FACULTY It Takes One to Teach One


PEACE CORPS GAVE TEACHERS GLOBAL OUTLOOK THAT THEY SHARE WITH OES STUDENTS


C


hildren’s attitudes about the world are shaped by the stories they hear from their parents


and teachers. If they detect fear of “otherness” from the adults around them, they will become fearful. But if they listen to stories of appreciation for other cultures, children will develop curiosity about the larger world. They will want to know the customs, language, and outlook of people from other places because they see the enthusiasm written on the faces of their elders. Many teachers at


OES have intimate experience of life in another country,


some because they were born there, and some because they lived abroad


for a period of time. Five teachers lived in


a foreign country while serving with the Peace Corps, founded by President John F. Kennedy 50 years ago. Their experiences shaped their worldviews and prepared them to teach in a school that prepares students to exercise their “power for good” as global citizens eager to connect with the world.


“It made me much more open, accepting, and curious. It made me much more of a global person. It made me interested in being multicultural.”


—Hope Stevens 14 OES MAGAZINE WINTER 2011 14


“It made me learn not to judge people by appearances and educational background. I learned to respect people as individuals. The chief of the village might be sitting there in flip-flops and a fishing T-shirt.”


—Lara Ingham The Peace Corps veterans all gained


important life lessons while doing good work. As Hope Stevens said, “I learned that my way isn’t the only way.” Not only is it possible to do things differently but to live differently and think differently. But first one has to open one’s eyes and mind. “I realized that I need to stop, look, and listen to others,” she said. Lara Ingham learned


about the importance of connection to other people and what makes that possible. Upon her arrival in Palau, she was quite lonely and found it difficult to accomplish her work of setting up a library. It took time before people came to trust her. When that trust developed, people began providing the information and resources she needed. “Things happen because of relationships,” she said. Lara became deeply involved with the


community in her village, and when she returned to the States, she moved


into an apartment and once again experienced a kind of isolation that didn’t exist in her village. “Here you can go through a whole day without talking to somebody,” she said. “You couldn’t do that in Palau.” The lessons Hope and Lara learned


as Peace Corps volunteers affect their work as teachers. Hope listens carefully to her students, and Lara builds trust with her students so she can help them learn. Karen Seder might not even be teaching if she had not joined the Peace Corps. When she graduated from college, she had no interest in teaching but simply wanted to travel and the


Corps offered


her a way to do it. Her response to the teaching assignment was, “Wow, you’re going to let me live in another country for two years?” “I found my vocation, which was the


last thing I ever expected,” she said. She also met her husband, Phil, another volunteer. They returned to Lesotho a few years ago with their two children, Annie ’09 and Claire ’12. She was reunited with one of her students who had become the head of the mission


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