Dive into the latest Adventures in Learning podcast with Dr. Diane and special guest Skyler Fountain! SUNY New Paltz junior Skyler takes the mic and leads a conversation where we explore what it means to engage the community in learning beyond the classroom, the impacts and opportunities of teaching in a post-COVID world, and the future of education. And Dr. Diane turns the tables as we explore Skyler's journey from a fierce preschooler to an inspiring future educator. Tune in now for engaging insights on hands-on learning, inclusivity, and the ever-evolving landscape of education.
Read the full show notes, visit the website, and check out my on-demand virtual course. Continue the adventure at LinkedIn or Instagram.
*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.
Dive into the latest Adventures in Learning podcast with Dr. Diane and special guest Skyler Fountain! SUNY New Paltz junior Skyler takes the mic and leads a conversation where we explore what it means to engage the community in learning beyond the classroom, the impacts and opportunities of teaching in a post-COVID world, and the future of education. And Dr. Diane turns the tables as we explore Skyler's journey from a fierce preschooler to an inspiring future educator. Tune in now for engaging insights on hands-on learning, inclusivity, and the ever-evolving landscape of education.
Read the full show notes, visit the website, and check out my on-demand virtual course. Continue the adventure at LinkedIn or Instagram.
*Disclosure: I am a Bookshop.org. affiliate.
[00:00] Dr Diane: And I wanted to share with the folks who will be listening to the Adventures in Learning podcast that this is a special episode as well, because we're going to turn the tables and allow Skyler Fountain, who is a junior at SUNY New Paltz and somebody I have known since she was two years old. She was an original member of the Millbrook Community Preschool at Grace class and is now going to change the face of education, and she's going to be in charge of this interview today. So, Skyler, thank you for this opportunity to try something brand new.
Intro: Wonder, curiosity, connection. Where will your adventures take you? I'm Dr. Diane, and thank you for joining me on today's episode of Adventures in Learning.
[00:58] Skyler: Perfect. So today I will be talking to a lovely family friend, but also someone I really look up to as an educator, especially when we're answering the question of this class, learning beyond classrooms. If you don't mind, maybe you can introduce yourself.
[01:19] Dr Diane: To answer your question, my name is Dr. Diane. I'm Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor, and I have been in education for longer than you've been born. I started out as an elementary teacher, and I went back to school when my children were little ones and got my doctorate at the University of Virginia. And during that time, I was specializing in elementary education, children's literature, and just beginning hands on early childhood. When we moved up to Millbrook, New York, my daughter, Ella, and your older sister, Tessa, were both at preschool in Millbrook, and the school closed after 30 something years. And we were trying to figure out what we were going to do for preschool because where we lived, there was nothing available. We would have been a 20 plus minute commute every day to take kids to preschool. And you were getting ready to start your preschool year. Ella and Tessa were both going to be four, and your mother turns to me and says, you've got your doctorate, do something with it. So I give Amy Fountain a lot of credit for giving me the kick to figure this stuff out. Doug Fisher, who was the priest at Grace Episcopal Church, he let us use the space in Grace. We started out being able to use it rent free, and as we became successful and established, then we worked out a rental agreement for the space. But they were so generous in giving us the space, we were able to hire teachers from Cardinal Hayes to bring in and eventually able to expand and hire additional teachers as well. And that preschool, even though I'm no longer with it, is still running, gosh, 17 years later or something ridiculous like that. When we left the Millbrook area ten years ago, I was teaching for UVA, doing adjunct work with children's literature, and I wound up working in the museum world for a while, looking at education from a hands on perspective, working with everything from preschool to 8th grade. I was the director of education at the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum. And then during COVID I was in a professional development with Steve Spangler, who you may know as the Science Guy. And while getting me to dump water on my head, we also established this relationship where we realized we were coming at education from the same perspective, from that hands on education point of view. And so over the next six months, he kind of slowly but surely worked on me to get me to leave my job and take what I know on the road. And so for the last two years, I've been traveling the country, soon to be the world, doing Dr. Diane's Adventures in Learning and helping teachers to be able to connect hands on STEM and STEAM with multicultural children's picture books. So that's it in a nutshell.
[04:26] Skyler: Amazing. Yes. So if we just back all the way up, what when you were growing up, when you were a teenager, deciding what you wanted to do with your life, what made you go into education?
[04:39] Dr Diane: So I didn't start out in education. I had always loved reading and wanted to be a journalist and a writer. And so when I went to American University, my major was actually journalism, political science and theater, double major in poli sci, journalism, and then I minored in theater. And it was my senior year, so I was your age exactly, I was just going into senior year, and I was like, wow, I think I really want to be a teacher. And of course, by then, it was too late, and my parents were like, not on your life. The scholarship would have run out. They're like, Go out, work in the real world, figure it out. And so I spent the next few years I was working with AmeriCorps, the National Service Program. I was part of the original group of young people who lobbied to get that passed. And after it was passed, it kind of felt like I should be giving, you know, I've been telling everybody else, you should be out doing this. I should be doing it. And so I went back home to North Carolina and actually was on the first team at the governor's office to install AmeriCorps in North Carolina. And during that time, I met my husband Barry. And after we were married, we moved to Charlottesville, Virginia. And it was sort of one of those spaces again. It was a fresh start. And I had spent five years doing this other work, and I thought, why not see if I can get into UVA? And the odds were slim for the program that I went into. I went into a master's in teaching program, and they only took, I think it was like eight of us into that program because it was a two year master's program for postgraduate people. But they paired it with the undergrad five year program. And so the bulk of the positions went to those who had been there for the four years and were doing their fifth year, and they would admit eight of us every year. And I got waitlisted initially, and I must have written a really persuasive I live locally, please take me off the waitlist letter, because they actually did, and I wound up loving that program. It was two years at UVA. I really got to immerse myself in hands on education. I learned so much, and all of the stuff I had done previously wound up connecting really well because I understood the policy side of education. So now I was learning the nuts and bolts pieces of it. So I kind of came to it in a weird, roundabout way. But once I got into UVA, I really have never looked back. Education has been a huge part of what I've done ever since.
[07:31] Skyler: Right, and from that, did you go straight through with your doctorate, or did you take some time?
[07:36] Dr Diane: I took some time. I actually taught third and fourth grade and in a school that was very much like Abbott Elementary, and I learned an awful lot while I was doing it. I had Miranda, and during that time, I was working on the reading program. I stayed within the school system, but went to part time work, and so I helped run their Book Buddies program. And so I got to learn a lot about reading that you don't do as much as a classroom teacher because you're dealing with everybody. Working in the Book Buddies program, I was really focused on how do we partner volunteers and students, how do we make sure that each child has a recipe that's really written for them, and how do we chart their progress? So I learned a lot during that, and then it was, Miranda must have been two Ish, and that's when my advisor from my Master's program says, girl, you should be back in school getting your doctorate. And I'm like, Laura, seriously? I have a small child. She goes, oh, you can handle it. So I went back to UVA. They were so gracious in making it work for me. I was her TA, and so much of my degree was paid for by UVA. I did part time work for them while I was there. I taught adjunct stuff and had my second child in the middle of all of this too. So I owe Barry Schnoor probably still at least ten loads of laundry. I think I finally have paid down my debt. But through all of that time, he was taking the kids out camping. He would do this thing called the Grateful Dads and get together with these other dads, and they would go camping while I'm working on writing my dissertation. So there was a lot of red wine and a lot of laundry that was involved in this.
[09:32] Skyler: Multitasking.
[09:37] Dr Diane: And at the time, I didn't even know what I was going to do with this doctorate, and Laura was like, oh, you'll figure it out. And I did adjunct teaching, but the doctorate wound up — this whole being Dr. Diane stems from that. And I couldn't have told you 20 years ago that I would be doing this stuff now. In fact, I didn't even call myself Dr. Diane until I went to the Discovery Museum. And Mr. Mark, who was there, was like, you own it, use it. And so when I was doing programs for kids, he would walk in and call me Dr. Diane, and it stuck. And it was about the same time that people were giving Jill Biden grief for using her doctorate. And I realized, you know what? I earned it. It's okay to use the title. And so I've been using it ever since, and it's just kind of become a part of my professional who I am thing now.
[10:27] Skyler: Definitely, because I knew you as Miss Diane.
[10:30] Dr Diane: You did. That was in the days before I was owning it.
[10:33] Skyler: Yes, of course. So in those more traditional education K-12 spaces, did you see a lot of emphasis on beyond the classroom, or did you try to bring that in in any way, or was that something off your radar?
[10:49] Dr Diane: Oh, I always wanted.to go beyond the classroom from the beginning of my teaching, when I had third and fourth grade. Part of what we did in Virginia in fourth grade was civics, and that's when they're learning how a bill becomes a law. They were learning stuff about the government. So we brought in this young man who had just been elected to our state legislature, young African American man, and he came in and he ran a simulation for my kids on how a bill became a law. So brought in a role model as well as a hands on thing. When we were studying ancient Greece and Rome, we actually created a Greek marketplace that the kids were inviting other members of the school to do. So back then, I didn't necessarily know that's what I was doing, but it was always important to me to bring in the community.
You got it in a more structured form through the preschool, because living where we did, we had this beautiful village of people who were engaged and wanted to be a part of what we did, so, you know, there were things like bringing the fire department. We would either walk down to them or they would come and join us, and that was part of community. And so we would have them come in. We would bring in Mr. Flanigan. We would go down to the hardware store and learn about the hardware store. Your dad was at the bank. And so we'd trick or treat there. The Merritt Bookstore — at the time it was owned by Scott Myers, and we would go down probably once a month. He'd bring in an author, or he would read to you guys, and we would connect in the bookstore. We connected in the dentist. In February, we would go down and they would do a puppet show for you guys and let everybody sit in the chair so they wouldn't be afraid. And one of the things we tried to do with that was then connect it back. And so one of my favorite projects we ever did was building a recycled community where we used recycled materials and you guys designed your own village. And so there was the firehouse and there were the various churches in town and the schools and you guys got to decide, based on what we had learned what went in each of these things. And so there was ownership for it and there was that hands on connection. The other thing that was my very favorite bringing the community in and going outside was the zoo living where we did. We were so fortunate to have the only prep school with a zoo and or the only zoo with a prep school. It really depends on who you talk to. But the Millbrook Zoo was 20 minutes away and Dr. T, — Alan Tousignant — was so great about coming in and talking to you guys as a culminating thing because we would do stuff I don't know if you remember this, but we would do habitats. And so we read Jan Brett books. We read all these different books. We would paint the windows inside the preschool and you guys would put up different animals that would live in the different habitats. And so we were sorting we were talking about mammals and reptiles and insects and it sort of was like this six month process. It was basically from January through May. We would talk about different habitats, different animals. And so then Dr. T would come in and he would sit on our carpet and he would always bring some animal guests and he would talk to you guys about what it was like to be a zookeeper, what studying animals was about veterinarians, things like that. You'd get to meet his animal friends. There was always a chinchilla who would take a bath on the carpet and make a huge mess. There was usually a snake, but he would bring in different interesting things that he thought you all would relate to. And then we finished the year at the zoo. So we would always do our end of year picnic at the zoo. And you guys were so cute because you would be in your little matching T shirts and we would do scavenger hunts where you would try to find mammals and reptiles and insects and snakes and birds and things like that. And then we would meet back and you would get a behind the scenes tour. You'd get to see what a zookeeper actually did. They would let you guys help feed the animals. So for me, that was one of my favorite moments of going beyond.
[15:13] Skyler: It’s funny, that was brought up in class about the Millbrook Zoo, and I was like, oh, spent a lot of time there, right? No, I remember all those things, actually, which is funny how it sticks with you almost 17 years later.
[15:29] Dr Diane: That makes me happy that you remember that.
[15:32] Skyler: Yeah. So when you were finally had this idea, okay, I guess I'm going to start this preschool now, what were things that were really important to you, philosophy wise, that you wanted to make sure you did for this preschool?
[15:47] Dr Diane: One of the things that was hugely important to me was recognizing that you all, as kids, were capable of so much more than the previous preschool had recognized. I wanted you to learn by being hands on. I wanted it to be kid driven. And so I talk about the themes that we had each month. It was a theme, but within that there were so many opportunities, I hope, for you to discover and explore yourselves. And so we would do circle time. And it was important to me that we read and that we were trying to do multicultural picture books even then, because it's a small community, and I wanted your worlds to be bigger and broader than just where we were at the time. I wanted it to be hands on. That was really important to me because I recognize that kids learn in different modes. Not everybody's going to learn the same way. I often say that Ella being born taught me that I didn't know everything I thought I knew. Had I judged everything based on Miranda, I would have been a totally different teacher, because I had this one experience of this one child who she was incredibly book smart, and she was the kid who learned from books and absorbed everything from books. But Ella was my hands on kid. She needed the physical, tactile experiences. And by having two very different children, it opened my eyes to the idea that I couldn't teach in one specific way. And so it was important to me that the people I brought on also were committed to letting you learn through play, giving you opportunities to build gross motor skills, to honor who you all were as the kids that were coming to us. Another piece that was really important to me was creating a place where parents and families were welcomed and honored, because I wanted it to be the kind of place — community was in our name. I wanted it to be a place where families felt comfortable coming in to read or helping to provide the snacks or for our fundraisers. We did auctions every year to be able to scholarship. I wanted to be able to provide scholarships, too, knowing that a good early childhood education should be open to everybody and money shouldn't be in the way. So those were things that were super important to me. But the community piece was big. I wanted to take advantage of where we were in the village and take you all out to explore, bring people in to talk to you, and just to make it the most magical place it could possibly be.
[18:36] Skyler: Yeah, I love that. And I also really love how you mentioned that you believe that kids are capable of so much more. And I think the most underestimated group of people out there because they know more than you think and they can do more than we often think. So giving them that standard aspect is so valuable because you can actually see it for yourself. If you don't already believe that they can do it, you can just watch them do it well.
[19:01] Dr Diane: And one of the things that was a benefit for where we were is, because I had come from UVA, I used PALS testing, and basically that was just UVA’s signature testing. And so I would use that for you guys at the beginning of the school year and at the end. And basically it allowed me to show growth. I was able to see where each kid was, and so I could tell what you needed. Some of it was drawing, and you would draw yourself portrait at the beginning of the year, your self portrait at the end. But there's a lot you learn from that observation in terms of where your sense of perspective is. Are you looking at things top to bottom? Are you starting to add letters? Do you know your name? Are you using uppercase and lowercase? What details are you adding? Like, there's a lot of information you can get from self portraits, but also we looked at phonemic awareness, we looked at concept of print, and then we added in things that told us what you knew about numeracy and patterns and fine motor and all kinds of stuff. And so when you all went to kindergarten, I literally every year, sent something over to Elm Drive and to the other schools, depending on where you guys were going. You didn't all go to Elm, but I could tell them up front, Skyler knows XYZ. She is capable of this. Please challenge her. I spent years beating my head against the wall because they didn't necessarily hear everything I was saying. But the good news was that because we believed in you and we knew you were capable of so much, your families believed in you and knew you were capable of so much. And I truly do believe that as you all started moving through the public school system as a cluster, it started to shift the way they had to pivot and adapt to work with you all.
[20:53] Skyler: I 100% believe that. I think just anecdotally the way that I know people, because not everyone in my graduating class went to preschool with me, but a lot of them did. I would say, like 15 or so of them did. And you can tell, and it's funny how it follows you like that, but I think just having such a good start to learning sends you through the rest of your learning with an ease that is just unmatched if you have a good start.
[21:22] Dr Diane: Well, I agree.
[21:23] Skyler: Yeah.
[21:24] Dr Diane: So just turning it for a moment, what brought you into education? Like, what is it that has brought you to where you are right now?
[21:32] Skyler: Well, it helps that my mom is a kindergarten teacher, so it's always been around me and it's always been like a known career choice. And that's mom's job, that's a big real career because a lot of people have problems with that, which I didn't realize and undervalue the job of a teacher. But I always thought it was a really important, major job and it is, and it is. So that brought me towards it. But kind of like you a little bit earlier on, it was a Pivot because I was originally going to go into communication disorders, speech language pathology line of things, which I liked in the way that it was kind of education adjacent. But by the end of it, I kind of realized more what that whole career entailed. Had a lot of things like swallowing and oral rehab. Chewing not my thing. I can't swallow pills. Like, I'm not going to be able to help people..
[22:31] Dr Diane: I understand.
[22:33] Skyler: So then I was just like, I've always wanted to work in a school as a speech teacher. We can just skip all that other stuff and be a teacher teacher. And then I started subbing when I switched my major and that just kind of confirmed to me like, oh, yes, this is good, this is right, this is a fit and been full steam ahead ever since.
[22:52] Dr Diane: And I am so excited because the world needs your energy and needs more compassionate and I think funny and fierce and smart teachers out there. So I am thrilled that you're entering the teaching profession. And frankly, you were always a teacher even when you were three and four. I still can remember. You would always have a little group of people and you were the mayor of the preschool. Like, you were definitely a leader even then, and the kids would follow you and you would sort of help direct the play, but you also would sit down with the kid who didn't get it and you didn't make people feel stupid. You actually were so good about, well, this is what I think, and for a four year old, that's a rare quality. So I'm glad you're bringing that into the educational world.
[23:46] Skyler: Thank you.
[23:57] AD: Hey, early childhood and elementary educators, are you looking for a way to get that last minute professional development under your belt but not leave the house? Have we got an experience for you. Dr. Diane Jackson Schnoor and Mentored Motivation CEO Amari Shields are getting together December 7 for a two hour online course that's going to explore ways to create magical, interactive, steam based centers for your classroom join us online for an engaging, interactive approach that's going to change the way you go into these dark winter months. Secure your spot today and let's inspire the scientists of tomorrow together. The session is going to be on December 7 at 08:00 p.m.. Eastern Standard Time, and you can register at drdianadventures.com. We look forward to joining you for an adult beverage and some really fun professional development. See you there.
[25:05] Skyler: And I have to say, another kind of nice accident of this whole path that's led me to where I am is that while I was communication disorders with the idea of working in a school, I declared my minor in what New Paltz has social justice, educational studies. Not knowing about it, knowing, but that was the education minor I could do to kind of head in that direction. And then I switched my major, but I was like, well, these classes seem kind of cool. Maybe I can just go through with this minor, major in education, and minor in education. What? But now that I've been in it, I've realized how different it is from the regular Ed curriculum, but how absolutely important it is. And it's almost upsetting to me that everybody else isn't getting this because I think this is the key to being a good, well rounded teacher.
[25:59] Dr Diane: I agree. What are some of the things that you're learning in that program? Or what are some of the courses?
[26:05] Skyler: I've taken a lot of different courses this current semester, I'm in two. This class, which is learning beyond the classroom, and I kind of walked into it being like, I guess we're going to go on some field trips. And we have. But it's also been a lot about things like community and things like what you can do if you're really confined, but you are ready to think outside the box as a teacher. Little things you can change, some activities you can try to do with your students that some will say, oh, that's just an icebreaker, but can really enrich the class. And the other class I'm in is literacy for diverse learners. And I walk in there fully thinking, this is a class where you teach people how to read. No, it's all about media literacy and relational literacy and just kind of understanding the world around us and how we all come to understand the world around us. And I'm fascinated, but that class is a lot of information that I had not previously learned before, but is helpful.
[27:06] Dr Diane: That sounds extraordinary. And I am so glad that as you're entering the education profession, you're going with those tools, because I think that's something that more and more teachers need. I mean, you're teaching kids who are growing up in a digital age. You all are sort of the first group of teachers who grew up in a digital age, and it's changing every day. And so the idea of how do you find things that are true? How do you search through the TikToks and all of the rest of it to find the stuff that's actually factual? That's challenging, because you're bombarded with information day in and day out and then also finding things that tell the full story. You've got to understand perspective taking and your kids. I talk about windows and mirrors that it's so important to allow kids to see themselves reflected in the things that we're teaching and the books that we're sharing, but also to give them windows into other cultures, other perspectives, other worlds, because that's empathy building and compassion building, and that's not mine. That's. Dr. Rudine Simms Bishop but I think that it's such a critical part of what we should be teaching, and that's part of what I bring out on the road when I do professional development with teachers. Now is the whole notion that in many ways, we're living in this golden age of picture books that are truly starting to recognize what hasn't been right in the world and trying to right that wrong. And not just in fictional ones, but nonfiction as well. There's a whole lot of good stuff out there if we're able to do the work to find it and share it.
[28:52] Skyler: Yeah. And that's absolutely brilliant. And I love the windows and mirrors, but that's the key. That's what it's all about, is not only throwing information down kids in their brains and being like, you must learn this, but also letting them as their whole self be part of their education. And what I love about these classes that I'm taking, too, is they're well aware of these educational philosophies, and they're applying it to us as students now. And you can feel the difference, so you can only expect that children will feel the difference.
[29:26] Dr Diane: Absolutely. I'm so excited that you're doing that.
[29:29] Skyler: Oh, I'm so excited. All right, so after the preschool, how many years were you there?
[29:35] Dr Diane: I was at the preschool for eight years.
[29:37] Skyler: Eight years. So a good amount of time. Yeah, Jamie went through. My brother. He went through.
[29:43] Dr Diane: I did. I had my share of babies, and they're all growing up now. When I saw that your brother was driving, I almost fell out of my chair.
[29:52] Skyler: No. It's it's kind of crazy how time goes. But after that, you made a move to Virginia, back to Virginia, leaving New York for us.
[30:01] Dr Diane: I know. I still miss you all.
[30:03] Skyler: So did you have any thoughts? What am I going to do next? What's next for me?
[30:08] Dr Diane: Oh, absolutely. And that was sort of part of that first year or so. Again, Dr. Smolkin, who has been a huge light in my life since I was doing my master's work, I was moving back, and she goes, hey, we're moving into a digital age. How would you like to help me create online courses? So I wound up helping her shape children's literature for libraries and library science, as well as an elementary children's literature course that could be taught online. And within that, we were exploring things like the library as a central maker space, sort of media, not a media center, but an actual learning commons, a place where you would go to learn and grow and explore. We explored book banning. We've been exploring how do you fight back against it? I mean, all of those things were part of what we were doing, and this was ten years ago, so that gave me something to do as I was getting settled in, and I was actually using my journalism degree. I was doing theater reviews and writing and doing some public relations kind of stuff while the girls were getting settled into their life, and I was sort of trying to figure stuff out. And then a friend I had met through book club passed along the Discovery Museum was hiring an education director. And I'm like and so I didn't necessarily 100% fit their job description, but I thought, I could do this. I'm pretty sure I know the hands on, I know how to work with the community. This could be fun. And so they made me audition for the job. I literally had to prepare a lesson, and I had to deliver it to the Boys and Girls Club. So not on site at the museum. They had me meet them off site at Boys and Girls Club, and it's Halloween, so you know as a teacher how these children are wired, right?
[32:17] Skyler: Yeah.
[32:18] Dr Diane: And so they said they would get me whatever I needed. So I wound up doing something with pumpkins. And it was estimating, it was pumpkin seeds, it was sensory, it was messy. To this day, I'm still amazed that they hired me, because Mr. Mark was not into mess and certainly not into the mess. I created that day. But they got a fair sense of who I was. And I was there for six years, and it was such a wonderful sort of rounding out of what I did, because through them I did things like I organized gosh at one point, I think we ran 50 plus camps during the summer. We had two or three going at a time in the morning and in the afternoon for like, ten weeks. And I did not teach all of those, but I was able to go out into the community and bring community members in who did teach those camps. And so because I was able to reach out from beyond my skills, we had people who came in who did fairy tale mashups and Lego camps and flight and aviation. We did art murals and mad science, and there was a Magic Treehouse camp at one point. And then sort of my signature camps. The things that I did, I looked at older kids because I felt like there was this gap for kids between the ages of, like, eight and twelve where there weren't a lot of camps that were geared to them. And so what I wound up doing was looking at the popular books of the time. And so we did a Hogwarts adventure camp. We did a Camp Half Blood camp. So sort of took those series that these kids were reading and were able to lift them off the page. And within that time, everything always connected to science. For me, I loved the hands on science. We were doing science experiments like we'd have potions, and I would bring in guest people to do some of this. That was my other favorite part about this camp. I brought in community members. And so there was a guy who taught chess, and so he taught wizard chess, and we had the big giant chess pieces, and he would teach them the basics of chess up on the roof. The Shenandoah University physical science department or exercise science department came and did quidditch on the roof. We had this fenced in roof. And so the kids we did training and they learned how to the basics of quidditch. We had the Blue Ridge Wildlife, which was kind of like the Millbrook zoo. And they would come in and do care of magical creatures and do an animal story. So I'm trying to sort of connect what we were doing in the camp to these opportunities to bring in community members and to build these connections. Our librarian would come in and she would be the librarian from Harry Potter, and she would introduce them to stories while putting on an act, I learned I learned stuff like that, but I also learned showtime. And it was something that had been important to me when I taught you guys, I remember always reading aloud with trying to do it with flair and doing the voices and things like that. And anyone who's ever tried to keep the attention of four year olds during snack time knows that it's showtime. You've got to be willing to be goofy to keep your attention. Same thing for circle time. And so the museum kind of helped me to really focus in on that quality because we would have kids coming into us. There were days where I might see five third grade classes for an animal adaptations program. So I'm seeing them in groups of 30 minutes, and they're just boom, boom, boom, one after the other. I don't have time to get to know them as individuals, so I've got to figure out how to assess them as a group pretty quickly and then how to have jokes that I know are going to land Be. Able to pivot when those jokes don't land because each group is different. And then be able to set it up so that I can lay out the basics. And then they get to do the hands on piece, which is so important. And then I've got to clean up the room. And I might be doing four programs for kindergartners that afternoon on the five Senses. So it required flexibility, it required being able to think outside the box and to build connections that you wouldn't necessarily think are there at first sight. But you're like, oh yeah, of course we can connect this to this, and that'll make it different than what they're doing in the classroom.
[37:06] Skyler: Awesome. So what would you say at the museum for the demographics, who you saw in the day to day? Who are those students and children?
[37:15] Dr Diane: Preschool through fifth grade, typically in terms of our education program, and then lots and lots of families that would come from all over our tristate area, which was Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia. But then of course, people come to visit. We're off of I 81, so you'd get people traveling north south on there who are coming in for the day, people who have relatives with their kids who are visiting. So that was sort of a separate demographic. But in terms of the programs that we dealt with, we had a lot of title one schools that we worked with. Typically, I would say preschool through fourth or fifth grade was about the cut off. And then we also took the museum out on the road. And so with my colleague Jen, we created something called STEAM Nights, and we would go out with twelve big buckets of stations, take them to schools, they would have people like the National Honor Society who would show up as volunteers. We'd set up the twelve stations, they would run them, and we would make sure that families and kids were able to interact. And again, connecting the hands on with a book and being able to create something that was intergenerational so that the child is bringing their parents or their grandparents, their aunt, uncle, whoever they have, and having a good time and engaging and getting a little bit of science out of it as well.
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[40:13] Skyler: Yeah, absolutely. What was like one memory from your time at the museum that just absolutely stands out is like, that was awesome. I'm so glad I did that. What a cool experience.
[40:26] Dr Diane: Oh, wow, there were so many of them. But I think actually one of my favorite memories was during COVID and we actually committed to running summer camps. The summer of COVID we had been shut down for three months, and people were like, oh, we can't do this. Because again, remember, this is before the vaccines were there. Everybody's masked and they're like, you're never going to get preschool kids to keep a mask on and be able to do this. And I said, my money's on the kids. I think we can do this. And we had to practice social distancing. We were absolutely rigorous about the cleaning. We were not doing three camps a day at that point. We had to spread it out and we had to think outside the box. And so we took over part of the third floor for one camp, and then we used the classroom for the other. And so we were able to do two camps in the morning, two in the afternoon, and no more than like twelve kids in a camp because you had to keep them spaced 6ft. And there was so much planning that went into that. And I wound up doing more of the preschool level stuff, like preschool/K/1 during that time. But we did this magical it was sort of a fairy tale camp. And these kids came in and they were glowing. Like they were so excited to be there. They were so excited for anything we did. They were great when we went outside because we did a lot of outdoor time during this camp. But just that sense of wonder and normalcy, even though we were all in masks, even though it wasn't the I can hug the kids the way I used to, I couldn't do any of that. But I could teach and I could make it hands on. I had to think it through because I'm real big on collaborative work and that was not permitted during that summer. And so it was finding new ways to be able to collaborate while having your own thing to do. And we figured it out together. And part of the reason we figured it out is I was upfront with the kids. I'm like, listen, we're going to have to do this together. I've never taught this way before, so if it works, I need you to tell me. And if it doesn't work, let's figure out how to make it work. And so even a four year old can do that. And that for me was one of the biggest takeaways was that I felt like during that time when families needed us, we were able to be there for them and do something that made a difference. Yeah.
[43:15] Skyler: And for kids of that age, during that time, they missed so much already. So just having even something like camp made probably such a huge difference in their life and their socialization and their experiences with learning.
[43:30] Dr Diane: Yeah. And the other part, and I think it ties into your class, is, thanks to the United Way, we had scholarship funds and so we were able to bring in kids who wouldn't have had the privilege of being in a camp program like that. And that was huge to me. We also instituted, at least for some of the camps, the option where I would film it. And so if a kid needed to be at home, they could follow along from the house. So we tried a lot of different models, but we were able to try to be inclusive for everybody. And I know, having seen some of the delays as I'm out on the road now, particularly for kids who are that kind of pre K through 1st, 2nd grade, I'm grateful that we were able to do even a small part during that time because I think they probably suffered the most, the kids sort of in that demographic.
[44:25] Skyler: Yes. And it is kind of interesting when you think about learning beyond classrooms, how just what, two, three years ago, we were all just forcibly shoved out of classrooms, but learning was still expected to go on. And I think certain educators who had an idea of how to make this work could. But others, it burned them out. They couldn't do it. They didn't understand because it was so different from what they were traditionally doing. And that's where I think it's really adapt and continue learning as a teacher as we move into digital ages and who knows what else is to come?
[45:03] Dr Diane: I noticed that even with sort of some of the folks that I work with in the professional development world, you could see who was able to pivot and adapt and who couldn't. So folks like Steve Spangler, he started making things available on video and was doing professional development via video. And he did stuff for kids, too, where he would do science camps like that. Kesler Science adapted as well. And they were able to pivot and create these station labs that teachers could share with kids at home and the kids would be able to get hands on science and still have a deep content. And I think for those who could think outside the box, they were able to thrive during that time. And I think those that weren't, they burned out because we're not going back to the way it was. I don't think we ever will go back to what it was pre pandemic. And so I think we've got to be able to look at what do we know that kids need and how do we help them get the skills to be creative, to be critical thinkers, problem solvers and collaborative. Because you can teach the facts, you can have kids memorize things, but that's not really what they need in a digital era. They need to be able to problem solve and to be able to face the bigger issues that we have. You all have inherited a world that has a lot of challenges in it. And I want kids who are able to really think, how do we work together to solve problems rather than how do we continue to be divisive?
[46:43] Skyler: Right. That's critical thinking is key, that's for sure. But yeah, just how COVID and everything changed, how many teachers had to run class or school districts during class. I just don't like the idea of pushing back to normal because was normal even the best? I don't think so. I think we could do so much more, and I think we should allow big moments of change to let us learn and do something different now instead of just, well, this is how it's always been. This is how it'll always be. We should continue bringing in new and different and flexible things that can adapt and continue to change well.
[47:28] Dr Diane: And I think one of the things that you've just hit on is we also need to value and trust our teachers and look at who is doing these creative, innovative things and how do we lift them up and amplify them so that other people are hearing about come. Since I started Dr. Diane's Adventures in Learning, I've been to Germantown a couple of times to do programs with your mom and with the preschool and kindergartens there. And one of the things that I've been really impressed with by them is their ability to think outside of the way we always did things. And so they're doing things like bringing me in to do hands on learning with the kids, but they're doing it themselves as well. They do just amazing things that are so hands on and so outside the box. They bring in farmers to talk to the kids. They do the butterfly raising. They always did, but they connect it to world issues now. And I think that those kinds of things are really important, and it can happen anywhere on any budget. It's just a matter of getting the time and space to be creative.
[48:42] Skyler: Right? And I think for me, what I've noticed is you have to bring your whole self kind of into spaces, because it's so easy to be like, okay, I am just a kindergarten teacher following the scripted curriculum today where that shouldn't be the case. You are a teacher who was educated and trusted to do so, and you can do it. You don't need a script. You don't need to just be by the book. And most of the learning, I think I remember, does not take place within that. It takes place in all of the other incredible things you do during school.
[49:18] Dr Diane: Oh, you just made me so happy to hear that, because I do think that's been one of the negatives that's come in particularly with COVID is this tendency to focus on the script and to be delivering everything in a scripted fashion. It kills those moments you're talking about, the moments that are the organic learning, the willingness to stop everything and go with that know, I often talk about, do you remember Andrew Osborn from when you were going through, he might have been Jamie's era. He was the reason I wound up with a smartphone, because he would ask all the questions, and they were good questions, but he was smarter than I was. And I recognized this four year old was smarter than me. And the question that broke me was, how many bones are in a giraffe's neck? And it's seven, just in case you need to know that information. It's the exact same number we have. I will never forget that information. But he was so interested in animals and in learning these kinds of things that it shifted the way I taught because I had my plans and I knew what we were going to do that year, and I threw it out the window. And so that was the year that we really delved into not just the habitats, but I think it was Jamie's year because we focused in then on mammals and not just what a mammal is, but I mean, these kids could have told you hair and milk and warm blooded, they could compare and contrast to birds. They knew all of that because we wound up weaving these questions into everything that we did. And so our art reflected the animals, our games reflected the animals. I got all the content in I was going to do anyway. They still learned to read. They still got the numbers. We just wrapped it in a different cloak because that's where they were. And I had to throw out my script to follow where that particular group of kids was going. And I think that knowing yourself and being able to trust yourself to go, okay, I'm an educated teacher, I'm a professional. I value what I have here, and it's a really good help. And I can wrap it into what I'm doing, but I can also set it down and be in the moment with the kids. That's huge.
[51:52] Skyler: Okay, so your next step after the museum was what?
[51:59] Dr Diane: So I have been doing Dr. Diane's Adventures in Learning for two years now, and it allows me to get to travel all over the country. I do professional development workshops at conferences and in school districts where I help teachers learn how to do what I've been doing over my career. So how do you build these connections? How do we create STEAM experiences and match them up to picture books? How do we build in the literacy to our STEAM learning? So rather than teaching everything in a silo, how do we build connections and live in those moments you're talking about? So I've gotten to travel. I have an online course Beyond Ever After that I did with Steve that if a teacher is looking for professional development and wants to do it while putting their feet up and drinking coffee or something more adult, they can do that. I'm working with a group called Sanguine Consulting in this next year where I'm actually going to get to travel the world and do workshops for international schools. Right now they've got me scheduled to go to Shanghai and Australia, and I'm so excited because I get to teach and travel, which is really cool. So using those skills of being able to deliver material both in person and online, and I am still doing work where I'm doing curriculum development and stuff with kids as well. I'm working on a contract with a local school system right now where they're doing STEMspiration and it's a STEM immersion. And so they've been focused on flight all semester. And so what they've asked me to do is to come in and help kind of tie it together for their kids in K-4. And so I've put together a curriculum that the teachers are going to be able to use during Coding Week that includes a coding game they get to play where the kids take themselves through the airport from check in to getting on their flight. So they learn all about aviation careers. And they can either do it as unplugged coding or use Bee Bots or Ozobots, depending on what they have to use. There are interviews with various people who work in the aviation industry and then we've got a really fun sort of culminating thing where we look at animals who inspire aviation and it finishes with them creating art. So we add in the art in STEAM as sort of a final thing. And through it all, there are multicultural diverse role models that I bring into the program as well, so they get a chance to meet people who are doing different tasks and look at some different stories in history as well. So I get to do all kinds of really fun stuff. I don't say no to a lot of things. If it interests me and it's something I feel can be impactful, then I am more than happy to do some work on it. So it's been really fun to kind of get to pick and choose and travel. I get to see the world and then through my social media, I get to also educate and build connections as well. So when I went to Antarctica, I did a whole series of reels for teachers, families and kids that took you on the trip with me and also connected it to picture books that are already out there. So it's been a really fun two years and I can't wait to see where it goes next.
[55:26] Skyler: Do you have any big dreams or future plans that you'd really like to see happen through Dr. Diane's. Adventures in Learning?
[55:34] Dr Diane: There are a couple of things I really want to do. One, I am dying to travel to Africa. I want to actually be able to — there's a group called Wild Tomorrow where you can go and volunteer, and I really want to work with them and learn more about the animals and then come back and include it in the programming I do, but also write about it. One of my goals in the next few years is I'm hoping to actually be published in the nonfiction picture book world, so working on that. And then I'm collaborating with somebody out in Texas, a friend of mine, trying to take the things that we do in terms of inquiry based learning, hands on STEAM, and multicultural picture books and turn that into a book that teachers will be able to access that will help them to be able to go, oh, these are things I can apply in my own classroom. So continuing to do what I do to grow the business, but also to get more into writing and sharing. So leaving things for the next generation of teachers, definitely.
[56:42] Skyler: That's super exciting and I'm sure you'll do it all and more. So are there any other educators — I know you've mentioned Steve Spangler a few times. Any other educators that you just are inspired by and look to as you go through?
[57:00] Dr Diane: You know, that for me has been one of the big joys of getting to travel the country, is getting to meet teachers who are doing the work and bringing their A game every single day. And we don't all want to bring our A game every single day. There are days that we just don't have it in us. But the idea that you're going in and you're bringing your whole self every day is huge to me. Your mom is obviously one of those teachers that has inspired me. My friend Lynn in Florida has been another one, but I've met a woman named Amari Shields who is an incredible science teacher in Texas. I'm really intrigued and inspired by what the folks at Fueling Brains are doing because they're focused in on early childhood and closing that gap in terms of equity and diversity, being able to help kids really build executive function. So they're focused on cognitive flexibility, working memory, and inhibitory control, but doing it through hands on learning and it's brain based. And I think it's really interesting and cool, and I'm impressed with what they've done so far. But I'm also impressed by folks — you know, just recently I met a bunch of folks from the North Carolina State Parks, and they're providing free educational programs for schools across North Carolina. And it's hands on stuff that's nature based. So I think everywhere I go, I meet somebody who inspires me. And I'm grateful for that because I think that there are so many stories that aren't being told that should be told. And so the more we can amplify those stories, I think the more that we start realizing that what we do for a living matters and that we as teachers, there are more good things than what we see in the media. The media these days focuses on the negative, and I really do think there are far more positive stories that outweigh those. We just have to start telling them.
[59:09] Skyler: I agree. And I also liked what you said about employees of state parks or here or there. You can really find experiences in education everywhere, in everything in your local community or a little bit broader. It's there. It's just we have to remind ourselves that it's there. And then as either educators or even just if you're going to be a parent, be dedicated to showing your children all of these things that exist in the world that are free for the taking if we just provide it for them.
[59:43] Dr Diane: Absolutely. And it can be overwhelming because there is so much stuff out there. But start with a simple Google search and you'll be amazed at what you'll find.
[59:54] Skyler: Right. I mean, hey, that's one thing that technology has definitely helped with. We can much easily, much easier to connect with new learning opportunities.
[01:00:08] Dr Diane: Absolutely.
[01:00:10] Skyler: So do you have any just hopes generally for the future?
[01:00:14] Dr Diane: Talking to you gives me lots of hope because I'm realizing there are really wonderful teachers entering the field. We hear a lot about the burnout, but it's so hopeful to see what is coming into education. And I have confidence in you all. I have a lot of confidence in Gen Z. As the mom of Gen Z kids and having been the teacher to so many of you, I see the hope that you all bring to the future, and I see it in that you're not just hopeful, you all roll up your sleeves and you get stuff done. And for me, that is truly hopeful because I think that we underestimate you. It's been since preschool. We underestimate you, and we don't recognize what power you all bring to the table. And the thing is, the world doesn't know what's about to hit them. And that gives me so much hope because I'm your biggest fan.
[01:01:17] Skyler: I love that. Yeah. Okay. So where can people find you and all of the amazing things that you have done and continue to do?
[01:01:26] Dr Diane: So you can check me out on social media @drdianeadventures. You'll find me on Instagram and Facebook and TikTok that way. On LinkedIn, look for Diane Jackson Schnoor, and the website is drdianadventures.com and it has links to everything else. So you can find me in any of those places. Also on YouTube, I tend to do my podcasts and read aloud and some of my programming there as well.
[01:01:56] Skyler: Yes. I love it. Anything else you have for me?
[01:02:00] Dr Diane: So, Skyler, I'm going to actually flip the question to you because I think it’s a really good one. As you're getting ready to graduate in the next year, what are some of your hopes or your ambitions for the future?
[01:02:13] Skyler: Wow. Well, I am very hopeful that, again, I can walk into a traditional K-6 classroom is where my degree will take me, but not forget about all of this other enriching, what we might throw to the side a little bit in education, which I don't want to do. I want to bring it right to the front of what I'm trying to do. And my mom teaches kindergarten, and I think right now that I would focus on the higher grades of elementary school, but I don't want to neglect what they do in preschool and kindergarten. That is so enriching and hands on and experiential that I think just gets forgotten after, like, third grade for some reason. And it shouldn't, like you were saying with your camps, how those age groups kind of just get neglected and follow through. I don't want that. I want to be able to bring all of the fun and hands on and age appropriate in for them and figure out what they like and what they're doing, because at that age, that's when they can read. Now they're going to be on social media. Now they are really experiencing the world in a way that little kids can't yet, because they can't read. Once they can read, everything's open to them. So that's my goal. And I also am very interested right now in just curriculum and how that comes to be and who gets to decide what's mentioned. We talked a lot about how you're trying to bring in a lot of multicultural and tie things thematically with what kids are really interested in that you're experiencing. And I think it's important that we question what is the truth or history or what's taught, because as you come to know now, as an adult, what I was taught wasn't really the case.
[01:04:07] Dr Diane: Very simplified, very so many stories that weren't told that we should have learned about.
[01:04:15] Skyler: That's big for me is to look into that within a classroom, but also who knows where else in another degree, in another academic research setting, something like that.
[01:04:28] Dr Diane: That is so exciting. And when you do have your own classroom, reach out, because I've got lots of resources I want to share with you.
[01:04:35] Skyler: 100%. My first phone call.
[01:04:39] Dr Diane: Yay. I'm so excited. Skyler, this has been such a delight for me. It's so much fun to see where you're going. As I said earlier, you are always one of the most fun and fiercest preschoolers, and I love seeing the amazing young woman you've become.
[01:04:56] Skyler: Why, thank you. And I love being able to get to know you more as an adult rather than a child. And my preschool teacher.
[01:05:06] Dr Diane: Exactly. Well, thank you, Skyler. This has been an amazing conversation.
[01:05:10] Skyler: Thank you. All right. Have a good day.
[01:05:12] Dr Diane: You too. You've been listening to the Adventures in Learning podcast with your host, Dr. Diane. If you like what you're hearing, please subscribe, download and let us know what you think. And please tell a friend. If you want the full show notes and the pictures, please go to drdianadventures.com. We look forward to you joining us on our next adventure.