Last week provided more firsthand evidence of just how interconnected we are when The Williston Northampton School hosted teachers from King’s Academyin Jordan. Our guests were Shaden Al Salman and Ezdihar Zayyad, both of whom teach Arabic in the Department of Communication, Rhetoric and the Literary Arts, and Sana’ Madadha, program head of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. Their goal was to visit classes and speak with teachers in order to observe different teaching methods and strategies. On their three-day tour, which included visits to our sister schools Deerfield Academy and Hotchkiss, our guests wanted to observe schools with long histories of education, as they fine tune their own newly minted school.

During the day, our guests visited language, art, history, math, science, and religion classes and spoke informally with students and teachers. At the end of the day, I met with them and we shared impressions of our two institutions. I am sure that they will have wonderful observations to report to their head of school, John Austin, who is a friend of mine. Certainly, their trip has inspired ideas of ongoing collaborations, and we will have to return the favor with our own delegation to see King’s Academy in action.

Seated (left to right): Kim Evelti, Sana’ Madadha, Ezdihar Zayyad. Standing: myself, Shaden Al Salman.