Diane L. HeilemanJune 1, 2014

Reflection

Travelling to Greece in April 2014 as a part of Castleton College’s “In Greece – Developing Topics: Using Differentiating Instructional Methods” was a new experience for me. Not the international travel portion, as I have been fortunate to do quite a bit of international travel in both my personal and professional life. What was new, was travelling with one large group of people for 8 days, some of those people were known to me both most were not. We were on a structured tour with a specific goal in place, which was developing curriculum relating to each of our positions in the school.

First, the structured tour. It was obvious that Mr. Holiday is an experienced tour organizer. Everything worked basically seamlessly. Transportation was comfortable, safe and pleasant. Hotels were welcoming, airy and clean. Tour guides were hired based on their expertise – they knew their topics and were passionate about the sites, history and myths they shared with us. Our primary Greek tour guide was dedicated to ensuring our stay was interesting, fun and she was open to our needs, interests and concerns.

On a personal note as a member of the travelling group, I made it a dedicated mission to stay on top of departure times, meeting points and basic travel expectations. I’m typically lax in that area but wanted to make sure on this trip that I stayed on top of travel times. I also made it a point to stay positive and enjoy and be open to all the experiences and new people we would meet, plus respect others interests.

My travelling companions were a mixed group. Some had experience travelling, others had not. Some of the members had travelled together before and shared close bonds; others were meeting each other for the first time. Some were taking the Castleton course for

credit and others were not. For those who were taking the course for credit, it proved to be very interesting to talk over a meal about one’s project – what were they looking to accomplish. The discussions and brainstorming of ideas were very interesting and helpful to me.

In one of my roles at the WRCC I’ve developed a literacy coaching program. I wanted to base my project on literacy as well, with thoughts of possibly many projects, incorporating myths, language, Linear B, storytelling – many ideas were generated based on the location and history of the places we visited. Since we’ve returned from Greece, I have been doing more research into the history of the places we visited along with learning more about the country in general. I have also looked into staying longer term in Greece, checking out the rental properties and daydreaming about a 2 month stay in a local villa. I’d love to further explore and enjoy the beauty that is Greece, along with the people, the food, the sites, the history, the fragrance and the way of life.

It was a wonderful experience and a photographer’s dream come true. Check out my website on http://dianelheileman.smugmug.com/

Thank you, Mr. Holiday!

Bio

For over 10 years I’ve worked at Windham Regional Career Center in a role as Program Developer. Some of those programs include: Dual Enrollment, Career and College Readiness, Literacy Coaching, Summer school and outreach, and other initiatives along with grant writing, systems management, technology support and communications. I previously work worked at Northfield Mt Hermon School as the Director of Information Technology, and prior to that at Digital Equipment Corporation as a Systems Analyst/Programmer. In addition, I am a professional photographer.