Have fun! Help People! Vietnam Experience

Day 1 of Volunteering 

Some days I am just overwhelmed at how blessed I am to have the experiences I am enjoying. And how lucky I am to be born into the life I was. Today was one of those days. I am here in Hoi An, Vietnam, near Da Nang on the southern coast. Hoi An is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The ancient city was a major trading port in the seventeenth century before the river was made shallower by silt. Many original buildings still stand. 

This is my third experience with 'voluntourism", my second with GlobeAware. Two years ago my friend Kyle and I travelled to work in a village outside Siem Riep, Cambodia where most of our work was teaching English in a village school.  This year we returned to Asia where we were expected to be doing a variety of things needed in the community. Day One we’d be helping to build a bathroom for a poor family outside of town. I expected this day to be rewarding for its physical contribution, along the lines of doing laundry at a refugee camp in Greece, last year’s trip. Once again, I was surprised and delighted.  

During breakfast, the family’s dire situation had been explained to us. The home belonged to an elderly couple.  At sixty, I had to ask for clarification as to what was considered ‘elderly’ here. The couple in in their 80s. They have three sons. One of them, 40, has two sons of his own and lives with his parents. His wife left him when his youngest, now 7, was one year old. I will refer to them as Grandmother, Grandfather, Father and Son. The older son lives elsewhere now so it’s the four of them in the house. Father had a serious accident and is unable to do physical labor. He works at night as a guard. Their home has one old style bathroom, a tiled room with a hole in the floor.  Since eventually they will be building an adjacent house for Father and Son, they decided to start with a “modern” bathroom. We’d be mixing mortar for the brick wall and hauling sand to the area to build up the floor bed about a foot or so.  It was long, hard, hot work.   

We learned that Son has special needs and has been diagnosed with autism. In Vietnam there is no Student Services or Special Ed in public schools. Teachers there were not able to work with him so he was removed from public school and is served by a non-profit agency in Ho An. He has a chronic cough so he was home from school today. 

As is not surprising in a village, he was quite shy and did not really interact with us ... at first. As a teacher and auntie, I was bound and determined to get a smile out of him. But I also knew not to push. I have experience with children with special needs which served me well today. Kyle has brought some coloring books and crayons which he presented to Father.  I suggested we just set them down and wait for Son to show an interest. Curiosity eventually won out and his dad gave him a book and the crayons. A bit later I peeked into the house and he was intently focused on his coloring. He sure knew how to stay in the lines. But he would not leave the house. 

I continued my work, walking back and forth with wheelbarrow loads of sand. Rather than use words,  if I needed my fellow volunteers to move when I was passing by I made the sound of a motorbike horn, much like the roadrunner’s “beep, beep.” I observed that this sound got Son’s attention and eventually he would mimic me each time I’d beep-beep. Ah! A crack in the armor!   I noticed Son had moved from a bed on the back wall to a day bed closer to the door. I smiled but still said nothing but beep beep. 

We stopped to take a water break and we sat on the porch. Son had ventured as far as the porch by now, wanting one of the wipes we used to cool our faces. He left the house! We are making progress, I thought, and said hello. Later as I was walking back and forth if I caught him looking at me I said hello. And sometimes he’d again mimic me with a hello back!  By the time I took my next break he came up and tapped me on the shoulder, wanting me to color with him!  Oi troi oi! Success!  We colored for a bit, not speaking much but pointing and smiling. When it was time for us to leave for lunch, I asked our coordinator to translate that we were going to go,  but we would come back. I was rewarded with the biggest smile! All the hard work of the morning melted away.  

Upon returning from lunch, we set back to hauling sand and mixing mortar. Son kept tying to get me to stop working and sit with him. My friend Kyle sort of insisted that my work that day should be playing with Son. Reluctantly I sat, not because I didn’t want to, but I felt guilty watching everyone else do this hard, physical work, and here I was playing with a child. Kyle said two things that sealed the deal. “Who or what is making me feel guilt? The work you are doing with Son may be more important.”  So I went into teacher mode and focused soley on Son. He quickly picked up the English words for colors. He learned to use my name instead of just kind of saying “hey.” I’d learned how to count to four in Vietnamese and I determined he already knew how his numbers. As is common in the US, people assume that students with special needs can’t learn. In fact, I’d heard one of the NGO employees say, only half of the 12 students and the center where he attends school “are capable of learning.”  Uh no, Kathy, everyone can learn, just in different ways and in different times. 

Son and I had a wonderful day together. We colored, we played with trucks, beep, beep and we talked as best we could giving language barriers. But his smile spoke volumes. 

As our time was winding down, we all sat sat down together, volunteers, program coordinators, the family and contractors. With help of our translator, Father expressed their gratitude for our work and we expressed ours at the honor of being able to help them. When he found out I was a teacher he asked for any advise, given what I knew from being with his son. As a professional educator I was reluctant to offer suggestions without having done any sort of real assessment. But I also realized he’d probably never get a real assessment so I offered a few insights. I wanted him to know how smart his son is and not to underestimate him. Use language as much as possible and insist that Son use his words as well. The look of surprise and pride as he heard my words translated warms my heart even now. He eagerly devoured my words and asked follow up questions. I was sucked in and we talked for quite a while. I apologized to my friends for dominating the conversation but they assured me this was what was needed. Father’s love for his son was so apparent as he listened to me and to the translator. Grandmother showed the same parental love and concern as she intently watched her own son during the discussion. I felt so fortunate to have the knowledge and experience to offer this family hope for Son and real actionable information to help him themselves. 

It was time to get back to work, but Son didn’t want me to go. So I invited him to help me.  I was unable to see his huge smile as we pushed the wheelbarrow back and forth. Only later we I rewarded with the image. We prepared to leave he put his arms in the air for me to pick him up. He clung to me like a koala to a eucalyptus branch. I’d say, for that day, his armor was completely demolished. 

Although we drove away extremely dirty, tired and sore, I  would not have change a thing about the day. My heart is filled with gratitude.   

The Grateful Heart in the Classroom

My colleague and friend, Sheila Monger and I talk a lot about gratitude. After a particularly rough couple of years teaching, she and I would daily remind each other of our mantra to Choose Gratitude. When teachers get caught up in the problems it is easy to become negative and grumpy. No one sets out to be 'that teacher' but we all know them, and at times, may have been them. There really is so much to be grateful for. And lest you think I am a Pollyanna, rest assured, I am not. I was laid off every year for my first 6 years of teaching. I have had great and not so great colleagues and administrators (I liken a principal to an appendix, you don't notice them until they are bad) My husband was diagnosed with cancer in the middle of year 8 of teaching and died the following winter. So I have had a lot of reason to be grumpy and not grateful, yet still, I choose gratitude.

So imagine my great joy to meet +Scott Meile. Scott is a 8th grade English teacher in New Jersey.  His district is in an area with one of the highest teen suicide rates in the country. He saw a need for connection in his classroom and community, and he created it with the Door of Thanks. With all the bad in the world, Mr. Meile encourages his students to stop, think and appreciate what they have.  Throughout the year, students place note of the wall that state what they are thankful for. Notice I said wall. The door of thanks became the wall of thanks, and that became a virtual wall of gratitude!

I met Scott when he traveled to San Mateo, California to participate in a panel discussion at Edmodocon16. I was honored to facilitate the discussion on Supporting the Whole Student with Edmodo. This panel included short presentations from speakers on how they use Edmodo to meet the unique needs of their students for more than just academics—building community, supporting a school Gay-Straight Alliance, reaching out to students who struggle to get to school, and encouraging gratitude.

Although I've begged Scott to blog about his gratitude journey, Being a busy dad, husband, teacher and coach hasn't allowed him much time to write. So I asked his permission to share his story. in his own words.

It’s our job in education to show them that our school, our community, our families aren’t just about what we’re teaching but the people that are involved and the relationships that are created and the people we meet. The issues in New Jersey aren’t uncommon everywhere else, There is that many young kids don’t know where to turn. There’s peer pressure, bullying, and self image awareness which often leads to students not knowing who to turn to or who they can trust. Peers are left with unanswered questions, they often don’t understand or realize that some kids need help and aren’t being taught compassion or understanding and the ability to find the right people to talk to. 

In our class we try to recognize the importance of our team and our goals, in addition we take time to recognize our lives outside of the classroom. We push ourselves to complete tasks, but more importantly we learn about each other. We take 6-10 minutes everyday and give thanks. Edmodo is the key because it unlocks a level of communication and acceptance that isn’t always easy for students to receive or acknowledge. We each and everyday make it a point to reach out to one another, and comment on some of the things that are going on in our lives outside of school (or within our school community) and that allows for interpersonal growth that sometimes is lacking in today’s students busy schedules and culture. Edmodo creates a connectedness that allows for something easy, reachable, and creative. It takes a snapshot of our class, the highs, the lows and everything in between and we document these moments and get to see the growth throughout the year.

Emotional intelligence is something we try to grow throughout the year, taking time to talk about gratitude leads to more interesting conversations regarding citizenship and compassion.  As I have become more and more experienced in the classroom I have found I have less and less to say to my students regarding their learning.  I often find them discovering new things and showing me more about their learning then I ever imagined was possible.  But, what I have found myself talking more and more with the kids is their responsibility to each other, how we as a class can make a difference, and more importantly, every person should act with respect, integrity, and empathy.  

Even more importantly it has made me a better teacher, dad, and coach because I have come to realize just how much of a struggle the kids go through on a daily basis.

I am grateful for teachers, and friends, like Scott.

LOA Diaries: Edmodo - Judging the Hackathon

Allison kicks off the presentation of projects

I was honored to be included on the judging panel for our Hackathon. I loved hearing about the amazing things these teams had accomplished in just 24 hours. I am always willing share my opinion, when I feel safe to do so. I do think most of the engineers valued a teacher, their customer's perspective. Chris presented a project to filter and block malicious links from being posted to +Edmodo. It occurred to me that there is much that goes on behind the scenes that we customers never see. From the judges table I pointed out that teachers, really any customer, will not be shy in letting you know when your product does not meet expectations, doesn't work, is slow. But there is much work engineers do to protect our students and keep them safe, without us even knowing. I thanked him for that.  And the most adorable thing happened, he blushed! Working in safety and security, he usually only hears about from customers when something doesn't work. It may very well be the first time a customer had thanked him for his work. This was a good reminder to me to show gratitude more often. 

In addition to Zach's formatting project, as each group presented I realized how many of the projects were designed to enhance the user experience, from giving us bigger video viewing area to more content in Spotlight, to helping new teachers get comfortable with Edmodo, the customers really are foremost in Edmodo's work, even in their passion projects..

The Judges (yes, bribes are on the table, chocolate and wine)

Despite jokes about accepting bribes, I did recuse myself from deliberations regarding my team and our category of Company Culture. And yet, our project, Humans of Edmodo, won!  So in addition to experiencing this inspirational event, our team won $500 for each member! That never happens in public education.  Even better, +Zach Rutta, who had done his initial presentation alone and had asked for engineers to help him create something teachers had been wanting for years, won the grand prize!  So really I felt like I won twice!

As I was drinking a celebratory plastic cup (recycle able of course) with the judges, we explored the idea of bringing the Hackathon concept into staff development days and classrooms on campuses. It would be interesting to see what could be accomplished. I'm not sure the union or parents would approve of a 24 hour project but imagine if we gave teachers and/or students a focused, dedicated block of time to pursue a project they thought could make a difference...whatever that means to them! I'm still working on how to implement it, but I think there is potential there. Participants develop perseverance, creativity, communication and collaboration which are all critical skills for future ready teachers and students.

I am a Human of Edmodo

                             

LOA Diaries: Edmodo, part two ~ Stranger in a Strange Land

In my two months at  +Edmodo I have tried to make the most of my experience. I am enjoying working with Edmodo Certified Trainers (ECTs) and updating training materials. On the days I come into the office, I commute not quite two hours a day, including a nice walk form the train to the office. But honestly, it has not been all work and no play. I've participated in Paint Nite, complete with wine and Bob Ross wigs. I participated in my first hackathon, even though at first I didn't even know what it was. They have an onsite masseuse one day a week. Edmodo has hot lunch brought in two days a week, usually one of the days I'm there.There are always have packaged salads, sandwiches and entrees that are of gourmet quality. They have unlimited soda and snacks, both healthy and not so much. 

Alberto the Artiste!

 

This morning I happened to ask the exact right guy to show me how the coffee maker worked. I'm not doing it justice to call it a coffee maker. It's one of those big things with multiple spouts and steam and all. I am a Mr. Coffee kind of gal, so I was slightly intimidated. The Keurig was out of K cups, so I asked the young man (they are all young compared to me ;) making some sort of foamy drink it he wouldn't mind showing me how to use the behemoth. Lucky for me, Brady comes from a family of coffee makers! His dad owns a handful of coffee shops in Louisiana and Brady used to train baristas! He took the time to show me how it worked, explained how lighter beans make stronger coffee and helped me as I made my first latte! I have found the people at Edmodo to be kind, generous with their time and always willing to help. From the CEO on, the company culture seems to be one of kindness. And yes, they have their own keg and wine stocked in a small wine fridge. No wonder I don't mind working late! 

NuAhn

In addition to my lucky day with latte, I was finally at the office on the right day to get a massage! Edmodo has a masseuse that comes to the office and sets up in a conference room one day a week. She does a half hour for $20 or a full hour for $40. The office manager, Nhu Ahn, uses a Google sheet where people can sign up for their own time slot. Talk about #HighTechHighTouch! I decided to not splurge, so I only got a half hour but about midway through I was wishing I'd booked a full hour. But then I reminded myself to stay in the present and enjoy the now. It was a wonderful massage, but it took me about 15 minutes to get my head back into work mode after being so very relaxed. 

Edmodo has an open office concept, with a variety of sizes of windowed conference rooms outfitted with projectors, speaker phones and power cables so you can just carry in your Mac. There are no phones at people's desks and all of the desks adjust for standing or sitting with the push of a button. Despite the open floor plan, the work area is surprisingly quiet, especially compared to my classroom. Edmodo employs a product called Hipchat that allows 1:1, one to some or one to all communications. If you need to talk to someone across the way you just hipchat them! Not for the first time I wonder about the implications and applications of this ability in a school setting.

I document my experiences back in the business world as an anthropological report. Not to make my teaching colleagues jealous, but to give them a peek into the corporate world. Yes, this is what the business world is like. I can drink as much water as is healthy. I use the bathroom when I want. I take the train to the office and I can show up when I show up, as long as I get my work done. I am so grateful for this opportunity, something I never could've done while teaching full time. It really is a different world.

Zach working the support wall.