Global Campus Bradford Hosts Community Connections Conference

On Monday February 7th, Global Campus Bradford hosted a Community Connections Conference at Grace Methodist church in Bradford, VT. This conference was created with the intention of introducing our campus to the community of Bradford, sharing the creative work we are all engaged in and making new friends and connections.

The core group was there first thing in the morning to get everything set up and ready to go. The room was beautiful with campus displays, photographs, past catalogs, and information about all the different campuses in Vermont and Thailand. As folks came in they received a program and name badge. Next they shook hands and were formally greeted by the core group. A beautiful dessert spread with coffees and teas was available for folks to enjoy at their leisure.

Promptly at 12:30, Robin presented the keynote welcome address. Audience members were then invited downstairs to enjoy an hour of teaching presentations. Robin, Shawn, and Robert taught in one classroom while Jeannie, Valorie and Scott presented in another. The classes were fantastic and everyone was quite impressed!

After the teaching presentations we all came back upstairs into the large gathering room to participate in a panel discussion. Shawn, Robin, Patrick, Scott, Robert, Val, Jeannie, Lorraine, and Jim were all on the panel with Andreas moderating. First everyone shared how Global Campus has affected their lives and then we all had a chance to share how we thought Global Campus has benefited our community. The audience was eager to jump in and we had a great question and answer session to round out the afternoon. After a big round of applause for the tremendous successes of the day, the audience had the chance to browse our displays and talk with the core group while enjoying the last of the desserts.

The conference was a tremendous success and all the campus participants are very proud of their hard work and accomplishments. What an impressive event, congratulations and thank you to everyone who participated!

GC Randolph and GC Chiang Mai Initiate Pen Pal Experience!

In the Fall of 2010, Global Campus Randolph faculty Rena Haevers presented a class on Pen Pals. As part of her class she asked everyone to write a letter to Global Campus Chiang Mai. GC Randolph participants just received their first response from half-way around the world featuring letters and photographs from participants at GC Chiang Mai. They were thrilled to receive the letters and learn more about the campus participants in Thailand. Everyone wrote back immediately, sharing more about themselves and the huge winter snowstorm we just received! What a wonderful new relationship sparked by Rena's class, congratulations!

GC Moretown Explores the World!

Global Campus begins by the ritual passing of the feathered pine stick that starts every class. Each person shares a little bit about their current agenda and plans for the future. Andreas, our Academic Coordinator, went to the library for our class project. For this project we are supposed to select a country we would like to visit and then choose a book that has stories and descriptions of that country. Once introductions are over, people dive into research on their topic countries, deciding how they are going to present their projects. Each person picks something unique to their own interests then by formulating a common goal of sharing compiled information about a specified place. We not only learn about our countries but inform others as well.

By Lee Willsey Potter, GC Moretown Participant

Thailand Missive #2

Hello to Global Campuses in Vermont,

I heard you’ve had quite the snowy few weeks! I hope you are able to enjoy the winter weather. It’s winter in Thailand as well and it’s about 80 degrees. At night it falls to about 65 degrees. All the locals here are very cold – they wear coats and scarves at night and complain about the weather. They are very interested to see photos of snow and think that they would not like winter in Vermont. One of the participants asked questions about wheelchairs in the snow – how do they move?

Last Sunday, Global Campuses Foundation had a meeting at a local hot spring. GCF has been working with the hot spring park for about a year in order to make it more accessible to people with disabilities. Before GCF began work with the park, people in wheelchairs could not use the facilities and it was difficult to walk around the park if you were not in good shape. Now, after many meetings and some construction, the park is accessible to wheelchairs. They are working on building guardrails on the hot springs so that more people will be able to get in and out of the hot springs.

The hot springs have become a big tourist attraction for people living in Chiang Mai. The park has long rivers of hot spring water that people dip their feet into. There are also sections where people can take baths or swim. A popular thing to do at the park is boil eggs in the hot springs. One section of the water is 100 degrees Celsius – perfect for boiling eggs. Outside the park, we bought straw baskets filled with speckled bird eggs and chicken eggs. Inside the park, we boiled the eggs in the baskets by putting them in the boiling hot spring water. We ate the eggs with soy sauce – mmmm!

Yesterday, I visited with Global Campus San Sai. The campus has about thirty campus participants and they met at the town building in San Sai. Volunteers from the village come to the campus to help with setting up the classroom and serving lunch. Lunch has been served at every campus meeting I’ve attended – I’m not sure if we could do that in Vermont! The campus does not meet weekly like we do in VT. But they want to get together more often and have lots of ideas for things they could do. While I was there, they were talking about a trip to the hot springs mentioned above. I told the group about the campuses in VT and all that you’ve accomplished in your Fall Terms.

I wish you my best and will see you soon.

Signing off from Thailand!

Amy Miller, GCF Academic Coordinator

Thailand Missive #1

Hello to Global Campuses in Vermont!

I am very excited to be in Thailand – I have been here for about a week now. I was greeted at the airport by Ka, GCF’s Regional Director in Southeast Asia, Non, Director of GC Chiang Mai, and Phakob, Director Global Campus San Sai. To welcome me, they put a necklace of jasmine flowers around my neck and greeted me with the traditional Sa Wa Dee Ka , or in Non’s case, Sa Wa Dee Krap, because he is male. I know many of you are familiar with that phrase. Jasmine flowers are often used as offerings in Buddhist temples and to pay respect. They smell amazing!

I have been busy getting to know the campuses here. Like in Vermont, the campus meets as a group for classes and meetings. They also go on many field trips and visit Thai historical sites in order to advocate for people with disabilities. Walking around Thailand, one might notice that many buildings do not have ramps for wheel chairs or accessible ways to enter the building. Part of Global Campuses Foundation’s mission in Thailand is to promote accessibility and equal opportunity for people with disabilities.

Global Campus participants in Thailand have learned to become great advocates for themselves. I have met three women in wheel chairs at the campus who all drive motorcycles. They have attached a sidecar to the motorcycle and wired the handlebars so that the bike can be driven from the sidecar. The sidecar has a ramp so the wheel chair can get into the car. The bike can take a passenger as well – the passenger sits on the motorcycle but does not drive. Khun Oo, one of these women, has opened a very successful jewelry business at one of Chiang Mai’s many markets. She makes necklaces and bracelets out of copper and entwines beads with the metal, looping the wire around the beads to make beautiful designs.

I am enjoying visiting many of Chiang Mai’s markets. The markets sell all types of goods, ranging from fresh fruits and vegetables, meats, spices, desserts, clothes, shoes, accessories, household supplies – you name it! It is neat to see all these things sold outside, not in supermarkets like we have in the USA.

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of your Winter Interim studies. In keeping with your theme, I’ve included some pictures of myself in some mysterious places… You all know I’m in Thailand, but can you guess where I am or what I’m doing in these photos?

I wish you all the best and look forward to catching up with you soon!

Amy Miller, GCF Academic Coordinator

Vermont Academic Coordinator Visits Thai Campuses!

Greetings from Chiang Mai, Thailand! It is a great honor to be visiting Global Campus Southeast Asia and some of the participants from Global Campus Chiang Mai, Global Campus San Sai and Global Campus Nan.

English Class was my first introduction to the campus. The campus meets in a house in Chiang Mai and participants sit in a circle with notebooks and looking at a white board. Around the campus I can see framed Certificates, campus flags and photographs of the campus’ achievements.. The group meets weekly to practice English and is led by one of the Global Campus participants, who is fluent in English. We began class by reading some of the letters sent to Thailand by Global Campus Randolph. The class was working on their responses to these letters and asked for my help in proofreading and editing. Global Campus Randolph can look forward to letters coming soon –the letters will include pictures of GC Chiang Mai participants.

After working on the letters, I asked the group to share a bit about their interests – in English, of course! We practiced saying the phrase, “I am interested in…” and then went over some vocabulary words as they came up in discussion. The group has a diverse set of interests including farming, reading, bicycling, making jewelry, and cooking. After class, the group orders lunch together – take out from a food stall down the road. We sat around an outside table eating foods such as Pad Thai – fried noodles with egg and chili, Kao Klog Ka Pre – rice with shrimp paste, Hao Tom Ba – fish soup, or Pat See You – fried noodles with soy sauce. The noodle dishes are served with packets of chili and sugar to add more flavor to the dishes. Everything is delicious!

Many of the Global Campus Chiang Mai and San Sai participants do not come to the campus every week. In some cases, it is difficult for people to get out of their house or find transportation to the campus. To make sure all participants feel included, the group has set up a home-visit program. We spent a full day visiting participants in their homes and encouraging them to get out of the house and into the community. Ka, GCF’s Regional Director in Southeast Asia, spoke with the participants about how to advocate for themselves. Many were worried that they would be a burden to their families if they went into the community, as they would have to ask others for help. Ka brought with her an informational video about how to improve accessibility in the home and the community.

On Sundays, the city of Chiang Mai is famous for its Night Market. Non, the Director of Global Campus Chiang Mai, took me to the market to walk around and explore Thai culture. The market has a section devoted specifically for people with disabilities to sell handicrafts and many of the campus participants have set up booths. Many of the GC Chiang Mai participants spend a lot of time at a place called, The House of Potentiality, which is a cooperative craft facility for people with disabilities to use. They have learned to make jewelry, metal work, leatherwork and recently soap. A few of the participants the crafts at the night market to make some extra money. I watched Khun Oo, one of the GC Chiang Mai participants make jewelry at the market. Using copper wire and beads she curls the wire around pliers to make little loops and then adds beads. Her handiwork is beautiful and very unique.

The campus has many events planned while I’m here in Thailand. It is fun to meet the campus participants and learn about Thai culture and disability culture. Every day I learn something new! Best wishes to the GCF community and I look forward to telling more stories when I return.

Amy Miller, Academic Coordinator, Global Campuses Foundation

GC Moretown Kicks of Winter Interim 2011!

Global Campus Moretown kicked off an exciting Winter Interim this afternoon, exploring the world through story, legend and myth. Andreas shared a few stories orally and then Allison and Roy each read a story while Andreas acted it out in three dimensions with a puppet show. We heard tales from Sweden, Ghana, Vietnam, and from the Pueblo nation of the American dessert southwest. This is what GC Moretown Lee Potter wrote about the day:

Global Campus starts with the ritual passing of the feathered pine stick for a turn to voice each persons passing of time and stories of the New Year. While most of us were glad the holidays were over, there were some that wished the festivities had not ended, and new snow had not come. After everyone had shared we moved on to reading stories that explored the different abstract qualities of life, such as freedom, true love, and the inevitable flaws held within every person. The last story tells of deceit and survival of the fittest from Sweden and America and the path to becoming a man and growing up.

By Lee Willsey Potter, GC Moretown Participant

Meet Susana Sanders – Long time GCF Supporter

So what do a math teacher in Bisbee, Arizona, and Global Campuses Foundation have in common? A passion for teaching through empowerment – and for encouraging learners to do as much as they can on their own. That passion is why Susana Sanders has been a long time financial supporter of Global Campuses Foundation.

She met Jim & Sheryl Tewksbury when the Global Campuses concept was just a vision. She has been inspired by the GCF philosophy ever since, and has keep close contact with the evolution of Global Campuses to its current day reality – four campuses in Thailand and seven in Vermont. As a fellow academic, Susana enjoys comparing learning approaches in her classroom with those that emerge at GCF campuses.

Susana has had many global experiences in her own life, beginning with Peace Corp travels to places like Africa, Asia and Latin America. She loves hearing Jim & Sheryl’s stories of Thailand and describes them as magical. She is continually amazed by the transformative experiences at all the campuses.

She views her donation as “a great bargain”. She knows how far a modest amount of money can go when it is supporting GCF. Susana contributes monthly through an automatic funds transfer arrangement. She used to write a check each month but thinks the new method is wonderful. “It has been fantastic – I don’t notice the money each month and I don’t have to do anything! GCF can count on a set amount – I feel I’m contributing to a stable funding stream.”

Susana’s recommendation to others considering supporting GCF: Visit a campus, either in Vermont or even in Thailand. Anyone who does this will want to get involved and support this positive work! “It is so moving to know the difference you can make in people’s lives.”

To make a donation to GCF, please visit our website at www.globalcampuses.org

To learn more about a monthly contribution plan, please contact us at info@globalcampuses.org

GC Hardwick Celebrates Fall Term!

Global Campus Hardwick began the Fall Term sitting outside at Greensboro Bend Church learning to tell stories about their lives and personal histories. This Our Stories unit inspired the group to share story-telling techniques, which evolved throughout the term into in-depth personal stories. Chris decided to use video to tell the story of his work at Applecheek Farm. A film of his daily work was recorded and shared with the class. Annie created posters of her life and favorite activities. She cut out magazine pictures to describe some of her habits and what she likes to do. The Our Story theme will continue to weave throughout the curriculum in Winter Interim and Spring Term 2011.

Midway through Fall Term, after the campus numbers grew to twenty-two participants, Global Campus Hardwick decided they had outgrown the space at Greensboro Bend Church. The group settled on a new space at the Greensboro Fellowship Hall, which has a large common area, kitchen and dance floor! The group was sad to leave Greensboro Bend, where they have many memories, but the new space fits well with the campus dynamic.

Global Campus Hardwick began a new routine of creating their Campus Seminar agendas as a group before class. The group takes turns leading the campus and the leader writes the agenda onto a white board. The campus is very vocal and often spends a lot of time talking during Campus Seminar, thus cutting into their class time. We discussed whether to add more time to the seminar or to continue to cut ourselves off after a half an hour of discussion. The group decided to keep the discussions short, when possible!

Global Campus Hardwick took their course offerings to a new level this term. People often commented after a class that the faculty had used many new teaching methods and created an innovative class, fun for everyone. Amanda’s Zumba Class got everyone out of their seats and dancing. Amanda goes to Zumba class twice a week and had spent the term designing her own dance workout to share with the class. Another dance class, Connor taught the group to Contra dance. He walked everyone through a few steps and then shared a step that he had made up on his own. Helen and Tina brought in evergreen and wire for the group to create holiday wreathes. People shared that they loved the hands-on creativity of this class. Olivia’s Genealogy workshop allowed everyone to start a family tree. Parker shared about one of his favorite Beatles songs, Here Comes the Sun. As he played the song, the whole group began to sing, and people commented that his class had been relaxing and soothing. Seth and Jared arranged a field trip to the Wolcott Town Hall to walk the group through the process of voting. The campus voted Jared as Governor and Seth as Lieutenant Governor.

This term was packed with classes, so much so that it prompted discussion of whether to have some classes on different days of the week. The group is still discussing this idea, but holds fast to their love of Tuesdays. Looking ahead to Winter Interim, the group will study a Where in the World theme that incorporates stories from around the world. The campus will look at stories, myths and fables, as well as pictures and cultural facts from different countries. There will be an air of mystery to this term as the groups try to guess Where in the World these stories are from.

GC St. Johnsbury Celebrates Fall Term!

This has been an exciting semester for Global Campus St. Johnsbury! Fall Term 2010 began with lots of new faces at Global Campus St. Johnsbury. The meeting room at Springfield College was packed with people and busy with excitement. This fall, the group delved into a unit on Our Stories, where campus participants practiced telling stories and personal histories about their lives. Using digital recorders, storyboards and artwork, they told stories about their favorite childhood memories or about where they live or about inspirational people in their lives. This unit was emotional for many people. We discussed that the campus is a safe place for participants to share about their histories and that people need-not feel obligated to share stories that are difficult to tell. There were a few tears as people shared about parents or loved ones who had passed away. There were also many laughs.

The Our Stories unit sparked a discussion about creating a Global Campus St. Johnsbury film. Josh had made a film about his experiences at St. Johnsbury Academy and suggested that Global Campus St. Johnsbury might like to do something similar. The campus decided to create a film that told the story of Global Campus St. Johnsbury and what it is like to participate at the campus. The group began working with filmmaker Scott Miller on a documentary film project. Using five cameras, participants learned to shoot video footage and create video stories about their campus. The Campus Staff used a storyboard to discuss what type of shots to add to the film and what they want to show to their audience. Campus participants also worked on their own with the cameras, filming things that are important to them outside of the campus. The film was invited to present at the Green Mountain Film Festival in St. Johnsbury on April 1, 2, 3. The group is very excited for the opportunity to present their work and share about their Global Campus.

Global Campus St. Johnsbury participants took their campus to a new level this term preparing classes and working on new projects. Josh’s class, The Fantasy of Knights and Dragons, demonstrated many innovative teaching methods. Josh shared that he had been working on his class for over two months, making posters, practicing and designing packets for the class. David and Samantha’s Music and Art to Express your Feelings class opened up a new thought process for many participants. David shared that art can be relaxing and can open your mind to think and create. We saw many interesting artistic creations while listening to music. Michelle invited the group to try meditation. She demonstrated the process of meditating and shared different techniques to clear the mind and relax with meditation.

A highpoint of the term was Phil and Neal’s Talent – No – Talent Show. Many participants prepared acts of talent (or no talent) to present in front of the group. Phil and Neal arranged the room into a theater, invited guests from Springfield College, NKHS and GCF, and designed a program listing the acts. Jessica was invited to be Master of Ceremonies and she created a script that welcomed the group and introduced each act with a witty, innovative line. The group had lots of fun watching each other dance, play instruments, sing songs, recite readings, and play games. The hosts, Phil and Neal, marched in the Harmonica Marching Band as one of the acts. The show was lots of fun, and may become an annual event.

Looking ahead to Winter Interim, the group will study a Where in the World theme that incorporates stories from around the world. The campus will look at stories, myths and fables, as well as pictures and cultural facts from different countries. There will be an air of mystery to this term as the groups try to guess Where in the World these stories are from.