Dedication to Geographic Education Makes O.C. Teacher a Globetrotter

OCEAN CITY – It’s been an unforgettable few months for Ocean City Intermediate School (OCIS) teacher Cholehna Weaver as she has won two prestigious awards designed to recognize her dedication to teaching geography.
Weaver has been teaching at OCIS just a few years having found her way into the profession after several other career paths, getting her master’s in Elementary Education at Penn and applying for the Ocean City vacancy while visiting her parents, who retired to the resort having also worked as teachers.
In the summer of 2015, Weaver learned she had been chosen by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, and U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, as one of 16 educators from around the country to spend four weeks in China.
Weaver, who has taught at OCIS since 2013, spent her time in China at meetings, discussions and site visits to governmental agencies, media outlets and historic and cultural sites designed to complement lectures and provide an immersive learning experience.
Weaver used this newly-earned global perspective to bring ideas back into her Social Studies and Language Arts classes, which was part of the selection criteria.
“I only had one month to prepare for the trip and read as much as I could before going. Overall it’s a very time intense program since when I returned I needed to develop a curriculum that included what I had learned in China. It really was a remarkable experience and we visited not just Beijing but also Shanghai which has developed so rapidly in the last few years and two smaller cities.
“I had so many chances to meet on an individual basis and through home visits students, teachers, and parents. The human-level experience was really important and valuable. I’ve been able to incorporate what I saw and learned while in China to benefit the sixth graders I’m teaching in my classes and help make them true global citizens.
“I can share ideas such as how fortunate we are here in the U.S. to be able to advance and enjoy social mobility without having to spend a fortune on private schools for elementary grade children as in China. Or how in Beijing schools are closed not for fun weather like a snow day but often for smog days when the pollution is really bad,” explained Weaver.
Through multi-media techniques and engaged instruction Weaver is teaching her students about cities of the future and their sustainability. While the emphasis in China is on testing Weaver uses a highly interactive method to draw out opinions and analysis from her 11 and 12-year-olds.
The subject matter she teaches is of critical importance and her China experience very relevant since several of the world’s mega cities are in China which generate significant problems for the environment and residents’ health. 
“I am really looking forward now to going to Iceland this summer. China was amazing and eye-opening. I didn’t know a lot about China before going, so I was interested in learning more about it,” said Weaver after returning from China.
“I’m extremely grateful for the support of the Ocean City School District administration. And now this summer I’ll experience a country that is vastly different geographically and in all other ways too with China. I’ll be circumnavigating Iceland’s coast and seeing an environment which is unique to that country. I’m imagining there may be comparisons to make with Ocean City since we’re on the coast as well.” 
Coupled with that highly-enriching experience, Weaver learned just this week that she has been selected as one of the 2016 Lindblad Expeditions and National Geographic Grosvenor Teacher Fellows, again in recognition of her commitment to geographic education.
In July, Weaver will embark on an 11-day Lindblad voyage aboard National Geographic Explorer to Iceland for a one-of-a-kind field experience, accompanied by expedition experts and other K-12 teachers. 
“Cholehna Weaver is an outstanding teacher and has fully committed herself to giving her students the broadest possible world perspective,” Superintendent Kathleen Taylor, of Ocean City School District stated in a related release. “We at Ocean City could not be prouder of Cholehna and wish her the best of luck on her upcoming trip.”
Before the voyage in July, Weaver will travel to National Geographic Society’s Washington headquarters to participate in hands-on workshops covering photography and outreach, meet Lindblad Expeditions’ naturalists and network with this year’s and previous years’ Fellows.
According to information from Lindblad, selected educators are traveling on Grosvenor Teacher Fellow trips this summer to Iceland, as well as the Galapagos, Antarctica, British and Irish Isles and more. While on their trips, the Fellows must share the importance of geographic literacy and develop activities to bring back to their classrooms.
Photos and biographies of Weaver and the other Fellows are available on the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow website at www.natgeoed.org/gtf.
“This year marks the 10th year of the Grosvenor Teacher Fellow Program, established to honor former National Geographic Society Chairman Gilbert M. Grosvenor’s lifetime commitment to geographic education. The program began with two Fellows in 2007 and has grown each year.
“The expeditions were donated in perpetuity to the National Geographic Society by Sven-Olof Lindblad and Lindblad Expeditions to mark Grosvenor’s 75th birthday in 2006, and to honor his service in enhancing and improving geographic education across the United States,” according to additional information provided by Lindblad.
To contact Camille Sailer, email csailer@cmcherald.com.