Tonya Gilchrist is an internationally experienced educator, consultant, instructional coach, and curriculum specialist. She has served as a teacher, learning leader, and coach in schools in the US, Thailand, and Japan. She now serves as a literacy and IB consultant and staff developer for Erin Kent Consulting. Tonya earned her Masters Degree in Educational Leadership from Hong Kong University. She also holds an IB Certificate in Leadership Practice and an IB Advanced Certificate in Leadership Research. She specializes in helping schools around the world amplify inquiry and honour agency across Reading and Writing Workshops. Tonya also works with schools to support them in enhancing disciplinary literacy and in effectively utilizing the workshop model in host country languages.
According to the IB’s website, “The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.” Tonya says that some of the key questions that drive the IB experiences are, “What are we doing for our world?” and “What are we doing to be better humans?” Tonya went on to add, “This idea that we are not teaching and learning in silos... that’s where... the lasting learning takes place.” When you first start with conceptual learning, it is like a salad (an analogy that she learned from another educator through her recent work with the International School of Denver). Each ingredient reflects a subject area and, like in a salad, you can see each of the ingredients, but they are part of something greater than its whole. When you get even deeper into this, it’s more like making a soup with the ingredients fully blended together. Finally, you achieve something even more transformative as you become unable to recognize the distinct ingredients, like with carrot cake. Tonya said that we have achieved deep learning, “When we are able to present learning opportunities for our kids—when it’s not each separate little thing, but rather this beautiful new thing that we’ve created together…” The IB methodology and lines of thinking are global, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary, and they promote intercultural understanding through inquiry.
In preparing for her P3, Tonya said that she loved the idea of sharing music and noted how powerful it is in helping to express ourselves. “We’ve all had those moments when you hear a song and, immediately, you’re smiling or, immediately, you’re in tears.” It was tough for her to think through each lens and narrow it down. She’s a music lover, and she enjoys all genres of music. When it came to thinking of what music actually represents in relation to our own identities, she said, “I’d never really thought of it in that way.” She referred to the process as an enjoyable challenge. One of the IB attributes is to be a risk taker, and Tonya feels that we need to release ourselves from our fears and take steps in spite of them to innovate and make our world a better place.
Tonya’s nostalgic song honours memories of her father. It’s from her father’s favourite band, and this song gets her every time, “He was sick for most of my childhood.” While she said she had a relatively normal life with him, he became quite ill when she was at university. “He raised my sister and I from the time I was in... 5th grade, so it was really really tough...” Tonya’s father was a minister, so he modelled service leadership and was someone she always looked up to. “He was a huge part of my life and set such a wonderful example for me...he was the best example I could ever hope for.” Even a decade later, it feels fresh to her, especially when she hears a song like this. “He was sick for the majority of his adult life…, but it was never about him. It was always about...can he help someone else, even if he was in pain.” While the memories are bittersweet, this song evokes a vivid memory of him a few days before he died, drinking margaritas, and blasting Have You Ever Seen the Rain by CCR.
Tonya chose her identity song because of the lyrics. This country artist was in the prime of his career when she was growing up, and this song has always stayed with her as a mantra. Its message is to not let the world change you when you are trying to make positive change, “...do what’s right or walk with integrity and live out your values.” Educators sometimes have those experiences when they feel alone in scenarios where they want to maintain positively or go that extra mile for students. “For me, this song is about the idea that every person does have an impact, and it’s just about remembering that and using that for good.” Tonya connects to this ideal as a beacon and calls it her North Star. Here is Garth Brooks, The Change:
Tonya’s pick-me-up song is as optimistic as she is. This song makes her feel like, “It should be a summer day,..with the windows rolled down and the wind blowing in her hair…. She noted that we should recognize that every day is, “... a blessing and a new page in our book, and we get to write it.” Tonya spoke about mindset and the power that it has to direct your life and the choices we have in how we experience what happens to us. She also spoke about how the upbeat and happy nature of the song made her do more than smile, like other motivational songs. The words of this match the rhythm and truly uplift her, even if it is also in a shampoo commercial. Here’s Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield
You can reach out to Tonya through her website. She blogs there, and there is also a contact section on the site, so you can get in touch. She is also really active on Twitter. Through her work with Erin Kent Consulting, Tonya works to “help schools around the world amplify inquiry, honour agency, and create balanced literacy programs.” You can email her there: tonya@erinkentconsuting. She, “...loves talking all things IB, literacy, and life.”
