Ed Tech

By Michael Milone

Ed Tech Teacher of the Year (2004) Finalist

Kathryn Housepian

English Teacher
Perrysburg High School
Perrysburg, Ohio

For the people in a small town in northwest Ohio, Kathryn Housepian might seem a little "edgy." A late arrival to the teaching profession after being a stay-at-home mom, she first began experimenting with using technology in her English classroom in 1996. "About eight years ago, I discovered something remarkable: I'm not the only one who loves music and art and words," she says. "Teenagers do too. We have simply found ways to express these passions using technology."

Through the years, her students have created a staggering array of technology-based projects, including a training video for the local fire department, a public-service announcement about a school levy (it passed), a Memorial Day tribute to World War II veterans, and a substance-abuse safety film. There's also her students' online literary magazine, The Cellar (www.cellarkids.com), which houses an array of movie reviews, local sports coverage, poetry, rants, artwork, and various other forms of student expression.

Housepian admits that "having fun while learning is a personal priority," but that doesn't mean her students aren't constantly challenged. "They're receptive of criticism from me and one another and they are just as willing to push back," she says. "None of us wants to get so comfortable that we simply coast through a day."

BETWEEN THE LINES Kathryn Housepian's students tackled the difficult and important subject of teenage depression in "Between the Lines," a video that examines the demands placed on young people today and how these demands can contribute to depression. In addition to being aired on a local cable television station, the video production won an award at the 2004 Ohio SchoolNet State Technology Conference. IN HER OWN WORDS Through the years our award winners have delivered extraordinary acceptance speeches. This year we were particularly moved by finalist Kathryn Housepian, who spoke at the Ed Tech Leader of the Year awards reception in Denver this October. Following are excerpts from her speech. I grew up in the shadow of the Great War, when the world, spent from bloodshed and chaos, sought the solace of peace and family. Before the flickering blue screens entered our lives-before programming and technology began to eat out our existence-there was a time when the mind filled in what the eye could not. Today's kids are accustomed to passive viewing, watching without doing, learning without improving. ... That is why the role of the teacher has become even more significant. To generate the mind's ability, in my room technology has become the tool of art-writing, drawing, photography, videography, and music; because of its recent evolution, technology does not give the edge to adults. Kids, on the other hand, can quickly grasp technology as a form of expression. Because they are comfortable with technology-the new tool of art-kids can create during a time in their lives when they are bold enough to believe they can do it because they haven't yet learned they cannot. ... My second grade teacher was Mrs. Alcott; she went to Florida for spring break and, because I had never seen the ocean, brought back for me alone a box in which was tucked a sand dollar and a shell, wrapped in tissue paper. ... Wouldn't you know? Nearly half a century later, I still have that box in my closet. Probably I will keep it until I die. For that one act, Mrs. Alcott will always live as a fragrant and shadowy occupant in a quiet corner of my heart; when I doubt my mission as a teacher, I recall that simple act of kindness and its impact on a nearsighted 7-year-old girl who was always uncomfortable in crowds. ... Knowing someone believes in you means you can immerse yourself in the work, without self-consciousness. Knowing someone believes enables the 17-year-old suburban white boy to write and rap a song and the 18-year-old girl, known for her punk disengagement and piercings, to put her artwork, the secret passion that hangs on the wall of her bedroom, into a movie to show the world who she really is. Belief gives the high school senior with no tech experience the ability to narrate, produce, and broadcast a video supporting the school levy on community cablevision, even though this is an unpopular political stance. ... I think what interests me the most about our work, though, is the passion kids bring to it. Love for what you are doing makes you skip lunch, or rush back early to try to claim one of the seven computers. Love for what you are doing means you spend every extra minute polishing your professional portfolio, even though if you got a job now you'd have to ride your bike to get to work. I told you about Mrs. Alcott. Now let me tell you about the gift my ninth-grade teacher gave to me. The box she gave me contained this, written on top of my paper: "You will never be a writer." This box, too, I will keep until I die. Maybe I don't know everything about technology, but I do know this. There are two kinds of teachers; there is the teacher who opens the world for children and the teacher who closes it. In a sense, in utilizing these two elements-the force of creativity and the power of belief-we give the new tools of art and its modern expression to the child. Perhaps just as Mrs. Alcott did for me, I can put the ocean in a box and give it to my students. I humbly accept this award. Article Here