Blessed to have participated in Punahou School’s SGLI Educator Strand. It was an amazing experience! I was able to connect with colleagues (and develop lifelong friendships) from around the world.
Dr. James Scott presented the concept to us on Day 1. Q: “What if we took the top students from the top schools from around the world and brought them together in a residency program to work on global issues?” This is the Student Global Leadership Institute (SGLI.)
I took part in the educator strand. Our first activity was to introduce ourselves with a dance or movement. It took a while, but it was a great icebreaker activity.
We each shared our school’s mission statement with one another.
On Day 2, we Skyped in Dr. Yong Zhao. He spoke about the transformation of schools. He mentioned student voice & choice, authentic products & services, and having a global perspective. It was stimulating and inspiring.
My table group consisted of Jennifer and Jeffie from different schools in Shanghai, Shusaku from Tokyo, Tom from Philly, and Karin from Denmark.
That evening, we had the SGLI Lūʻau at Dr. Scott’s home. We were able to meet up with the amazing students. One student who introduced herself to me was from Sidwell Friends in D.C. and knew the Obama girls.
My new friend Hae Jean from Korea has studied hula for 5 years. She did a great job at the SGLI Talent Show. It was neat to see how passionate people feel towards Hawaiian culture. Another great friend is Roddy (from Canada) who teaches in Tokyo. He dazzled us with his jazz ukulele. (Can’t believe that I don’t have a selfie with him.)
Unfortunately, tropical storm Darby made landfall on Sunday. However, I saw the most amazing Facebook post on that day (there is a private SGLI Group on Facebook.) This is from a student from Japan who celebrated her birthday….
She received handmade cards and cupcakes from her team members. Heartwarming stuff for sure….
The highlight of Day 3 was actually the evening’s aforementioned SGLI Talent Show. There were great singers, dancers, and pianists. This pic is of calligraphy as a “talent show act.” Strangely, everyone rushed the stage to have their names written in katakana….
Day 4 was my last day. Sob….
Here is a pic of some of the amazing students sharing their SGLI experiences. They carried themselves well and answered all of our questions.
By this time, many of the teachers had bonded and formed relationships. Nats from Kyoto shared her Japanese snacks with the class. Lisa from Castle High School also brought chocolate macnuts for our visitors.
We were able to attend a presentation from Punahou students who participated in SGLI @ Oakridge International School in Hyderabad, India. I was able to reconnect with my Punahou Lab School buddy, Lorelei.
After our session, I took a few teachers on a brief tour of the Kamehameha Schools campus. I got to hear cool stories about Castilleja in Palo Alto from Jamie and Phillips Exeter in New Hampshire from Tanya.
Then it was time to say goodbye. This is my new friend Shu from Tokyo.
Most of the teachers have chaperone responsibilities until the end of the week. For some of us with no participating students, it was the end of our conference experience. One of my takeaways is to participate in an ongoing PLN with Usha from India and Jamie from Palo Alto.
So happy that I was able to meet up with former KS students Mehana & Emma.
Finally, my biggest takeaway was the friendships that I formed at SGLI. Mahalo to Chai, Wendi, Robyn, Usha, and team for an amazing experience. SGLI has become my PD of choice for the school year. See you next time at #SGLI2017….
Alan Tamayose 