On August 1st, I started my new job, and I could use your help, if you're interested.
After five years of living in thirteen countries, I'm saying goodbye to the Media Specialist position at THINK Global School. I'm 90% energized to move forward and 10% nostalgic for the sweetest job on the planet.
Monique and I snorkeling with sea lions off the Galapagos islands
It was my first salaried job ever; a job that transformed within the first few weeks on the ground to include teaching; a job different from the videographer listing for which I interviewed; a job that sent me floating through the Amazon rainforest and snorkeling around the Galapagos within the first month of employment.
It was a rollercoaster of a job, and clearly it was like hitting the jackpot.
Five years at THINK Global School has taught me a lot of things I could list off for hours: I learned what the word curriculum meant; that teachers (for the most part) despise lesson planning but love working with students; how to self-manage without an office, a 9-5 punch clock, and a straight-forward list of duties and tasks.
Photography by Joann McPike | © THINK Global School, 2012
It was at TGS that I perfected my photographer's squat: a steady, low, incredibly unattractive position to achieve success with group photos or impressive landmarks (in some cases, both!). It was also at TGS that I was given the freedom to be artistically creative and the training to help teenagers learn and prepare for a globalized world.
It was at this crazy traveling high school that I learned to feel comfort in uncertainty.
In five years, I've also gathered that it's impossible to gauge just how much this school has impacted me. Maybe when I leave the TGS bubble, I'll finally able to see from afar what I was a part of, what I was honored to witness through the viewfinder of a Canon 5D Mark II. Even as a teacher and a staff member, I was also a student of the countries, the projects, the trips, and the fellow travelers–young and old.
Yes, I'm starting a new job, but I'm not out of that TGS bubble just yet. In fact, my new job is very much a part of THINK Global School and one that will expand the reach of that bubble (or pop it, depending on your view of bubbles).
On August 1st, I started my new position as a Curriculum Developer along with three others for the next adaptation of THINK Global School (click that link, it's a treasure trove). Here's the deal:
As a team of four Curriculum Developers, we will travel in advance to the countries of the new program in order to establish meaningful projects and learning opportunities, design and document a new curriculum, create strong connections with local organizations, and prepare to welcome to the new program a cohort of students in July 2017.
Would you care to see where we're headed?
I figured you might. Well, I can't tell you just yet. I will post the map as soon as we have our locations confirmed. However, if you are exciting by the sound of this place-based and project-based approach to a high school education, please reach out to me via my contact form, Twitter, Facebook, or carrier pigeon. I'm currently in Indianapolis prepared with my windows open.