Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/34960
T Fly high his summer Kelly Cooper will be getting in touch with her inner circus performer. She’s planning to fly through the air with the great- est of ease three days a week on a flying trapeze. Presently she takes weekly lessons at Tra- peze Arts in Oakland, which offers classes in- side a large warehouse. But this summer, the Mt. Diablo Education Association member plans to up the ante when it comes to improv- ing her skill level 24 feet in the air by taking lessons three times a week. She has already made tremendous progress: She can let go of the bar and twist in midair before grabbing it again. She can also fly off the trapeze and grasp the outstretched arms of her instructor, who is hanging by his knees. He just happens to be Kory Mildenberger, a physics teacher at Oakland High School and an Oakland Edu- cation Association member. Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord is where Cooper teaches dance movement and physiology — a branch of biology emphasizing the functions and activities of living organisms and their physical and chemical processes. The graceful movements of trapeze artistry and the adren- aline rush from daredevil aerial feats bring both of these subjects to life in amazing ways for this mother of two, who initially tried tra- peze lessons as a way to rid herself of post- pregnancy weight. “The great thing about this is learning something and then wanting to go to the next step and pick a new trick,” says Coo- per. “Sometimes you have a frustrating moment. Then something clicks and you get it. And then you’re just so excited to know that what you wanted to do was re- ally attainable after all.” Meeting new challenges is part of being a lifelong learner, she adds, and she hopes her willingness to take risks (with a net) and push herself to new heights will inspire her students to challenge themselves and pursue their dreams in similar fashion. It isn’t easy. Sometimes her timing is off, and she misses and falls. But she doesn’t give up. Every time she does an exercise on the trapeze, she flips herself off the net and immediately watches herself on video, to analyze what went right and what didn’t. Cooper has no plans of joining the Kelly Cooper circus any time soon, but loves being on the trapeze as a way to “de-stress” and have fun. “Everyone needs to have some balance in their life,” she says. “Teachers are always working and bringing home lessons. ABOVE: Kelly Cooper, a teacher of dance movement and physiology in Concord, begins a swing during a lesson in trapeze arts in Oakland. Sometimes it’s nice to have a lesson yourself in things that interest you.” Best of all, the trapeze gives her a sense of rejuvenation that will hopefully carry over in- to the fall, says Cooper, a 2010 nominee for Teacher of the Year in the Mt. Diablo Unified School District. “It keeps me feeling young. It’s reclaim- ing a feeling I had before I had my career and kids. And it makes me feel good about myself.” H Discover students’ culture alf of the students in Robert Sautter’s kindergarten class at Leonard R. Flynn Ele- mentary School in San Francisco are En- glish learners. To deepen his understanding of their language and culture, Sautter will spend a month at the Don Quijote Lan- guage School in Guanajuato, Mexico. He’s able to do this after receiving a fellowship from the Fund for Teachers, a nonprofit foundation that provides opportunities for educators to travel the world on summer sabbaticals and create their own programs for professional growth. “I have a commitment to better under- standing the cultural orbits within which my students travel,” says Sautter, a member of United Educators of San Francisco. “Cre- ating solid partnerships with the families of my students is crucial in the process of help- ing my Spanish-speaking students maintain pride in their language and culture and helping them meet academic challenges. To do this, I need to learn more about the culture and society from which the majority of my Spanish-speaking students come from. My goal is to improve upon my Spanish while being im- mersed in the culture of Mexico.” The kindergarten teacher hopes his upcoming educational trip will answer some questions he has wondered about: What social customs influence how Mexican immigrants interact with the teachers of their children? What celebrations play an important role in the lives of people from Mexico? How can teachers help Spanish-speaking students maintain a connection with their home cul- ABOVE: Robert Sautter discusses a story with Daniel Huhyn, Juan Mena and Israel Ruiz. Sautter will attend language school in Mexico to better understand Spanish-speaking culture. ture? And how can teachers support fami- lies to help English learners succeed aca- demically? Sautter frequently conducts “home vis- JUNE 2011 | www.cta.org 13