New Year Begins!

One year ago the new year began with a little bit of anxiety for me. I had been dealing with one diverticulitis infection after another with very little relief in between. It seemed that regardless of how much water I drank and the foods I avoided, it made no difference. As it turned out, my colon had become stuck to my abdominal wall which is what made it so vulnerable to infection. Luckily the surgery I had last March seems to have cured me. I still have some sensitivities to food at times, but its nothing like what I was experiencing before the surgery. I haven't been on antibiotics since March and its now been six months! Its amazing to me how much energy I have back and how that has translated into great enthusiasm for my classes coming into this year!

This Summer I went on a super trip to Europe as part of the Understanding Sacrifice program and am now able to implement this program into the elective class I am teaching known as "Understanding Sacrifice". This class will do many of the same things I did. Students will be piloting the lesson plan I designed and a few may even help me present about it at the Maine Council for the Social Studies Conference in November. I am very excited to see how my student recognize sacrifice during the school year!

The other classes I teach are Dual Enrollment classes at Thomas College. My students can earn College credit if they earn a "C" or better in these classes. This includes History v. Hollywood, Ethics, AP Psychology, and AP US History. Its not easy to manage five different preps, but I really enjoy the topics and I find it invigorating to have a variety of content to teach and analyze with students.

I have decided this will be my last blog post for a while. I had every intention of continuing to post every two weeks. I have found this very helpful in looking back on what I was doing. However, I'm just too busy personally and professionally. I will attempt to make occasional blog posts, but not on a routine basis. I hope this will be one of my best year's yet and I am looking forward to the MCSS Conference in November and attending the National Conference in DC in December.

Trip of a lifetime

This summer I participated in 2 Professional Development opportunities that were truly phenomenal! The first was the Social Studies State Symposium on June 29th. With 18 different sessions for teachers in grades k-12 it was a great learning opportunity. The Maine Council for the Social Studies co-sponsored the event and it was awesome! We had a bunch of vendors and received lots of very positive feedback.

As if that wasn't enough, the trip to Europe to visit 4 American Cemeteries where American soldiers from World War Two are buried was tremendous. We also visited other World War Two sites and had some time to explore some other areas of importance in Europe. We were in Nice the day after the terrorist attack there, so the dangers of travel were not far from our minds. We honored 18 different Fallen Heroes with video eulogies that will be published this Fall. I created blog from my trip which can give more details here:

http://gowertrip16.blogspot.com/

The school year is starting very soon with many exciting projects to come!

End of the year

The last day of school has come and gone and now its time to get some rest and recharge!

The end of the school year is always bittersweet. I look forward to warm weather and time to relax, but I always get a little sad saying good bye to graduating seniors. My advisees are Juniors this year and the whole Junior class went White Water Rafting in The Forks for our advisee day out. This was a great way to end the school year. Its also a little sad to say goodby to colleagues who are retiring or leaving for other jobs. It seems like we have had a lot of this at my school in the last few years. In talking with teachers from other schools in Maine and other parts of the country, I have some ideas as to why this is happening at my school but I won't speculate on that here.

I am looking forward to a few things this Summer that I will blog about before school starts in the Fall. The firs is the Maine Social Studies Symposium held at my school on June 29th. This is a day jam-packed with Professional Development for Social Studies teachers in grades K-12. This should be a great day with lots of sharing!

The other piece is my trip to Europe to tour a few World War Two Cemeteries and related historic sites. This trip is the culmination of the Understanding Sacrifice program I have been working with since last Fall. I am very excited to honor the memory of Harvey Madore, and also 3 other soldiers my students have studied over the last few years. I'm sure the trip will be memorable!

I will blog twice more during the summer and re-start my twice a month blogging in September when school starst back up. In the meantime, Happy summer!

Special Times

I have been looking forward to Memorial Day all year, because I knew we would be recognizing at least one local soldier who was killed in World War Two. Fortunately, we were able to recognize two this year.

Over the last few weeks students in my Honors US History class learned about World War Two by connecting it to the stories of two local men who were killed in the war. Private First Class Harvey Madore of Augusta, ME and Captain Joseph Berry of Wayne, ME fought in the war and are buried in Europe. Madore is buried in the Epinal Cemetery in France and Berry in the Sicily-Rome Cemetery in Italy. I am fortunate enough to be able to visit both cemeteries this summer through the Understanding Sacrifice program. Our work garnered some attention from TV station WVII in Bangor and the local newspaper the Kennebec Journal. We held a school-wide assembly at our school on the Thursday before Memorial Day to remember the meaning of the Holiday and to tell the school about both men. The families of both men were in attendance and we presented each with a framed photo of the grave of their fallen loved one. The students performed very well and I feel privileged to have been a part of it. I hope this is a tradition that will continue.

This is the WVII Channel 7 News report of our work.

On May 13 we took 22 students in grades 9-12 to the annual Model United Nations Conference at Northeastern University. This year the Conference was only one day, but that didn't seem to dim the students' enthusiasm for this annual event. Our students did very well representing Russia, Togo, and Qatar. We had 8 students win awards including two who won representing Russia in the Security Council. We had our typical evening in Boston exploring a bit. It was along day, but a lot of fun. Our journey is chronicled in this Blog.

(It was a little cloudy and a few sprinkles were around, but we still went for a ferry ride)

My amazing month got even better when I found out I had been named the 2016 Gilder-Lerhman Maine History Teacher of the Year. I was nominated last Fall and submitted the necessary essays and classroom work, however I didn't think I had a serious shot at it. I was humbled and surprised to find out I had been selected. Its really a testament to my colleagues and my students that I was able to earn this award. I am very fortunate to work in a supportive environment with great kids! I feel honored and humbled by this!

Things are wrapping up quickly and we are working on Final projects. Students are completing projects in all classes, and for the first time, US History students are doing "museum exhibits". This is a trial run to help us prepare to introduce the National History Day competition to next year's US History students. As we approach Memorial Day things are just starting to wind down. I have Junior advisees and they are white water rafting on our field trip day coming up on June 13. This is the time of year to be thinking about awards and graduation. I also will be making final preparation for the Social Studies Symposium held at my school on June 29th where I will be presenting with my wife on teaching Elementary Social Studies. Once that is over, it will be time for a real vacation and then my trip to visit the World War Two Cemeteries and historic sites in Italy, France, and Belgium in July!

May is always busy

May is always busy, there's just no way around it. My students take AP exams during the first two weeks. We also are planning a Memorial Day Assembly and took part in the Model United Nations Conference. This on top of other things makes for a very busy few weeks!

AP exams always provide a bit of stress and this year was no exception. This was my first year teaching AP Psychology and I will be interested to see how the students did. The AP US history exam changed two years ago and I still am getting used to preparing students for these changes. Now that both are over, my new challenge is keeping students engaged in class for the last few weeks!

In my Honors US History class we have been working on an Assembly in conjunction with my Understanding Sacrifice project. We are planning to tell the school about the importance of Memorial Day by remembering the sacrifice of Harvey Madore of Augusta, ME and Joseph Berry of Wayne, ME.

Harvey Madore

Joseph Berry

We have a special day planned and the families of both Fallen Heroes will be here. The Kennebec Journal is planning to cover the event and WCSH 6 as well as WVII 7 might also cover it. WVII 7 was contacted by National History Day (one of the sponsors of Understanding Sacrifice) and they were interested enough to call me. Reporter Jack Hilton visited my school last week for about 3 hours. He was interested in the story I am doing on Harvey Madore for my Understanding Sacrifice project. He interviewed Harvey's son Bob and myself. He also interviewed 3 of my students. The segment aired that same night. I have it linked here and also the video portion is below. He told me they will use some of the other video and interviews as part of their continuing Memorial Day coverage and they hope to include it as part of a bigger story after our assembly. Its really exciting to see that after all of these years Harvey Madore's sacrifice is not forgotten! I can't wait for assembly on May 26th!

I was really excited last week when we confirmed our keynote speaker for next Fall's Maine Council for the Social Studies Conference. Author and historian Kenneth C. Davis has agreed to speak and sign books at our Conference on November 10th. He has a new book coming out in September In the Shadow of Liberty and he is also speaking at the National Conference in December! Very exciting for Maine!

Kenneth C. Davis

Last Friday we took 22 students to the annual Model UN conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. We have attended this event for 13 years and this year may have been our best in terms of student engagement and achievement! Despite being out for a month with surgery, the students were well prepared. Two of my colleagues worked with them while I was out and I really appreciate their efforts! We had two students win Best Delegation in the Security Council (no small feat), and 6 others win for Best Negotiators and Best Position Papers. All of the students did very well and I was very proud and humbled to work with them. Model UN takes a lot of time and energy. With the increased mandates on us and less time to tackle them I have been very close to saying no more Model UN. I'm so glad I decided to give it a go one more year (at least). I will need to reevaluate where things are next year, but it really was a great experience for everyone involved! Below are a few photos form the Conference.

After a busy and fun two weeks, all energy is now on the Assembly for May 26th! After that things will definitely wind down for the last few weeks. That will be a time for end of year details and to start thinking about the Social Studies Symposium on June 29 that I am presenting at and my trip to the World War Two Cemeteries in Italy and France as part of the Understanding Program in July!

Recharged for the stretch run

It was so nice to have to have 10 days off in a row. Yes I know I missed just about 4 weeks, but my strength and stamina have been slow to return since my surgery in March! Though I am feeling much better, I've had some pain and discomfort from scar tissue and have been really quite fatigued. So having this time (with no student work accumulating) was nice. The weather was good and that helped too. After the vacation we are looking at 37 school days left with only Memorial Day as any type of break.

Spring, and May in particular, is my favorite time of the school year. You are starting to see the students you have worked with all year grow and mature and achieve a degree of success. The days are longer and warmer and flowers bloom and the grass turns green. You are seeing AP courses wind down as students take AP exams. You also have the Model United Nations Conference  to look forward to. As a teacher of Juniors and Seniors, they get distracted for a few days leading up the prom. Once every four years, it also become a distraction for me as a Junior Advisor who must put on the prom!

We held this years prom at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta just as we did four years ago. This beautiful building is a great place for the prom. It needs very little decoration or sprucing up and is located nearby. It doesn't feel like school at all and I think that lends itself to what the prom represents in some ways as a move toward adulthood. It's always a long night and usually we have to say no to plans with friends in order to attend the 4 hour dance and dinner before. This year was no exception as we missed out on a dinner Birthday party for a friend of ours for the prom. My wife and I received text messages from our friends who were having fun while we chaperoned the prom. But considering its only once every four years and I have a great group of co-workers to do this with, it's not really a big deal. This year's theme was Star Wars, and so we definitely had some fun with it! (Prom photos below)

There was some academic stuff going on this week, it wasn't all just prom and games! In my Ethics class, I had a guest speaker who discussed nursing and medical ethics. My friend Sara Casey has visited my class for a couple of years now and she always does a nice job of portraying ethics in the medical field and providing interesting stories for my students. The students asked great questions and we all learned a lot!

In my Psychology class we have been discussing consciousness and played the game "The Exquisite Corpse" to illustrate the potential of the unconscious and different ways people have tried to tap into it.

My AP classes have been wrapping up content in an attempt to prepare for the AP exams about to unfold. In my Honors US History class we started planning a Memorial Day Assembly to honor the sacrifice of two local soldiers killed in World War Two. My students learned about PFC Harvey Madore of Augusta and Captain Joseph Berry of Wayne. Now they will plan a brief but impactful assembly for the school to tell their story and honor their sacrifice. This is connected to my participation in the Understanding Sacrifice program and my summer trip to Europe to visit the graves of these Fallen Heroes. I look forward to this great experience!

The next big event will be the Model UN Conference in Boston. This will happen on May 13. This year we are taking 22 students to Northeastern University to participate. We are representing Russia, Qatar, and Togo. We travel farther than any other school, most are pretty local to Boston. Unfortunately they are now only running the Conference one day to better accommodate those schools even though it now becomes a bit less of a good investment for us as a result. We will be thinking about how well this goes and maybe looking at alternate plans in the future or rethinking how to do this conference. Either way, our students should do well, have fun, and hopefully learn a lot!

I find myself with mixed feelings as I definitely enjoy the warm and sunny weather, but also dread the malaise that inevitably comes from my students as a result. 32 days left!

7 Weeks to the finish line!

As I type this we are on break. April break tends to be the best break of the year. In the Fall, when the weather is decent, we have no more than a 3 day weekend to enjoy it. The other breaks during the year have a lot of snow and cold weather associated with them. Even though we do sometimes get snow in April, the break that includes the Patriots' Day Holiday is usually late enough in the month that you get some really warm days and sun! Spring is a great time of year anyway, so when you mix in the optimism of Spring, April really is the best break!

This year break is well timed for me personally. After having surgery on March 7, I returned for one day on April 1st, then 3 days the next week, and 4 days the week before break. This sets me up for what should be a full time return next week and being back to "normal" in general! Other than some issues with scar tissue and my body's "plumbing" adjusting, recovery has gone very well. I 'm optimistic that by summer it will be as if I never had diverticulitis or the surgery.

When I return, half of my students will be preparing for AP exams. Students in AP Psychology and AP US History will be finishing with the content of what is needed and reviewing for these exams. My students already get Dual Enrollment College Credit from Thomas College for these classes, but they could also get credit for doing well on the exam. Once that's over, they have a final project to work on to finish up the year.

(Generic test takers)

Just before break I had a guest speaker in my Ethics class. One of my former students, Ethan Buuck, is a Game Warden and lives in the District. Ethan has come each semester to talk Law Enforcement and ethics around hunting and fishing. Ethan has been featured on the Animal Planet TV Show "North Woods Law". The students really enjoy hearing his stories and his perspective! After break, my friend Sara Casey will be speaking about medical ethics from her perspective as a nurse.

Also before break, my US History class had a guest speaker. Bob Madore is the son of PFC Harvey Madore who was killed in Germany in World War Two. Over the last 6 months I have been researching PFC Madore to tell his story. Bob has worked with me and provided me with pictures and letters. Both of us learned more about what happened to his Dad than either one of us knew before. The students were thrilled to learn about Harvey who grew up nearby in Augusta and gave his life at such a young age. As a result of my research, we discovered that Harvey qualified for the Bronze Star. I gave Bob the information and he applied for this award for his Dad. We were pleased to find the US Government issued the award along with a Purple Heart (which he had already received back in 1945) and two other medals. Bob brought these along to share with the students. Harvey is buried at Epinal American Cemetery in France and I will be visiting his grave this summer. My students will be planning a Memorial Day Assembly to honor PFC Madore and also another local solider buried in Italy, Captain Joseph Berry of Wayne, ME. This Assembly will be the focus of much of our work after break.

(Purple Heart)

(Bronze Star)

(Bob speaking to my students about his Dad)

(Bob Madore)

I am a Junior Advisor this year, so that means the Prom is right around the corner. One of my least favorite activities has actually become more tolerable as change has occurred over the years. Gone are the days of hours of decorating and preparation. Not only was that unreasonable, in my opinion, but it ended up being such a waste as things were thrown out after. Starting with our last Prom four years ago and continuing this year, we have held the Prom at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta. Very little decorating is necessary or desired. Having said that, the theme this year is "Star Wars" so I know there will be some decorations related to that.

After the Prom I will be thinking about Model UN. We will take 22 students in grades 9-12 to the Model United Nations Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA as we have done each year for the least 12 years. The United Nations Association of Greater Boston sponsors the event. Students are excitedly composing position papers and preparing to represent either Russia, Qatar, or Togo on a variety of topics. It should be a lot of fun, plus Boston in May is always wonderful!

I was finally able to meet with the Maine Council for Social Studies Board for the first time in 3 months in April. I have been participating through email, but nothing can replicate the face-to-face meeting. We are planning the Fall Conference to be held in Augusta at the Civic Center on November 10th. I hope to give a presentation based on the lesson I'm creating related to my research on PFC Madore and Understanding Sacrifice. We also have a top-notch guest speaker who will be familiar to any History teacher and maybe to others? For now, I will keep it a secret!

I am looking forward to the last 7 weeks of the school year and finally feeling good!

Back in the Groove!

Well after being out for a month, I returned to school! About 4 weeks ago I had surgery to remove a 10 inch portion of my colon to try and resolve recurring diverticulitis infections. The surgery went well, and my recovery did as well. I have no pain or discomfort although i still need to avoid lifting very much or bending over too far for another month. But all things considered, I'm pleased and basically healed up!

It was fun to return and have my colleagues and students so happy to see me. My sub was terrific, and everything I heard from students and colleagues confirmed this! It was definitely less stressful for me to have a very sub managing things for me while I was out. I did nothing the first week, but I spent several hours the last 3 weeks grading student work and addressing questions and changes in the plans, and my District credited me some time for this. I was also lucky enough to have two snow days while I was out and so I didn't lose those two sick days.

(Beautiful "get well" plant from my co-workers!)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

(Part of a car from my co-workers)

Also while I was out I continued to work on the "Understanding Sacrifice" program. I made progress in my research on Fallen Hero Harvey Madore and in the development of my lesson plan. May will be a big month for us in this program as we need to have things in place to make the best use of our trip in July. We have received our itinerary for July and I included it below. There is still a long time to go before our trip, but I am already looking forward to it!

Our Itinerary July 9-22 Rome to Brussels...

This project will be introduced to my students this week. Not only will they learn about Harvey Madore, but his son Bob will visit to talk about his father. My students will then plan an Assembly to be timed for Memorial Day in which Madore and another local Fallen Hero, Captain Joseph F. Berry, will be remembered. We will use these stories to learn about World War Two.

Before I went out I had spent some time as part of the Social Studies Community Teacher-Leader Group. This group has come together to promote Social Studies in Maine schools. Unfortunately Social Studies has been pushed to the back-burner amid the STEMification of the curriculum in schools around the state and across the country (Many articles of late have been written on this subject). In an effort to reinvigorate Social Studies education we are putting together workshops around teaching Social Studies. Eighteen teachers from around the state will put on these sessions at a State Social Studies Symposium to be held on June 29th at my school. This week I piloted my session before 12 Elementary School teachers from my district. My wife, who teaches 2nd grade, helped me plan it and even tried it out with her students so we had video of her students learning about the difference between Primary and Secondary sources. It was really interesting to work with my wife for the first time, and I also found it interesting to try and think in the Elementary School world for a while. I appreciated the teachers who were basically my "guinea pigs" and I really look forward to doing it again at the Symposium in June. Due to my family commitments and surgery I have missed the last few meetings of the Maine Council for the Social Studies, but I know this group is one of the sponsors of the Symposium as well. I am anxious for our next meeting and to continue my work with this great group dedicated to Social Studies education!

I teach two different AP classes and those exams are in early May. This means that much attention needs to be paid between now and then to help them prepare for the exams. Luckily they get dual enrollment credit from Thomas College for achieving a "C" in the class, but the exam gives them a chance to earn more college credit. It's a stressful few weeks for them, but it's also a sign that the year is nearing the end!

Two of my Social Studies colleagues were very helpful to me while I was out! Typically I run a Model UN simulation to help students prepare for the annual Conference at Northeastern University in Boston, MA. However, due to the surgery I was unable to do this so my colleagues ran it for me! This gave the students a chance to practice the process and I really appreciate my colleagues helping out! The actual conference is May 13th in Boston.

Two weeks until April vacation and I hope I will be caught up from my absence by the time its over!