There's a classic rock song that declares, "School's out for summer!"
That's not the case for more than nearly 30 Houston-area K-12 educators who are heading back to the classroom. They won't be conducting class, however. Instead, these teachers are back in school as students.
Credit the University of Houston Honors College and Inprint for providing an enriching opportunity for local teachers. The annual Common Ground Teachers Institute—now in its 35th year—offers them a unique experience to gain new insights and inspiration from UH faculty.
The institute will run July 22 through 26 on the UH campus with Honors College professors and special guests leading interactive sessions that explore a range of literary themes. Part lecture and part creative workshop, each session is aimed at inspiring and engaging participants. By week's end, teachers in attendance will gain creative insights to share with their respective students.
"Teaching is very hard work," said Common Ground's coordinator and Honors College Associate Director of Creative Work Max Rayneard. "It is easy for teachers to lose touch with the passions that brought them to the professions in the first place. The Common Ground Teachers Institute is dedicated to the simple principle that Houston educators are powerful and energizing resources for each other."
Rayneard will lead a session titled "Scandalous Plays" that takes cues from classics such as Sophocles' "Oedipus Tyrannus" and modern works like Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" among others. He'll explore how public scandals shape history and public opinion, as well as their depiction within dramatic works.
The concept of "home" also is a topic that will be surveyed through works such as Homer's "Odyssey," Toni Morrison's "Home" and other texts. Led by Honors College faculty member Marina Trninic, the session "Home and Homecomings" opens the door to the definition of a home, how it defines us and its relationship to our identities.
Attendees will engage in classroom discussions and develop prose and poetry with support from the institute's faculty.
"Teachers will walk away from Common Ground feeling affirmed and part of a supportive community," Rayneard said. "They should feel reenergized, reinvigorated and inspired."
Honors College Dean Heidi Appel agrees.
"There is so little time for their own professional development during the school year," Appel said. "The institute provides a focused week of reading, thinking, and talking about the ways that literature expands our understanding of the world and how to share this with their students," she said.
Teachers can attend Common Ground at no cost, and their books are underwritten by past grants from the McGovern Foundation. For their participation in the institute, educators will earn 30 Texas Education Agency-approved Continuing Professional Education hours.
"The Honors College is proud to host the Common Ground Teachers Institute because we place such high value on developing critical reading, thinking, and communication skills in our own students who come from all majors on campus," Appel said. "To help foster the teaching of these skills in high school is a natural extension of our mission. This is but one example of the ways in which UH expresses its commitment to the community beyond its campus."
At 35 years, the institute is showing no signs of slowing down. According to Rayneard, the key to Common Ground's success is its sense of inclusion. Teachers, he said, are not just visiting UH to learn. They are active participants in each day's sessions, contributing new ideas and developing creative works. In essence, they once again experience the joy of being a student—making friends in the classroom and gaining knowledge and skills to apply to their careers.
Make no mistake about it. They are truly the stars of the show during Common Ground, Rayneard added.
"The Institute would be nothing without its most valuable resources, which are the teachers themselves," he said. "Last year, a teacher who had just attended her first institute, told me that she was struck by how respected she felt at Common Ground. It is important to remember the professional expertise and years-long experience teachers bring to the conversation. The secret of Common Ground's long-term success is that it has never forgotten that fact."
