Latest / Be A Global Citizen! / 198. Lisa McMillan Delehoy: Learning together and building trust with young learners

Transcript

198. Lisa McMillan Delehoy: Learning together and building trust with young learners · Be A Global Citizen!

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Hi there, and welcome to Be a Global Citizen, the podcast that
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explores the concept of global citizenship through the lens of
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value creating education. My name is Scott Bauer and I'm
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Ahsoka, researcher and educator. I hope you find the discussion,
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stories and insights on this podcast to be valuable and
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inspiring as we strive to become global citizens who are
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committed to living a contributive life.
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Enjoy. Hi, I'm Lisa McMillan Delahoy
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and I am currently based in Denver, Co.
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I am an early early childhood educator and a curriculum
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specialist. Hi Lisa, thank you so much for
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joining me on the podcast. Very excited to have you.
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It's always wonderful to see see good friends whom you know,
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we've had various different in person meetups.
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We're a part of similar circles, especially within soca.
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And yeah, just a lot of exciting projects on the horizon.
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And I'm fascinated by the work that that you do.
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You have such a wealth of experience in early childhood
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education and that is the one area for myself that I did not
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actually teach. I, I, I kind of, you know,
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started from middle school and high school, little bit of
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elementary school, but you know, in terms of like the, the real
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young and those little kiddos, I don't know, But I also know that
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that's like most foundational and also, I would say probably
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most important. So I'm excited to, to learn
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about your journey and what brought you to the work of being
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a kindergarten teacher And, and you're much more than that too.
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So, you know, excited to, to learn about where your interests
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are and kind of what you're aiming towards looking ahead.
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So wanted to pass the microphone over to you and have you share
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what some of the milestones of your journey have been and if
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you can share maybe any any particular influences that helps
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you in getting to where you are right now?
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Sure. So I graduated from Sophie
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University of America, same as you, but like long before you.
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And while I was a student there, I was really lucky.
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I, I had no idea what I wanted to do when I was in college, my,
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you know, as a liberal arts degree, I was studying
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humanities because why not? But I also studied Japanese.
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And so when I went to study abroad at Soka University in
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Japan, I'd say that was probably a first really big turning point
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for me. I grew up in the Soka Gakkai.
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So like I grew up Buddhist. I grew up with this philosophy
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of Soka. But you know, sometimes growing
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up in something you don't fully understand it.
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I think it's just something you do or something that is.
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And I think being there really helped me understand this word
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soca, this value creation. And I was so fortunate.
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I had many encounters with the founder of the Soca Institute's
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with Daisaku Ikeda. And he was somebody who of
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course I really respected. But in those encounters, I
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really, I feel like I was able to understand his heart and his
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love for students and his care for students.
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And I think that was a really big turning point for me to
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better understand like value creation education, and also
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just like the importance of education and of teachers and of
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having a mentor and all of those things.
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And so I think that was kind of a seed for me.
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Like I still didn't think I wanted to be a teacher, but like
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there is something really special about being an educator.
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That's when I started to feel that.
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But in the meantime, I fell in love with Japan and really
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wanted to go back. So after I graduated from SUA,
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like 2 weeks later, I moved to Japan and I went there to teach
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at an international preschool in kindergarten.
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The school's actually owned by my classmate's mother, so it was
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a really cool opportunity. They tried to hire a lot of the
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SUA graduates to kind of, you know, share the values of soca
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education. And so my class, I taught the
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youngest class there, there were two and three-year old kiddos
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and come in with no educational background, right?
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So like really these kids taught me, right?
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Like I was not only teaching English to little Japanese kids,
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but I was potty training them. They were still learning
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Japanese, so they were teaching me Japanese.
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Like it was a really crazy but very valuable experience.
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And I did that for two years. And in those two years I
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realized this is this is it. Like this is who I am.
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I love this. I love teaching.
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At that time, I wasn't 100% sure about the early childhood
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education. I, I didn't know if that was it
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for me, but I knew education was it.
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So after that I decided to further my education and I
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entered the Graduate School at Soca Universities called the
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International Language Education Program.
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And that was another crazy experience because I actually
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had wanted to go to the Graduate School at SUA, but right when I
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was about to apply, they closed it, the one in Calabasas.
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So I was pretty bummed. But then I read in the newspaper
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that they're opening this this new program at, at SUJ.
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And so I applied and I became a member of the second class of
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this program. And I was actually the first non
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Japanese student in the program. So in the meanwhile, in the two
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years I was working there, I was really working on studying
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Japanese and trying to improve my Japanese because like half of
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my classes in this Graduate School program were in Japanese.
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So that was something. But then I was really lucky
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while I was there. I, I think I got a really great
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education. The the lead professor of this
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program is was an amazing mentor.
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He was so kind and so helpful and ended up doing my, my thesis
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about early childhood education. And he was so cool because like,
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he didn't know any, not nothing, but he didn't know like that
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wasn't his area of specialty. So he actually went and did
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research to be able to help me through my thesis.
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So again, I was just really touched by like, what a teacher
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does for you, right? And then right when I was about
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to graduate, I'm so fortunate, Danny Hibuki, the former
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president of Soka University of America, asked me if I would
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like to teach at Soka Gakuen. And that was actually a dream of
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mine. So of course, I said yes.
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And so starting that following year, I was an English teacher
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at Soka High School in Tokyo. I did that for five years and
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that in and of itself, again, another amazing learning
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experience. Like I think learning from those
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students about what value creation is, what global
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citizenship is, which is amazing because these kids, probably
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most of them had never left Japan and I had travelled quite
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a bit by that point. But I was still learning so much
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about global citizenship from them, from their spirit, from
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their like seeking minds. They just wanted to know more
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and learn more. So I was so inspired by them.
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And I was also really fortunate to be able to help a lot of
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those students be able to go to SUA.
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So that felt like, you know, kind of giving back.
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That was pretty cool. So I did that for five years.
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And, you know, I have been in Japan for like 10 years at this
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point, and I was starting to feel kind of homesick.
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I was kind of ready to be closer to my family, so I decided it
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was time to move back to the US. But it's funny because when I
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was in college, I apparently kept telling my mom I'll never
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go to school again. This is it.
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This is it. Then at this point, I'm like,
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all right, I think I'm ready to go to school again.
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So I was researching different areas or different schools for
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doctoral programs and came across the doctorate of
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education program at University of Denver and went to visit and
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just felt so at home. And it's, I'm from Austin, TX
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originally and I think Denver and Austin have a very similar
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vibe. So it's like, all right, that's
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the place for me. So I packed up my stuff in Japan
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and moved to Denver and started that back in 2017.
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And it was kind of cool because while I was in my classes, like
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we had a cohort that like, we took a lot of our classes
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together and some of my classmates taught at the early
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childhood center right across the street.
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And when there's a job opening, and I always talked about early
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childhood education, which is kind of funny because I just
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taught high school for five years.
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But I guess it means that there really was close to my heart.
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So finally, they're like, Lisa, there is an opening at our
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school. Like, are you interested in a
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job? I'm like, well, yeah, I've been
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looking for a job for a year. And so I went and applied and
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sure enough, I, I got that job and I loved it.
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I started as an associate teacher, worked my way up to a
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lead teacher there. I worked there for over 7 years,
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I think. And just again, you know, I
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think one thing about an educator is you're an educator,
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but you're always learning from your students.
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And like, I learned so much from these kids.
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And again, my age group was like 2-3, four years old.
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So they're little ones, but how much I learned about being a
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teacher, about being human, about learning, about growing
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like I just, I loved it so much. So much so that even though that
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was supposed to be my like, while I'm in school job, I
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graduated back in 2021 and continued working there until
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this past summer. And then I finally decided, OK,
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it's, it's time for me to, to find my next step.
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Why did I get my doctorate, that kind of thing.
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So that's kind of the search I'm on now is like, where, where am
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I heading? And it's been a lot of soul
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searching because I feel like there are so many directions I
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could go. But just in the past couple of
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weeks, I think I've really like settled in my heart that my
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passion is early childhood education and literacy, like
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literacy development. That's what I did my doctoral
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dissertation on. And so I think I'm, I'm really
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working towards that direction now.
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But yeah, I just, I feel like everybody, there's so much and
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kind of like you said, the this early childhood, this early age
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is really like the foundation of being human.
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And there's so much we can learn from these littles.
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And I just, I want to help the world know the value of, of
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early childhood education. So I think that's kind of where
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my goal and my passion is right now.
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Amazing. Thank you so much, Lisa, for,
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for sharing that. And, and it, it's kind of
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beautiful how what your story, what you shared and where you're
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at right now. It it kind of it, it rhymes and
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that like, you know, the beginning of your career was at
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this kindergarten and then you find yourself kind of going into
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high school, going to different countries can moving, you know,
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to Denver, doing a doctorate. And then now you're you're not
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like back where you started, but in terms of like, I think the
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original spark maybe. Yeah, you're really connecting
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with that and you're understanding like how maybe
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your conviction in the the work with like these little ones is
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so important. Like it's, it's strengthened
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that much more because I think when we start off in our
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careers, I'm speaking for myself, there's so much doubt
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like is this really what I want to do?
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And, and you're thinking, well, maybe maybe this is just
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temporary, right? Or, you know, this feels good,
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but, but maybe there's something else, right?
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You keep putting out these little feelers, right?
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But then what gets when it gets to a point where you've, you've
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done enough feeling around you then start to think actually,
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maybe that's really where I I should have been this whole
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time. So everyone's journey, you know,
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takes different twists and turns.
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And so I think that that's that's so wonderful that you're
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able to really have this time to like reground yourself and then
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now come back at the work with so much, you know, bigger, like
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a broader perspective about just what does it take to really
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educate a human being from those initial moments, but also up to
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high school and beyond? Because right, you were saying
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that a lot of those students were then going to undergrad, a
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lot of them to our alma mater, like Soghi University of
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America. And without a doubt, I'm sure
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that they would follow up and tell you, you know, kind of
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their whereabouts or how they were doing because you know, the
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kind of care that it's so evident in the way you talk
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about your experiences with them.
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Also that the respect of just being like, I have so much to
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learn from these students as well.
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I have no doubt that they would reciprocate that and really want
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to maintain that kind of connection, right?
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Build that kind of relationship. So, you know, I wanted to maybe
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talk a little bit about that first teaching job back in Japan
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at the kindergarten. So, you know, you really
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emphasized how like you just kind of went in there cold
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Turkey, right? Just like, I don't really know
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much about this teaching business, but I'm going to do it
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anyway. And I want to, you know, these
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kids are so cute. Let's see what we can do.
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And you mentioned how like you learned so much through, through
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this process. And so maybe like, I, I feel
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like that dynamic of like teacher learning from student,
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student learning from teacher, that's, that's a really core
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piece of your approach to teaching.
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And so could you maybe like maybe unpack that a little bit
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more and then kind of like, you know, identify like in the
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initial phase of like that learning, what was it like, you
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know, as an as a younger teacher, like, you know, kind of
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starting off And how did that kind of change maybe mature,
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evolve over time when, you know, you were, you know, now more
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confident as a teacher? But yet that through line or
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that core that we're talking about of the student teacher
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relationship is still there. Like how did it feel then in
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terms of like the the learning dynamic?
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So yeah, love a little bit of that understanding.
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I think, you know, one thing that was really, I guess a
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fortunate thing is all of the teachers at this, this preschool
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is at the preschool is called Microcosmos.
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We were all young. I think the, the oldest teacher
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there was not even 30 at the time that I started there.
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So we were all young and the owner of the school just really
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trusted us because she didn't really speak English and so she
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had no idea what we were teaching these kids really.
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Like for all she knew we were, you know, doing horrible things.
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We weren't, I promise. But she just really trusted us
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that we we could teach them good things, I guess.
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And the school was quite new as well, so they didn't even have
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like a fixed curriculum or anything.
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Like it was pretty much like, here you go do what you want
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kind of thing, which can be really scary.
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But I was also working with a team of, of good friends and
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that helps. I think like, it's funny because
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I think the relationships amongst the adults in, in
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educational setting is just as important as the adults
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relationships with the, with the students.
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Like, because we're models, right?
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They're looking at like, how are we interacting with each other?
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That's their model for like how humans interact.
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So I think that helped a lot and we really supported each other a
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lot. And, and actually that was kind
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of when I, I discovered my kind of passion or love for
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curriculum too, because like we had nothing, like I did
15:56
research, I tried things out, whatever worked, I'd do it
15:59
again. If it didn't work, we're not
16:00
doing that again. So I really got that creative
16:04
freedom as well to, to, to figure out what works, what's
16:07
going to teach these kids. But I think the most important
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thing I, I learned was the relationships you build, like
16:15
even with this with the kids. And again, I just, I could, I
16:18
could be wrong, but I feel like a lot of people dismiss young
16:21
children like they don't know anything.
16:23
They're they're new to this world, but like they are so
16:27
innocent and so pure, right? So like they're going to tell
16:30
you whatever they're thinking and they're going to mirror it
16:33
right back to you, whatever you're doing or saying or
16:35
thinking. So they really helped me reflect
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a lot on like, what is my attitude today?
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Even if I come in grumpy, they're going to say, why are
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you so grumpy, Miss Lisa? Like they're not going to hold
16:45
back, right? So I think that being able to
16:49
build that trusting relationship like that, I trust them and they
16:53
trust me, then we could grow and learn together.
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Like we trusted each other enough to know that we're
16:59
getting to the right place, we're going to get there
17:01
together. And it's kind of amazing because
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I don't think those kiddos Remember Me.
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They're probably about 20 years old now.
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It's been that long, but they're like one of the kids.
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Dad is my friend on Facebook and his dad still messages me with
17:17
updates about his son who I taught when he was two years
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old, just got into university last year, loves playing soccer.
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And he was one of my one of my favorite little guys too.
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So like it makes me so happy, even though I know he probably
17:30
has no idea who I am, but like to know that I had some small
17:33
part in in helping build this little human right like this
17:38
foundational piece. And there's some sense of pride
17:40
in that as well. Like all teachers have a great
17:43
influence and a great impact on their students.
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I'm sure whether hopefully good, but you know, sometimes not so
17:49
great. But at that young age, again, it
17:52
just kind of becomes a part of their their foundation of who
17:56
they are. And especially when you're
17:57
talking about like social emotional stuff and like
18:01
character building and that kind of thing.
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So I think that, yeah, what I really learned from those kids
18:08
was like that trust building, that trusting relationship.
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Like they trusted me. They didn't know any different
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maybe, which is fine, but I had to like, live up to that trust,
18:20
right? I had to be the best person I
18:23
could be so that I don't break their trust.
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And I think that's something I really learned as an educator.
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It's interesting because in my career, I've tried to do
18:32
substitute teaching and I actually really struggled with
18:35
it because in one day you don't have enough time to build a
18:38
great relationship with a class of 30 kids.
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And I realized that that really is, at least for me, the
18:44
foundation of, of being a teacher is building the
18:48
relationship with the student. And I think for me, that's how
18:52
we're able to have like these meaningful relationships and
18:56
really grow together. Because I really think that's
18:58
what education is. It's not just the teacher
19:00
telling you something. It's all of us growing together,
19:03
right, and learning together. And you were talking about the
19:07
high school kids at Soca High School.
19:09
Like I had a really cool moment that some of the kids that I
19:15
taught at Soca High School, you know, Scott, we're both part of
19:18
this working group for the Soca Institute of Global Solutions.
19:21
And we had our global Citizenship education conference
19:24
this past summer. And a handful of my students
19:28
from Soca High School came to that conference and a couple of
19:31
them even presented at that conference.
19:33
And I was just blown away. Like given when I taught them,
19:37
they were in high school, they already fully formed amazing
19:39
humans, but like to see them come back around and to be
19:43
giving back to education in their own way.
19:46
I just was not only proud, but just like almost emotional, like
19:51
like I was a part of this in some way.
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Like again, they were already like really fully formed humans
19:56
and I taught them, but like, you know, I maybe I had some
20:00
influence on them. And so really being able to talk
20:03
with them about what their life has been like since then and
20:06
that kind of thing. It was just such an inspiring
20:08
moment and to even be able to share with them like some of my
20:12
struggles and the things I'm. Going through things that I
20:14
might not have shared quite as much when I was their teacher
20:17
because now we're more like colleagues almost.
20:19
So it was a really profound moment for me to have that, that
20:24
full circle moment. I guess I don't know if I
20:28
answered your question. I hope so.
20:30
You did a great job and and there's so much we can work from
20:33
just from like what you shared, because you know, the word trust
20:35
just it really comes through right?
20:38
And, and, and all that you talked about and, and I don't
20:41
think we really stopped to think about what exactly trust is just
20:45
in a broad context. You know, it doesn't have to be
20:47
necessarily within a classroom, but also at work within our
20:52
family dynamic, right? But we all kind of vaguely think
20:55
like, Oh yeah, trust is important.
20:57
But you know, the, the kind of like, you know, day-to-day,
21:01
almost like moment to moment, you know, trust that we have to
21:05
kind of like really value and like work towards like
21:09
strengthening because like they say, like it takes years to
21:12
build trust, but it, it can take like a fraction of a second,
21:14
like one word to tear it down. And, and I find that especially
21:21
right with like the younger, younger kids, you were saying
21:24
how they're pure and innocent. They are that it's, it's, it's
21:29
even more like heightened, right?
21:31
The sense of like, am I really doing my best to show them like
21:35
kind of how we, we build trust not just between student and
21:40
teacher, but also the colleagues that you talked about, right,
21:43
the other adults in the room. And then also bringing in the
21:47
families, right? How important it is to
21:50
communicate with the families to, to earn their trust.
21:54
And and, and so just like that, like community engagement side
21:58
of it, I think is really important that, you know,
22:02
schooling is not just something where like a parent is just
22:06
like, I'm just going to send my kid there and you guys figure it
22:08
out and make sure that this is a good human being.
22:11
Because then you're missing the point, right?
22:12
Of like kind of the, the, the bigger picture of like trust
22:17
building within society. And schools are the mic
22:22
microcosm, oh, microcosm of, of society.
22:27
I'm sure you guys thought of that, you know, clever and yeah.
22:31
And then the, the long term perspective of education, right
22:34
What you're saying the, the kids in the kindergarten now they're
22:39
like going off into college at this point.
22:41
And then now the, the students at the, the Tokyo Soca school
22:45
being in college, but like actually now presenting or they
22:48
graduated from college. I it's, yeah, it's so gratifying
22:52
as a teacher to know that you, you helped in some way, right?
22:57
And, and it's not to say like, oh, it's because of me, right?
22:59
But it's more of just like, wow, we what a, what a privilege,
23:03
right? Yeah.
23:04
That our timelines overlapped, right?
23:07
And that we, we had a positive influence on, on, on one
23:11
another. And I just, yeah, I just find
23:14
something that's very humanistic, you know, of, of,
23:18
of, of yourself to kind of like really say that those are kind
23:21
of like where you derive the most enjoyment, right?
23:24
Or yeah, that it comes from that place of like appreciation.
23:29
So you know, the, your, a lot of your teaching experience from
23:33
what it sounds like it's, it happened in Japan, right?
23:37
Yeah, big chunk of it. And, and I, I know from my own
23:41
experiences, right. Living in another country is
23:45
difficult because this is the culture and there's a language
23:48
and there's all these different like kind of social etiquettes
23:51
that you have to abide by and and it's challenging.
23:56
Teaching is also just challenging in and of itself.
24:01
So yeah, I mean, I'm, I'm just curious like for yourself, like,
24:05
you know, you're like white woman from Texas and you go to
24:11
Japan. And so could you share a little
24:13
bit about like the process of just really like adapting to the
24:19
local culture and, and yeah, what were some of the the
24:23
challenges that that you maybe initially faced and how did you
24:26
overcome that? Sure.
24:29
You know, I think I went to Japan with a big advantage that,
24:33
you know, my first experience there was at SOAK University.
24:38
And again, there was the trust, right?
24:39
I trusted that those students were going to be kind, that
24:42
they're going to be accepting, that they're going to be
24:45
understanding. And sure enough, they were.
24:47
You know, I went there to study Japanese.
24:49
I didn't study a lot of Japanese because I went and sought out
24:52
the friends who spoke English. So, you know, made really great
24:56
friends. Didn't learn a lot of Japanese
24:57
at the time, but that those friendships, I think we're
25:02
really my base of my feeling and my time in Japan.
25:05
Like I'm safe here. It doesn't matter that I'm this
25:10
very much stand out foreign person.
25:12
Like they accept me and they, they care about me and they,
25:16
they're, they're going to appreciate what I bring
25:18
basically. So I think that I was really
25:21
lucky to have that base experience so that when I did
25:24
move back after I graduated again, I moved back with a few
25:29
friends. So I actually wasn't alone.
25:31
So, you know, that helps. And again, I don't, I don't know
25:35
if you talk much on your podcast about the Soka bubble, but like
25:38
there's this thing we call the Soka bubble and it's like Soka
25:42
education, Soka students, it's really kind of protective bubble
25:46
basically. And pretty much the whole time I
25:50
lived in Japan, I think I lived within this protective Soka
25:53
bubble. Like I was around Soka students,
25:55
Soka, Soka schools, all of this. So that definitely helped.
25:59
But I think that as an educator, I kind of used my different,
26:05
different, is that a word? My differentness to my
26:08
advantage, Like especially when I started working at the high
26:11
school, like I wasn't that much older than the students.
26:14
I think I was 10 years older than the first batch of students
26:17
that I taught. And then I'm like this young
26:21
white woman. So of course the students are
26:23
like, oh, who is she? But rather than being
26:27
intimidated by that, I really tried to use it to my advantage.
26:33
And, you know, there's some advantages you already have
26:37
being a foreigner in Japan. Like, you don't necessarily have
26:40
to follow all of their strict cultural rules because you're a
26:44
foreigner. Like, Oh yeah, she's a foreigner
26:46
kind of thing. I never did anything horrible, I
26:49
promise. But like just use it, especially
26:51
when teaching English. Like, I don't know, I'm sure
26:54
English is your first language, Scott, but it's a hard language
26:58
like it and you've taught in other countries, right?
27:00
So, you know, like English is not easy.
27:04
And I really respect anybody who's trying to learn English as
27:07
a second language because it's a crazy language.
27:10
And so I would always start my classes by telling my students
27:13
that, like already you guys are so much smarter than me because
27:16
you're trying to learn English. Like this is not easy and I
27:19
respect you for doing it, but also like trying to make it look
27:24
cool or fun to speak English, right?
27:26
Like none of them knew I really understood Japanese, at least
27:30
not in the beginning. Guys, let's talk about really
27:34
fun American stuff. But you have to speak English
27:38
and like actually work to my advantage quite a bit.
27:42
Like there was a one of the stars of the baseball team.
27:46
He was a senior when I started working there and his dad is an
27:50
English teacher and he was really interested in in in
27:53
learning English because his dream was to become a
27:55
professional baseball player. And he knew that like some of
27:59
the team members, even if he was in Japan, some of his team
28:02
members are going to be foreigners that speak English.
28:05
So he couldn't have sought me out when I first started
28:09
teaching there, I think just to kind of test me out a little
28:11
bit, Like, is she cool? Or is she one of those, like,
28:14
really strict, uptight teachers? Like, what is she like?
28:17
And so, like, during his lunch break, he would come to our
28:19
English office and, like, try to talk to me.
28:22
Then it turns out we had so many similar interests.
28:25
Like, we both loved Bruno Mars. So we would talk about music or
28:28
like, we like the same kind of movies.
28:30
We would talk about movies. He had no idea that I spoke
28:33
Japanese. So he really, like, pushed
28:36
himself because he wanted to talk to me.
28:38
He really pushed himself to try to speak English.
28:41
And he already had a pretty good base of English.
28:43
Like, he'd really been trying hard for a while.
28:46
But yeah, it was really, again, the relationship that we had
28:50
really grew. And because he was one of the
28:52
coolest guys in the school, his influence kind of spread as
28:55
well. And so everybody was like, oh,
28:57
he's talking to Lisa. Like he's speaking English.
29:00
Let's do it, Let's try. And it was actually kind of
29:03
amazing because then for the next few years of teaching at
29:07
Soca High School, especially the baseball boys wanted to try to
29:10
speak English with me like, 'cause they thought he was doing
29:13
it. Like, oh, she must be cool to
29:15
talk to. And something like there's this
29:18
kind of stereotype in Japan that the baseball guys are like the
29:21
jocks and like, they're not really there to learn and
29:24
whatever. But like, I found the exact
29:26
opposite. They worked so hard for me and
29:29
like really tried to learn English and I was so touched.
29:32
Like even when I left Japan, one of them was playing baseball for
29:36
the Soca University team and like gave me his jersey when I
29:40
left. And like, like, they were, they
29:42
were my friends. They were my buddies and like, I
29:45
don't know, I think I was able to do that because of being
29:48
foreign and being like that kind of something that stands out.
29:53
So I think I, I was able to kind of use that to my advantage for
29:57
sure towards the end, like getting to like your 10 it, it,
30:02
it gets a little hard sometimes. Like there's times when you just
30:05
want to blend in, right? Like I don't want everybody
30:08
looking at me. I don't want everybody thinking
30:10
I'm the token English speaker. Like I think I'm ready to blend
30:14
in again. And that was kind of when I had
30:15
decided to move back to the US And, you know, I definitely
30:19
blend in a lot more here in Colorado or in Texas than I did
30:22
in Tokyo. So I think like, yeah, like I
30:26
said while I was there, it's definitely able able to use that
30:29
to my advantage. Eventually my students found out
30:32
that I speak Japanese. But even that I was able to kind
30:35
of spin like you guys, I had to study really hard to be able to
30:39
do this, to speak another language.
30:40
And that's why I can live here in a foreign country.
30:43
So like, do you want to go live in a foreign country?
30:46
So really always just trying to do whatever I could to encourage
30:51
the students, whether it's, you know, using my foreignness or
30:54
using my Japanese ability, whatever it was.
30:57
But yeah. Yeah, thank you for sharing,
31:00
Lisa. I particularly love this this
31:02
baseball popularity that you had and, and yeah, and whatever what
31:08
works to to help them and like encourage them right to, to
31:11
learn. I think it's great.
31:13
And I, I, yeah, I was just thinking back to like my time at
31:17
the Brazil Soca school where I did most of my teaching and I,
31:23
you know, initially didn't know much Portuguese.
31:27
And, and I think where I really learned most of the Portuguese
31:30
was actually with the younger students, right, the elementary
31:33
school, because again, like they're, they're pretty upfront
31:37
as well. They'll just say it like it is
31:39
and, you know, and they're just like no filter.
31:42
They'll just be like, what, what are you, what are you saying?
31:45
And, and they'll be speaking loudly in Portuguese.
31:47
And I'm just like, gosh, you know, I would be like just
31:50
trying to understand their Portuguese.
31:52
And then I would respond in English.
31:53
And then they would look at me and they're trying to understand
31:55
my. And it felt like we were at 2
31:58
opposite points of a, you know, like, you know, like that
32:00
bridge. And we were just trying to like
32:02
meet each other halfway. Yeah.
32:05
And, and, you know, by the end of the day, my brain was just
32:07
broken because I was just trying so hard to understand them.
32:11
But, you know, as a result of that, I eventually got much
32:15
better at Portuguese. But then with the high school
32:18
students, I did exactly what you did.
32:19
Like, I didn't, I didn't promote it.
32:21
I wasn't telling them like I knew Portuguese.
32:24
So that allowed me to be very, you know, I, I couldn't read the
32:29
room and I could hear what's, what's kind of going on.
32:32
And, and then they would strive, you know, to like, just try to
32:35
like, understand like my English because they're just like, oh,
32:38
you know, like he's, he's a poor guy, you know, gotta help him
32:41
out sometimes. I got the pay card.
32:44
That was another bonus of like the whole like, you know,
32:46
foreigner foreignerness, I guess.
32:49
And, and yeah, that, that was, that was kind of funny.
32:52
But I, I got this response like once people found out that I did
32:55
speak Portuguese pretty decently, they were actually
33:00
kind of like, they were shocked, but they were also like almost
33:02
like offended. Are you telling me this whole
33:04
time we could have just been chatting?
33:07
And why did you make me suffer, not suffer?
33:10
But I got that a few times, yeah.
33:12
Yeah, you know, it's time for me.
33:14
No. No, exactly.
33:16
Yeah, it's, it's, yeah, it's I don't want to debate what what
33:21
we don't have to put the label on it, but just know that my job
33:25
title said you got to speak English.
33:26
So yeah, I was just doing, I was just trying to do that.
33:30
And yeah. And then now, you know, I see
33:33
the I had, I had a group of students, five of them from the
33:37
Brazil Soca school who graduated this past May.
33:41
And, and it was just, you know, again, like that kind of
33:44
heartwarming sense that like, wow, you know, they didn't just
33:49
like get like good at English, but they went to university in
33:54
English. They wrote essays, they did
33:57
lectures and all this other stuff.
33:59
And one of them actually got like the Founders Award.
34:03
And she was, you know, up there in front of everyone and had to
34:07
give like an impromptu speech. And, and you're just like,
34:11
again, it's like I helped a little bit, like, right.
34:15
You know, I know that person. I was, yeah, I was part of that
34:19
journey. And yeah, you know, it's, it's
34:21
just, it feels, it feels very rewarding in, in, in that sense.
34:26
And, and yeah. And I'm just excited to see what
34:28
the future holds for them, you know?
34:30
Pretty sure it's really it's cool, yeah.
34:35
Yeah. I'm glad that we have, you know,
34:38
we, yeah. Our experiences really resonate,
34:40
I think, with each other. But I also kind of felt like,
34:43
yeah, that tokenism of like being a foreign teacher is like,
34:47
you know, it's, it's, it's the otherness that can sometimes
34:50
really, like, make you feel like, oh, man, you know, like,
34:55
when will I ever belong? Yeah.
34:57
Exactly. Exactly.
34:59
Yeah. And and then I think, you know,
35:01
we all have our own kind of like mission right in in specific
35:04
places. So understanding, OK, I've
35:08
accomplished what I set out to do.
35:10
And then moving on to the next exciting bit.
35:12
I think is is important. And you know, for for you to
35:16
make the decision to go back to the US.
35:18
I'm sure it was, you know it. You probably felt like, OK, no,
35:22
this is what I need to do, but it's still tough, right, letting
35:26
like closing a chapter behind you.
35:28
Sure, but you know, it's like, you know, setting off on new
35:32
beginnings. And, you know, I, I wanted to
35:34
ask with like the your doctoral studies, right, Because you,
35:38
you, you mentioned that there was more emphasis on, well, it's
35:43
early childhood education, but like the literacy side of it or.
35:46
Yeah, yeah. And I'm, I wonder like, did you
35:51
have like any particular like emphasis on like global
35:56
citizenship? Did that come up in any of like
36:00
the readings that you did or inform the dissertation process
36:04
or, or maybe you could just share like what, what, what was
36:07
really the focus that you had there?
36:08
And then we can kind of circle back to the global citizenship
36:11
piece. But I'm just wanting to learn
36:13
because like, you know, you're, you're in the thick of it as a
36:15
teacher. And it's just like, I'm just
36:16
trying to get this lesson done. And like, you know, sometimes,
36:19
you know, to be honest, like just trying to get through the
36:21
day, but then you suddenly find yourself in student mode and,
36:27
you know, and you're still doing teaching on the side, right,
36:29
which you mentioned, but it's different.
36:31
And so, yeah, could you maybe speak a little bit more to like
36:34
what that process was like for you?
36:36
Sure. So my side got my doctorate of
36:40
education in curriculum and instruction.
36:42
So I think during my master's degree in Japan, like my
36:48
favorite class there was like syllabus building or curriculum
36:51
building. And so when it was time for me
36:53
to start researching doctorate programs, that kind of stood out
36:56
to me, the curriculum and instruction.
36:59
So when I went into it, like I said in my, even in my master's
37:02
thesis, I wrote about early childhood education, like
37:07
English language development, sorry, literacy development in
37:11
early childhood education in Japan.
37:14
So it was a very specific topic then.
37:17
And then, you know, I went into my doctorate program and I was,
37:21
I was actually, I guess technically a part time student.
37:24
I did my classes in the evening and taught preschool during the
37:26
day. And so again, I was just really
37:29
living in that like early childhood education world and
37:33
just loving it. Like I just, you know, my heart
37:35
is there. So when it came time to start
37:38
working on my dissertation again, I had an amazing
37:42
professor advisor who was going to let me do whatever I wanted.
37:46
And I've been a book nerd my whole life.
37:50
I've loved reading since kindergarten, I think.
37:53
And knowing like what a big influence my parents had on me
37:57
as a reader and my, my early teachers, I knew there was some,
38:02
some influence outside influence on literacy development.
38:06
And so unfortunately I started my dissertation in March of
38:10
2020. So the original plans I had of
38:13
doing all this like research going into classrooms and this,
38:16
that and the other got Hanford by COVID.
38:19
I couldn't really go into classrooms as much because we're
38:22
worried about spreading germs and what not.
38:24
So I had to pivot a little bit, but I had another professor who
38:29
was like my research specialist professor who really helped me
38:32
understand like narrative inquiry.
38:34
And so I was able to do Skype interviews, maybe cutting a
38:38
similar to this actually with some of the teachers that I
38:42
worked with at the preschool. And I talked to them about their
38:45
own literacy development journey and then about how they teach as
38:49
early childhood educators. And then my work was to kind of
38:52
go through all of the interviews and correlate the research to
38:55
find out what influence their childhood literacy experience
38:59
had on what they do as educators now.
39:03
So it's quite interesting, interesting to see that there is
39:05
a pretty strong influence actually, like one of the
39:08
teachers whose parents were not so nice about her reading and
39:11
she had like a speech impediment.
39:14
She struggled a lot with teaching like pronunciation and
39:17
that kind of thing in her pre-K class because she had this
39:20
feeling still from when she was a child.
39:23
Whereas another whose mother was super creative and loved like
39:26
doing book projects with her as a little girl and whatnot, had
39:29
that same thing in her infant classroom, like learning through
39:33
photography and through sensory, but all related back to books.
39:36
So it was really cool for me, something I kind of already had
39:40
a feeling was true because I felt it in my own life, but
39:43
seeing that that was actually a thing like this.
39:46
These experiences you have in your early childhood education
39:49
affect who you are as an adult. And, and specifically in
39:53
relation to literacy development was what my research was.
39:56
But was that tied to global citizenship?
40:00
Well, isn't everything. I don't think there was a
40:04
specific focus, at least not in my dissertation research.
40:07
But the main professor of my program, he's this really cool
40:11
professor. He's very much of like a
40:13
holistic kind of person looking at like the spirituality of the
40:18
teacher. I don't know if you know Parker
40:20
Palmer, but he's like kind of educational philosopher and my
40:24
professor loved him. So he read a lot of Parker
40:26
Palmer's work about like the heart of the teacher and like,
40:29
you know, the essence of the teacher and that kind of thing.
40:32
So I don't know if that directly, directly relates to
40:35
global citizenship education, but I think just like to human
40:39
beings, right, Like to being human and like that is the
40:43
essence of who we are. And then translating that into
40:45
education for me, I think that's actually a huge part of global
40:49
citizenship education is really understanding who you are and
40:53
your place in the world and your relationship to others.
40:56
So I think that was it was a pretty big focus of my
40:59
professor, which I really, I really enjoyed that.
41:01
I think I'm much more of a holistic approach kind of person
41:05
than a very strictly academic approach kind of person.
41:07
So that was something that I really think benefited me a lot
41:11
in my studies. Yeah, I think thank you for
41:15
sharing more about your, your research and in in a way, you
41:18
know, like the, the pivot that you had to do as a result of the
41:21
pandemic. While, you know, it would have
41:24
been a very different had you been there in person.
41:29
I'm glad that you were able to not only finish it, but, you
41:31
know, really derive like great insights about just the, the
41:34
influence that, you know, parents have and as well as
41:37
their teachers, of course. But it, it, I think it is so
41:40
true, right, That there's this kind of like imprinting effect,
41:43
right, that, that those closest to these these young kids have.
41:47
And, and I, I, yeah, I find that we're, we're just really wanting
41:54
to like provide the kind of like most caring environment really
41:58
for, for these kids to just experiment, you know, just play
42:03
right and just enjoy. Right.
42:04
Yeah, that's a, it's a very, it's the only time in your life
42:08
where you're like, you know, that is like your main focus.
42:11
Exactly. That's your job when you're 3
42:13
years old. You play, you learn, you grow.
42:15
Like what else do you have to do?
42:17
Yeah, right. Pay your taxes.
42:21
That's later. You'll get to that.
42:23
Yeah, yeah. A little sneak preview, but the
42:27
the what, what you shared about global citizenship and like the
42:31
kind of holistic perspective of it and like really kind of, you
42:36
know, there's a spiritual component as well, right.
42:38
With mentioning about Parker Palmer, you said I I think I
42:41
read one of his books like The Courage to Teach, I think is.
42:45
Yeah, yeah. That's it.
42:46
Yeah, that. Was one of my professors
42:48
favorite books. Oh, hey, yeah, that it was.
42:50
It was a powerful book. And you know, I do feel that the
42:56
that there's and you mentioned the word character a little bit
42:59
earlier in the conversation. But I find that when we think
43:01
about like, what does it mean to be a good person?
43:05
A word that comes to my mind at least it's like, well, you have
43:08
good character, but then what is what does it mean to like have
43:12
good character, right? Or like I've, I'm, I'm curious,
43:16
like, could you maybe speak a little bit more to that?
43:19
And then, yeah. And then kind of say whether or
43:23
not that explicitly ties back to your understanding of global
43:25
citizenship or not. But yeah, I'd love to hear that.
43:28
Sure. I mean, you know, in this
43:30
working group we're in for the Soca Institute of Global
43:33
Solutions, my particular group, we focused on social emotional
43:36
learning and character development in global
43:39
citizenship education. So it's something that we were
43:42
looking at for the past few years and we kind of came up
43:46
with a list of character traits that we thought a global citizen
43:50
and bodies. I won't list them all off for
43:53
you, but you know, some of them were things like being open,
43:57
having compassion, having courage, being aware.
44:01
I think I kind of mentioned in this holistic approach, like
44:04
being aware of not only who you are and your place in the world,
44:07
but being aware of the situation of the world, right?
44:09
Like not staying in the dark and just really like having this
44:16
character of, of like being a person that people want to know,
44:21
right? Like to be able to connect.
44:23
Like it's, it's something I think I mentioned about the Soca
44:26
high school students, like most of these kids have never been
44:29
outside of Japan. And yet to me, they were such an
44:32
amazing example of global citizens.
44:34
Because it doesn't necessarily mean you've been around the
44:36
world. It doesn't mean that you know
44:39
you have friends in every corner of the earth.
44:41
It's more like you could like you have this character, you
44:45
have this personality that you're humble enough to know
44:48
that, you know, like I, I love, I love America.
44:52
I love being American, but I think a lot of Americans go to
44:55
other countries and like, well, I speak English and I'm from
44:58
America kind of attitude like adjust to me kind of thing.
45:02
And I think a true global citizen doesn't really want you
45:04
to adjust to them rightly because you want to know, you
45:07
want to know what it's really like.
45:09
So like you're there to learn, you're there to make friends.
45:12
You're not there to dominate, you're not there to conquer,
45:15
right? Like, so I think that that's
45:17
something that's really important in like character.
45:20
A character of a global citizen is just that openness.
45:23
Like I don't have to be the best.
45:26
Like we were talking about living in other countries.
45:28
I know my Japanese sucked when I moved to Japan, but I was there
45:32
because I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn about the
45:34
culture. I want to learn about the
45:35
language. I wanted to make friends and I
45:38
think in that sense that could qualify me as a global citizen.
45:41
Like I don't, I don't need everybody to adjust to me.
45:45
I can adjust as well. And you know, that takes
45:49
courage, that takes openness, that takes awareness.
45:51
I think all of these things like just really being able to being
45:56
able to unwilling to adjust to new circumstances is so
46:00
important and, and wanting to put yourself in situations where
46:05
you might need to do that. So I think that like for me,
46:09
those are really big character traits that I think, I mean, you
46:14
know, tying it back again to early childhood education,
46:17
everything is new for little kids, right?
46:19
Like they're new to this world. So like no matter what you
46:22
introduce to them, it's going to be pretty new, maybe not brand
46:25
new, but like there are a lot of mind blowing things to
46:27
three-year olds. And this is what I mean by
46:30
learning from them. Like, yeah, they're scared of
46:32
some things, but most of the things they're just ready, like
46:35
teach me, show me, like I want to experience this.
46:39
And they just take it all in with such wonder and amazement
46:42
and ready to learn. And I think that a lot of
46:44
people, most people probably kind of lose that as adults.
46:48
Like as adults, you tend to think, I know, I know, like, and
46:52
it's not even intentional. I don't think it's arrogant.
46:54
So it's just you've lived a long life by now, right?
46:56
Like you've seen a lot, you've done a lot.
46:58
You kind of feel like, yeah, I know.
47:00
But like, I think even as an older person, like I'm kind of
47:04
midlife right now and like I'm still wanting to learn, right?
47:08
Like I want to be open. And I think that's when you can
47:12
learn new things and you can become an even greater person,
47:16
right, when you're open to those new things.
47:18
So I think that is something that we can all learn from young
47:22
children. Like it's it's OK to not know
47:25
everything. Like let's let's learn, let's
47:27
let's see something new kind of thing.
47:30
And I think, yeah, that is really just one of those like
47:34
grounding characteristics of a global citizen, I would think.
47:39
I agree. And I I just find the way you
47:41
explained that it's just very beautiful, right?
47:45
This, this the sense that like, yeah, as a global citizen, you
47:51
don't. That doesn't necessarily mean
47:52
you have friends all around the world.
47:54
You said that it's that you could make friends with, with
47:57
anyone from around the world. And, and it's because of the
48:00
stance, right, That you, you, you have this open mindedness,
48:04
sense of humility, sense of wonderment, awe, that, you know,
48:09
encountering a person. And I'm not saying encountering
48:11
like a foreigner or, you know, encountering an American or
48:15
encountering anyone, right? Just this kind of label of, you
48:19
know, this abstract label of like, oh, you know, oh, I know,
48:22
I know Americans. I, I know Lisa.
48:24
So I know all the Americans, right?
48:26
But like, really leaning into like, who is this person right,
48:30
standing before me and what is their experience like?
48:33
And, and how can I learn from them?
48:36
You know, I, I do think that when you, when you have that
48:40
kind of posture, the other person pick can pick up on it
48:43
pretty quick, right? Yeah, it's either oh, they're
48:46
interested or they're just like disinterested or like dismissive
48:50
of like, OK, you know, but I think that when we're able to
48:54
establish like the, the, the, the, the connection that you
48:57
establish from having that kind of posture does I think lay the
49:02
groundwork for building that trust, right.
49:05
Going back to the, the, the T word trust, you know, it's like
49:09
that I think is so important in terms of like first impression.
49:14
And then also that sense of like, yeah, like let's let's
49:18
really, yeah. See, you see if we can really
49:21
build a friendship around this. And I and, you know, when you
49:25
see little kids and like them, like, I don't know, their share,
49:28
like something that they learned with another person and I mean
49:31
with another little one. And you know, you see the
49:33
excitement and you see. It's like, you know?
49:35
It's just like instant connection, right?
49:37
But then as we get older, we, we have these other these barriers,
49:41
right? Or we don't want to show that
49:42
full range of emotion, you know, we want to be more calculating
49:46
and and you know, it's like, well, can we get back to that,
49:51
you know, right, that same level, right?
49:53
That would be wonderful. I mean, that was something I
49:55
loved about early childhood education as I could go in and
49:58
totally geek out on dinosaurs and the kids are right there
50:00
with me. Like you guys did you know and
50:04
tell them some random facts about dinosaurs and we could
50:06
have like a whole day of like being excited about it doesn't
50:09
really happen as much amongst adults.
50:12
Lisa, if you want to tell me a dinosaur fact, I will happily,
50:15
you know, take that and geek out with you because I I find
50:19
dinosaurs fascinating. Jurassic Park is like one of my
50:22
favorite movies of all time. Park scary.
50:25
Though it is scary, it's supposed to be scary.
50:28
There's so much there. But yeah, it's I, you know what?
50:32
Like I find that with the educators, like early childhood
50:36
educators that I come across, whether they are the teachers or
50:40
maybe the principal, they, they have like this youthfulness
50:45
about them. I, I, I truly do think that like
50:47
when you interact with like a bunch of little kids like that
50:50
and you see that wonderment. It's how could you not, you
50:53
know, feel that shock of like, whoa, like this is this is what
50:58
it's all about. And, and then you, you just, you
51:01
carry that on like throughout your day.
51:02
And, and yeah, I just think that there's, there's no, there's no
51:06
coincidence as far as like them really showing you like, hey,
51:11
this is not only what it looks like to learn, this is what it
51:13
feels like. And you know why aren't you on
51:16
my level? Kind of thing.
51:18
Exactly. Yeah, exactly.
51:21
You know, I, I, I want to ask another quick question because
51:25
you know, you, you have like a very, you know, by like the
51:29
cultural like understanding from like teaching early childhood
51:33
in, in Japan and then also teaching early childhood in the
51:36
US. Like not a lot of people have
51:37
that. And so I just wanted to get a
51:40
quick, you know, comment from you about like, do you think
51:44
there was like a, a big difference at culturally in
51:47
terms of how you approach again, establishing those
51:50
relationships, building trust, going through with the
51:53
curriculum side of it? Or do you think that no, it was
51:58
not as huge as you might think? I'm just curious.
52:02
You know, there were, there were definitely some differences.
52:04
I think a part of the culture in Japan is just like respect.
52:09
It's such a deeply ingrained part of Japanese culture.
52:12
And especially respecting, like there's the Japanese word
52:16
sensei, and they use this word for teachers, doctors, lawyers.
52:20
Like any of those people can be sensei mentors.
52:24
And I think even that shows, like, I think in the US, yeah,
52:28
we have this great respect for doctors, lawyers, educators,
52:32
gets a little touchy, right? I think in Japan, there's just a
52:36
really pure deep respect for educators.
52:39
And so even when these parents were leaving their two year old
52:41
child with some crazy foreign white woman, like they had no
52:45
doubt, like they totally trusted me from the get go, please take
52:49
care of my child. I'll be back in a few hours kind
52:52
of thing. And I think teaching here in the
52:56
US, the, the school I worked at was really well respected and
52:59
well known. So maybe there was that, but
53:02
like we had to work to build the relationship with the families,
53:05
with the parents, like they, but we had parent teacher
53:08
conferences. And I feel like a lot of times
53:10
it's actually for us to get to know each other better so that
53:13
they know they can trust their child with me.
53:15
They know that I'm going to, I have their child's best
53:17
interests at heart, that kind of thing.
53:20
And I think that's just like US culture, right?
53:22
Like we have a little bit more skepticism about things and like
53:26
we have to earn respect. We say that here, right?
53:28
You earn respect. And I think in Japan, that was
53:30
just a little bit more easily given, especially to educators.
53:35
That was probably one of the pretty big differences, I think.
53:39
And it wasn't a huge obstacle or anything, just like a kind of
53:42
cultural difference. And I think, you know, I, I was
53:45
actually maybe a little shocked at how easily the parents
53:47
trusted me in Japan. I'd probably be more used to
53:50
what they do here where like I'll earn your respect kind of
53:53
thing. But I mean, either way, it felt
53:56
good, right? Once you did have the respect,
53:58
Like, OK, now, now I have the kids while I'm working on the
54:01
kids, I have the parents trust working with the kids.
54:03
Like it really helped, you know, things go smoother and make
54:07
better, more long lasting relationships amongst all of us
54:11
so. OK, thank you so much Lisa for
54:14
for sharing that, that that important cultural nuance.
54:18
And yeah, I was just, I was just very interested in myself.
54:20
So yeah, I really appreciate you like sharing your your
54:24
experiences and just really helping us like understand, I
54:29
think at at the core of early childhood education, right?
54:33
It's about child, the student teacher relationship rooted in
54:38
trust and respect and also just the importance of like that
54:42
community really coming together around the child to ensure that
54:47
that child feels feels safe and feels like, yeah, they're loved
54:54
being taken care of. And, and how a lot of that, if
54:58
not all of it, translates cross national boundaries.
55:03
And, and that this is important work that, you know, we need
55:06
more amazing educators like you to continue doing, whether that
55:10
be through creating curriculum specific to that, you know,
55:14
syllabi and, you know, other approaches.
55:16
But then also just, you know, I think the character of the
55:19
teacher also really is important, like just interacting
55:23
and modeling that, especially when it comes to the other
55:27
adults in the room too, right? Because kids would just be
55:29
observing everything. There's they're just, they're
55:32
just scanning. There's nothing that's going to
55:35
flip their their purview. So, yeah.
55:38
So it's been very insightful for for myself and hopefully for all
55:42
the listeners. And I wanted to ask a final
55:44
question. And this is a question I ask
55:46
everyone, and it's a book recommendation.
55:48
So do you have any recommendations in general that
55:50
you'd like to share with us? You know, Scott, you're asking a
55:53
book nerd for book recommendation.
55:55
So, you know, I have a list. I especially recently have just
56:00
been kind of devouring books. Like I can't get enough reading
56:04
time basically. For the most part, my reading is
56:07
very much like not super value creative, like, you know,
56:11
thrillers and, you know, romance and that kind of thing kind of
56:14
helps me de stress a little bit. But I do have a few that I would
56:18
love to recommend, one that is definitely much more value
56:22
creative. A friend of mine told me he's a
56:25
musician and I am not a musician, not by any means, but
56:29
a friend of mine is a musician and he read Herbie Hancock's
56:32
book called Possibilities and he said it changed his life.
56:36
And I was like, I want to know what that's like.
56:38
So I haven't finished yet. I'm about halfway through with
56:41
it and it's it's amazing. Like I, I don't know if
56:45
everybody knows who Herbie Hancock is, but he is an amazing
56:48
world renowned musician to kind of see where he came from and
56:52
and how he became who he is. It's a really cool read.
56:55
So I would definitely recommend that one.
56:58
Another one that actually my my husband introduced me to these
57:02
books when we first met and it's one that he it's a whole big old
57:05
series that he loves and it's called the Iron Druid Chronicles
57:09
by Kevin Hearn. They're kind of like, I guess
57:13
fantasy kind of book. It's about a druid.
57:15
So like, yeah, you know, kind of fantasy.
57:18
But what I love about these books, there's definitely lots
57:20
of action, There's lots of comedy.
57:21
There's a really funny dog in the book that my dog is actually
57:24
named after. But the cool thing is this
57:27
druid, so he is from the the Irish descent, right?
57:33
So like he interacts with gods, but like not just God, like we
57:38
we hear of God, but like he has a beer with Jesus and he goes on
57:43
an adventure with the Buddha and he like hangs out with a Russian
57:48
lightning God and like he runs with Coyote.
57:51
And so like he has all of these friends that are gods from
57:55
different religions and different parts of the world.
57:59
And basically the the point of these gods is that like, as long
58:02
as somebody believes in them, then this God is real.
58:05
Why not? Like the believers are what
58:07
makes the God real. So I just love the kind of
58:09
inclusivity of it. Like along with the action and
58:12
humor, like it's a really like, why can't we all just get along
58:15
kind of book. So, but definitely recommend
58:18
those. It's a really big series, but
58:20
it's a lot of fun. And then, you know, I wouldn't
58:23
be a good early childhood educator if I'd even recommend
58:26
some children's books cause one of my many dreams is to become a
58:29
children's book author someday. One that Speaking of global
58:33
citizenship education, a friend of mine from SUA wrote a
58:37
children's book and it's called Remember This Always.
58:40
And the author is Anna Ikeda. It's a very simple book, very
58:44
beautiful artwork, but it's basically about
58:46
interconnectedness of everything in the world.
58:49
And I've read that to my kids many times and they love it
58:51
because it's simple enough for kids to understand and then the
58:54
artwork brings them in. So I definitely recommend that
58:57
one. Another one that came out during
59:01
COVID that I got for my niece is a book called The Rhino Who
59:05
Swallowed a Storm. And it's by Levar Burton, who
59:07
was the former host of Reading Rainbow.
59:10
And it's a book about grief and about how children can deal with
59:14
grief. And it's a, it's a bit deep and
59:17
a bit heavy, but written for children.
59:19
So like even adults, I think can really appreciate and understand
59:22
it. Then one more, I'm almost done,
59:25
I Promise is another children's book.
59:28
When I left my most recent job, I, I loved my team that I was
59:33
working with there. And so that was another hard one
59:35
to like say goodbye to them and move on.
59:37
And one of my Co teachers gave me present to me with a book
59:40
called What the road Said. And it's by Cleo Wade and it's
59:44
another really beautiful book that it's interesting.
59:46
I was just reading the author's note and the author says like,
59:49
this is a book that's meant for children, but I think adults
59:53
will love it. And I would have loved a book
59:55
like this when I was a kid. It's basically kind of like you
59:58
go where the road leads, even if you're scared, you're never
1:00:00
alone, like have the courage to try something new and you never
1:00:04
know where it will take you. And so kind of perfect for.
1:00:07
Journey right now, which is I think why my friend gave it to
1:00:09
me. But something good for any age,
1:00:12
right? Like we're always trying new
1:00:13
things that can seem scary, but trusting the process and
1:00:17
trusting ourselves and that kind of thing.
1:00:19
So those would be my book recommendations.
1:00:23
And I recommend getting a daily dose of reading of any kind.
1:00:28
Just, you know, for your heart, for your brain, for your
1:00:30
character, all of it. Thank you so much, Lisa, that
1:00:33
those are those all sounded like amazing books.
1:00:36
I I really, I really want to read Anna's book because I
1:00:40
remember when it, it first came out, but I haven't picked it up
1:00:43
myself yet. And and I, I don't fully
1:00:46
understand what a druid is, but I'm I will, I will look into it.
1:00:49
And you know, you should. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to
1:00:52
look into it. It's it's there's there's a lot
1:00:53
of good reads. And and then that last book,
1:00:56
that recommendation I find will be really fitting for myself
1:00:59
too. I mean, I think both of us,
1:01:01
right, Yeah. Being made decisions to live
1:01:03
abroad, come back and, you know, it's, it's, it's such a journey
1:01:08
and not one that I initially even planned on setting out.
1:01:11
But. But yeah, the road LED that way
1:01:14
and I I followed and, you know, I think the big anxiety of like,
1:01:18
well, where, where's, where to next, you know, can I get a
1:01:22
signpost at least something? But, you know, you just, you
1:01:27
just have to keep, you know, walking right and going, going
1:01:30
in the direction that, you know, your heart tells you to go in.
1:01:32
And, you know, I yeah, I find that very inspiring, even just
1:01:37
the description of the book. So I'm sure the book itself is
1:01:39
amazing. So, you know, Speaking of
1:01:42
amazing, you are amazing. Thank you, Lisa, and I
1:01:45
appreciate you for taking this time.
1:01:46
And I wanted to give you just the last word as we wrap up our
1:01:50
time here on the podcast. Any final thoughts or send offs?
1:01:55
Oh man, last words. Like I said, read.
1:01:57
I think, you know, if you can't afford to travel, if you can't
1:02:00
afford to do crazy things in your life, a book at the library
1:02:05
is free Read. It'll take you wherever you want
1:02:07
to go. I sound like a true book nerd,
1:02:09
but I really AM. And I love books and I love
1:02:12
literacy. And if I could be the next host
1:02:14
of Reading Rainbow, I would. But just read.
1:02:18
Whether it's children's books, historical novels, nonfiction,
1:02:22
whatever it might be and find something you love, it'll it'll
1:02:26
help you change your own world.