The world is her classroom
An Oak Lawn Community High School teacher is broadening her perspectives by exchanging tips, techniques and just taking the time to chat with a group of fellow educators from Europe.
The trans-Atlantic Educators Dialogue Program focuses on themes that are shared worldwide, including discussions on technology in the classroom, migration/immigration and cultural awareness, student and parental involvement in education and supporting diverse learning needs.
The program is sponsored by the European Union Center and College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and takes place in Sunday sessions from February through May.
“It is a common theme among all of the participants that technology application and funding varies school to school,” said Jessica Nickless, who teaches Social Studies and English at OLCHS. “Many teachers have zero tech in their daily classroom lessons and others are blessed with an abundance.”
A recent session offered insights about how educators from other places instill the importance of being a good citizen, something she stresses in her AP World History and AP Language & Composition teaching.
“As world history teachers, we are not only charged with delivering and instilling content and facts,” Nickless said. “Simply put, we want students to enter higher education, the workforce or whatever path they choose with a sense of caring and compassion for their community and others.”
Nickless also shared ideas she’s implementing as co-chair of her school’s Social Emotional Learning Committee, such as using a “Mood Meter” to check in on how students are feeling while learning at home.
“I personally believe that classroom/ school community is the biggest motivating factor in a student’s drive to excel,” said Nickless.
During the migration/immigration session, teachers discussed how school programs help students new to their country.
“Some teachers share that the students will sometimes confide their frustrations and worries about being a successful student in an American high school,” said Nickless. “This seems to be universal trend among my EU colleagues and American colleagues.
Among the local ideas Nickless has shared with her international peers is the district’s “welcome center” with a student to teacher ratio of 12:1 for new students to receive individualized help in adjusting to American high school, as well as community partnerships that have helped newcomers.
There’s also the OLCHS Freshman Academy summer program, which helps new students, as well as a Spartan Tutoring Program run by National Honor Society peer mentors/tutors. The district also offers classes in Spanish and Arabic.
Marcus Wargin, assistant principal at OLCHS, praised Nickless for participating in the dialogue and said it would be useful to both social studies and English curricula.
“The strategies and skills she will take away from these sessions will be applicable immediately in her classes,” said Wargin. “Critical thinking and student growth are key components to success for our students, and Jessica will have an opportunity to learn and share with other teachers from around the globe.”