And So the Adventure Begins!

This summer is going to be a whirlwind of learning, collaboration, adventure, and growth.

After a Covid-delay, I am excited to be able to participate in the International Field Experience as part of the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms program. Twenty-three other educators from all over the US and I will be learning about current topics in education in Germany in general, and in the cities of Bonn and Berlin more specifically. I will be part of a team participating in a school collaboration with the teachers at Hardtberg-Gymnasium. After a little internet research, I was happy to find that this school not only has a thriving art department, but that it shares many of the same tenets of the philosophy of art education I do!

In addition to my time in Germany, I will be traveling to Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain as part of a fellowship with Fund For Teachers. Amanda Schaeffer, my colleague from Heritage Middle School and fellow art teacher, and I will be scouring the cities for examples of public art, street art, and more ways

art can be utilized to speak for marginalized voices. We will be working with local artists, government officials, and educators to help us understand the role art plays in the culture of each city.

In between these two amazing opportunities I will be traveling through Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, and the Czechia. I'm not even sure what all I'll find in each location, though marveling at mountains is going to be a big part of it. Planning for all of these destinations has taxed my organizational skills, but its been fun learning about what makes each place unique! I cannot wait to start this amazing adventure!