Our New Blog Home

Please visit our new blog home documenting our travels through Japan.

http://catoy2010.wordpress.com/

Get to know your California Teachers of the Year a little better.....

Welcome to our blog, a journal of our journey to Japan as 2010 California Teachers of the Year.  As ambassadors of the California Department of Education, and educators throughout California, we look forward to learning about educational practices in Japan and meeting with our teaching counterparts and their students in the classroom.

Below, is a biography of each 2010 Teacher of the Year, providing our readers with more information about ourselves, our schools, and our individual philosophies about teaching and education.

Kathy Marvin

Hello! I'm Kathy Marvin and I'm proud to be a California Teacher of the Year representing the fine teachers from California.. I teach at Sierra Vista Middle School in Irvine which is located in Southern California between Los Angeles and San Diego. I teach 8th grade Science and a Science Workshop elective class. Being a California Teacher of the Year has not only been a great honor, but it has provided me with a platform to share about my passions for serving the  children of America through education.

My academic philosophy of teaching is really quite simple; make it exciting, real, relevant, and  hands-on every day. In order to be true to my philosophy, it is my personal goal to translate the state standards into activities, demonstrations, and lab experiences to promote the highest levels of learning, resulting in real world applications. I enjoy the challenge of making certain that students at all academic levels find success and are always engaged, challenged and never bored! The use of technology in my lessons and classroom are helping my students become citizens of the 21st century. Therefore, I will be blogging from Japan using an Apple iPad! No heavy, cumbersome laptop for me.... I'll do it all from my trusty iPad! 

While in Japan, I am most excited to see how Japan inspires their children to learn, see how the Japanese are incorporating new technologies into their classrooms, to find out how science teachers in Japan deliver their science education, and how accessible education is for all students. So check back often and share your own thoughts with us.... we'll keep you posted!

Kelly Kovacic

Hello, I'm Kelly Kovacic, one of California's 2010 Teachers of the Year. I teach 11th grade A.P. United States History, 12th grade A.P. United States Government, and a 6th grade Advisory Class at The Preuss School UCSD, a public charter school on the UC San Diego campus serving low income students who will be the first in their families to graduate from college. Throughout my career, I have focused on providing all students with equitable access to a rigorous and college preparatory curriculum. I believe in the power of education to inspire students to grow, learn, and change the world.

I am extremely honored to be a delegate for the state of California as I travel to Japan. This is an incredible opportunity to build partnerships in education with our Japanese colleagues and to share best practices between our two countries and their education systems. I look forward to the opportunity and the wonderful lessons I will be able to take back to my classroom and our great state.

Follow Kelly Kovacic on Twitter or her website http://www.kellykovacic.com/

Valerie Ziegler

Hello! I am Valerie Ziegler and I am from San Francisco. I am thrilled to be joining the 2010 California Teachers of the year as we travel to Japan. I love to travel and bring back what I have learned and my experiences to my classroom. I have been working hard to pick up a few phrases in Japanese in an effort to wow my host family.

This journey is especially exciting because not only will I be traveling with other educators but also meeting my Japanese counterparts. I hope to learn about the Japanese educational system and best practices. I have been using the Japanese lesson study methodology for years and hope to pick up a few more of these successful tips.

This will be my first trip to Asia and I am thrilled to share stories with my students; 50% of whom are Asian. I teach at a public school in San Francisco; this will be my 6th year of teaching. I teach Economics, US Politics and US History. I teach in two special programs: the Teacher Academy (prepares students for careers in education) and the Green Academy (prepare students for careers in sustainability).

Check back often for exciting updates!

Melanie Tolan

I have been teaching for 14 years and all of that time has been with the San Diego Juvenile Court and Community Schools. We serve students who have been expelled, incarcerated, those who are homeless or foster youth, teenage mothers, and many students who have not been successful in traditional schools. I taught teenagers living in homeless shelters for over 9 years and experienced the joy of seeing them graduate and lead successful lives as adults. For the past 4 years, I have been teaching English Language Arts and U.S. History to males, ages 12-18, who are incarcerated in juvenile hall. Many of my students are seen by others as "lost causes", but I believe that all students can be successful and that it is never too late to inspire and motivate a person to love learning.

I am counting the days until our trip to Japan. I feel so lucky to have this opportunity to learn about the Japanese culture and educational system while traveling with my amazing colleagues. Of special interest, will be our journey to Hiroshima. I believe that it is crucial to show all sides to history, not just the American perspective. I am looking forward to seeing the Japanese point of view of the atomic bomb and bringing that back to my students. I am also excited to stay with a family in Oita and be immersed in the Japanese culture.

Thank you to JTB for their sponsorship and giving us this incredible experience.

Amber Carrow

Hello Everyone -

I am Amber Carrow and I teach 7th grade world history at Chemawa Middle School in Riverside California. I LOVE my job because I love my students. I go into school each day and try to make the material fun...I bring it to life. I am lucky to be teaching world history because it allows me to blend my two passions: travel and teaching. I am a world traveler and I love bringing my travels into the classroom.

I have always wanted to travel to Japan, as it is one of the core subjects that I teach about. It will be wonderful to be able to see all the history and culture ,which I have been teaching about, first hand. Next year in class I will be able to show my students pictures as well as transform them back into time with some of the experiences that I will have had. Whether we reenact a tea ceremony or become samurai I am confident that my students will love it.

I am actually heading off to Japan before the rest of the group so that I can spend more time traveling the country. I look forward to sharing with you once I get to Japan. I leave in just three days....I will spending the first week in and around the Tokyo area, so check back for an update.

Peace
Ms. Carrow

Welcome

Welcome to our blog spot! We are the California Teachers of the Year, 2010 and we'll be posting updates and pictures as we travel through the beautiful country of Japan between June 28 & July 9. Completing the orientation on June 4 with Tamiko Nakamoto, the trip coordinator, not only prepared us but whetted our appetite for sushi and Japanese culture. Tamiko does all this coordination on her own time after her job at the Japanese Consulate. We can't thank her enough! She must never sleep!! JTB was well represented by Mr. Nitta and Ms. Aoyama who helped familiarize our group with cultural differences and expectations so that we don't embarrass ourselves during our visit!

Later in the day we were thrilled to learn that our own Kim Edwards, who coordinates the Teacher of the Year program will join us on our trip as the California Department of Education designee. Kelly Kovacic, who represented us so well at the National level will act as our official delegation lead as we meet educators and dignitaries throughout our Japan travels.

The photo above was taken at the end of the training day. It shows Kathy and Amber with their Japan bags full or reading material, maps and travel suggestions. Unfortunately, Valerie was not able to attend the So Cal meeting and Kelly and Melanie needed to leave early. But, you'll be seeing plenty of all 5 CA TOYs in future posts....

Thanks for joining us,
Kelly Kovacic, Melanie Tolan, Amber Carrow, Valerie Ziegler & Kathy Marvin