During the internship period, the intern will be required to be at the CASIE office or events. Duties include but are not limited to internet research, assisting with projects and meetings, facilitating correspondence and workshop coordination. The internship includes a paid stipend with length with a target start date of May 2012. Start time [...]]]>  

During the internship period, the intern will be required to be at the CASIE office or events. Duties include but are not limited to internet research, assisting with projects and meetings, facilitating correspondence and workshop coordination. The internship includes a paid stipend with length with a target start date of May 2012. Start time and duration of the internship varies based on applicant’s needs varying from 3 months long at 30 hours per week to 6 months long at 15 hours per week.

• Student may receive credit for internship as part of an existing university program.
• Student must illustrate clear interest in the marketing and promotion of international education.

Location: Atlanta, GA

Start/End Date: May through August 2012

The Application Process           
Applications are reviewed and final selections decided by CASIE staff members. Applications are judged on the quality and significance of the application.

How to Apply
Submit resume and cover letter, which should include a personal statement about how you feel you will benefit from the CASIE internship via fax to 404.848.9042 or email to jennifer.long@casieonline.org.  No phone calls, please.

Terms and Conditions
Stipends are paid monthly and vary based on length of internship.

Twenty countries in Africa, the Mid-East, Eastern Europe, and Asia are requesting English language instructors for military cadets aged approximately 18-22 year old.  Instructors will lead a three-person team of two [...]]]>  North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) is seeking applications for instructor positions to teach English as a Second Language abroad this summer.  

Twenty countries in Africa, the Mid-East, Eastern Europe, and Asia are requesting English language instructors for military cadets aged approximately 18-22 year old.  Instructors will lead a three-person team of two ROTC cadets and one instructor and will teach English as a Second Language to military personnel in the host countries.

Each position requires two days of cultural and language instructional training in Georgia (April 13-14), as well as five days prior to departure and two post days upon return at Fort Knox in Kentucky.  Additionally, there will be a required After Action Review (AAR) session lasting two days in the Fall.

Rotations and Participations Dates (Includes time at Fort Knox):

Country                     1^st Rotation        2^nd Rotation          3^rd Rotation

*Requires two teams
**Instructors in Jordan and Tunisia will have some additional curriculum development duties.

Qualifications: 

• Must be qualified to teach at baccalaureate level
• PhD, EdD, Master’s Degree, or 18 hours in related coursework
• Must be qualified to teach languages (English or another language)
• Recommended ESL/EFL certified, but not necessarily required
• Waivers available under certain circumstances, but instructor must be prepared to supervise/ deliver language instruction, as well complete a specialized preparation course
• Expertise in or connection with the placement country is helpful
• Preference will be given to applicants with high-intermediate skill level in one of the dominant languages of the host country

Teacher Compensation:  Travel accommodations and meals will be paid in-country. Instructor pay will be a lump sum payment of $4,200US for a three week rotation, $8,500US for a six week rotation, and $12,700US for a nine week rotation upon completion of rotation. Instructors are required to attend an orientation and debriefing. This includes preparation time at NGCSU and Fort Knox. Please note that the University System of Georgia requires that all funds be distributed through direct deposit.

Curriculum:  Instructors will use the Defense Language Institute American Language Course but will be expected to supplement the course with his/her own materials

Vaccination Information:  Information regarding vaccinations for a particular country can be found by going to http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/list.htm

Application Deadline:  Review of applications begins March 2, 2012, and continues until all positions are filled.

Application Procedure:

Apply online at:   https://northgeorgia.peopleadmin.com/postings/search 

The position is entitled “Director of Instruction.”  Be sure to mention your dates of availability, your country of preference, and your suitability for selection in your cover letter.  Include your curriculum vitae, and an unofficial transcript (official transcript if hired).  Do not submit documents not requested.  Applications are to be submitted electronically as a complete package to the NGCSU Human Resources.

For general information, please contact John Wilson at jwilson@northgeorgia.edu.   

For information concerning travel, compensation, visa information, and application procedures, please contact Scott Wells at swells@northgeorgia.edu .

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”

-  Albert Einstein

At the beginning of November, 2011, I [...]]]> by Claire Lee Adair, class of 2014, Atlanta International School

David Perkins addresses the conference on Educating for the Unknown

“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.All these aspirations are directed toward ennobling man’s life, lifting it from the sphere of mere physical existence and leading the individual towards freedom.”

-  Albert Einstein

At the beginning of November, 2011, I attended Project Zero’s Educating for Today and Tomorrow, a weekend-long symposium of speakers and workshops on the importance of art in education. Project Zero (PZ) was founded by philosopher Nelson Goodman of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and the organization has been an active force for arts in education since 1967.  Striving to develop and enhance education across schools, academies and institutes, Project Zero’s mission is to “understand and enhance learning, thinking, and creativity in the arts, as well as humanistic and scientific disciplines, at the individual and institutional levels.” (Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2010)

I admit that I hadn’t heard of this conference until a week before it occurred, but Project Zero’s arrival in Atlanta this year, led by Dr. Howard Gardner of “multiple intelligences” fame, sparked much excitement amongst teachers at my school, Atlanta International School (AIS). While the target audience was primarily educators, I was eager to attend. A “press pass” was my key to participating on the first day, and this article is my attempt to capture what I, my teachers, and now my classmates are gaining from Project Zero. The first day was hosted at the city’s premier visual and performing arts facility, the Woodruff Arts Center, with presenters using galleries in the acclaimed High Museum of Art. The second and third days of the event were held at Atlanta International School.

Educators Shari Tishman and Lois Hetland set the tone in the opening plenary session about “Learning to Look, Looking to Learn” and “Project Zero’s Lenses on Contemporary Art,” respectively. Tishman explored what it means to “look for oneself” in art: each individual observes, comes up with inferences on, and speculates about an artwork which illuminates truths of his/her own life. Hetland, in keeping with Project Zero’s core concerns, spoke of the metaphoric value of contemporary art: most “modern” artwork, through its very simplicity, can be interpreted many ways. Therefore, through one simplified vision, all areas of interest can be accessed.

Tishman’s explanation of “looking for oneself” in art was echoed throughout the day, especially in the morning workshop I attended. Developing a habit of “seeing, thinking, and wondering” was the focus of the first workshop in which I participated. It was called “Artful Thinking in the Museum,” led by Heidi Hinish. Observing Francis Davis Millet’s “The Expansionist,” later known as “The Traveled Man,” Ms. Hinish encouraged us to observe and describe the objects and figures within the painting. After doing this several times, we made inferences about what the painting could mean or symbolize. Imagining what might follow the work’s frozen moment not only led us to further speculation about the potential narrative, but also about the two characters portrayed in the artwork.

I realized that the artist always pours purpose into a work of art. An observer, however, through “looking for oneself” in that artwork, extracts individual meanings, perhaps different from those intended by the artist. Thus, one person finds a point of understanding within another’s creation.

A couple of months after I participated in PZ, a Model United Nations school trip to The Hague (in Holland) opened up a great opportunity to visit the M. C. Escher Museum. In keeping with PZ’s core values, I found Escher to be a clear example of art as a prism of multiple disciplines. I loved the fact that his work—ranging from tessellations to tricks of the eye—combines philosophy, math, and beauty into visual feasts. Just as Escher’s pieces express many meanings, all artwork can be understood in myriad ways. Once art is repeatedly analyzed by many minds, a “globe” of meaning can comprise a single artwork, consisting of and harmonized by a world of observers’ interpretations, yet originated by the maker. This cycle of distinct and emergent understanding over time but in moments of time occurs within the classroom as well, students being the observers whom teachers strive to set in motion.

Now that many of my teachers are using the PZ-inspired “see, think, wonder” learning pattern in class, I find it can be applied to any subject, as seen in the examples below.

After my Spanish class read Como si no hubiera que cruzar el mar by Cecilia Pisos—a novel about personal conflict in immigration—our teacher used the “see, think, wonder” routine to have us cogitate the stylistic writing tools that the author used to establish her novel’s themes. We first made claims about Pisos’ message and subsequently used step 2—think—to justify our claims. Lastly, we posed a question about how or why the author communicated certain messages. This process led me to realize that once we objectively observe a statement, painting, theory, etc., we ponder its meaning and our response to it. Consequently, we can imagine and wonder about these works’ implications or applications to disparate circumstances and life in general. Inquiry caused by the last step—wondering—leads us into a new process whereby we attempt to apply a previous understanding to a new discovery. Seeing, thinking, and wondering becomes a virtuous cycle, or what the International Baccalaureate (IB) might call “inquisitive learning.”

PZ approaches apply equally to math and science. Through the use of “see, think, wonder,” my math teacher encourages us to use our imagination and current knowledge of math theorems to find different ways to solve the same problem. Take what she would call “a typical IB math question:” (taken from our 10^th grade Mathematics for the International Student – second edition textbook)

This question might look straightforward and simple—or simply quite confusing—but there is more than one way to find the same solution as the diagram shows. We can see that the ratio of line [AC] to [CB] is 4:2 because the ratio of one circle’s radius to the other is 4:2. Having seen this, we know that the 8cm line can be divided by 6 (4+2) to get 1/6 of it. Line [EC] will be 4/6 and [CD] the remaining 2/6. Our teacher then wondered about the implications of these findings to the tangent [AB]. She finally used Pythagoras’ Theorem (a² + b² = c²) to figure out the tangent’s length. Meanwhile, another student in our class imagined a separate segment (as shown in green) in order to make a triangle with the 8cm line as its longest side. He added 2cm to the 4cm radius of the larger circle, making the 6cm line [EF]. This way, he could jump straight to Pythagoras’ theorem: 6² + [FD]² = 8². Questions like these require us to use many of the math processes we’ve learned over time and then apply new strategies to problems beyond.

Students exercise freedom when finding their own ways to solve multi-faceted math problems. Similarly, PZ’s focus on art as central to learning allows individuals themselves to control and liberate the flow of their thinking patterns rather than being told what to look for or analyze. Provided sufficient content and nourishment of creativity, students can use their own tools to combat different subject area problems but also to strive in the disciplines most interesting to them. A pattern of “yielding to push to reach to pull,” quoting from the workshop I attended in the afternoon, is thus established. This second workshop, “The Thinking Body: How Movement Informs the Mind,” was led by Mark Borchelt. In it, we learned about the eight habits of mind that form the art studio thinking framework: “develop craft, engage and persist, envision, express, observe, reflect, stretch and explore, and understand art context.” In looking at different subject areas through this framework, I now appreciate how the Design Cycle (used in the Middle Years Programme—MYP) provides a structure for students to deliberately execute their ideas and reach goals. In parallel, the BrainDance, developed by Anne Green Gilbert, consists of the eight developmental movement patterns that establish our motor skills and wire our central nervous systems during our first year of life. Just as babies do over an extended period of time, we performed through the BrainDance an incremental set of body movements which included breathing and touch, identifying and centering around our body’s core, and connecting our core to all extremities of the body. Through the BrainDance, we understood how an establishment of mind-body connection is crucial to effective learning.

Project Zero demonstrates that art has the power to move us emotionally, giving way to spiritual speculation, prompting us to logical inferences, and helping us “yield to push to reach to pull.” These movement dynamics relate to all realms of the human being—emotional, spiritual, mental, and physical. To learn holistically, we need to have a basis from which we can push off and risk the jump to grasp new discoveries.

We are beginning to see that each area of study is itself an art. We think that curriculums based on the connection and interweaving of all that we learn are essential in observing both objectively and from the center of our own contexts. So I wonder, can we now use the content provided to us coupled with the creativity we provide ourselves to make us both observers and artists? Could Project Zero be an expression of the aspirations Einstein believed would ennoble our lives?

Works Cited

• “Albert Einstein – Quotes – Quotable Quote.” Goodreads. Goodreads Inc., 2011. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/33738
• “Research Projects.” Harvard Project Zero. Project Zero, Harvard Graduate School of Education, 2010. Web. 19 Nov. 2011. http://pzweb.harvard.edu/research/research.htm
• Tishman, Shari. “Learning to Look, Looking to Learn.” Project Zero. The Woodruff Arts Center. 4 Nov. 2011. Lecture.
• Hetland, Lois. “PZ Lenses on Contemporary Art.” Project Zero. The Woodruff Arts Center. 4 Nov. 2011. Lecture.
• Hinish, Heidi. “Artful Thinking in the Museum.” Project Zero. The Woodruff Arts Center. 4 Nov. 2011. Class presentation.
• Vollmar, Pamela, et al. Mathematics for the international student – Pre-Diploma SL and HL (MYP 5 Plus) – second edition. Adelaide, Australia: Haese & Harris Publications, 2008. Print.
• Borchelt, Mark. “The Thinking Body: How Movement Informs the Mind.” Project Zero. The Woodruff Arts Center. 4 Nov. 2011. Class presentation.

The intro suggested that this was something to be read in 30 seconds.  It took me longer, as several questions arose.  A 30 second reading exercise turned into several minutes of reflection…  I found myself asking:

1 – Did Paolo himself write [...]]]> Earlier this week, I stumbled upon this article from Paolo Coelho’s blog.  http://paulocoelhoblog.com/2012/01/19/30-sec-reading-the-black-boy/

The intro suggested that this was something to be read in 30 seconds.  It took me longer, as several questions arose.  A 30 second reading exercise turned into several minutes of reflection…  I found myself asking:

1 – Did Paolo himself write this article?  If so, why?  Or was he simply responsible for the footnote, which is not overly instructive…

2 – Why did the author choose to narrate the actions and thoughts of the woman, and not those of the man?  How would it have changed the feeling of the story for us as readers if the man’s perspective had been shared instead?

3 – What is “undeniably German”? 

It was this last question that really took the time.  What each of us thinks of as “undeniably German” when it pertains to people probably differs.  For some, German may be someone long since dead, such as Goethe, Albert Einstein, or Beethoven; for others it might be a living day icon, like Angela Merkel, Heidi Klum or Franz Beckenbauer.   I’m not sure I know what makes them German, aside from citizenship.  I think I have an aversion to such emphatic language when talking about people.  Putting labels on people appears to be exactly what leads to the scenario that played out in that German restaurant.  In this vignette, it appears to bolster assumptions.    

My frustration with the phrase “undeniably German” aside, I wonder what situations you have been in when we assumed one thing, only to have our assumptions cast aside once more information is at hand.  Anyone care to provide me a 30 second read?

Attending the Project Zero conference in November was definitely an inspiring experience that sparked multiple conversations between us on how to apply Thinking and Artful Routines to the Spanish classroom. In one of those [...]]]>

By Carmen Samanes and Elena Zapico, Atlanta International School

Attending the Project Zero conference in November was definitely an inspiring experience that sparked multiple conversations between us on how to apply Thinking and Artful Routines to the Spanish classroom. In one of those conversations, we came up with the idea of changing the usual activities of movie watching. Under the impression that  “before the movie” and “after the movie” activities based on analysis of characters and events become easily tedious to the students, our main concern was being able to generate their active participation from the beginning of the film. The creation of deep exploration beyond the plot is also a must that unfortunately rarely happens. Would any of the routines that we learned in PZ work the magic?

Poster with the movie characters and an explanation of the "Circle of viewpoints" routine.

We decided to work with a mixed group of 11th and 12th grade Spanish B students using the Spanish-Mexican production “El Orfanato”, a terror film from the director Guillermo del Toro. We integrated the movie in the units of  “The art of cinema” (11th grade) and “The mechanisms of fear” (12th grade). The entire activity lasted three class periods.

After discussing as a group the topic of fear and its triggers, we proceeded to watch the movie without interruptions for one class period. The next day, we started with the Visible Thinking Routine: “Circle of Points of View”. In preparation for the activity, we created a poster with pictures of the different characters that had appeared in the movie so far. The students were given a sticky note where they had to write the following prompts:

I am thinking about the events happening in “El Orfanato” from the point of view of (name of the character chosen).

1. I think that…
2. A question I have from this viewpoint is…

Students posting their sticky notes with their 3steps of the routine written on it.

Writing the List

It was difficult for the students to stay quiet during the observation because their first impulse was sharing with their mates what they were seeing in the poster. Although we emphasized that they had to observe in silence, we considered their engagement in conversation a sign of enthusiasm. Secondly, the students sat down and made a list of ten words or phrases about any aspect of the picture. We told them to write freely and spontaneously without the pressure of filling all the points. Then, we repeated the process: observing for 30 seconds and listing 10 new thoughts. Finally, we went around the class for everyone to share one idea for each time of observation. While the students were participating, we posted several questions for reflection: What did you miss the first time but observed on the second? Did you have difficulty filling in all the points? Was it less difficult to come up with ten ideas the second time? Which is your most surprising thought about this poster? Did you observe more the second time?

This routine led to a very rich conversation about the students´own thinking process, giving them the opportunity to go beyond obvious description of their outcomes. We  were very pleased to notice how the students were not self-conscious about the correction of their language use but focused on communicating their ideas and experiences. We observed an increased participation and a more relaxed atmosphere than in regular classroom activities.

It is impressive how much this experience has impacted both students and us. We have been tremendously motivated to continue incorporating visible thinking routines in our lessons, not only as formal activities, but also as a philosophy that creates new approaches to our curricula. The students have appeared more comfortable and perceptive in our lessons which has impacted their performance in the formal assessment tasks that followed the movie. A continuous implementation of PZ routines in the Spanish classroom definitely seems to be the perfect companion for our program. The spirit is on!

William Van Pelt and David Donaldson  of TeachUNICEF recently shared this wealth of resources with us and we thought we would pass them along to all of our readers: 

The Federal Service Language Academy (FSLA) is a three-week residential program for students who are interested in an immersion-intensive language experience, fitness, and exploring international-related careers with the Federal [...]]]> North Georgia College & State University (NGCSU) will host its second summer language academy for rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors this coming June and July. 

The Federal Service Language Academy (FSLA) is a three-week residential program for students who are interested in an immersion-intensive language experience, fitness, and exploring international-related careers with the Federal Government.  In 2011, 96 students from over 25 US states and three foreign countries successfully completed the FSLA .

 Students are immersed in intensive language instruction in First-Year Arabic, Chinese, Russian, German, Korean or Second-Year French from highly qualified teachers, participate in a daily fitness program, receive career counseling from federal agencies (CIA, FBI, State Department, Homeland Security, and US Armed Forces), and receive high school credit for successful completion of the academy.  

CASIE will provide a limited number of partial scholarships based on need.  Information about these scholarships will be available on the NGCSU summer academy site below.

For further information, visit:  www.northgeorgia.edu/summeracademy

Press release from Atlanta International School:

 Atlanta International School Mourns Loss of Founding Headmaster, M. Alexander Horsley, 1944-2011 Memorial Service Planned for January 14, 2012

Miles Alexander “Alex” Horsley died December 1, 2011 at his home in Atlanta after a spirited battle with cancer. A linguist, teacher, headmaster, and international education consultant, Alex was [...]]]>  

Press release from Atlanta International School:

 Atlanta International School Mourns Loss of Founding Headmaster, M. Alexander Horsley, 1944-2011 Memorial Service Planned for January 14, 2012

Miles Alexander “Alex” Horsley died December 1, 2011 at his home in Atlanta after a spirited battle with cancer. A linguist, teacher, headmaster, and international education consultant, Alex was an adventurous, broad-minded visionary whose hard work, persistence, and good humor inspired countless students, teachers, and fellow educators during a 45-year career that spanned six continents. Students remember him as larger than life, often calling him “the Gentle Giant.” He remained endeared to them because he always put them first, taking a genuine interest in each one.

A frequent chair of accreditation teams for the Council of International Schools (CIS) and champion of the 42-year-old International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO), with its international curricular framework that eases the transition of students from one international school to another throughout the world, Alex was a passionate advocate of multilingualism. He believed that every student deserves to be prepared for life in an increasingly interdependent world. His chapter “Acquiring Languages” for the IBO’s 2011 book, The Changing Face of International Education, was the latest of his many articles and speeches on the subject. He delivered the keynote address at the Global Language Convention (GLC) in Singapore in 2006 and was invited to organize the 2008 GLC in Atlanta as executive director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE).

Undoubtedly, Alex was proudest of his role as founding headmaster of Atlanta International School (AIS), which he led during its formational first 10 years. The school’s Early Learning Center, scheduled to open in August 2012, is named the Alex Horsley Building in his honor. Alex’s last public appearance was at the November 15th ground-breaking ceremony, where he was celebrated by the AIS community and Atlanta’s Mayor Kasim Reed for his tireless devotion to the school. AIS began in 1985 with 51 students and today thrives with more than 1,000 students from over 70 countries and faculty from 45 countries.

Born January 24, 1944, in Hull, UK, Alex grew up in nearby Hessle. He first traveled abroad at age 13, living with a Swiss family to learn French, and spent more time abroad at age 15 to learn German. These early immersion experiences forged a lifelong love of learning languages, traveling, and exploring new cultures. He studied modern languages at Oxford University’s Worcester College, where he played on the college’s soccer team. Politically active, he was a member of the Campaign in Oxford University for Nuclear Disarmament (COUND) and the Joint Action Committee against Racial Intolerance (JACARI), Oxford’s anti-apartheid movement. He was graduated in 1965 with a joint honors degree in French and German. In addition, he holds an MA from Oxford (1975), a postgraduate certificate of education from London University (1974), and a postgraduate degree in education management and curriculum design from University of Hull (1978).

 With his young family Alex traveled to New Zealand where he took his first teaching post in 1965 at Auckland Grammar School and three years later taught in a parochial school in southern India. He returned to Hull in 1971, where he taught at three local high schools, eventually heading the department of languages at the inner-city David Lister High School.

 Alex moved with his family to the United States in 1978 to assume the position of head of languages at Baltimore Friends School, which appealed to him because of his Quaker background. He secured his first headmaster position at Friends School Mullica Hill in New Jersey (1981-85). In 1985, he answered a call to head a new international school in Atlanta that was being launched by a small group of inspired parents with no money, building, or students. Atlanta International School began as a prekindergarten (4K) to 1st grade school in a small army hut behind a church. It grew rapidly, every year adding grades, until it spanned 4K through 12th grade. Alex shepherded AIS through three locations and building campaigns, and by the time he moved to Beijing in 1996 to become director of International School of Beijing (ISB), he had overseen AIS’s move to its current and final home in a historic Atlanta building.

From AIS, Alex and his wife Gillian embarked on a Far East passage. He served first as director of ISB (1996-98) and then as head of the Chinese International School (CIS), Hong Kong (1998-2002). By then well known for his broad experience in international education, he was sought out as a consultant to international schools in Germany, the US, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Mongolia. He also led accreditation teams for CIS in schools in France, Venezuela, the US, Indonesia, Belgium, Australia, and Portugal.

Returning to Atlanta, Alex was from 2002 to 2004 executive director of the Atlanta Youth Soccer Association (AYSA) and was instrumental in the building of an inner-city field that has been enjoyed by hundreds of youngsters. From 2004 to 2008 Alex served as executive director of CASIE, a consultancy service to support implementation of IB programs throughout the United States. From 2009 on, he worked as an educational consultant, continuing to write, speak, and offer support to develop dual-language schools in Africa (Morocco, Gabon, and Kenya), specifically as a consultant to the Aga Khan Academies and Global Education Management Systems (GEMS).

Alex served on numerous boards, including those of the Alliance Française, New Era Schools Trust (pioneers of interracial education in South Africa), the Association of French Schools in North America (vice-president, 1991-94), and Friends School of Atlanta (chair, 2004-09). Fluent in French and German, Alex also has oral fluency in Spanish and Chinese and working knowledge of written Italian, Dutch, and Russian.

Alex is survived by his devoted wife of 20 years, Gillian Theunissen Horsley; daughter and son-in-law Natasha and Richard Weston of Haddonfield, NJ; daughter Anita Horsley and her life partner Karen Brack of Eugene, OR; son and daughter-in-law Dylan and Elizabeth Horsley of Falls Creek, PA; stepson Steven Maskell and partner Derrick Brown of New York City; stepdaughter and son-in-law Bronni and Niko Karatassos of Atlanta; sister Valerie Gribbin of Hull, UK; sister and brother-in-law Gilda and Christopher Haskins of Skidby, UK; sister-in-law Alwynne Horsley of Bridgetown, Barbados; brother and sister-in-law Jefferson and Freny Horsley of Taunton, UK; seven grandchildren, Aaron and Jonathan Dye and Chloe Weston of Haddonfield, NJ; Asherah and Alexander Horsley of Falls Creek, PA; and Ignatius and Christian Karatassos of Atlanta; nine nieces and nephews; and his 94-year-old mother-in-law Monica Theunissen and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Marion and Rob Hormeyr, all of Johannesburg, South Africa. Preceding Mr. Horsley in death were his parents Alex and Susan Horsley of Hull, UK, and his oldest brother Nicholas Horsley.

A memorial service will be held at Atlanta International School on January 14, 2012 at 2:00 p.m. in the auditorium, with Mary Ann Downey officiating. Afterward, the family will meet friends for a reception in the exhibition space of the Adair Art Science and Design Center.

In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Alex Horsley Fund for Language Learning at Atlanta International School by e-mailing Mary Denson in the AIS Development Office at mdenson@aischool.org. For further information, please call 404-841-3895.

Had he [...]]]> At the recent Project Zero conference in Atlanta, Dr. Howard Gardner posed this question during his Closing Plenary address: “How many of you think WikiLeaks is a good thing?” Many hands rose in favor of the website and many rose against it. Want to guess which way mine went?

Had he phrased the question as “How many of you think something like WikiLeaks is a good thing?” my hand would have shot up in approval. So what’s the difference between the questions to me? Julian Assange is the difference. In a world infatuated with celebrity, it seems that anything to do with changing the status quo would need to be devoid of just that thing – celebrity.

What does this have to do with the world of education?, you may ask. As we look at the scandals, successes, and failures in education it seems we are so eager to put a face on them. A principal, a superintendent, a few named teachers; all get either credit or blame when something happens. While I do believe that one person can make a difference, I also believe that one person is still one person, and people are fallible because they are human. No matter how great his or her achievements, the public will usually look to find a flaw in a leader, even though that flaw may have no direct bearing on their work.

When it began, the Occupy Movement consciously tried not to have a “face.” Has it started losing power because certain faces have come to the forefront? Or on the flip side, has a lack of leadership lead to a lack of a defined purpose? The international hacking group Anonymous has no leader, it resolutely remains amorphous and many-headed. While one might question the legality of what they are doing (as many question the methods of WikiLeaks), Anonymous has no face to glorify or castigate for their actions.

Real change has no face. Real change has no name. I’m not sure I even want it to be a movement. The success or failure of change is the responsibility of everyone involved. Change is slow, arduous and takes many champions to see it to fruition. As we look to change our education system, I hope we can remember this and strive for an ideal education that is so much bigger than any one person could ever think to be.

Suzanna Jemsby, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE), announced that she will be leaving her post at CASIE to assume the position of Head of School at The Galloway School.  Jemsby will stay on at CASIE into the [...]]]> Click here for a personal message from Suzanna.

Suzanna Jemsby, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE), announced that she will be leaving her post at CASIE to assume the position of Head of School at The Galloway School.  Jemsby will stay on at CASIE into the spring to ensure a smooth transition prior to assuming her new role at The Galloway School on July 1, 2012.

Jemsby served as CASIE’s Executive Director since 2008.  She was previously the Head of Upper School at Atlanta International School.  During her time at CASIE, Jemsby has overseen many key outreach initiatives, creation of new partnerships and the implementation of a scholarship program.

 “Suzanna has contributed significantly to the growth and stability of CASIE and we wish her great success in her new role.  During her time, CASIE provided professional development to over 8,000 educators while embarking upon wonderful partnerships with Project Zero and UNICEF.  We will continue to build on the great foundation CASIE has and capitalize on this time of transition to strategically look forward to our expansion plans, ” stated CASIE Board Chair Axel Leblois

Jemsby said that the decision to leave CASIE was not an easy one.  “It is difficult to leave CASIE.  I have a very supportive board and an incredible team.  I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity at The Galloway School and I am very excited for the next step.”

Leblois indicated that the board will soon announce its search to replace Jemsby.