 Welcome to Crossroads in Learning. I am your host, Keisha King. I'm so excited that you are joining us today. I have two wonderful guests who are near and dear to my heart. They are fellow teachers. That's right, two wonderful teachers who were recently honored because of their unique style of teaching in the classroom. As I know personally, and many of you know that it takes a special person to be a teacher. You have to really, really love what you're doing for a lot of reasons. But today, we are honoring two people who not only love what they're doing, but they found innovative ways to make sure our children learn what they need to learn in a very fun and exciting way. So much so that this year at the 2020 Grammy Awards, one of our teachers was being honored. So please welcome with me two wonderful guests, Isabella Barrett and Inger Stonehill, two teachers from Farrington High School. Aloha, ladies. Aloha. Welcome to Crossroads in Learning. I am so excited to have you on and to discuss the wonderful honor that you received for your classroom teaching techniques. I'll start with you, Isabella. Please tell us, what subject do you teach and where and about how many students do you have? Well, I teach ninth grade English at Farrington High School of all classes combined. I have about 70 kids. 70 students. Wonderful. Now, how long have you been teaching? This is my 10th year teaching. Congratulations. You made double digits. Yes. Wonderful. Inger, how long have you been teaching? Where do you teach and how many students do you have? Well, I am a Sped teacher in inclusion, and I help out with the ninth grade English. And I've been teaching for 15 years at Farrington High School. Wonderful. All at Farrington. All at Farrington. All right. So remind me, what is the mascot for Farrington? The mascot, the governors. The governors. Go governors. Woo-hoo. Awesome. OK, so we have two very well-tenured teachers, 10 years and 15 years, a mighty long time. Isabella, tell me, what made you get into this career field? Quite honestly, I was looking for, because originally, I'm a philosophy theology major, and I needed to fill my credits for graduation. And one day, I was driving by the education department, and I thought, I think that would be a good fit. So I went in, looked into it, and fell in love with it, and just stayed with it ever since. That's wonderful. So then, might I ask you, since you were once a philosophy and theology major, what is your philosophy of teaching? Very briefly. Call to care. I believe that's the foundation of my philosophy in education, meeting kids according to their needs. I love that. That's a very unique choice of words, call to care. And I say that because typically, in a theological sense, when a person is called, we are talking about call to the ministry or call to the mission field. And I would say that probably the classroom is your own mission field. Is that about right? Absolutely. Absolutely. That's a beautiful thing. I think you have to be called to this profession. Absolutely. I always say that for me, it's not a mere vocation. If you look at it as just a job, probably won't last long. I agree. I agree. So Inger, I'm going to turn those same questions over to you. What made you choose education as your focal point for your career, especially special education? Well, this is really my second career. I was in hotel restaurant management. And then as I got older and I was a stay-at-home mom, I kind of looked to my father. He was a professor at a college. And I thought, you know, that might work. And I really did like special education because it is so individualized. And you know, you can be in a classroom of five, 10, or you can be an inclusion. So I felt like that would suit me best because it's flexible. I understand. Now, what is your philosophy of teaching Inger? Well, I always say, I feel like teaching is like how you garden. You plant a seed. And you plant a seed within these kids. And then, you know, you keep watering it. You keep watering it. You keep giving it food and water. And then they will bloom. And here at Farrington, one of our mottos is go forth to serve. So in 15 years, some of my first class of kids, they're now turning 30. So I think they're doing good. That's awesome. You know, when you're in this field and in this profession, you simply think about the students that you have before you. You give them all. You're all. But then you forget that they continue to grow. And they're ready to graduate. And now some of yours are in their 30s. That has to be an incredible feeling to know that you've helped them blossom following your ideal into young adults. That's a wonderful thing. You know, as we all know with our public school proud model here in Hawaii, we take great pride in our public school education. We put forth a lot of effort. And as an inclusion classroom, which means that students who are typically developing as well as exceptional learners who are in special education, we combine them in one classroom to ensure that all students are getting the best possible education. And we differentiate instruction to make sure that happens. Bella, we want to talk to you about how you differentiate instruction using music. Will you please share with us a little bit of how this idea came about? Well, I started using music since the beginning of my career, actually. And I was inspired by one of my college professors. He would use music to introduce us to the central idea of whatever text we were looking at. And I just remember how it really struck an accord with me. And so one day when I was teaching and the kids were just, we don't want to read this text. We don't want to read Romeo and Juliet or whatever the text may have been. And so I decided to find music that they liked. So I did a survey to figure out what music they was, genres of music that they liked to hear. And then once I found what was really dear to them, I started doing a bunch of research on different songs that would relate to whatever text that we were going to learn that week. And I use it as a hook. And so the music, what it does is it raises the level of rigor because it raises the level of engagement that the student shows with text. And that's one of the key points from our school district leaders is that they want increased rigor for all students, not just your highest functioning students, but even our special ed students. You can increase the rigor and make sure that they are still capable of attaining whatever it is we want them to learn. So Inger, what is your part in all of this? What role do you play as an inclusion special education teacher in a classroom that sounds very innovative? Well, I, you know, I am there to service the special ed students in the classroom, but I service everybody. And I just, I've worked with Bella for three years and I also enjoy music. And when I saw that by using the music, it's like a great equalizer. And that's what I'm there for too, to have everything be equitable and have everybody have access to the rigor, to the curriculum and music does that. And so I've always have seen it in action that music and the kids can relate to it, whether it's hip hop or even we've had country music. We had Frank Sinatra. We've had many different music genres and all the kids can relate to that and then increase their learning. Okay, sounds good. I like the idea of this. In fact, when I was working in grad school, I had to write a thesis paper simply stating the connection between music movement and the brain and how it does help our students grasp information. I know that if I asked either of you to name the lyrics of any of your favorite songs from childhood, you could probably follow the song from beginning, middle and end, which is essentially all we're asking our students to be able to do in an English class. So before we get into talking about which songs you used and whether or not you even knew the songs from the beginning, I would love to know what that survey was like for your students, Isabella, when you asked them to complete a survey about what genre of music they liked, what were their responses like? Did they have any idea of what you were going to do? I think many of them thought that I was just have a playlist music playing behind them as they worked. I don't think they realized that it was going to become a part of the curriculum, but they really enjoy it. They absolutely love it. I still have kids from previous years that will come by and if they notice lyrics posted, they're like, oh, yes, studying today. And sometimes they'll sit and they'll have a conversation with current students about their perspective on the text. So it's pretty neat. I think that's interesting too, because another thing that the DOE Department of Education is enforcing for many of our schools is collaborative talk or collaborative communication. And as Inger has stated, there is nothing more uniting than music. I think that many of us can connect and relate to one another based upon music that we listen to, even if it's a different genre of music than we typically enjoy. I know for many years I've learned to embrace other types of music. And what I found here in Hawaii is that music seems to be universal. This is the only place I've come to where I've heard music that sounds Jamaican, but it's Hawaiian and they mix it. And then they take country songs and soul songs and they mix it in R&B old school and mix it with new school, with a Hawaiian singer with a Chinese accent. So there's a lot that's going on right here in Hawaii with our music. We're going to talk when we're about to take a break and when we come back from our break, we're going to talk for just a little bit more about what's happening in your classroom. And then I wanna learn how it became recognized by the Grammys of all places in the world. Music is music everywhere, but there's nothing higher than the Grammy Awards. So we're gonna talk about that, the 2020 Grammys and you guys representing Hawaii and the Samoas. I wanna touch on that. I got, yeah, I found out. I've got a super picture I wanna share too about that. So you've been- And I'm actually a 95 grad at Barrington. Is that right? So you're teaching at the high school you graduated from. What a wonderful thing. That's something else that's very unique to Hawaii. We love that. And we are, as Inger stated, we are growing our own, which is the goal right now. That's how you keep a teacher here in Hawaii. You grow your own. So you've been watching Crossroads and learning with me, your host Keisha King. We're gonna take a one minute break and be right back after this. Aloha, I'm Christine Linders, a physical therapy specialist and the host of Movement Matters. My show is designed to teach you the simplest and most effective treatment strategies to get you out of pain and back to doing what you love. If you or someone you know is having pain in a certain area of the body, it would like a free assessment in treatment over media or in person and then come on the show to talk about it. Email us at thinktechmovementmatters at gmail.com. Or if you have a topic you would like to know more about, please email us. My goal is to decrease pain all over the world, inspiring people to take better care of their bodies to enjoy life to the fullest. I look forward to hearing from you. Aloha, I'm Stan Osterman, Stan the Energy Manager every Friday here on ThinkTech Hawaii. If you're really interested in finding out what's going on in energy, especially here in Hawaii, but also all the way around the world and especially if it has to do with hydrogen, look into Stan the Energy Manager every Friday, 12 o'clock, ThinkTech Hawaii. Be there, Aloha. Welcome back, you're watching Crossroads and learning with me, your host, Keisha King and two wonderful guests. One who was recently honored at the 2020 Grammys. Take a look at Isabella Barrett and her significant other, I believe her husband, as they were attending the 2020 Grammys this year, full on attire, Samoan attire, representing Hawaii and Farrington High School. Isabella and Inger both welcome back. Thank you. We wanna talk about the attire. I wanna say, first of all, girl, you looked good. Thank you, thank you. You're welcome. So now what is the significance of what you wore? Because you know, that is the red carpet question. Who are you wearing? Right? Yeah, actually, we got our ensemble from the Pacifica boutique in Waianae and they have their items shipped in from Samoa. So that's where I got it from. So they have a whole bunch of different things to choose from, but what we were wearing is the formal wear that Samoans will wear to like a wedding or any special event. My husband is Jamaican. Okay. And he had, and people were asking him, why would he decide to wear the traditional male attire, the Iefai Ganga and the Ula Fale, the lei that he had on. And he was saying that, you know, as an African American Jamaican, I see a lot of Polynesian kids that would adapt our style, our culture to their own personal style. And so he said he wanted to give them a shout out about their culture and how much it means to our family and that he wanted to, you know, adapt that into his own personal style at the Grammys. I think that's beautiful. You guys are a cohesive unit. And I think that as many, there are several African Americans who talk about representation and how important it is. So I think it's wonderful that he took a moment to represent your culture and how important it is to you all as a family unit. So thank you to him and to you for doing that and representing the Samoan culture in that way. And free shout out to that store that provided you. Give them, mention that name one more time. Le Pasifika Boutique in Waianae and the owner. He's a math teacher at Waianae High School. Teachers are running this, okay? Awesome, way to go. Well, that's a wonderful thing. So now here you are at the 2020 Grammys. Now I should mention you have four children of your own, right? Five. I don't wanna leave out the baby, okay? Five children. What do they think about mom and dad now going to the Grammys? Was there anyone that they told you, say hi, look for this person? Oh yeah, Demi Lovato, Billie Eilish for sure hands down during her performance. I tried to like base time my kids because they're such huge fans. And I was like, oh man, I hope I don't get into trouble. We ended up turning it off because they were just too loud. I said, you're too loud. I can't have you on there, but yeah. That's amazing. That's a wonderful for a school family and your personal family to experience. Now, why is it that you were recognized and how did that come to be in two minutes or less? Let us know how that happened. Well, actually Inger told me about the, she told me about it a couple of years ago and I kinda ignored it. I was like, oh, but then I got an email again asking if I would consider applying and I did. Okay, well, shout out to you, Inger. Thank you. Yeah. And so Inger, you found out about this just basic research? Well, I just went, when I first started with her three years ago, I'm like, oh, she uses music. It's so great. And just came across a link that said, oh, you know, if you use music in your curriculum, apply for this award. So I told her three years ago and then she didn't do it then, but then she perfected it more and we used it more and more. And so finally this year, she did and was so excited to, was so excited that she applied and that she won. Cause that's across the nation. Yes, yes, I know. And I wanna get the title of this correct. If you don't mind, excuse me. This is the Jane Hortner Education Award Program. And so with this program, you were able to receive a $3,000 honorarium, a $1,000 grant awarded to your school, two tickets to the 62nd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California, plus travel and accommodations, lucky you. And then of course you'll be, and the after party. Oh my. Oh, you had a royal treatment. Treated like the true star that you are, a star in education. So now when I was vetting this story, I heard from a very familiar artist, Carmen, also a Grammy Award winner. Tell us what were his thoughts about what you do in your classroom? Well, I didn't talk to him. So I have no idea. Oh, well I'll tell you what he said. Oh, he said something. Yeah, he was awesome. He spoke very highly. He stated that it is so important that we keep the arts in our school and that we utilize music in the classroom and the fact that you're doing it speaks volumes of your character and your love for teaching and for your students. So there you go. Oh, that is so cool. Thank you. I didn't know. Yeah. Love, common. Right, who doesn't? He's amazing, right? And his original name was Carmen Sence. I think he has loads of it. But now he has another artist that was very significant at this year's award ceremony and that is Demi Lovato. Now tell us, what do you know about her? What are your thoughts? And were you looking forward to actually seeing her there? Oh, yeah. I mean, her performance was just amazing. I mean, she brought me to tears. It was, she was flawless and she looked absolutely beautiful. But most importantly, it's the message that she was singing with her song. And that's something that, cause she's been talking, I mean, one of the lines that's repeated over and over, does anybody, can anybody hear me? Just hearing the voices of other people and what they're going through has been a huge theme in the 10 years that I've been teaching and music is a great way of helping students expand their circle of friendship, expand their point of view. It gives them the tools to learn how to listen to other people when they're speaking and to be okay with differences. You know, I think that's key for all people in general, but especially our high school students, as I'm aware, you all have faced some very unique challenges and tragedies at Farrington High School. So being a listener and paying attention to people who need to be heard would make a huge difference. And for those of our viewers who aren't aware, you know, Farrington High School as many high schools in the nation have lost students due to suicide recently, whether it's from bullying or just from basic survival needs, we're losing our children. And so to have that song asked over and over again, is anybody listening? I would say yes, that there are at least two teachers at Farrington and probably several more in that school and throughout the country who are there to listen. So if you or someone you know needs someone to talk to, go to a trusted teacher, they are available no matter how busy we may seem. We'd rather listen to you than attend any service that is an end of life celebration, which you all have recently done. So we thank you so much for your dedication and commitment in that regard. You're doing a wonderful work for a wonderful, in a wonderful way, utilizing music. So do your students have a genre of music that you absolutely had no idea about, but now you love? And it looks like we may have lost anger. So I'll just keep this conversation between Isabella and I and we can, yeah, there we go. So Isabella, Isabella. I've been the other way around, yeah. Okay, tell me about that. Because when I met them, the only thing that they would listen to was R&B and hip-hop and rap, that's it. And so it was quite the challenge to get them interested in other genre of music because my whole goal was to get them to see how genre represents different cultures. And when you open yourself up to other types of music, you're really opening yourself up to different types of people. And so what I did is I paired Eminem with Johnny Cash. Oh. And the Goo Goo Dolls. And the Goo Goo Dolls. And the Goo Goo Dolls. Yeah. Well, now that is very different. So let's go over this for those who might not know. We have Eminem, who is a rapper, but he's a white rapper, right? One of very few. Then you have Johnny Cash, who is an amazing country singer, but a rebel in his own way. And then the Goo Goo Dolls, I don't even know how to describe them. Alternative. Alternative. There you go. Yes, yes. So you meshed them together. Yes, I did. Because we were just trying to, because one of the things that we do in class is to, I create a space for them to discover their identity and their purpose in life. And so the first thing we talk about is their names. So Goo Goo Dolls, they have a song called Name. Johnny Cash has a song called A Boy Named Sue. And Eminem has, you know, my name is. And what I did, what the kids did is they found commonalities between the three of the songs and the importance of the name. That's exactly what a teacher is supposed to do. Open their eyes to new possibilities, to new ways of thinking, and to help them become critical thinkers. I want to congratulate you, Isabella, for what you have done thus far in your classroom in 10 years of teaching. I think it's remarkable and groundbreaking and much like what Common said, you need teachers who are going to reach beyond themselves and really dig deep into what our students need because they are our future. And if we limit them, especially here on an island, if we limit them to this rock and what's happening on this rock, then we won't have much of a future. So thank you for reaching beyond where you are. And thank you. Welcome back, Inger. Thank you too. Thank you for being a special education teacher in the classroom, in an inclusion classroom, exactly where we need you. I want to thank you both for coming on Crossroads and Learning. Keep doing what you're doing to educate the future. And thank you all, my viewers, for watching. As always, we'll see you next time at Crossroads and Learning. Aloha.