The Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) is sending me to India in July. This blog is part of my capstone project or Global Education Guide (GEG). It will capture my day-to-day activity this summer as I travel from Vermont to London, New Delhi, Mahe, and other Indian cities, back to London, and then to Vermont. For me, the trip begins on Sunday, 30 June 2019 with a flight from Burlington VT to Philadelphia and then to Heathrow in the
Read moreEvery school year, I try something different, something new, something that makes me work a little harder or brings new ideas to my classroom. In the excitement of returning to my classroom after six weeks in India and the United Kingdom, I thought about ways to integrate my experience into my curriculum. I created a short, “getting-to-know-you” presentation with photos of my trip and the people I met. I wrote an article for our district newsletter. I modified my Language
Read moreI heard from Rathnakaran today and he reported that the school has been closed due to flooding. He expects to reopen on Monday, 19 August 2019. Flooding at Jawahar Novodaya Vidyalaya, Mahe, India Offices and Kitchen
Read moreToday’s tour began by meeting Stella Richards at Lola’s Cupcakes and touring Saint Paul’s Cathedral. Stella and her family are my neighbors in Stowe and were brought up in the United Kingdom. So I had a first-class guide for today’s journey around London. We had a joyful reunion at Blackfriars and immediately joined the queue for Saint Paul’s Cathedral. The church itself, designed by Christopher Wren after the Great Fire of London in 1666, was completed in 1711. The previous
Read moreSchools in the United Kingdom began the summer break only a few weeks ago, and many of those students filled the Natural History Museum on Sunday. Groups from China, families, and this solitary visitor from them U.S. crowded the museums exhibit areas, all stopping to take selfies and (hopefully) gain something from the miles of displays and science-related history. The museum reflects the ideas of Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus (the creator of the binomial naming system that defines organisms) as
Read moreThis essay begins at the St. Pancras Youth Hostel in London. It concludes—but does not end—as I sit at my work table in Stowe, Vermont listening to a gentle summer rain strike the roof, feel the cool breeze through the window, and contemplate the work I must do to complete my Fulbright Teachers for Global Classroom work and begin the 2019-20 school year. A rainbow flag hangs from the balcony outside the television room where I try to work every morning.
Read moreThe trip westward across the Atlantic went a lot smoother than the eastward trip five weeks ago. I’ve learned to travel better. My new rolling luggage worked like a charm. And I’ve (almost) mastered the mantra: “Don’t just do something. Sit there!” Travel, I’ve learned, involves lots of waiting, which for me involves lots of recorded music, contemplation, and reading. After exchanging my British coins for folding money, I left the hostel around 0600 London time and walked to the
Read moreMany of my interests came together during the trip to Bletchley Park. This location, a 30-mile train ride from London, was the scene for code breaking, espionage and innovative scientific thinking during World War II. Stories in the displays talk of double agents and life in cold, dark rooms to decipher messages from the Germans and Japanese. Through it all is the work of Alan Turing, who created computing as we know it today through his meticulous and mindful approach
Read morePeople in London use bicycles to get around. The main roads have special bicycle lanes, separate from the roadway, with their own traffic lights. From my own observations, many people bike to work and across the city. This past weekend, Prudential raised money for charity with a 100-kilometer bike ride from Surrey to London. Thousands participated. The transportation centers were full of riders and their bikes as the tired cyclists commuted to their homes at the end of the day.
Read moreWith a sad heart, I realized that today was my final day in London. I set out early to explore the area around St. Paul’s, visit the Royal Gardens, and explore the Houses of Parliament. Kensington sparkled in the early morning. I walked from Lancaster Gate to the Albert Memorial and then circled back past Princess Diana’s children’s playground and the Elfin Oak, an iconic tree with tiny figures of fairies, elves, and animals. Kensington Gardens Palace of Westminster
Read moreAt Stella’s suggestion, I bought a ticket for the water taxi and journeyed to Greenwich to see the Maritime Museum, the Cutty Sark, and the Royal Observatory at Greenwich I also saw London from the river, an amazing sight. Much of the city displays tower cranes and a vast amount of construction, including the iconic clock tower with Big Ben. Still, the cityscape is exciting and colorful. Greenwich The Cutty Sark became my first stop in Greenwich. This massive ship
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