March 20, 2015

A Unionville Elementary School teacher is likely to have great material in the fall if anyone asks him to write about how he spent his summer vacation.

Of course, that kind of clichéd assignment would belie the approach of Mike Barrett, a third- and fourth-grade learning support teacher at Unionville Elementary. Barrett’s high-energy educational style typically involves a more daunting regimen.

Barrett, a fourth-year teacher, just learned that he was accepted into a four-week summer program operated by Sino-American Bridge for Education and Health (SABEH), a Massachusetts-based nonprofit started in 2004. SABEH develops and provides exchange programs for experienced American and Chinese teachers and healthcare workers, giving them opportunities to share teaching and community health strategies.

“I could not be more excited about the professional and personal challenges that lie ahead,” Barrett said.

Barrett, a volunteer who will be reimbursed only for half of his airfare, said he plans to spend three weeks in Hangzhou. The first week will entail leading professional development sessions on math and science for primary teachers, and the second two will involve teaching actual students – to model 21^st-century teaching for the Chinese educators.  The final week will enable him to travel, visiting sites in several other cities.

A 2011 graduate of the University of Delaware, Barrett, 26, said he believes that the experience will enrich his ability to engage his special-needs students, who always enjoy learning about other cultures. “I think it will push me further as an educator and benefit them as well,” he said.

Barrett’s China odyssey – an opportunity he found through online research – represents just one of his growth-seeking summer adventures. Those programs have ranged from serving as a resident assistant for a gifted camp at Princeton University to teaching English as a second language to newly arrived refugee children in Philadelphia.

The latter program produced some unexpected long-term consequences: A 15-year-old boy he met is likely to move in with him in August. Barrett explained that the boy’s father never made it to the U.S., dying during the Burmese family’s exodus from a Thailand refugee camp several years ago. His mother died a short time after arriving in the U.S., and his older brother ran away, leaving no contact information.

He said the boy, with whom he’s maintained weekly contact, has been living with an aunt, who lacks the resources to give him the attention he needs. Barrett, who lives in the district with his dog Woofgang, said that by becoming the teen’s educational custodian, he hopes to provide him with better educational opportunities.

Barrett said he has no fears that his pet, a rescue from a kill shelter in Georgia about a year ago, and the teen won’t get along. “They’re already best friends,” he said. In fact, it was the boy, an avowed music-lover, who named Woofgang after the composer, Barrett said.

The compulsion to teach may be genetic, Barrett acknowledged, explaining that his mother taught first grade for much of his youth. “Her passion and love for the profession was always evident, and I just knew I wanted to do the same,” he said.

“Each summer job I have taken has dealt with students from all over the world.  Global education is the future of our planet and we need to be planning for it now,” he said. “I know this is going to be a summer to remember!”

Barrett said he appreciated the support of Unionville Elementary School Principal Clif Beaver, who wrote him a letter of recommendation. Beaver said he was thrilled when he learned that Barrett was accepted.

Beaver said the program will afford Barrett a unique opportunity to share instructional strategies globally.

“His students (many of whom he’ll teach again in the fall) and I can’t wait to welcome him back and see what he’s learned,” Beaver said.  “Mr. Barrett incorporates a lot of innovative technology, so I’m sure he’s going to share his China experience in some very cool ways with his kids and all of us.”