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Introduction: This week’s #BowTieTuesday Educator Spotlight goes to an educator that I’ve met during my doctoral journey and has taught me quite a lot along the way. Surprisingly enough, he’s also the first #BowTieTuesday recipient to not have a Twitter, insisting that social media isn’t his “forte” all the while challenging me to include those that participate on LinkedIn as an alternative – recommendation, accepted! The Edu-Rock Star that I’ll be recognizing this week is none other than Mr. Luke Greeley, an Assistant Dean at the Rutgers Business School and a PhD Student and Instructor at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

Educational Pursuit: Luke has found himself steadily approaching the decade mark in education as of late. His educational career began at Bucknell University where he earned his bachelor’s degree. He then moved on to obtain his Masters in Higher Education from the University of Maryland and most recently, is a PhD Candidate in Educational Theory Organization and Policy at Rutgers University. His motivation to pursue a career in education sprung from the tremendous impact teachers and administrators in both his K-12 and college experience had on him. Oh, and like all other educators, Luke loves finding himself in a ‘learning environment’.

Most Memorable Moment: Giving his first lecture as a co-instructor in the Rutgers Ed.D. program was Luke’s most memorable moment. He described the opportunity to get to lead a discussion amongst such a diverse group of experienced educators who were excited to be there and committed to improving our educational system as a privilege and a moment he’ll never forget.

I was there – the passion and excitement for which Luke talks about education is nothing short of inspiring! Luke, my cohort and I are still waiting for Leadership III to hit WebReg…

Personal Learning Interests: Luke is currently engrossed in learning everything he can about the relationship of education to the economy, and in particular, consumer education. He’s also an avid gardener, so you can also find him trying to learn more about that and experimenting with new techniques.

The Fun Stuff

Luke’s go-to Karaoke Song: Not a big fan of karaoke, if he does find himself in front of the mic, Luke would opt for a Bruce Springsteen song.

Luke’s Inside Scoop: Luke is a whiskey connoisseur.

Luke, your heartfelt efforts to improve education each and every day you step foot into a classroom do not go unnoticed. On behalf of my cohort, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the conversations you’ve facilitated in class and your commitment to supporting us in our endeavors along the way. Blessed to have had the pleasure of your tutelage twice during my program and the positive impact your ideas and instruction has had on my PLN! I truly appreciate all that you do to keep moving education forward.

Introduction: This week’s #BowTieTuesday Educator Spotlight goes to quite possibly one of the most intelligent educators I have ever had the pleasure of having a conversation with. I am fortunate to be in his presence three nights a week for about three hours at a time since we’re both working towards our doctorates. The Edu-Rock Star that I’ll be recognizing this week is none other than Mr. Antony Farag (@AntonyFarag), a high school history teacher at Westfield High School.

Educational Pursuit: Albeit Antony is only approaching his second decade in education, after a conversation with him you’d consider him a grandmaster. He began his career by obtaining a bachelor’s degree in history from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in secondary education from the University of Pennsylvania. He cites needing to understand his place in the world through understanding history and wanting to help others understand their place in the world through understanding history as his decision to enter the realm of education.

Most Memorable Moment: When you’re approaching the two-decade mark in education you’re bound to have multiple memorable moments. Antony is no different. He says his most memorable moments are when students email him or tell him how much whatever they learned helped them in college or life. Playing witness to how understanding history empowers people is always memorable.

Personal Learning Interests: Antony is currently devoting much of his time to figuring out how to teach about how the systems defined by historical contexts hurt those who benefit from those systems as well as those who don’t. A mouthful, I know. I told you this guy was brilliant!

The Fun Stuff

Antony’s go-to Karaoke Song: Tupac featuring Snoop Dogg: 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted

Antony’s Inside Scoop: Antony is a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan and loves all kinds of fantasy. He credits J.R.R. Tolkien with changing his life.

Thank you, Antony, for your heartfelt efforts to improve education each and every day you step foot inside a classroom. Who would have known that small conversation we had about lost time for working out (yes, this is a true story) would translate into our friendship today and the positive impact you have had on my PLN! I truly appreciate all that you do to keep moving education forward and helping me grow as an educator!

Introduction: This week’s #BowTieTuesday Educator Spotlight goes to an educator that I met at #EdCampNJ in November. The conversation was geared towards why relationships matter in education. The educator who is featured this week was dropping knowledge bombs in the room and I knew I had to connect with him after the session to follow his work. The Edu-Rock Star that I’ll be recognizing this week is none other than Mr. Aquaus Kelley (@aquaus), a 5th-grade teacher at Roosevelt Elementary in New Brunswick, NJ.

Educational Pursuit: Aquaus may be a novice in the world of education but his impact is going to be monumental. He began as a substitute teacher since 2012 for New Brunswick Public Schools. While it took him a few years to make the decision to become a teacher, once he committed, he was locked in!!! He had come to the realization that his presence and desire to impact the lives of other people was best served in his role as an educator. Despite failing his praxis exams a countless number of times, he finally obtained my Certificate of Eligibility to become a teacher in December 2016 and the rest is history!

Most Memorable Moment: From the moment I met Aquaus, I could tell he was going to be one of those educator’s who would have a plethora of memorable moments to choose from. More recently, he had the opportunity to moderate a student-centered event presented by Courageous Voices entitled, “Students Speak.”  Courageous Voices is a professional learning community that Aquaus was invited to join and participate in by other colleagues from within our organization. The event took place at New Brunswick High School. Not only was this event attended by a number of committed students, it was also attended by a variety of board members, school leaders, and district supervisors. Our Superintendent, Dr. Johnson also participated. He found it to be a refreshing, touching, and transformational exchange of ideas, thoughts, and opinions. He is looking forward to continuing the work he does with Courageous Voices as a means of advocating on behalf of our students and community members.

Personal Learning Interests: Aquaus is currently learning more about educational leadership, global citizenship, social impact initiatives, and policy. Some reports on his desk at the moment are, “Benchmarking for Success: Ensuring U.S. Students Receive a World-Class Education” and “Global Shapers Survey.” When he’s not involved in education, he’s definitely sharpening his skills as it pertains to business, brand strategy, and content development. You can find him constantly watching interviews and discussions on YouTube as well as listening to podcasts on Soundcloud.

The Fun Stuff

Aquaus’s go-to Karaoke Song: Wanna Love You Girl by Robin Thicke

Aquaus’s Inside Scoop: While not as rare as it was 20 years ago, Aquaus was born and raised on a plant-based diet. Yes, vegan…

Thank you, Aquaus, for your heartfelt efforts to improve education each and every day you step foot inside a classroom. I value your dedicated efforts to continue to build positive relationships among all stakeholders within our context in addition to the positive impact you have had on my PLN! I truly appreciate all that you do to keep moving education forward.

Introduction: This week’s #BowTieTuesday Educator Spotlight is being shined upon an educator that I have the wonderful pleasure of calling a colleague. While still considered a youngin’ by many people that we work with, her enthusiasm and ability to interweave current events into her social studies lessons shown all the signs of a legend in the making. The Edu-Rock Star that I’ll be recognizing this week is none other than Ms. Ali Moody (@MsMoodyEdu), a high school social studies teacher at New Brunswick High School.

Educational Pursuit: Ali, much like myself, is considered a “baby zebra”. Having less than five years of experience she obtained an Associate’s Degree in Humanities from Brookdale Community College (which she always makes sure to tell our students because she think’s going to community college was the wisest decision she’s ever made), a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Rutgers New Brunswick, and a Master’s Degree in Social Studies Education from the Rutgers Graduate School of Education.

She always had an inkling that education was the career path for her but assumed that since most students when she was younger had similar aspirations she would need to find a career in a different field. Upon transferring to Rutgers as a junior she had her sights set on earning a degree in exercise science and becoming a physical therapist. She enjoys learning about the body and kinesiology but stated “holy math”. As painstaking as it is for me to type this, Ali informed me that numbers have never been her strong suit and she was in over her head. While crying the blues to her sister, Ali was influenced to give teaching a shot. That semester she took the GRE, was accepted to the five-year Master’s program at Rutgers, and the rest is history! Being horrible at math is the best thing that ever happened to her! (My heart aches…)

Most Memorable Moment: You would think that being so early into our careers this would be an easy question to answer but Ali couldn’t quite pinpoint a memory as this entire school year has been extremely memorable for her. She attributes the uncertainty to possibly recording every move her students make to create a video of the year for them come June or it could relevant to the growth she has experienced this school year due to the risks she has taken. Becoming a part of the inaugural iSTEAM Academy has also been a blessing for her as she has been able to develop much more meaningful relationships with her students and create a family-like atmosphere, not to mention the stellar teachers that she gets to collaborate with daily!

Personal Learning Interests: Ali has been doing yoga for about four years but has really focused on her practice for the last two years. She has committed to a nonprofit yoga studio to begin her Yoga Teacher Training later this year and this coming winter she will have completed her 200 hours and be a certified teacher (hint, hint).

In addition, she also created a “Moving Mediation Club” for students at New Brunswick High School that is set to kick off next week. She hopes to introduce students to yoga, meditation, and mindfulness. She understands that high school can be strenuous and demanding and hopes to create a peaceful space for students to de-stress.

The Fun Stuff

Ali’s go-to Karaoke Song: Jump Around by House of Paine

Ali’s Inside Scoop: She’s a walking contradiction. While she drinks her green stuff every morning and does yoga, she can also get down with some beef jerky.

Thank you, Ali, for your heartfelt efforts to improve education each and every day you step foot inside a classroom. I am happy knowing that you are part of #ZebraNation and am grateful for the positive impact you have had on my PLN! I truly appreciate all that you do to keep moving education forward. Looking forward to many more years together!

Happy New Year and welcome to 2018! It’s been a while since my last post and I found it fitting that I start the New Year with what I hope will be a bi-weekly post. The beginning of a new year is always an exciting time and as is tradition, an opportunity to create your New Year’s Resolution(s). Not one to necessarily embrace the idea of creating a resolution and following it through, I noticed some of my colleagues within my professional learning network adopting a single word to guide and focus their efforts for the next 365 days and decided to follow suit.

As I sit here and reflect on my professional journey as an educator over the past four years I can’t believe how quickly it has passed and the amount of knowledge, experiences, and opportunities that I have been presented over this short span of time. It was only one school year ago where I became connected and began to seek wisdom, guidance, support, ideas, and growth from outside of my circle. Recently, I’ve pushed myself beyond my limits as I manage being a doctoral student at Rutgers University along with what appears to be a never-ending list of roles and responsibilities within my organization, according to my colleagues. Making up for lost time, if I could select one word to describe the first three years of my career I would choose the word, relentless. I would set a goal, reach it, and immediately set another and continue to do so to this day. If an opportunity presented itself, I took it even if I didn’t necessarily have any additional time built into my schedule that allowed me to do so. I knew that I would ultimately figure a way to balance everything and perform my role to a level that I deemed acceptable. Throughout that time, however, especially in 2017, I noticed that I kept putting my personal endeavors to the side and would focus solely on the responsibilities that I had undertaken. As 2017 ended and I was able to reflect on the year in its entirety I realized that I needed to re-prioritize and spend some time doing things for myself like blogging, developing my website and brand, reading, or playing music, in 2018.

So to kick-off 2018, my one word for the year will be…

Self-Full

Sounds weird, right? This isn’t really a word but a shift in how I think about the word “selfish” as per a discussion with a colleague in my doctoral program. We were talking about how the word selfish has such a negative connotation to it and is defined as being concerned chiefly with one’s own personal profit or pleasure. We asked each other rhetorically, “What’s wrong with that?” More often than not, we often forget or aren’t chiefly concerned with our own personal pleasure and get lost in our work that we execute as per our careers (or find personal validation in said work). I know I speak for myself when I say I truly do love what I do and cannot wait to be back in the classroom with my students after winter break and am guilty of finding and settling for the personal validation I get from being an educator. In 2018, I hope to get back to playing the clarinet (I’ve since joined the Rutgers University Alumni Wind Symphony so this will definitely be a reality), reading books and articles for personal pleasure as compared to reading for the acquisition of knowledge, or possibly starting a podcast with my brother who is a fellow young mathematics teacher.

I’ve realized giving yourself some loving attention isn’t selfish – it’s sensible.

And it’s 2018…it’s about time I started being sensible and get full of myself.

What’s your One Word for 2018?

Bow-Tie Joe

Hey! Bow-Tie Joe here! I’m a third-year mathematics educator, doctoral student, and bow-tie connoisseur whose passionate about life, education, and technology (in no particular order). Now that you know a little bit more about me I guess I should tell what my purpose is for this blog. I plan to write a weekly post reflecting on the highs, lows, and everything in-between about my journey as a doctoral student so rather than babbling, let’s dive in!

The Highs

This week I embarked on what I would consider to be the most challenging endeavor of my life yet, the pursuit of a Doctorate in Education. My first class, Leadership I, lead off the star studded line-up at 5:00 PM on Tuesday evening. It was such a humbling experience to be a 30-month old teacher in a room of educators that spanned the entire spectrum of educational hierarchy who possessed decades worth of experience. Throughout the three hours of conversation that took place among my cohort members and professor, the phrase “Intellectual Heir” struck a chord through my educational core. My professor wove a story about the origin of the hooding process that is commonly associate with earning a doctoral degree, instilling within us a sense of pride and honor about becoming an intellectual heir of our professors and faculty advisor. The reason it struck such a resounding chord within myself is because this is what I see as the foundation of education. Every time I step foot inside a learning environment as the teacher, I make it my mission to leave a positive mark on the mind’s of my students in the hope that when they move on from my environment to the next, they are more prepared to embrace the next challenge that awaits them. Hearing my professor speak to our cohort about embracing our role as an intellectual heir was a matter that I did not take too lightly.

The “Lows”

If you consider yourself a lifelong learner, you know that serious learning takes place when you’re struggling through a concept so I wouldn’t consider the following thoughts “lows” in the traditional sense. Academic texts, literature reviews, dissertation topic…every time it felt like I was finally getting a handle of the new level of expectations within this doctorate program I was bombarded with a new concept that I needed to suddenly understand. Asides from the new level of expectations, solidifying the topic I would like to research has also been eating away at my mind every night. Having fell in love with learning, I know this is the part of the romance where I’m going to have to make more of an effort to meet learning halfway.

Final Thoughts

Even though it’s only been three days of class and I already feel like a month behind, every part of the first week has been nothing short of AMAZING! Looking forward to getting a little more acclimated to the expectations this program has this weekend and dissecting my readings for next week’s set of classes! Here’s to hoping I live up to what it means to be an “intellectual heir”!

Thanks for reading!