiencing it first hand. Before traveling to Ghana I had read a great deal of material discussing West African traditions but there are countless details and stories that I never understood by simply reading a book.  Attending a funeral and seeing the way people dressed, danced and welcomed us meant more than just knowing that the people “are interested in and hospitable toward strangers.”

Before my trip I was guilty of generalizing the West African culture. My stay in Ghana cured me of this misconception as I learned how much diversity there is between tribes, languages, traditions, dances and instrumentation within the country of Ghana alone.  By the end of the trip I could see dramatic differences between the clothing, instrumentation and dancing between the Dagomba tribe and the Ewe tribe, for instance.

I saw first hand how Ewe language is tonal and many rhythms mimic the language.  This is how rhythms themselves can communicate specific information.  Many books discuss the ways in which West Africans communicate with drums. The history books note that slaves communicated with drums as they came to the United States.  I could never truly understand how this could be possible until I sat and worked with a helpful child in Kopeyia.  As I practiced the kroboto part in the piece Agbekor, he translated it for me and told me that the kroboto rhythm was saying, “Go to the bush.”

The experiences that I had studying Ewe music and dance were profound and transforming.  Equally profound was the process in which they were taught, through the aural tradition. Within our culture, teaching music aurally is often misunderstood and thought to be substandard to reading musical notation.  I am defending the aural tradition because I discovered that it is inseparable from the music and is critical to understanding and appreciating it. I have also learned that truly teaching in the aural tradition is an art in itself and is effective, thus it has been used in virtually every culture around the globe for thousands of years.

As I continue to reflect on this experience I’ve discovered many surprising similarities to my immersion in a foreign culture that directly compare to the day-in-the-life of an adolescent!  My time at the Dagbe Center and every other experience that I had in Ghana allowed me to experience what it is like to be a student again! In my career as a middle school music teacher, I make an effort to empathize with adolescents by acknowledging the challenges that students face on a daily basis. In addition to attending a new school, students are dealing with physical changes, social changes and increased responsibility. All of these factors contribute to an unfamiliar and sometimes challenging world for kids. 

In Ghana, I was immersed in a completely unfamiliar environment that was at times uncomfortable.  Even with my best effort to be considerate of the culture, I still made mistakes and was corrected for taking a photo at an inappropriate time, using my left hand, and greeting someone incorrectly. Sometimes I was unfamiliar with the social expectations, other times I simply forgot the different rules of etiquette even though my intentions were good and I meant no disrespect to the people.

This made me consider the way an adolescent is in the midst of transition between childhood and a teen. This experience reminded me that kids are sometimes muddling through a new world that they don’t understand yet.  I thought about how embarrassing it was for me to be corrected when I committed social faux pas, like mistakenly using my left hand, or greeting someone as though they were my enemy! I also often forget how painful learning can be.  I’m grateful that in addition to the authentic experience with Ewe music and the aural tradition, I was immersed in an unfamiliar world and through that experience I got a powerful reminder as to what it feels like to have to figure it out.

As I became aware of the connection between my experiences in Ghana and a day in the life of an adolescent, I also began to pay close attention to the way that I felt, and the way that I reacted to the challenges throughout the learning process. I also thought about the reactions within our group and had a sense that I might see some of the same reactions that I see in my classroom! 

 I think that it is important to mention that this experience was filled with tremendous joy the majority of the time, but for this blog I will put a lot of focus on some of the more troubling emotions because after all, teaching would be easy if everyone was happy and comfortable all the time!  Being a student gave me an opportunity to remember the emotions and reactions associated with learning challenges. 

 I was able to reduce all emotions as being rooted in frustration. Once frustration occurred, a multitude of other things began to happen within me.  First, the inner dialog started.  I thought about the fact that I needed help, but I didn’t know what to ask.  If I did ask a question I was afraid it had already been answered and I would be asking them to repeat. I tried to figure out how the parts all worked together but I couldn’t make any sense of what was going on.  From there I became overwhelmed. Because I couldn’t understand how all the drum parts worked together I couldn’t use them to remember my part on the sogo or the kidi drums.  As a result, when I stopped playing, I forgot my part and was unable to come in correctly or play it without the help of a teacher.  I concentrated intently but still felt lost. Distracting thoughts took over my mind.  I started looking around thinking that I was the only one that didn’t understand what was happening.  I then became less focused and got further away from being able to play the part.  I wanted to give up and take a break.  Out of disgust with myself I had to resist the urge to sigh or roll my eyes!  This was an “ah ha” moment for me! Perhaps my students get frustrated with themselves and want desperately to get it right just like I do!

As I come back to my teacher’s philosophy about learning through life experiences I know even more after this field study that he could not have been more correct. There is no substitute for experiencing this music within the cultural context that it exists.  I feel extremely fortunate to have attended a funeral and a shrine ceremony where I saw dancing and drumming in its true form as it was intended.   We cannot go back to Beethoven’s era and experience the world that his music was created in.  With the exception of a few jazz clubs around the United States, it is rare to see jazz being created as part of the culture as it was intended. It is rare to see any style of music that is as old Ewe pieces are, still being performed traditionally. I had the extreme experience of being a student in a completely unfamiliar world. The perspective that I got from essentially “walking in my students’ shoes” is one that I could not have gotten any other way. This was the professional development endeavor of a lifetime.  The books give us the facts but it is the sounds, smells, traditions, culture, emotions, thoughts, and reactions that we have, that are the missing pieces of the puzzle.  These elements are the parts of the experience that create the connection to and appreciation of the culture, the music, the process, and the people. All of these factors worked together to create an unforgettable period of growth for me as a teacher and a musician.  It is my hope that I can pass on the cycle of learning to my students by encouraging them to be curious about worlds different from their own, and for them to be passionate enough to take the necessary risks to do so.

Thank you so much Cape Elizabeth Education Foundation for your assistance in innovating the classroom, and helping teachers to grow and develop to the best of their ability!

          Click on the photo to see more from the African Encounters Tour Gallery.

Think of how many things we count over the course of a day - plates to set the table, how many apples to buy when we’re grocery shopping,  everyone’s backpack lined up ready to go to school . . . it comes so naturally for us that we tend to take that skill we learned back when we were 5 or 6-years old for granted.

Sometimes it’s hard for our youngest learners to hear the subtle differences in the pronunciation of numbers.  Take 15 and 50 for example.  It’s not that uncommon to hear first graders counting like this . . . 13, 14, 15, 51, 52, 53 . . .  Imagine the impact on your life with that kind of misconception.  Counting money?  You would think you had more than you really did! 

Helping a child understand place value, number sequencing, and visual differences usually clears up the misunderstanding in a very short time, and the look of amazement on a child’s face when he or she “gets it”—well, that’s the highlight of any teacher’s day!

One of the missions of the Math Lab at Pond Cove is to identify and untangle some misconceptions like that. 

Generously funded by CEEF, the Math Lab provides extra instruction and practice with specific concepts on a short term basis for K-2 students. Building on that solid foundation, their math skills expand with a deeper understanding as they move into more complex mathematical ideas.

Of course, our students don’t know that’s the real reason they come to Math Club—they view it as a fun math playground, where they play games, use the SmartBoard, and gain the confidence that they can do anything!

 THANK YOU CEEF !!!!!

 --Debbie Butterworth

  Pond Cove Math Lab teacher

 

Fifth-grade teacher Adam Killip was the recipient of the grant which provided new laptops for the 5th grade. Adam reflects on the difference the new laptops made in his classroom

In today’s economic climate, educators are forced to find ways around shortages in teaching aides and replenishment of materials such as textbooks.  In fact, it often seems as if the only surplus a teacher has is of things to accomplish each day.

If there is one subject where a teacher’s resourcefulness is routinely tested more than any other, it is science.  Especially during the elementary and middle school years, one cannot simply learn scientific concepts and develop meaningful skills by reading about them out of books.  This usually results in many hours of rummaging through junk drawers at home, and scouring the supply closets at school – all in the spirit of finding valuable materials for hands-on science experiences.  Reading is still important, especially when research skills are being taught, but the reading must be coupled with experiments and discussion that drive scientific inquiry.

Having an entire classroom’s worth of new laptops for kids to use is not a luxury that many educators south of 7^th grade have.  For the past two years, however, fifth graders in Cape Elizabeth have enjoyed just that. Besides providing expected benefits such as word processing and internet research, the laptops have catapulted students far beyond anything possible in the textbook world. Having used the machines in hundreds of lessons myself, I have seen the awesome power of developing minds growing through the use of innovative software and online experiences.

The program Inspiration has allowed students of all ability levels the opportunity to organize research into webs or traditional outlines.  Explore Learning’s web-based “gizmos” have allowed kids to conduct virtual science experiments with topics ranging from energy and scientific method to building electrical circuits – all without purchasing costly materials or separate textbooks for each student.  Webquests and numerous other online experiences have also been used to broaden students’ science experience. In math, students have even designed and built spreadsheets using Excel to plan monthly expenses and graph spending and savings.

A former colleague and school librarian once told me that there was no such thing as an old book, just one that needed to be rebound. It is quite possible, with the ever-increasing usage of electronic media, that there eventually will be no such thing as a new book.  Cape Elizabeth is a community that is fortunate enough to have a significant base of external resources available to supplement our schools’ needs.  By supporting the use of technology in the classroom, we are not only solving the problem of replacing outdated print materials, but we are also preparing our students for success in an electronic world.

Visit Adam's blog directly