Krulder's Odyssey

  lunch in beautiful Psathopyrgos teaching a class of pre-credential students at Patras University Greek high school students working with refugees in the Youth to Youth program Over the past few months I've been on my Fubright here in Greece, I have learned that Greek schools face incredible challenges. However, in the midst of a severe lack of resources and trauma resulting from a multitude of causes, I have also seen teachers and administrators who have stepped up and created programs that support students in incredibly important ways. And while not all of them are labeled Social Emotional Learning, they are all focused on helping students connect to their teachers, classmates, and community, and the positive results are indisputable. One of the schools I visited with great anticipation was the 1st Epaggelmatiko Lykeio Peramatos, a Greek vocational high school. From a former teacher, I learned about a program that had had a profound effect on the culture of the school. Greek voc...

Chania, Crete - instead of tearing down the centuries old buildings of the old harbor, they build onto them - some sort of metaphor here . . . Still adding to my cat calendar pics - can't help it! So many photogenic little guys here! Anastassios Matsopoulos, permanently certified school psychologist since 1991 and Associate Professor of School Psychology at University of Crete. It is an understatement to say that I have a fraught relationship with research. At the risk of dating myself, I will tell you that I was introduced to research in the time of the library encyclopedia. In my 4th grade perspective, research consisted of running to the encyclopedia shelves and grabbing the A-Ce book before anybody else did so that I could write my report on Brazil. My next biggest challenge was to figure out how to rewrite the 7 paragraphs on Brazil's geography, culture, and major exports and imports without plagiarizing. What was the purpose of my research? I had no clue. My sole motivati...

  Sunrise over the Venetian lighthouse in Rethymno harbor Social emotional learning in a third grade language lesson Social emotional learning in a whole school setting The island of Crete is, quite simply, gorgeous. So far, I've had the chance to visit two of its towns: Heraklion and Rethymno, and they both have very distinctive characters. Heraklion is a bit grittier and crumbling - owing, I've learned, to earthquakes and severe German bombing during World War II. Despite this, its labyrinthine city streets, Venetian fortifications, and incredibly welcoming people made this city a pleasure to visit. Rethymno is something else. With buildings dating from the 16th century, much of it built during Venetian occupation, it has one of the best preserved old towns in Crete. Add to this delicious food, beautiful beaches, and more of the traditional Greek hospitality and you have a recipe for bliss. I am fully enjoying Greek island life. I have had the good fortune to be welcomed into...

  Apollo's Temple on the island of Aegina Quick Americano and lounge at a seaside cafe in Piraeus Recorded a podcast with the eminent John Papadakis of Owlcast radio I head to Crete this weekend, but I have been wringing every last bit out of my days here in Athens. After a weeklong spate of snow and grey days that pretty much shut the city down and cancelled all of my school visit plans for a few days, the sun finally came out again, and the city came back to life. I had my first real glances at the beautiful beaches that Greece is famous for - SO many shades of blue - and I explored more of the ancient history that's around every corner in this amazing country. I have a hard time describing the feeling of standing in a place where people stood in 447 BC, but it's like nothing I have ever experienced in the U.S.  I also have not been shy about sampling the food here. When I asked a 5th grade class that I was visiting what is the one food I shouldn't miss in Greece, the...

  Well, winter has finally hit Athens and a rare snowstorm has slowed down this lively city and cancelled school for today, sidelining my plans to visit a vocational high school and forcing me to stop and take a breath. The past few days has been a whirlwind as I've had to opportunity to sit in on some classes in another public high school, experiencing the full range of engagement and behavior, and some incredibly brilliant and caring students and teachers.  Interviews with Students Because of an impromptu field trip, I had the opportunity to sit down and interview students in small groups rather than the whole class as I have done previously. These students ranged in age from 13 to 15 and they had a lot to say about their education and what could make it better. Students varied in how much they thought the pandemic changed their school experience with some saying it is better now than it was before COVID and some saying it's more difficult. The aspects of school they love ar...

So, it's February already and I've been in Greece just a little more than two weeks. When I first arrived, I had met only my Fulbright team and a few alumni and was worried about the logistics of finding teachers and students to talk to and schools to visit. I was worried that I really didn't know how my research would work and I was worried that I really didn't have a clear picture of what I actually was trying to learn. Don't get me wrong; the excitement over going on my Fubright adventure fully outweighed the worry, but the uncertainty was unsettlling. By now, I realize my worry was fully unfounded, and I've learned to relax and even savor the chaos and messiness of research, just as I've been telling my students to do all along. In the spirit of exploration, I have accepted every invitation that has been extended to me. In the last few days, that has taken me to a fascinating coffee meeting with Chris, a retired educator responsible for creating the Spec...