Denmark, Part II

Welcome to my home in Denmark - the CABINN, where the slogan is "Sleep Cheap in Luxury."

Our first mission once we got to Denmark was to explore! Although we hadn't slept in 36 hours, we walked to Tivoli Square to look around. There's an amusement park there that has rides that you couldn't pay me to get on! We walked around our first night here and tried to get acclimated to the (literally) foreign surroundings.

Copenhagen has flowers everywhere!

Here's Tivoli Gardens...one of the oldest amusement parks in the world. The word is that Walt Disney came here to look at Tivoli before he designed Disneyland!

City Hall...

Here's a statue of the country's most famous author, Hans Christian Andersen (known as H.C. Andersen in Denmark.) He wrote The Little Mermaid, The Little Matchgirl, and The Ugly Duckling.

There are MANY Danish folks riding bicycles around here! And when they leave them parked outside, they don't even lock them up - people are very trusting in Denmark...

There's water, water everywhere - canals, lakes, rivers (fjords) - it's beautiful!

Today we learned about energy, Denmark-style. We visited the RISO National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy and the Copenhagen Energy and Waterworks Place.

There are gorgeous poppy fields all over that can be seen from the train and shuttle bus as we go from place to place.

Here are our presenters at RISO - Stephanie Ropenus and Leif Sonderberg.

Here's a picture of the wind turbine up close and personal (and on the ground!) It's 40 meters long - much bigger than it looks up there in the air twirling around!

Here's the Director of the Energy and Waterworks Place, Jesper Steenberg, showing how he teaches children about water erosion in Denmark.

We were surprised to see how Jesper teaches the children about the sewer system:

he has them climb down into the "pipes" and look for rats! They also dig their hands into dark places and pull out items that shouldn't be flushed (some were embarrassing items that would wreak havoc with our students but evidently don't bother the Danish ones...)

Here's Jesper showing us how it's done. P.S. We thank Jesper for coming in specially for us - he is currently on paternity leave - for fourteen weeks! Gotta love Denmark!

One activity Jesper told us about was the role-playing the kids do at the Energy and Waterworks Place. We put on some of the hats that the kids wear as they represent the way that different countries use water. Of course, I put on the hat representing the USA - a Yankees hat...hmmm...I guess that's how they think of America.

We rode home from our exciting day in our "bustrafik!"

Later I walked to the mall, a scenic walk by the canal took me to the Fisketorvet Shopping Center right down the street from our hotel. Some musings on that experience:

1. It is unnerving to shop in a foreign country. The price tags make no sense. Even the mall hours posted (9-20) are confusing.

2. Every store plays American music. I shopped to Lady GaGa and Britney Spears. I would have felt like I was at home if I could have read the price tags and didn't have to take ten extra minutes to calculate the difference in currency in my head.

3. I saw stores I recognize: Aldo, H&M, and Pizza House (which looks just like Pizza Hut in my world.)

4. Everyone here speaks English. Because there are so few folks in Denmark (5.4 million), and Danish is so difficult to learn, they know they have to know English in order to communicate with the outside world.

5. Danish folk don't appear to love their water like we love ours. There are beautiful canals, but I haven't seen any kind of personal pleasure boats in the water, just a few cruise boats for tourists. And as I walked to the mall, I was basically alone on the gorgeous walkway that runs beside the water. If that canal were in my town, people would be sitting by it as long as possible (which is a lot in Denmark, by the way. The sun comes up by 3:30 AM and stays up until 10:45 PM.)

6. All women in Denmark wear these cute scarves wrapped around them. The mall was full of them! And I think they identify me as a tourist since I don't have one...because no one has tried to speak in Danish to me. Some guy at the mall stepped in front of me and said, "Oh, sorry" and then continued to speak Danish to his friend. How the heck was he able to determine my heritage so quickly, without missing a beat? I'm going to buy myself a scarf!

Here's an example of the scarves we see everywhere! There are all kinds of websites explaining how to tie them...

Stay tuned for another exciting post from Denmark...this time I'll be sharing our experiences at a Viking Ship Museum and on our trip to Sweden!

Velkommen Ven Til Danmark!

I hope the online translator got "Welcome to Denmark" correct and my title doesn't say something nasty!

Well, here we are. The 08-09 North Carolina Teacher of the Year Team, minus our friends Janice and Frieda, and along with some new friends - educators from across the state - are international men and women of mystery! Our adventure had a rocky start, though. First...half of us met at Raleigh/Durham airport at 10:30 AM on Saturday, June 13th. The other half convened in Charlotte. The Charlotte folks flew on to Newark and then hopped on their plane to Copenhagen, but those of us in Raleigh sat on the runway for two hours...then were told to disembark due to weather issues, and a ground hold, in Newark. After we did get on our plane, we sat again while watching a rambunctious two-year-old run up and down the aisle, lie down in the middle of the aisle, and grab my water bottle out of my hand. Not only were his parents not reprimanding him, they weren't even paying attention to him! But finally seven hours later, we arrived in Newark to the news we had already figured out. Our flight to Denmark had left.

Bill and Lindsey were relentless while securing flights for all of us!

Our fearless leaders Bill Ferriter (6th grade social studies teacher at Salem Middle School) and Lindsey Molusky (Director of the Latino initiative at the Center for International Understanding) worked diligently with Hector, the Continental representative, to get us all to our destination. However, the end result would involve seven different flights through three different cities to get us there. And none of these flights would leave until the next day. Luckily, Continental gave us vouchers for a hotel room. Unluckily, nine zillion people had the same vouchers, and the hotel was an hour down the New Jersey turnpike. We endured fatique, hunger, and bathroom issues, along with a shuttle full of children (well-behaved this time) on our LONG ride to Fords, New Jersey. Once we arrived at the Holiday Inn there...at midnight...I felt a little anxiety after our driver hopped off and left us inside. He then jumped back in the driver's seat and drove away, with no explanation to us regarding his plans. I seriously felt that I was being kidnapped...or at the very least treated badly. I mean he could've told us where we were going! I updated my Facebook status that night by phone - "You won't believe this day! After fourteen hours, a (very) delayed flight, several near riots, and a highjacked shuttle bus, I am in Fords, New Jersey."

Here's the "Palace" - the huge statue in the courtyard is "some guy from India" according to the clerk who checked us in.

After arriving at the nearby Best Western "Palace" and checking in, we ordered pizza and choked it down as quickly as possible at midnight so we could get to bed! The next morning we rushed to get ready, did some more waiting (stood in the parking lot waiting for the shuttle for about an hour) then headed back down the turnpike to get to Newark. As I mentioned, we were now divided into several groups...the first group took a direct flight to Copenhagen, Ann (the outgoing Wake County Teacher of the Year) took a flight through Paris by herself, my group flew by way of Amsterdam, and the last group flew to Paris also. At this moment, we're still waiting for them to arrive, a day and a half after the itinerary indicates.

Our flight to Amsterdam was six hours long, two shorter than the straight-through flight would have been. We left at 6:30 PM, got a pretzel snack, then dinner right off the bat. I watched "Confessions of a Shopaholic" and read a little. It wasn't long before I figured out that I better try to sleep...but that was easier said than done. I did doze for a minute, but when I opened my eyes I could see the sun coming up. I looked at my watch, and it was 2 AM at home, then 3 AM...I pictured my husband and my dog all snug in their beds, and there I was sitting on a plane in broad daylight, just a few hours after I left the good ol' US. The time difference (and us jumping six hours ahead of our families) has possibly been the hardest concept for me to wrap myself around (well, that and the hijacker...)

As we descended in Amsterdam, I looked out the window and thought "This looks like Iowa." Interesting, because I've never been to Iowa. But it looked green and fertile and rural, and I pictured corn fields. As we got closer I saw the canals...Amsterdam is a beautiful city from the air, but I didn't see any more of it, except in the airport.

Welcome to Europe (phew, we finally made it!)

The Holland Store in the Amsterdam airport had all kinds of wooden shoes. They didn't feel very comfy to me!





Amsterdam likes pretty cows...notice the windmill on the cow below.



Our final plane - from Amsterdam to Denmark!

It was not long before we were back on a plane and headed to Denmark, and I have to say - the view from the plane was breathtaking. The windmills, the water...it was beautiful. We haven't ventured out yet, but I hope to see as much of that water as possible in the next few days.

Here's the view of the windmills from the plane...

Our hotel rooms are quaint and functional...well, at least if the occupants are functional. It took me awhile to figure out how to work the water faucets, the lights, the plugs...but I've got it now. And when my roommate, Trisha, gets here from Paris (that sounds really cool) I'll be able to help her!

Here's the view from my room - apartments across the street...

Tonight we're still waiting for the last of our group to arrive. It's been a long two days for them!I've had about one hour of sleep so I'll try to pry my eyes open to greet them upon arrival (if they get here in the next few minutes...)

Stay tuned for more of The NC TOY Team's European Adventure!

Virtual TOY

I've been negligent about posting for the past couple of weeks, but I haven't been negligent about taking care of my mother who fell two weeks ago and broke her hip and elbow. Thank goodness I was able to handle some of my TOY duties virtually and with the help of other TOYs.

Before my mother's injury, I was able to brave the wind and rain and head over to Stokes County to help celebrate on a special night: Teachers of the Year, retirees, National Board Certified Teachers, and Teacher Assistants were being honored. It was a beautiful night, complete with dinner, balloons, roses for the honorees (and me), and music played by the high school band featuring theme songs from movies. There were gold stars everywhere, even on the floor, and it was a wonderful reminder that educators are so special. And I felt special, too, when I was given a basket full of Stokes County products, including Purple Sweet Potato Butter...yum

Here's my festive basket from Stokes County!

Next I was to go to Catawba County and help celebrate the closing of Sweetwater Elementary School, but since I was at the hospital with my mother, I wrote a tribute and sent a video for the presenters there to use. I told the story of my own elementary school, Bragtown, and about how it burned to the ground in 1991. I shared that schools are so much more than buildings and that nothing can erase the beautiful memories of our schools.

Next I was honored to have the opportunity, earlier this year, to choose a high school senior to receive the Teaching it Forward Scholarship to the University of Phoeniz. Each state Teacher of the Year was given this opportunity, and I chose my student Echo who I taught in seventh and eighth grade. After eighth grade, she moved to Asheville, and I had hoped to present the scholarship to her at her Senior Night at T.C. Roberson High School. But I was unable to attend. Thankfully, John Hall, the current charter school Teacher of the Year from Artspace Charter School in Swannanoa, was able to stand in for me. Echo sent me a video clip of the presentation, and John did a great job. I appreciate him taking my place on this special occasion.

Last Monday night, I delivered the graduation address to the eighth graders at my own school, Gravelly Hill Middle. This was a bittersweet moment as I watched those little "weinies" (as I called them in sixth grade) sitting in front of me so dressed up for their special night. I spoke to them about dreams and how to go after them, and I asked them not to settle for less than the best as they pursue those dreams.

Here I am just before the 8th grade graduation with my student Courtney.

Things continue to wrap up for me as North Carolina's reigning Teacher of the Year (only a few weeks left), but some of the best times are yet to come! The Teacher of the Year Team is headed to Denmark June 13-21! Stay tuned for updates on that trip...

Looking Ahead...

This is the time of year when everyone's looking forward...there are graduations and weddings galore in May and June, and we all move ahead with excitement and anticipation.

That was the theme this week as I traveled to Yancey County to speak to new teachers and National Board Certification candidates in the historic city of Burnsville. I was honored to be the speaker for such a beautiful event; Yancey County Schools celebrates Beginning Teachers of the Year! There were five finalists for the award, and they all made presentations to the audience, highlighting classroom activities that ranged from PowerPoint slides developed by second graders to a high school digital newspaper. These teachers were definitely thinking ahead to their careers in teaching as they celebrated their first years.

And budget cuts didn't keep the Yancey County folks from having beautiful decorations: they just went mountainside and cut gorgeous rhododendron. The Burnsville Community Center was festive and celebratory, and I was happy to be a part of it!

Here I am with Patricia Fender, the Beginning Teacher Coordinator in Yancey County.

I spent the remainder of the week involved in testing at my school. "Involved" = walking in circles around a room of testing eighth graders for four hours straight. But I was happy to be back amongst my students who are about to leave for high school; it'll be bittersweet to say goodbye to them.

Speaking of bittersweet, I had the opportunity to watch 10 of my former students graduate on Friday. In 2005, I worked with all 63 of my eighth graders on the rigorous application process for the Josephine Dobbs Clement Early College High School housed on the campus of North Carolina Central University. These students had the opportunity to take high school and college courses simultaneously and graduate with a high school diploma and an associate's degree. Of the original 50 who were accepted, 10 of them made it through the entire program, and I was delighted to watch them walk across that stage this week.

Congratulations to Antonio, Keiara, Alejandra, DeAntwon, Dwayne, Christina, Iesha, Victoria, Alexis, and Kia!

The first three to burst through the doors as graduates: Antonio, Alejandra, and Keiara!

Here I am with beautiful Kia. She was one of several students who came to visit with my family at the funeral home after my father died in 2004. That visit was more special than ever because it was Kia's 13th birthday. She begged me to go with her family to Denny's to eat, but I had to stay with my mother. It was such a sweet gesture, though.

Gifted Students and Another New TOY

I started this week speaking to a group I really know (and I told them that!) I spoke to almost 300 seventh graders who have been invited to participate in the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP), a program that identifies gifted students and then sends them to take the SAT, a test, of course, designed for high school juniors.

The students I spoke to had scored better than 90% of the nation's 11th graders on at least one part of the SAT. I looked out at that sea of prepubescent adolescents and couldn't believe they were able to perform like that on a test that still causes me anxiety every time I think about that Saturday, years ago, that I sat in my high school's cafeteria with a number 2 pencil. I knew my entire future lay on the line.

But I spoke to these students from a different perspective - through the lens of being a teacher who has taught gifted children and the lens of being a parent of children identified as gifted. I talked to them, first of all, about dreams, and then I gave them a charge: DON'T SETTLE. I asked them not to settle for doing less than they can to achieve their dreams, not to settle for doing the best they can on their work; in other words, I asked them to use the gifts that they have been given to make a difference in our world.

My afternoon at Campbell University's TIP celebration was wonderful!

A Sea of Seventh Graders!

Also, this week I was onhand when another new Teacher of the Year was named. I was on the program to give remarks as my own school system chose a new TOY for 2009-2010. Kara Coleman, a second grade teacher in only her fourth year of teaching, was given the exciting news at the Cedar Grove Ruritan Club dinner last night. A special treat was that Phillip Little, the current Piedmont/Triad Regional Teacher of the Year, was the keynote speaker. Phillip is an inspirational speaker, talents he brings to us from his history classroom at Northwood High School in Chatham County.

Piedmont/Triad Central Regional Teacher of the Year Phillip Little speaks to the group.

My remarks included a few pictures of my amazing time in Washington, D.C., photos shared by the Teacher of the Year from Minnesota, Derek Olson. Derek stood on the row right behind me at the Rose Garden and rested his camera on his hip for these examples of creative photography.

One reason these pictures are so meaningful to the State Teachers of the Year who were in the Rose Garden that day is because this is how we saw it. Thanks, Derek, for preserving these memories for us.

And, finally, the announcement: here I am with Kara Coleman, the Orange County Schools Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010.

A New TOY Year...

The North Carolina Teacher of the Year Team for 2008-2009

This is my first entire weekend home in awhile, and I'm pretty exhausted! It's worth it, though, because of the many opportunities I've had as North Carolina's Teacher of the Year for 08-09, the wonderful educators I've met, and the relationships that have grown over the year.

I started the week last Sunday, meeting with the new Teacher of the Year team as they began the festivities to select a new NC Teacher of the Year for 09-10. We had dinner together, and I shared a little about my experiences, my year traveling, and some of the activities they could look forward to.

On Monday, I served as the hostess while the interviews were taking place, and I really enjoyed getting to know each regional finalist as they entered (and exited) their interviews. The next morning I was there again, as they went in for a shorter meeting with the selection committee, speaking briefly about education topics.

That day our current team began arriving, and it was so exciting to see these teachers, who although spread out geographically, continue to be close and communicate often. We'll also be traveling with the Center for International Understanding to Denmark next month. We're so excited!

Tuesday night we attended the always celebratory and beautiful evening that is the dinner for the naming of the new Teacher of the Year. The night began with Governor Perdue speaking to us and continued with remarks from Dr. Bill Harrison, CEO of the Department of Public Instruction and Chair of the State Board. Then Cynthia Marshall, President of at&t, sponsor of the NC Teacher of the Year program, shared her truly inspirational story.

Here I am with Valonda Calloway, the beautiful Mistress of Ceremonies for the Teacher of the Year dinner. Not only is she a local celebrity who works at our CBS affiliate, WRAL, she's a former Washington Redskins cheerleader!

Another local celebrity, David Heid, set the tone for the evening - classy and elegant.

Governor Bev Perdue opened up the evening by thanking teachers for all they do.

Near the end of the night, I stepped on the stage to deliver my parting remarks. But how can you sum up in a few minutes what has been a life changing experience? I've met the President, the First Lady, the Vice President's wife, and the Secretary of Education. I've traveled the state meeting the best teachers and teachers-to-be in the country. It was so hard that I knew I would struggle. So after a few introductory remarks, thanking my husband and the Teacher of the Year Team, as well as Danny Holloman, who is the TOY Coordinator, I played a video/movie that highlighted my year and thanked as many folks as I could. (A special thanks to Trisha Muse, Sandhills/South Central Regional Teacher of the Year for working so hard on my movie!) Then I sat down and waited to hear the name of the teacher who would take my place.

It was a strange feeling. Dr. June Atkinson, Superintendent of NC schools, said a few introductory remarks and then said, "The North Carolina Teacher of the Year is..." and I thought "Me. It's me. I'm the North Carolina Teacher of the Year." I joked that at the last minute they wouldn't select someone else. They'd say, "We're just going to let her do it for another year." And of course I was kidding. It's time for me to head back to my school, and I'm excited about that.

I'm also looking forward to working with our new North Carolina Teacher of the Year - Jessica Garner, a Spanish teacher from Union County Schools. Jessica will do a wonderful job and will be an ambassador for global education as she is a world traveler who has so much to share with our state's teachers and students.

Here I am with Jessica, the newly named North Carolina Teacher of the Year for 2009-2010.

But my job's not over yet. I'll be serving in this capacity until June 30, 2009.

So after Wednesday's State Board of Education meeting, I headed to High Point University to speak to student teachers who would be graduating the next day. And I was happy for the opportunity to do this job for a couple of months more.

Here I am with graduating seniors who will be in elementary classrooms next year!

High Point University is right beside the preschool where my sister Lisa works with three year olds. I just had to stop by and visit...

I'm so happy that Jessica Garner will have this amazing experience. A year from now, she'll look back just as I did, as she says goodbye, and will realize that she's had "the time of her life" just as I have. Thank you again, North Carolina!

Rose Garden Ceremony - Yes, That's THE Rose Garden

I don't think there are words to describe such a surreal experience, but I'll try.

Today I was the last teacher on the bus headed for the White House because I spent some time emailing my colleagues at Gravelly Hill Middle School, and I was running a little late. I wanted to make sure, before the press release came out, to tell them that my friend and fellow finalist Tony Mullen would soon be named the 2009 National Teacher of the Year. I also wanted to thank them for their unwavering support this year as I have traveled the state on behalf of teachers. But, oops, the time got away from me...so I hustled out to the bus, and off we went!

Once we arrived, the security check began...actually, it started months ago when we sent in the names of our visitors along with our names and social security numbers...background checks, I guess. CIA clearance? Who knows?

Here I am, looking distressed...

At any rate, when they checked, my name wasn't on the list. I could feel the tears coming while I waited with two other teachers who were also missing from the list and the kind Teacher of the Year from Alaska, who was on the list, but who refused to enter without us. Magically, someone produced an updated list, and we were all allowed in.

By the way, two guests actually were not allowed in: the husband of Virginia Teacher of the Year Stephanie Doyle and the son-in-law of Missouri TOY Margaret Williams. Stephanie was seen pictured shaking the President's hand on many newspapers the next day, and I told her that kind of helped to make up for it, but not enough. I can't imagine how I would have felt if I had looked out over that crowd and seen no one familiar, no one there for me. As it was, my husband was an obnoxious photographer and can be seen on some publicity photos hovering over Michelle Obama's head.

There's David, fourth row, gray hair, camera in hand...just behind the First Lady and Jill Biden.

Since we had been detained, the rest of the group had made it to the Rose Garden, but our little group had to wait for a military escort. So we hung out in the Presidential library until our time to meet the others.

Next we lined up, in order of height (we had already practiced) and waited for the President to come out of a press conference - Senator Specter had just announced that he would be changing parties, so all of the press that had arrived for the TOY celebration had run inside to see what the President would say.

There I am on the right in the white suit.

Michelle Obama and Jill Biden were introduced first.

The President entered, saying "Hello, everybody!"

The President greeted the guests.

After the Rose Garden ceremony, I was interviewed by the sponsor of the National Teacher of the Year Program, ING.

The view from the Rose Garden - it was an amazing day!

Thank you, North Carolina, for giving me this unforgettable opportunity..

P.S. You can view the event here.