Each quarter the students work on a special interdisciplinary project. The consensus among the teachers is that their favorite and most successful quarter project is the "World Travel Project." Students work in groups of four, guiding their fictitious character across the world, stopping at at least twelve different countries on six different continents. Responsibilities include keeping a journal of the character's daily adventures, keeping monetary ledgers of travel, souvenir, food and lodging expenses, and describing important cultural highlights of each place visited--all while staying within a budget of $50,000.00! This project incorporates social studies, language arts, geography, mathematics, research and computer skills. The students themselves truly enjoy this project. We haven't heard one complaint yet!
Rick Hartley Lynn Keim Elizabeth Camp Kirk Murray Holly Moffett The Kids
Rick Hartley
Rick Hartley is B1's Family Leader. His understanding of middle school kids is that because they are so close to maturity, it gets in their way of learning. Rick does all he can to make lessons unusual and creative enough that students can "put away their emotional distractions and learn."
Rick's first career choice was not always to become a teacher. He had intended to carry a gun and chase criminals, but the FBI has rigorous stipulations regarding applicant's vision. Rick realized his not quite 20/20 vision would be a problem, so he decided midway through college to change his major in criminal justice to education. I'm sure his students thank him for that!
This San Diego native spends his out of school hours creating all kinds of things out of wood. He loves to "work with tools and turn stacks of lumber into something useful."
Rick Hartley's most memorable unit is representative of his innovative approach to teaching. Before teaching at O'Farrell, he and his 6th grade class decided that the social studies text they were using was monotonous and practically useless. Instead they chose to make up their own social studies. As Rick describes it, "the only thing we kept was the revolution of the planet. We started out with the rotation and worked from there to make a world. There were countries to be made, people to create, religions to organize, economies to manipulate, wars to be managed, education to be considered, a calendar to create, money to sustain, world economics, and more. We pretty much made a world. After everything was in place, each child had to run a particular country."
Lynn Keim
Lynn Keim has her own beliefs regarding middle school students which shape the way she teaches. "Middle school students need an environment that does not treat them like small children but fosters a sense of responsibility and maturity toward academics and social life. The middle school should also keep from treating students as though they were adults because they are not, yet."
Lynn is from Hilo, Hawaii, and lived there until her freshman year of college when she moved to Colorado. Originally a journalism major, then an art major, she went into teaching "almost by accident." After moving to San Diego in 1987 and changing majors again to liberal studies, Lynn discovered her love for the classroom when visiting her cousin in Los Angeles, who is a veteran teacher. Lynn was able to work in the classroom, and soon after made the decision to became a teacher.
Lynn is a super-dedicated educator, always looking to buy more books for her class library and searching for new methods and ideas to be even more effective with her students. Her other hobbies (besides collecting books) include martial arts, target shooting, cooking, and spending time with her husband and dog.
I asked how O'Farrell's flexibility as a charter school makes it easier to achieve goals as a teacher. Lynn's response makes evident the benefits of a charter school and site-based management. "As a charter school, we are financially able to change the ways in which money is used, to benefit students. One of these ways is by being able to hire teachers who want to teach and be innovative while doing it. Another is freeing up money in some categories which can be used for another category where there is a need."
"It's also possible to look at being a charter school from the standpoint of curriculum and structure. By becoming a charter school, I think we're more able to be flexible about what we teach and how we teach it. As long as we follow what is written in our charter and can prove that we are accountable, we can do it. This is not possible in many other, more traditional schools."
Lynn's favorite lesson that has worked well and been interesting for the students is her "Egypt Project." Students build a model of a pyramid, sarcophagus or boat. They then write a page comparing their model to the original found in Egypt, and present their work to the class. This incorporates their skills as creator/builders, researchers, writers and presenters. 1995's Egypt unit will include mummifying a chicken. We are looking forward to that...
Originally from Rochester, New York, Elizabeth moved to Southern California at age seven. She has done all of her college work in Southern California including time at the University of California, Irvine, San Diego State University and Point Loma Nazarene College. Going back in time, she says that she really liked her 4th, 5th and 6th grade teachers--a factor which likely influenced her to go into the field of teaching.
Outside of school she likes to dance. Right now she's taking lessons to improve her jitterbug, swing and tap. You might also find her baking, reading or doing needlepoint when not working on school papers.
Elizabeth's favorite aspect of teaching at O'Farrell is the flexibility. "We can arrange our own schedule to suit us." Another aspect she really likes about O'Farrell is the existence of family support teachers. Family support teachers do not have their own classrooms, but teach for all the teachers in the family when they are needed.
Kirk grew up in San Diego and received his degree and credential in the San Diego area. Kirk went into the field of education because of a few teachers he had had as a youth who did not care what he did in school. With his own experience in mind, he is always trying to get through to the students who are "basically good, but tend to fall through the cracks due to lack of interest in school."
One can see Kirk before and after school chatting with students in the halls, seeming to know almost every student's name, giving high fives and complimenting kids. He is known for maintaining a unique rapport with all the students he works with.
One particular lesson that "stands out" in Kirk's mind for being particularly unusual and effective is a space/art lesson. This lesson works with students from Kindergarten through 8th grade by "bombarding their senses." Students finger paint in a darkened room with toothpaste, shaving cream and tempera paint. Kirk plays new age space music while moving about the room to spray ice water which mists students lightly. It is amazing to see how students become completely relaxed, mesmerized by all the sensations. The final project is a compilation of student work made into space module mobiles. The finished product is great, but it's the journey of this particular lesson that the kids really love.
I was born in California, though I lived five years in both Hawaii and Colorado before coming back to San Diego. I began as a drama major at the University of California, Irvine, then after one day's exposure to a humanities class, I switched my major to history. I studied one year in Madrid, Spain, which did not exactly raise my G.P.A., but did give me a lot of insight into another culture.
Upon graduating, I took a wrong turn and went into sales. Within five weeks I knew I would pursue what had always been in the back of my mind--teaching.
Outside of student-teaching and classes at S.D.S.U., I like running, writing and spending time with friends. So far this year there has not been very much free time for anything...
The O'Farrell experience is an amazing one, for more reasons than one. Unlike most student teachers, we do not spend just two class periods but almost the entire school day working with our "Guide Teachers." We have been able to see how a school functions in the course of a day. Also, because O'Farrell is a restructured charter school, we have seen innovative, dedicated teachers trying new things to reach more students more effectively. We have seen true interdisciplinary teaching and what it takes to pull it off. We have witnessed how "families" work. Students are more successful knowing they have the support system, stability and comfort a family offers.
I am looking forward to getting a job where I will have my own classroom and can begin this lifelong challenge. But until then, I still have a lot to learn from the students I see everyday, other teachers and my guide teacher (Lynn Keim), who has been an exceptional role model.
