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IN THIS ISSUE
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Teaching (and learning) . . . to make the world a better place Mary Cowhey, first grade teacher at the Jackson Street School in Northampton and recipient of the Milken National Educator Award talks about her love for teaching.
In October of 2002, Mary's commitment to teaching and learning was recognized when Commissioner of Education David Driscoll presented her with the Milken Family Foundation's National Educator award at an all-school assembly. The Milken Family Foundation began the National Educator awards in 1987 to acknowledge the crucial contributions of individual educators "to our national well-being." The awards are based on the premise that the most effective way to address the crisis in American education is to reward educators' achievements, enhance their resources, and advance their professional interests. Mary was one of one hundred educators nationwide to receive the award this year.
Massachusetts began participating in the Milken awards in 1997 and two Western Massachusetts teachers were among the state's first recipients. Patricia Clem, then principal at Powder Mill Middle School in Southwick, is currently the Principal at Granite Valley Middle School in Monson. Joan Vohl Hamilton, now teaching eighth grade English at Granby Jr/Sr High School, was teaching at Fairview Veterans Memeorial in Chicopee when she received the award. In addition to honoring individual teachers, the Milken Foundation has a larger goal in mind: to create a network of educators who can foster an appreciation for the profession and actively shape educational policies in their states and communities. Ada Comstock Scholar and Jackson
Street School When her son was young, Mary began working in the children's book section at Barnes and Noble in New York. This was where she first became interested in teaching and literacy. Hard cover books could be borrowed, and she would take them out and read aloud at her son's day care center. She noticed that the children always wanted to touch the books. She organized the books they did have on hand into a library and led a workshop for parents on the benefits of reading aloud to children. She recalls talking with well-meaning parents who would come into the store in search of "the" book that would teach their child to read, often motivated by a desire to have their children be the best or first reader. She began working with parents to help them nurture a love of reading in their children. The transition from being a working single mother to being a single mother, undergraduate, non-traditional student at Smith was not an easy one. She heard about the Ada Comstock program just prior to the deadline, and was excited enough at the prospect that she spent an intense day filling out the application and writing her essay. She says that moving here was like starting all over again. While a scholarship covered tuition, she worked part-time, attended school full-time and cared for her two-year-old son. She couldn't afford to buy textbooks, so she used the Smith library. Despite the financial and logistical challenges, Cowhey was an "aggressive learner," always asking questions, looking for connections, and trying to weave theoretical understanding with life experience and daily teaching practice. These are habits she now encourages in her first graders. It was easy for her to get involved in the Jackson Street School
community because she lived across the street, at Hampton Gardens.
She organized a series of bilingual family math and science events
as part of her research on demographically representative family
involvement. After completing her student teaching, she was hired
to teach the first grade and has remained there since. She now welcomes
Smith practicing teachers into her own classroom. Culturally Responsive Teaching
In Mary's room near her desk is this admonition: "Learn, Reflect, Question And Work to Make The world a better place". The words are those of Sonia Nieto, her professor at the UMass School of Education where she recently completed a Masters Degree in Multi-cultural education. But it is a very apt description of her approach to teaching and learning, an approach she describes as culturally responsive and concerned with social justice. This year Cowhey's students met with a local advocate for the homeless and the director of the Northampton Survival Center to learn more about the causes of hunger and homelessness. They also learned how people are working together in the community to solve those problems. Inspired by a quote from the Dalai Lama, "It is not enough to be compassionate. You must act," the students made posters to advertise items needed by local shelters and the Survival Center. As the entire school collected items under its "Giving Tree" the first graders sorted, counted, weighed and recorded the donations. Later, the students bundled themselves up and loaded wagons, baby strollers and carts to push and pull the first delivery of more than 600 pounds of food to the Northampton Survival Center. Another year, after reading a biography of Sojourner Truth, Cowhey's students organized a history pageant and a bake sale, raising $200 for the memorial in Florence. They priced everything at the bake sale at a quarter (since they were the ones making change) and counted up the proceeds. Later, they took a field trip to the Florence Savings Bank to view the maquettes and vote for their favorite selections. Many of those students, now fifth graders, attended the unveiling of the statue this fall. Mary Cowhey tends to see opportunities rather than barriers. When asked if she feels the current focus on curriculum alignment and high stakes tests undermine her efforts as a teacher, she talks about the opportunities within the frameworks to cultivate "habits of mind." She gives an example of having her students make a tent. In the process they design their own tent, engage in cooperative work, figure out how to write technical directions for how to erect the tent, and how to read the technical directions of other students. Her approach is to engage her students in authentic learning. Thus one year she taught mathematical and scientific concepts by engaging students in a project on the environmental impact of using styrofoam trays in the lunchroom. Her class met with the mayor and recycling experts at city hall, collected data from the cafeteria, made charts, wrote letters to the director of food services for the district, and eventually met with him to explain their concerns. Points of Reference Around the World As a result her students have become pen pals with students in Zulu schools, and this past year they sent 2000 books, including encyclopedia sets to the rural South African "partner" schools. She also involved the Northamtpon High School honor society in the book drive, and The Helen Hills Hills Chapel at Smith College helped with postage. She is concerned that her students have points of reference outside of their immediate community and the country. She quotes one of her heroes, Mahatma Gandhi: "If we are to reach real peace in our world, we shall have to begin with the children." While she may pursue more graduate study in the future, she doesn't plan to venture far from the classroom because, she says, it "constantly keeps me learning." She has a strong interest in teacher research, the "voices from the field." She will stay close to the parents and the people in the community, believing that a strong family presence should be a powerful force in public education. She loves her work at the Jackson Street School, and notes that her students' interest in learning is what keeps her fresh as a teacher. Honored as an individual teacher, she feels strongly that she is part of a team that includes her teaching colleagues, her students, their parents, and the larger community.
"I teach about the American Revolution in the context of a sophomore World History course. I try to help my students see connections between what they know and are familiar with, and the new material that they are learning. Studying the American Revolution in the context of an age of revolutions helps students see patterns and interactions, as well as helping them identify characteristics of the American experience that make it distinctive. I use some of the teaching strategies that were modeled in the Five Colleges Program. For instance, I organize students into groups and give each group some of the items that were important in the trade systems of the Atlantic World, such as tobacco, sugar, rice, animal pelts, etc. I have added items so that our discussion of trade and interaction expands to include global exchange, such as tea and spices. Following the example presented at the Five Colleges Program, I have groups of students discuss the interactions among people and places that these items represent. For instance, a group that has been given tobacco, rice, and a Bible might talk about missionaries who spread Christianity, slaves who brought knowledge of rice cultivation from Africa, and the expansion of the tobacco-based economy in the southern colonies. As they discuss these interactions they also review what they have learned about the economic and social patterns of the 1500s-1700s.
We also revisit a topic we have encountered throughout our study of world history: What is the role of government? Students study the major thinkers of the Enlightenment such as Locke, Rousseau, and Voltaire and consider their answers to these questions. Students apply their understanding of major Enlightenment thinkers by examining the major documents of the American Revolution, including the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights. They observe that many of the ideas expressed in these documents, indeed some of the language, derive from Enlightenment thinkers whom they have just studied. My approach to teaching students to analyze primary documents is also influenced by the models provided through the Five Colleges Program. I appreciate how the instructors not only gave us content to use in our teaching but also provided us with innovative approaches to teaching."
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"It
was an incredible honor which I am still amazed at receiving.
The award has definitely impacted my work and life! First
of all as a result of this award I have been fortunate to
be associated with a group of educators that are outstanding
in their field. Networking with Milken Educators from Massachusetts
and across the country has been very enriching for me. I have
been fortunate to continue my association and communication
with them in a variety of ways. The State Department of Education
has called us together for meetings to discuss our role as
educators in Massachusetts and we have been consulted on a
variety of issues that impact classrooms across the Commonwealth.
Additionally, I have been fortunate to work nationally as
one of the Massachusetts representatives to the Milken Teacher
Advancement Program (TAP) by attending a conference in Phoenix,
Arizona. As a result of my attendance and presentations at
the Milken Family Foundation's Annual conferences in Los Angeles,
I have been able to more fully utilize technology to enhance
my work. The Milken Educators are part of the Commonwealth
of Massachusetts Corps of Exemplary Educators and as members
of that group we have sponsored a legislative breakfast which
gave us the opportunity to discuss educational issues with
our state representatives in Boston. My former school received
a Milken Festival for Youth grant which funded a community
service project that involved the students in the school.
I have been called upon by the State Department of Education
to participate in panel discussions and presentations related
to topics such as technology and aspiring administrators.
Our work continues as we meet annually to honor our new members
and discuss our new projects".
"Teaching
can sometimes be a daunting, lonely and disheartening career.
Receiving this award was a rocket-style boost, a validation
and a recognition that remains with me all these years later.
In addition, it put me in a network of enthusiastic educators
who love their work! This affiliation helps keep the positive
energy at a healthy level.
When
I visited Mary Cowhey in her classroom on a snowy day in December,
she was hoping that the following day would not be declared a snow
day. She had too many things she wanted to do with her class to
miss a day. Her students appear to share her commitment. On the
first snow day of the year, many of them showed up at school anyway
so they could deliver the pumpkin pies they had baked to the Honor
Court's annual Thanksgiving dinner.
We
asked participants in the 
