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Teacheron2wheels

In today’s world of advanced technology, classrooms come in all different shapes, sizes, and formats.  For the 2013-14 school year, my classroom will be the world, spanning approximately the 24,000 kilometers I plan to cycle during the next 14 months.  I plan to visit schools along my route, working and talking with students around the world.  I will be a teacher on 2 wheels.  If I'm cycling through your area and you'd like me to visit your school please contact me.

  

 

Grade 2 Visit: American School of Milan
The American School of Milan, Milan, Italy. September 2013

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My first school visit of my trip brought me to The American School of Milan, where a colleague of mine from BFIS now works teaching Grade 2.  The school year had just begun and students were still learning their routines, but they welcomed me just the same.  I talked with them and then worked on some pictographs using the bike as a topic of conversation and inquiry.  We learned about all the different places they ride their bikes.  Thank you Angela Roberts and Michael Hibbeln for making this visit possible.    

My Project

This will be the first year that I don’t have my own classroom since I started teaching and the thought is daunting.  As much as I want to carry out my adventure, teaching fulfills me and it’s part of my identity.  Therefore, my adventure wouldn’t be complete if it didn’t include some element of teaching.  Granted my bike trip is a life experience that will most definitely impact the way I interact with my students in the future, I also plan to visit schools along my route, sharing and working with students around the world.

 

I will be posting my biking statistics, sharing data from my trip, and travel experiences along the way.  My hope is that this section of my website can be used by teachers in their classroom in different subject areas to make more meaningful connections with learning in our everyday life.  Cycling in itself is a topic that naturally lends to a lot of great inquiry, classroom discussions, and activities.  Please share with me any activities you might be doing with my website, I'd love to see them.

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Please spread the word about me, "The Teacher on 2 Wheels" to any teachers you may know!  Thank you!

Recent Classroom Visits

Benjamin Franklin International School

The Benjamin International School, Barcelona, Spain. June 2013

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Before departing, I talked with the lower elementary students at BFIS about my trip.  I brought my bike, we looked at a globe, and shared biking experiences.  It was a great way to prepare for classroom visits during my trip.  The kids had all sorts of questions for me as well, which helped me think about how I could organize my school visits along my route.   

International School of Treviso

The International School of Treviso, Treviso, Italy. September 2013

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I was extremely curious to see the International School of Treviso and the IB Primary Years Program.  I was able to talk with both year 2 and year 3 students who will do a Around the World unit later on in the year and use my website to learn about different countries they study where I cycle.  Thank you Rebecca Goswell, The IB Coordinator for organizing my visit.

Udine International School
Udine International School, Udine, Italy. September 2013

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I had an incredibly warm welcome at the Udine International School.  All elementary school was outside waiting to greet me including the local newspaper.  I presented at a general assembly and then visited each of the classrooms from grade 1 through grade 5.  Students had prepared a lot of questions for me as well as other students around the world.  I will be bringing their letters wiith me and delivering them to students in different countries.  What a great idea!  Thank you Matthew Conn and Jamie Ballard for making this visit possible.  

The American Intl. School of Zagreb
American International School of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia. September 2013

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My visit to AISZ coincided with a rainy day, a perfect day for a school visit!  The kids gathered in the auditorium to welcome me with a general assembly.  From there I went and visited all the classrooms from Kindergarten to 5th grade.  Again thez had a lot of great questions and were curious to hear about my trip.  Kinder and first grade students drew some neat biczcle pictures for me and other students were eager to correspond with students from the Udine Intl. School.  Thank you AISZ and Sandra House for organizing my visit!    

QSI Sarajevo
Quality International School of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. October 2013

 

​After a week of riding in the rain and cold weather, I was happy to arrive at QSI Sarajevo, where a fellow Oregonian director and her staff welcomed me!  QSI Sarajevo is a small international school with a diverse population because of all the embassies in the capital.  I talked with the elementary kids in the morning, visited a few classrooms, ate lunch with students and even talked with the Middle and High School students, a first for me.

  

KSl Montenegro
Knightsbridge Schools International Montenegro, Trivat, Montenegro. October 2013

 

The Knightsbridge Schools International Montenegro was the second IB school I’ve visited.  It is great to see inquiry-based learning in action!  Year 1 & 2 students were learning about a balanced lifestyle and had plenty of suggestions for me.  I talked a bit about my trip with all the students grades K -10 and had question and answer sessions with each.  They had prepared a lot of thoughtful questions.  The questions that made me think and reflect the most included how I keep myself motivated during the difficult times and what special routines I have in order to accommodate my new life on a bike. I was even interviewed by the local radio station Thank you Corinne Gerling for organizing my visit and Pat Moore for thinking of me at your new school!

  

QSI Tirana
Quality International School of Tirana, Tirana, Albania. October 2013

 

​After a week of riding in the rain and cold weather, I was happy to arrive at QSI Sarajevo, where a fellow Oregonian director and her staff welcomed me!  QSI Sarajevo is a small international school with a diverse population because of all the embassies in the capital.  I talked with the elementary kids in the morning, visited a few classrooms, ate lunch with students and even talked with the Middle and High School students, a first for me.

  

Nova Schools International
Nova International Schools, Skopje, Macedonia. October 2013

 

​My visit at Nova coincided with my birthday, which I was able to celebrate with director Cindy Gold and her husband the night of my arrival.  The following morning, I talked before the ES students at an assembly.  To change things up, they timed me setting up my tent on the stage and students sang me happy birthday upon finishing my talk.  Following the assembly I had several small group question and answer sessions so that I could interact with them in a more intimate setting.  Thank you Cindy Gold for reaching out to me while I was on the road.  It was a memorable visit!

  

ASK Kosovo
The American School of Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo. October 2013

 

I took a big leap out of my comfort zone to visit and talk with students at ASK.  My target audience up until now has been elementary students grades, Kinder through fifth, but at ASK I spoke only to middle and high school students.  To my surprise my talk went well and I added a slide show and a longer question and answer session.  My visit to ASK also included an interview with the local television station.  Again, I’m not especially comfortable in front of the tv, but I managed.  Thank you Laura Hillman for organizing my visit!

  

ILG Kosovo

The International Learning Group, Pristina, Kosovo.  October 2013.

 

On the road into Kosovo, the director and her family happen to stop their car and cheer me on as they were coming home from a long weekend in Greece.  Then 10 kilometers later, another family, and my host, found me on the road and also stopped to give me some extra support.  In a nut shell, that describes the ILG community: warm, caring, and truly international!  I felt right at home at ILG.  My audience at the ILG assembly included students from PreK through 4th grade as well as parents.  Afterwards, I even got to visit with the age 2 and 3 classrooms.  All the students had prepared drawings of bikes for me, which was wonderful, I now have enough drawings to send home, where they will await my arrival.  Thank you Erica Meadows and Maury and Andrew Wray Bridges for taking such great care of me in Kosovo!

MEF Istanbul

MEF International Schools Istanbul, Istanbul, Turkey. October 2013.

 

Sometimes the most challenging part of a school visit is getting there.  MEF has an amazing campus (with a lot of stairs) just north of Taksim square.  Once I managed to arrive and get my bike up to the primary campus, I was able to talk with the primary students in a general assembly and then visited some specific classrooms whose current PYP unit was relevant to my bike trip.  Kindergarten was studying materials and we had a great interactive talk about all the different materials on my bike and the bike itself! Thanks to Donna Cox and Michael Keppler for helping organize my visit.

 

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