Brandon Bogumil's Portfolio
I am the Imagination Lab teacher at St. Timothy's School. I teach PK-4th grade students about design and technology. I am passionate about helping students learn how to use technology to create through the use of a creative process called Design Thinking. I also am passionate about Project Based Learning and love seeing the authentic learning the framework provides for my students. I have been teaching in the Imagination Lab for 2 years, and I taught Literature and Grammar in 5th grade for 3 years before Imagination Lab. Before teaching, I was the director of the After School Care and Summer Camps program. Some exciting personal achievments are:
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Cultural Connections Project 1: Global Collaborative Project (Video Synopsis)
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Cultural Connections Project 2: Scripted Duologue Based on Meetup Group or AirBnb City Experience (GoAnimate)
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Cultural Connections Project 3: Experience-Based Travel Writing Based on Meetup Group or AirBnb City Experience (Post on Travel Blog)
Cultural Collections Project 1: Mapping Culture (Google Maps)
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Cultural Collections Project 2: Timelining Culture (knightlab)
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Cultural Collections Project 3: Curating Cultural Objects (Voicethread)
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Cultural Reflections Project 1: The Last Word, Czech education articles
I cannot imagine a system of education that was under the control of the Soviet Union only 25 years ago. Interestingly enough, America and the Czech Republic seem to be battling some similar challenges in education despite the historical difference. Training and maintaining quality teachers is a problem in both systems. While teachers have a better standing in American society, they are not paid well, and overall the funding for education is lacking. In the Czech Republic, teachers are not seen as professionals which leads to a societal impression that education is not important. Both situations have create a system where the decision to go into teaching is a difficult one as you go in with the understanding that you won't make as much, or have funding to actually do your job, so it is a very selfish group of people who become teachers. Compared to the Czech, America seems better off in that regard, but it is amazing to me that both governments will make education compulsory, sending a message of value, but won't necessarily fund it well enough to benefit the students and teachers as much as they should. Interestingly, the education seems to be amazing, and I have heard from many locals that it is more rigorous than the American system. In fact, when students from Czech study abroad, as a student on the flight to Prague did for a year, their year is not counted, so the student has to go a year longer. The student on the flight described the experience as an opportunity to see American culture rather than focusing on learning.
I find the system itself in the Czech Republic interesting. Students, when they are 16, choose among different paths as to whether they want to learn a vocation, pursue higher education, or a professional career. There are exams that have to be passed in order to enter the desired track. I find this interesting because the American system essentially has one track - college - and if you do not want to go to college, a person finds a job or joins the military. Seeing a track for vocation is intriguing and something that I think the American education system should look at.
I cannot imagine a system of education that was under the control of the Soviet Union only 25 years ago. Interestingly enough, America and the Czech Republic seem to be battling some similar challenges in education despite the historical difference. Training and maintaining quality teachers is a problem in both systems. While teachers have a better standing in American society, they are not paid well, and overall the funding for education is lacking. In the Czech Republic, teachers are not seen as professionals which leads to a societal impression that education is not important. Both situations have create a system where the decision to go into teaching is a difficult one as you go in with the understanding that you won't make as much, or have funding to actually do your job, so it is a very selfish group of people who become teachers. Compared to the Czech, America seems better off in that regard, but it is amazing to me that both governments will make education compulsory, sending a message of value, but won't necessarily fund it well enough to benefit the students and teachers as much as they should. Interestingly, the education seems to be amazing, and I have heard from many locals that it is more rigorous than the American system. In fact, when students from Czech study abroad, as a student on the flight to Prague did for a year, their year is not counted, so the student has to go a year longer. The student on the flight described the experience as an opportunity to see American culture rather than focusing on learning.
I find the system itself in the Czech Republic interesting. Students, when they are 16, choose among different paths as to whether they want to learn a vocation, pursue higher education, or a professional career. There are exams that have to be passed in order to enter the desired track. I find this interesting because the American system essentially has one track - college - and if you do not want to go to college, a person finds a job or joins the military. Seeing a track for vocation is intriguing and something that I think the American education system should look at.
Cultural Reflections Project 2: Czech Book Club
The Golem by Gustav Meyrink
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was initially attracted to this novel based on the idea of learning more about the Golem legend and Prague. I am a fan of Gothic literature, so this seemed like a story I would like. I was not a fan of the surreal, dream-like way the story was told, and its serialized manner necessarily caused the author to be repetitious. It did not meet my expectations of learning more about the legend and Prague. While my expectations were not met, that is not a reason to rate it less as I understand my expectations do not need to be met. What I really down rated it for is the manner of storytelling and the way the Jewish Quarter was depicted. I felt, at times, the book was bigoted in its portrayal of Jewish characters, and the Jewish Quarter as a whole. The Jewish Mystic aspects of the story seemed very much like an outsider with limited knowledge unnecessarily sharing perspective on a topic. Overall, in thinking about what type of reader I would recommend this to, I honestly am not sure.
View all my reviews
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was initially attracted to this novel based on the idea of learning more about the Golem legend and Prague. I am a fan of Gothic literature, so this seemed like a story I would like. I was not a fan of the surreal, dream-like way the story was told, and its serialized manner necessarily caused the author to be repetitious. It did not meet my expectations of learning more about the legend and Prague. While my expectations were not met, that is not a reason to rate it less as I understand my expectations do not need to be met. What I really down rated it for is the manner of storytelling and the way the Jewish Quarter was depicted. I felt, at times, the book was bigoted in its portrayal of Jewish characters, and the Jewish Quarter as a whole. The Jewish Mystic aspects of the story seemed very much like an outsider with limited knowledge unnecessarily sharing perspective on a topic. Overall, in thinking about what type of reader I would recommend this to, I honestly am not sure.
View all my reviews
Cultural Reflections Project 3: Czech Film Club
I watched the movie Anthropoid which I thoroughly enjoyed as it exposed me to a part of WW II history of which I was not aware. I have learned a lot about the French resistance, but never the Czech. The movie focused on two members of the resistance who left Czechoslovakia to go to London to train with the allies to learn how to resist the Nazi occupation. Their mission, when they returned to Czechoslovakia, was to assassinate Heydrich. They were successful, but at a great cost to the Czech resistance. The movie did a very good job of helping the viewer learn about the two men, and get a sense of the incredible effort that went into the assassination. I appreciated the fact that the movie presented the men as heroes, but at the same time, it explored whether the assassination was worth it considering how the Nazi response effectively wiped out the resistance in Czech. The Nazi soldiers tracked the men down, as well as other resistance members, as they were hiding out in a church. The soldiers surrounded the church and eventually subdued the resistance by killing them. Some of the members killed themselves before the Nazis had a chance to.
I watched the movie Anthropoid which I thoroughly enjoyed as it exposed me to a part of WW II history of which I was not aware. I have learned a lot about the French resistance, but never the Czech. The movie focused on two members of the resistance who left Czechoslovakia to go to London to train with the allies to learn how to resist the Nazi occupation. Their mission, when they returned to Czechoslovakia, was to assassinate Heydrich. They were successful, but at a great cost to the Czech resistance. The movie did a very good job of helping the viewer learn about the two men, and get a sense of the incredible effort that went into the assassination. I appreciated the fact that the movie presented the men as heroes, but at the same time, it explored whether the assassination was worth it considering how the Nazi response effectively wiped out the resistance in Czech. The Nazi soldiers tracked the men down, as well as other resistance members, as they were hiding out in a church. The soldiers surrounded the church and eventually subdued the resistance by killing them. Some of the members killed themselves before the Nazis had a chance to.
Cultural Reflections Project 5: Urban Neighborhood Analysis (from Field Research)
I took the metro to Zizkov to view the Television Tower and surrounding area to see what an urban neighborhood in Prague might look like. I went to the viewing section of the Television Tower to get a sense of the neighborhood and find some cool places to visit once I went back down. I decided to visit a circular garden that had a four nice houses curving around it. As we made our way toward it, we were surrounded by a park that encircled the tower. The park was very nice and full of people sitting in the grass, playing on the children's play equipment, or using the putt putt course. There were also a lot of mothers with their children, and people walking about. The neighborhood clearly emphasized green space and designed those spaces with the residents in mind. I walked into the circular garden and noticed that it looked like a very affluent area, and some of the areas around were not so. From the tower, I had seen other areas of the neighborhood that looked like the buildings needed more maintenance and upkeep and wanted to see those buildings too. As I walked in that direction, I came upon a Jewish cemetery. The cemetery did not look like it was kept up very well, and some of the bodies had actually been moved when the tower was built. According to Prague's own website there are 40,000 Jews buried on site, and it is a very small place, so that was hard to imagine. I explored those areas and saw buildings that were damaged and had graffiti on them. In this area, I noticed there were less people until we reached the main street and bus line. There were a lot of people walking along the street. Next, I went to Olsany Cemetery and was struck by how nice and maintained it was compared to the Jewish Cemetery. I am not sure if that is representative of the historical persecution and bigotry toward the Jewish population in Czech. In reading about Olsany afterward, I found out that there is also a section of the cemetery that is referred to as the New Jewish Cemetery where Kafka is buried.
I took the metro to Zizkov to view the Television Tower and surrounding area to see what an urban neighborhood in Prague might look like. I went to the viewing section of the Television Tower to get a sense of the neighborhood and find some cool places to visit once I went back down. I decided to visit a circular garden that had a four nice houses curving around it. As we made our way toward it, we were surrounded by a park that encircled the tower. The park was very nice and full of people sitting in the grass, playing on the children's play equipment, or using the putt putt course. There were also a lot of mothers with their children, and people walking about. The neighborhood clearly emphasized green space and designed those spaces with the residents in mind. I walked into the circular garden and noticed that it looked like a very affluent area, and some of the areas around were not so. From the tower, I had seen other areas of the neighborhood that looked like the buildings needed more maintenance and upkeep and wanted to see those buildings too. As I walked in that direction, I came upon a Jewish cemetery. The cemetery did not look like it was kept up very well, and some of the bodies had actually been moved when the tower was built. According to Prague's own website there are 40,000 Jews buried on site, and it is a very small place, so that was hard to imagine. I explored those areas and saw buildings that were damaged and had graffiti on them. In this area, I noticed there were less people until we reached the main street and bus line. There were a lot of people walking along the street. Next, I went to Olsany Cemetery and was struck by how nice and maintained it was compared to the Jewish Cemetery. I am not sure if that is representative of the historical persecution and bigotry toward the Jewish population in Czech. In reading about Olsany afterward, I found out that there is also a section of the cemetery that is referred to as the New Jewish Cemetery where Kafka is buried.
Cultural Reflections Project 6: Czech Education Analysis (from Field Research)
Post your analysis here...
Post your analysis here...
Cultural Reflections Project 7: Czech Literature Analysis (from Field Research)
Cultural Reflections Project 8: Czech Art/Visual Analysis (from Field Research)
I analyzed two pieces of Czech art, one that is a wood block print produced in 1915 and the other is oil on canvas from 1967. These are two very different times in Czech history and art was in a transitional period in both for very different reasons. The first is called Appeal and by Bohumil Kubista. Bohumil's work depicts a person looking up toward the heaves seemingly praying and appealing to a higher power. 1915 found the world at war for the first time. Industrialism had led to a lot of progress, but many artists were questioning whether that progress was for the good of the world as it also helped countries kill one another in the millions. As I analyzed and thought about this piece, and discussed it with others, something our guide told us came up a few times. This piece is more abstract, maybe even a little surreal in the way the moment is captured by the artist, and after this movement there was a return to classical art. They were trying to reclaim their identity before the war. I think that perhaps this person is appealing to a higher for the war, death, and loss of identity to stop and for there to be a return to civility and peace.
The second piece is oil on canvas by Rudolf Nemec. This piece is very interesting because the artist would cover his body in paint (and others at time) and "print" himself onto the canvas. The piece I analyzed is called sitting and is from 1967. 1967 is a time in Czech history when art could result in prison time, exile, or death by the communist party in control. As I discussed this piece, the others, as well as myself, noted the use of dark blues and black to convey a sense of sadness, hopelessness, and general despair. All of the paintings were of people, but none of them had defined faces. The person in this piece had clothe wrapped around his face. We all thought that this painting reflected the time well, a loss of identity for the Czech people as they were under control of the communist party, working in unison with the Soviet Union, to erase and assault identity and art. Unfortunately, from talking to native Czechs, the country still has not quite found its identity in the aftermath of both World Wars and Communism. Both of these pieces reflect that loss of identity and desire to find it.
I analyzed two pieces of Czech art, one that is a wood block print produced in 1915 and the other is oil on canvas from 1967. These are two very different times in Czech history and art was in a transitional period in both for very different reasons. The first is called Appeal and by Bohumil Kubista. Bohumil's work depicts a person looking up toward the heaves seemingly praying and appealing to a higher power. 1915 found the world at war for the first time. Industrialism had led to a lot of progress, but many artists were questioning whether that progress was for the good of the world as it also helped countries kill one another in the millions. As I analyzed and thought about this piece, and discussed it with others, something our guide told us came up a few times. This piece is more abstract, maybe even a little surreal in the way the moment is captured by the artist, and after this movement there was a return to classical art. They were trying to reclaim their identity before the war. I think that perhaps this person is appealing to a higher for the war, death, and loss of identity to stop and for there to be a return to civility and peace.
The second piece is oil on canvas by Rudolf Nemec. This piece is very interesting because the artist would cover his body in paint (and others at time) and "print" himself onto the canvas. The piece I analyzed is called sitting and is from 1967. 1967 is a time in Czech history when art could result in prison time, exile, or death by the communist party in control. As I discussed this piece, the others, as well as myself, noted the use of dark blues and black to convey a sense of sadness, hopelessness, and general despair. All of the paintings were of people, but none of them had defined faces. The person in this piece had clothe wrapped around his face. We all thought that this painting reflected the time well, a loss of identity for the Czech people as they were under control of the communist party, working in unison with the Soviet Union, to erase and assault identity and art. Unfortunately, from talking to native Czechs, the country still has not quite found its identity in the aftermath of both World Wars and Communism. Both of these pieces reflect that loss of identity and desire to find it.
Cultural Reflections Project 9: Czech Site Analysis, Site-Based Travel Writing (Post on Travel Blog)