Symposium Dispatches: Logistics, Networking, and Brainstorming (or How Many Cups of Coffee is Too Many?)
Location: Washington, D.C. | Mood: Caffeinated
If you’ve never spent a weekend in a windowless conference room discussing the geopolitical nuances of the Andes while simultaneously worrying about hotel check-out policies, have you really lived?
I’m currently wrapping up the Fulbright Teachers for Global Classrooms Symposium here in D.C., and if my brain feels heavy, it’s probably because it’s full of logistics, pedagogy, and a healthy dose of federal funding research.
Here is the overview on what happened this weekend, what I’m actually doing in Peru, and how I want to connect it back to my work in the classroom.
Taking the Hill
Before the symposium even kicked off, I had the chance to head to Capitol Hill to meet with Senator Chris Murphy’s office. The goal was to advocate for the continued funding of international exchange programs. I made the case that Fulbright isn’t just a professional development perk for teachers, it’s a direct investment in the global perspective we bring back to Connecticut classrooms. It was a good reminder that the "Global" in "Global Education" starts with policy right here in D.C. Huge thanks to the Senator and his staff for taking the time to hear me dive into SFOPS funding. Sorry, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs for those not fluent in Hill-speak.
Field Experience Logistics (aka How Not to Be "That" Tourist)
A significant chunk of our time was spent on the "nuts and bolts" of moving a cohort of American teachers through a foreign country without causing an international incident.
The guidance was refreshingly blunt. Lots of talk of social media safety, cultural responsiveness, and advice to keep our passports off Instagram. The golden rule of the conversation, however, was this: "Pull your weight (and only your weight)."
It’s the kind of cryptic, riddle-like wisdom that usually precedes a group project in the classroom, but I’m choosing to interpret it as: Pack your own suitcase, handle your own reservations, and don't try to be the emotional support animal for the entire group. That animal in this case will most likely be an alpaca.
We’ll be heading to Lima first, then deploying to host communities in groups of two or three. I don’t know my placement yet, but I do know that I’ll be booking my own room and navigating the local terrain with a "Consultant on the Ground." It feels less like a field trip and more like a deployment, which I appreciate.
The "So What?"
The facilitators posed a question that haunts every professional development session: “How are you positioned to lead efforts to address these opportunities back home?”
Translation: Don't just go on a cool trip - make it matter. I’m already brainstorming ways in which the big themes of global education coupled with the experiences abroad can be applied in my classroom. Which led to…
The Guiding Question
Finally, the big brainstorm that ended the symposium. The Fulbright program asks us to develop a "Guiding Question" for our fieldwork. The criteria were simple: make it open-ended, non-judgmental, succinct, and ensure it has "emotive force and intellectual bite." (No pressure).
I’m still knocking around some ideas that focus on threads of identity and citizenship through multiple lenses. Still workshopping, but I feel like it’s headed in the right direction.
Next stop: Pre-Departure Orientation later in the Spring. Until then, I’ll be busy brainstorming and pulling my own weight.