Allison Fuisz is currently a grade 7/8 French Immersion Teacher at Bell High School in Ottawa, Ontario. She is an enthusiastic learner who believes in being as solution focused as possible with a positive mental attitude; She says, ‘We owe it to our students to be as such.” Her belief in the goodness of people is what drives her to teach and action the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals with her students for the sake of a better world for all (#TeachSDGs). She has her Master's in Professional Education from Western University, is a National Geographic Certified Educator/Mentor, Teach SDGs Cohort 1 Ambassador, and a continual life long learner.
Allison and I met a few years ago through Twitter chats including Sean Gaillard’s Ed Beat and Craig Kemp’s What is School. In 2015, she put out call for Ontario educators to join her behind the @ONedChat handle. I jumped in, having never run a chat. At first, I just helped plan them. Then, Allison helped me run my first one and then I was enabled to do more. Being on the #ONedchat team gave me a space to collaborate with educators who have become important members of my PLN. It really helped me feel connected to Ontario educators and beyond when I was still teaching at an independent school. Allison was the team leader.
A few years ago, a friend of Allison’s encouraged her to check out the opportunities for teachers at National Geographic that Allison had not been aware of “despite growing up with National Geographic.” Allison noted, “[It] was really an integral part of the learning in our household for a variety of reasons. I mean, I’m a first generation on this land, so I think that may have had something to do with it.” Her father was born in Austria but her mother was born on traditional Algonquin land known on many maps now as the Ottawa Valley. This year, she was selected to be a National Geographic mentor, collaborating with educators from all over the world. She feels she is growing at the same time as she is mentoring those taking the certification, reaching out to people with the certification to support them while enjoying the collaborative nature of learning. “It’s amazing when you have a community around you that kind of knows your own interests and pushes you in the right direction to take educated risks of learning.” Allison was noted as Educator of the Week in the Educator Spotlight on the National Geographic site.
Allison had a very difficult time choosing the songs for her P3. “I grew up in a family that listened to a lot music, and a lot of variety…I honestly could attach a memory to every single song,” referring to it as a never ending process. Although Allison uses music in the classroom, through this experience, she realized how much music supports her “...as just being a human being.” Later in our conversation, Allison reflected that, “ “I think how a song can conjure up memories of the good, the learning, the painful, but yet still sort of just ground you to be in the moment, to be present, that's not easy to find...we all have our own perspective of what music can do for us.”
It wasn’t until her nostalgic song came up in Just Dance in one of her classes that she went back into her childhood with this selection. Her father was born in Austria and one of the albums she had as a child was from Boney M. This song led into conversations with her father about the history of Russia, and she recalls not really considering the lyrics but seeing that history can be woven through song. She attributes her love of history and the world around her from those fun learning times with her father. This song is about an advisor to the czar of Russia, Nicholas the Second, in a EuroDisco style titled Rasputin:
Allison’s identity song reflects an important part of her life. She graduated from school early and travelled overseas, working and skiing in Europe. Her walkman on her journey there was filled with NIN, Radiohead, Pearl Jam, and Tragically Hip; part of her high school musical interests. Her tastes in music grew with this new learning adventure. She would find a new interest from bands like Moby, and her father once said that one of his songs, Porcelain, sounded like a record being played backwards. She explored a lot of music there and she shared this music with her father when he and her mother visited her in Switzerland. Radiohead would soon thereafter play a big role in her life. She had listened to this band even before she travelled, but with her new thinking and the fact that her father attributed the same comment of a backwards record to this song , it brought on new meaning. In August, 2002, her father tragically died in a car accident while driving her to university, and this song became a calming and grounding factor for her Allison, who also referred to him as her best friend. She explained that this song can quickly calm the mind with the rhythm and remind her to be in the right place, “...with everything as it is, it will be what it will be...ultimately, we are in charge of our destiny for the good, the bad and the ugly.” For her, this song is one she listens to on a regular basis to calm her anxiety or lull her to sleep. The band itself is one that she connects with deeply as they have evolved within their own right and seem to always find their place. To this day, it reminds her to be true to herself, to let things be and to breathe. This band’s music has always created a safe place for Allison when they’re in her ear. Here is Radiohead’s Everything in Its Right Place:
Allison’s pick-me-up song from an electronic duo was enhanced by the video below. In general, she is a happy-go-lucky, live-in-the moment kind of person whenever possible. This band came on in a chalet when she was skiing, and she liked the beat. When she saw them live, she said that the vibe of the crowd was amazing, “It was a very healthy, positive energy, and the beats were easy to move to.” The song puts our guest in her own little world. Allison tends to explore her surroundings be it walking to work, or the everyday shifts in her co-learning space; she is not often concerned at how others perceive her singing out loud or moving like “Elaine in Seinfeld”. Allison is doing what she can to be Supestylin’. Here is Groove Armada:
Driven by a deep sense of purpose and connection, Allison tries to pop around, sharing positivity and learning from everyone the best that she can. Allison can be found on Twitter sending the message that, “Together we create the better future we hope for everybody.” While she has a blog called The Enthusiastic Learner , she doesn't spend much time there, but you can check out what she has written previously. She is still part of #ONedChat, transforming it into a slow chat. Joining her on the team now is Spencer Burton, Dr. Shelly Vohra, Jon Hendricks, and Shilpa Sharma. She always has an attitude of gratitude and, like her belief in music, it holds no boundaries. She pretty much sums a lot up with the Thom Yorke quote below:
