March 13, 2025 • 35 mins
We all know reading is fundamental to learning. But did you know it also reduces stress? Or that it can help you sleep better, keep your mind sharp, and improve your relationships?
Imagine, then, the benefits of an entire school community reading together, from every student and teacher to the custodians, Main Office staff, and principals — even the parents.
“I’ve never had such an immersive experience,” said Daniel Nayeri whose Newbery Honor-winning novel, “The Many Assassinations of Samir, Seller of Dreams” was the subject of an all-community read experiment at Albion Middle School. “To have the opportunity to speak with the students personally and work with them…I’m really thankful for that.”
Albion’s schoolwide book club was the brainchild of English teachers Stephanie Nasser and Stephanie Kourianos. They encountered Nayeri at a summer conference, and after listening to him talk about his tale of a young monk’s journey along the Silk Road, they knew they had found the right author and book to see their vision through.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyons School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Wouldn't it be nice if love was all around us?
That's just one of thethought-provoking questions in
Daniel Nayeri's book the ManyAssassinations of Samir the
Seller of Dreams.
Nayeri is an award-winningauthor of more than a dozen
books.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
So why are we talking aboutthis nationally renowned author?
(01:00):
Well, that's because he's herewith us today.
Welcome, thanks for having me.
How Mr Nayeri's visit to CanyonSchool District came about is
thanks to two teachers fromAlbion Middle School, stephanie
Corianis and Stephanie Nassar.
They are also joining us today,along with Albion principal
Eric Gardner.
Thank you all for being here.
Now I'd like to start with ourteachers.
Tell us about your idea and howthis visit came about.
(01:22):
Tell us about your idea and howthis visit came about and it's
not just a quick visit to aclassroom with a little reading
of an excerpt you took this to awhole new level.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The goal of this project was to unleash the power
of one shared text, and that'skind of our jumping off point
for this.
So we went to NCTE way back inNovember of 2023, and we
realized that Daniel Nayari wasgoing to be at the conference
and we made sure that we weregoing to be there because we
(01:55):
both loved his book EverythingSad is Untrue and we were kind
of fangirled about that storyand said we have to go, we have
to meet him.
So we came with our books readyto sign and he was there on a
panel talking about his new book, the Many Assassinations of
Samir.
And at that point, after hespoke, Stephanie Nassar turned
(02:19):
to me and she said we're goingto have Daniel Nahari come to
our school and we are going tohave every grade read this story
, and that's going to haveDaniel Nehari come to our school
and we're going to have everygrade read this story, and
that's going to happen.
And I was like, all right, yougot this.
Yes, let's do this.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
so to add to what Stephanie is saying, we also
went to see sessions about howto do an all-community read at a
school, and as we were sittingthere, what dawned on us was the
power of empathy and teachingmiddle schoolers what it is to
(02:56):
be empathetic towards anotherperson.
And in today's culture it's suchan important skill to teach and
for students to learn, and youcan't just teach at them, you
have to teach it with them.
And so we came back and satdown with our principal and said
we need to do this and this ishow we need to do this, and we
(03:20):
need to immerse an author withour students on a very personal
level where he can talk withthem, he can do some of the
great elective classes with them.
And Mr Gardner's response wasthis is great, where are we
going to get the money?
So from there, I, being onschool community council, had to
(03:45):
pitch it to them and they wereon board right away.
They were passionate aboutcreating reading as being a
focal point for the entireschool around the text.
Skip ahead a year.
And I said to to Stephanie wehave to get money like this.
(04:07):
We it's not just about the feesto bring in an author, it's
about resources to create artand music and cooking and
everything that we want to gowith it, the ordering of 300
plus books and the you all ofthat.
So we went after a couple ofgrants.
Our first grant that we wereawarded was Voya, which is Voya
(04:31):
Unsung Heroes, where we got$2,000.
And then the next one was theCanyons and Foundation, where we
were very generously awarded$8,000.
And so we were able then totake all those funds.
We were very generously awarded$8,000.
And so we were able then totake all those funds and give
them back to Mr Gardner to beable to use to cover anything
(04:53):
and everything around this visit.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
We also got donors' shoes and we did.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
yes, yeah, we got donors' shoes for a whole set of
books.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
You guys went to town .
Yeah, we got a donor to choosefor a whole set of books.
You guys went to town.
You know it's such a great ideaof having it go beyond just a
single classroom readingsomething.
I want to come back to that.
But you talked about empathy.
Daniel, I'd like to bring youback in and let's talk about how
you came up with the idea forSamir's story and his little
(05:26):
monkey, and you know it's it forme.
It was a very interesting wayof learning empathy.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, thank you, um.
For me it was a veryinteresting way of learning
empathy, but for a slightlydifferent reason.
I um, the book I'd writtenwritten previous to that was a
book called everything sad isuntrue, and it was about my
coming to the United States withmy mother.
My father had stayed back inIran, and so in a lot of ways
it's about the strength that mymom sort of shows and she's kind
of the hero of that story andeveryone sort of said, wow,
(05:54):
that's like a love letter toyour mom.
And I said, yeah, you know,that's that is what my early
childhood looked like.
But then there was this littleseed planted where I was like
what would it look like if I waswriting something for?
And about my dad trying toexplain my dad to people.
And that is something that wasparticularly challenging for me
because he's always sort of justbeen a voice on the phone, and
(06:15):
so as I started to think moreabout him, it started to take on
a bit more of a fictionalcharacter as well.
I was having to sort of fill insome gaps, and so I called my
agent and I said, okay, andshe's like, well, you know, what
have you got next?
And I said you know an 11thcentury Silk Road comedy in
ancient Uzbekistan.
And, um, she didn't hang up, sothank goodness.
But I, uh, I got to write thatstory and it does.
(06:38):
It is about someone who you know, for me represents my father's
personality a lot, but the restisn't exactly the same.
It's it's a poorly huckster.
He's this merchant who goesfrom village to village
swindling people, and and hisassistant, um, who he calls
monkey, cause he used to be amonk, and and monkey is telling
you the story.
He's telling you that my masteris an unserious man.
(06:59):
He I don't like him very muchat all.
Monkey is a very religious anddevout young boy, and so he
thinks that his master's a liarand he thinks he sort of
deserves it when they find outthat each of the villages that
this man has swindled havegotten pretty upset and they've
each hired a different assassinto come and kill him.
And so he says you know, I,even though he doesn't deserve
it, even though you know mymaster is a um, is a con artist
(07:23):
and a huckster I had to save hislife six times and, would you
believe it, he still didn't freeme.
And he said and so this is, ofcourse, the witness of Monkey,
because he tells you at thefront that he was the seventh
and the successful assassin.
And so from there you're sortof thrown into the story of how
Monkey and Samir kind of come tobe at first, this odd pairing
(07:44):
who end up becoming not onlyfriends but family and, you know
, gain this incrediblerelationship where they each
sort of bring something to teachto the other person.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I thought you did a wonderful job of kind of that
foresight but also throwing youfor a loop.
You know, the very firstchapter is the first time I was
ever stoned to death and you go,wait what you can do that twice
.
I didn't know that was a thing.
But I will say every time I seethe word nonsense now I hear it
in the narrator's voiceNonsense.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Samir says nonsense all the time.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
So it's this wonderful weaving and, as
teachers, I love how, then, youtook that and you turn it into
so many different lessons.
So, for the last two days, yourentire school, your entire
community has spent learningwith this book as the pillar of
(08:43):
everything you've been able toachieve.
Walk me through how the lastcouple days have gone for all of
you.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
It's been fantastic in so many ways.
One thing we read the book andwe listened to it on audio and
so we were listening.
Daniel narrates the book and sothe kids have been listening to
Daniel you know his voice forweeks and then to finally see
his face and to hear him, Ithink was a pretty cool thing
(09:13):
for all of the kids.
They really have been soexcited for his visit.
They had all sorts of questions.
You know, and I would say youshould ask that when he is at
our school, and so we reallybuilt up this.
You know, and I would say youshould ask that when he is at
our school, and so we reallybuilt up this.
You know excitement around himcoming to our school to finally
have it, be here and have thekids be so sweet and so many
(09:34):
kids wanted their books signedand it was really nice to see
all of our planning andeverything that we have been
talking about for the last 18months kind of come to fruition.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
So one of the things that happened the second time we
were with Daniel was he shareda snack with us.
It was dates that we knewbefore then that his prior
career was a pastry chef.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
A professional pastry chef.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Like my mind is blown at the amount of things on your
resume just so you know, likewe learned that story today and
it's a fascinating story, but um, side note so he shared this
snack and so that kind ofsparked this whole wait.
We can go outside of Englishand we can bring in all these
(10:24):
other courses and classes andelectives that happen, and so
Daniel made his snack that hemakes all the time at home with
our FAC students.
Our art students wanted to puttogether a batik based on the
story, which all 700, they alltouched it right.
(10:46):
And the music department didthis huge project based on the
novel, where they theirculmination was coming together
to play, but they alsoindividually created these
projects.
Science looked at the wind withthe sand and how it affects
people if you're walking on it.
You know the discovery of thenumber zero, yeah, which is
(11:09):
another really big deal.
And all the way to our STEMclass, which is they did
woodshop, and Daniel got tocreate a phone stand today right
, although the student Lila wasmostly guiding my hand.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
There's some very very patient students in that
class.
But, yeah, I got to doeverything.
I've never gotten to do thatbefore.
I've never had such animmersive experience where I
feel like in two days I got togo into every part of the school
.
Right, I've never gotten to go.
I've always wanted to.
I always ask but I neverthought I would.
I've always wanted to.
I always ask but I neverthought I would get the
opportunity and to haveStephanie and Stephanie both
(11:49):
kind of not only get behind itbut allow it it's almost always
shut down because I've beenasking for years.
But now, you know, in the lastfew days, you know, we got to go
and cook with the students andI got to tell them about the
Silk Road snack.
We got to go and cook with thestudents and I got to tell them
about the Silk Road snack.
And I was in a wood shop, wewere in art classes, there was
(12:11):
pottery it was just a blur andof course we got to talk to the
students who really want to bewriters and, you know, pull up
our sleeves, talk, shop abouttheir writing and their response
.
And to me, the whole of it hasbeen this really incredible
spirit that I'm not used toright.
What happens sometimes andevery visit is beautiful in its
own way, but often what happenswith visits is you know you'll
(12:32):
come in and people have alreadyread your work right, and so the
energy is sort of always youcome in and they're reacting to
that work, and so the energy isalways sort of pointed toward
you and that's lovely and itit's nice.
But you know, the highestachievement that any artist can
have right, the highestachievement any writer can have,
is to be like an inspiration toother people to make things
(12:55):
right.
The compliments are nice, thecompliments are I'm not allergic
to compliments, but but if youknow to be an epigraph in
someone else's novel, that quiteliterally is saying you've
inspired a piece of this work Tobe someone that other artists
look to as someone who sparkedtheir imagination and to have
(13:17):
these last two days be thatacross every topic.
Now the science students aremaking things and the art
students are making pottery andthe the cooking students are
making food.
They're all making their ownthing and the writers got to
share their work right.
That is a very powerful thing,because now the energy gets to
be not only sort of more, sortof, you know, balanced, but now
(13:40):
I can react to their work.
I can say, wow, I just readyour work and I really like this
little line here and I thoughtthis was great and I'd love to
see more of this.
And that is exactly the way Iwould love to interact, because
one, it is, the highest honoryou can have is that this in
some way was sparked bysomething you wrote.
But also, you get to be thething that I was first, which is
(14:02):
I get to be a reader, I get tobe an eater.
I get to be the thing that Iwas first, which is I get to be
a reader.
I get to be an eater, I get tobe a student.
I get to be, you know, somebodywho reacts to art in front of
me.
And this school, you know, hasbeen, you know, albion Middle,
has been wall to wall, coveredin, you know, the projects of
these students from, like youknow, comparisons of the Silk
(14:24):
Road travel networks to theGreat Westward Migration travel
networks, like Utah studies.
And then you know, but you alsohave, you know, spiral pottery
from art class and felting inyou know a different class and
and of course the Englishdepartment, doing all kinds of
deep dives into the lyricism ofcertain sections of the text or
(14:44):
the history.
Of course there's so much toreact to and it's all over the
walls.
You just get to walk in and seeit.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So that's been a delight.
I imagine it's got to be sodifferent for you as an author
to come into a situation likethat, where there's something
new for everyone.
Eric, how have you seenstudents reacting and teachers
reacting to this group project,as it were?
Speaker 6 (15:09):
I would say it was almost like a giant snowball
that picked up steam.
As we first pitched it outthere to the staff, you know you
had some people jump on boardinstantly and then there were
others that were a littleskeptical.
But it was interesting.
As we've done things as a we,the whole idea of that book is
community At least that was abig takeaway that I took from it
(15:32):
and so.
But as we've done stuff as astaff, like we had a paint night
a few weeks ago and like towatch everybody come together,
teacher wise, teacher wise andthen all of a sudden everyone
those who were even hesitant tomaybe participate at first,
they're the ones coming up withthe projects and putting the
displays on Like I've just lovedit.
And then the thing that onething that I've just loved from
(15:55):
this is we've been able to reachevery kid from a broad level,
like at today's assembly.
And then the one that I lovethe most is yesterday's writer's
workshop, where to sit in frontof a Newbery award winner and
to have them actually read yourstory, and not just read it but
give specific feedback about it.
(16:16):
I mean, I remember nuclearfallout or darkness.
Yeah, and he knew thecharacter's names it was like
Mikal, something I can'tpronounce it Anyways but it was
touching, it was getting to me,so I left because I was starting
to tear up and I was just, Imean, what kid really gets that
experience?
And so I love this whole thingthat it's brought us all
(16:39):
together, both staff andstudents, and it's given
everyone in the school anopportunity that I would say
most kids don't typically get.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I loved hearing your favorite part about it, and
you're right.
I mean, I think most writers oranyone who's aspiring to be
something right you don't alwaysget that level of somebody
sitting down who knows whatthey're doing and being able to
come to you and say, yeah, thispart's great, or you know you
need to work on that, so that's,that's really special.
I'd love to hear your otherfavorite parts from the last two
(17:11):
days.
To the three of you the twoStephanies and Daniel is there
one, a highlight that juststicks with you, or is it all?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
still sinking in.
I would say, for me, one of themost highlights was yesterday.
We we gave out passes toanybody who wanted to get you
know a book signed, a piece ofpaper signed like we didn't care
.
Right, and the line was out thedoor of the library.
And Daniel, when he signs hisbook every depending on which
(17:40):
book he's signing he has aspecific illustration that he
uses.
And Stephanie the otherStephanie was walking the line
writing the names down becausewe learned quickly how we have
to do this, and I was sittingnext to him and I kept going
we're not going to get throughthe line.
We're not going to get throughthe line, like I feel really bad
.
He's like just, it's okay.
It's okay Cause he's drawing apicture, but he made every
(18:03):
student feel seen and everystudent feel heard.
And in that short interchange,those students walked away with
the feeling of, yeah, this is aNewbery Award honoree winner,
but he's a person just like you,just like me, and that he that
(18:29):
maybe I can do this too becauseI'm a person too.
And I think, like going into thedifferent classrooms, whether
they he was just answeringquestions, or today we played a
game with characters.
It was so much fun in creativewriting, which was a blast.
But every student, from yourresource special ed kid all the
(18:52):
way up to your accelerated kid,was able to be touched by this
experience.
He did go into a resource classyesterday.
He did sit on the floor and doa fireside chat with a resource
English class and those kidsthey're all boys, right, there
were all boys in there exceptfor one student, and you could
(19:12):
tell that these boys don't read,they struggle, and yet they
resonated with the humanity thatDaniel represents and I, and
that's a big deal.
That's a big deal.
So, like Eric said, it's soimportant that broad spectrum we
all got together in theauditorium.
Steph disagree, like he'sprobably touched six, 700
(19:44):
students individually withoutrealizing that that vast number,
you know, spent time with himand got to have a moment with
him, to the point where heremembers names, by the way,
which is obscene because ittakes teachers so many weeks to
learn their students' names.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
That beautiful stephanie k.
How about you?
Speaker 4 (20:01):
I think a couple moments that will stick with me
is one uh, yesterday, thewriter's workshop, the first,
the first kid to get feedback onhis writing, was sitting in the
front and I watched his littleface.
Just, he, just he was gettingfeedback from a real author that
was published in his awards.
Yeah, and he just was.
(20:21):
I had, I took a little pictureof his, of his face, because it
just he couldn't get enough ofit and I thought that is
something special that you knowhe'll remember forever.
And a lot of the kids felt thesame.
They reacted the same way.
I also loved yesterday when wewent into the orchestra.
When we went into, they playedsome songs and after they played
(20:43):
their songs they talked abouthow the song connected to the
feelings of the story.
And hearing them make theseconnections that were so deep
and thoughtful and you know they.
Really for me it was like theyunderstood our goal.
You know they're doing it,they're getting it, and so that
was a really yeah, withouttelling them they were getting
(21:04):
it.
So that was a really specialtime for me to see that.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
That's got to be fulfilling, as educators, to you
know, set this goal I mean, thetwo of you have been working on
this for a year and a half nowand to have it finally happen
and then see, yes, that that ahamoment, they got it.
That's beautiful, Daniel.
What's what's been your biggesttakeaway?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Oh, my goodness, it's , it's been amazing.
I you know I have two.
I have two the first.
The first one is I'm going to.
I'm going to tell you the storyof meeting, meeting the two
Stephanies from my perspective.
I came down, I I was as theseconferences are really, you know
, full of people and all kindsof things and it's really they
can be very um sort of they canjust be kind of a blur of people
(21:50):
and faces and whatnot, and Iwas sitting in this, uh, hotel
lobby waiting for, waiting forsomeone, and I was, I was gonna
doing some, just writing, and Ihear from across the way and I'm
not a particularly what's theright word, like I'm a pretty
introverted person, like I'mpretty shy, I guess is the right
word and so I just hear my name, that feeling a shy person gets
(22:12):
when they're like oh my gosh,I've been made into a public
spectacle.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
What's?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
happening.
No, but I hear it was Stephanie.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Nassar, I mean, if you didn't want to be a public
spectacle, maybe don't do so.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
And I looked up and that was all the confirmation
she needed to know that she hadguessed correctly and they came
over and they were so excited,they were so genuine and so
delightful to say like and Ishould point out like outside of
writing conferences, likepeople don't shout and scream my
name or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's not what I'm used to at the ice cream shop.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
So I, you know, and so it's delightful on some level
and also kind of like, okay,hello, hello, you know, oh, you
three know each other and oh, weteach at the same school and
you know, we'd like to have youcome and all told that's a
really lovely personal, like youknow situation and you can, you
so, but you sort of bookmark itbecause you're gonna have a
hundred more interactions in thenext two days, sure, but you
(23:06):
know, you sort of it's one youremember, and and then the next
time, and they, but they stayedin touch and there was this
feeling that oh, okay, these,these three, might be the real
deal.
I know these, this might be um,you know this, this might be um
, but you don't know you know,everybody talks, everybody says
nice things.
You know, as we know, in the, inthe arts, you can sort of die
of encouragement, you know, andpeople so, because everybody can
(23:27):
be nice and so, um, but thenthe next time they were I was
going somewhere they were like,are you, are you going to be at
this conference?
And I said, sure, of course,you know, let's try it out.
And again you sort of meet themand there's just an overflow of
energy and enthusiasm, but alsolike understanding of what's
going to happen and vision andall these things, and you go
(23:48):
okay, yeah, yeah, I think theymight be the real deal this
might actually happen.
This might and so, but then youget here and it's a whole
different thing.
I get here and it's and you sayand, and there's just some
important dynamics to point out.
You know, in in schools and instuff in general, um, you know,
my goal, my goal is never likeI'm not.
I'm not a big fan of trying tolike, uh, put kids into a
(24:12):
situation where they they'rejust like losing their minds
because, like, oh look uh, youknow like excitement over
because kids can be just likeyou.
You know, they can be churned upyou know, and for that for, for
any, for anything, for anythingthe wrong thing.
And I think for me, you know,always one of my goals is to
come in and say, actually, youknow, like, you know, sort of
(24:33):
democratize all these things areas much as possible, like I did
not come from a space where itwould be expected of me to have
done anything like this.
And I, I certainly, you know,it's been a surprise, um, it's
been.
I, you know, when I got to thiscountry I sort of thought, you
know, I thought my son would getto have a good life, you know.
And so, um, and so when youland, you're like, oh okay, this
(24:56):
is, you know how, how are theygoing to handle this?
And in other scenarios,sometimes what they want is the
most sanitized version, becauseyou know it's a very, maybe a
bureaucratic situation and theydon't know who I am, they don't
yet have the trust in me that Icould really speak to their kids
, and so they don't really wanta personal experience, they want
a sanitized experience.
Come in, just give us yourstump speech, do a signing, and,
(25:19):
like you know that, in, justgive us your stump speech, do a
signing and, like you know,that's fine, that's all, that's
all the programming.
We'll do a signing at the localbookstore as well, and that's
for what it's worth.
It's a great event, that's fine,but it takes an incredible
amount of trust and person.
You know, like personal umconnection and so and I got in
and I went oh, okay, this iskind of what they're going for
(25:39):
and the underpinning reason forthat is because their agenda is
my agenda as well.
Their agenda is to say to kidslook, you can do it too.
The agenda is fundamentally tosay that yes, these things of
the world, like medals, are nice, best-seller things.
(26:00):
All those things they're nice.
Nobody who wouldn't want themand I'm excited about them.
But actually he'll be just asjazzed about your writing as you
are of his, and to have theopportunity to speak to them
personally about that and tomeet them there.
That's a trust that I thinkteachers put in you, because you
could show up and also insult akid or not hold a fragile
(26:24):
moment delicately, but at thesame time it truly sort of takes
the real deal kind of teacherswho are kind of spending a year
to do this, to build for theirstudents.
That's not normal.
I'm really thankful for that.
It was a surprise in almostevery way these last two days.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That's beautiful.
I think you're right.
It takes a certain amount oftrust to bring in somebody you
have only met a time or two at aconference and not only grant
access to a classroom but tohundreds of students, and it
worked.
It sounds like it worked verywell.
I'd love just you know finalthoughts on from anyone who'd
(27:10):
like to share.
You know just why events likethis are important when it comes
to educating our young ones,and you know showing them again
that you can do this too, youngones, and you know showing them
again that you can do this too.
This is, you know, whatever youwant to do, reach for it, it's
attainable.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
All right, I'll go first on this.
You know, all this to mestarted a year and a half ago
when I started at Albion, in thesense of I truly believe that
you should invest in yourteachers, your students and,
yeah, you got to hire some staffto support it.
But you know, when I pitchedthem, the idea I want you guys
(27:49):
to go to national conferences,the whole idea is to get
inspired, to learn these newideas and see things differently
.
So when they came back and theysaid we want to do an all
community read, we heard aboutit, but we could do better than
what we heard about it.
I said well, that's a great idea.
I said, well, what's the bookyou want to read?
And they're like, it's aboutthe Silk Roads.
(28:12):
And I said I'm already sold.
You can stop right there,because the whole purpose of the
Silk Roads, right, was thistransmission of ideas.
And to watch, to watch teachersget inspired and invested and
motivated over this whole thingwas just awesome.
And then to watch the studentsget on board with it as well,
(28:35):
it's everything you could hopefor as not only a principal but
an educator and a parent.
And so to inspire people, right, that's the business we're in.
And some lessons, you know.
Do I think a kid's going tolook back and remember their
math lesson they had today?
No, but do I think they'llremember an experience like this
(28:55):
?
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yes, like this.
Yes, well, to that, to thatwhen we applied for the grant,
most of the we were asking otherteachers that had won the grant
in the past and it was neverfor an experience, even though
it says in the descriptor thatit can be an experience, and I
remember saying to Stephaniethis is a long shot but we got
(29:16):
to try because in the past itbeen equipment or resources or
something.
And when we won we won, becausethis is an immersive experience
and that you know, and Ericbelieved in our mission, he
believed in what we were afterand we putting aside yes,
(29:41):
face-to-face with Daniel acouple of times, but many, many
Zoom calls many manyface-to-face.
Zoom calls, I guess on behalf ofStephanie and myself.
Thank you to Daniel fortrusting us that we weren't
going to do anything, you know,and to provide such a loving,
(30:03):
approachable environment which,if anything, I think that's Mr
Gardner like to allow us to fly.
But he also believed that ourstudents would embrace this.
It's not like every school.
You would want to do somethinglike this, because the
population and and he hascreated a population of students
(30:26):
that thrive Right.
I think the last two days hasbeen evident of that for sure.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
You mentioned the grant and, daniel, I think you
hit this nail on the head aswell that, uh, you know these
two are just so passionate aboutteaching, and Eric as well.
But I remember when we came inand announced the grant winners,
stephanie Nassar was just overthe moon, excited.
(30:58):
They're the cutest pictures,and you can just see it in her
face of just what we won.
This is amazing, and I rememberDenise Haycock, the development
officer for the CanyonsEducation Foundation, said you
know, this was so unique becauseit's an experience.
It's great to be able toprovide those physical resources
, the devices or classroommaterials that you might need,
(31:20):
or maybe a teacher's getting a3D printer, but to be able to
support something like anexperience.
Are they going to remember themath problem?
No, maybe they'll remember thatthey had a little market and
you could buy materials andthings, but they'll remember
getting to talk to Daniel.
Stephanie K how about you?
Speaker 4 (31:38):
I think we really wanted to capture or create.
We wanted to be innovative inhow we taught kids to have
empathy, to dream big, to bekind to each other and to show
them that their learning isconnected, that a story that
they read in ELA has connectionsto the art they're creating,
(32:02):
has connections to the musicthat they learn, has connections
to science and math and evenUtah studies, right, and this
book that we read was from the11th century, like that's when
it takes place.
Right, this book takes placeduring around the 11th century
and the kids were able toconnect to the feelings and the
emotions and of the story and Ithink all of that was just
(32:25):
really important.
And then to have Daniel come atthe at the end and really
support all of the things thatthey had been, that they learned
through the book was very kindof, uh, a really cool thing and
um, and that was what we wanted.
We wanted it to be innovativein how we approached it.
So, daniel, I think.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I think the unfortunate part is now
everything has to be compared tothe this, and so I'm always
gonna be, I'm always gonna belike but they didn't let me cook
um, so, or you know, it's justso many other things.
It's so funny.
The examples, like reallyabound.
It's been a really packed umtwo days and I think the yeah, I
mean, as far as I mean, I thinkthe question was about what I
(33:06):
think in terms of how it willaffect the kids.
You know, I do love all of that.
I think you both nailed it.
I mean, you just heard threeexperts on the topic speak about
this and they sort of nailed itright Of the multidisciplinary
nature of not just any topic butof learning in general.
How you it doesn't this topichappened to be this but that to
(33:29):
say to a kid, you know, someday,you know, learning, how to
learn, is something we often sayin, you know, the liberal arts
colleges and in schools, youknow.
But what does that actually meanwhen we say that, like, how do
you give somebody a toolkit tosay I want this topic in my life
, whatever it might be, jazz,music or 1940s, la, like who
(33:51):
cares what the topic is?
Do they actually have this sortof skill set to teach
themselves on these topics inthis multi, and to show them
that actually not only can youimmerse yourself in a subject,
but you can do it in almostevery aspect.
You can grab any aspect of thatparticular topic and and go
(34:12):
forward, depending on what yourparticular preferences might be.
That's a.
That is a lifetime skill.
You know, that's one of thoselike you're watching people
train something that they'll use, not just because of the facts
of the Silk Road but because, ifthey want to I don't know learn
a foreign language, they willknow that they should immerse
(34:34):
themselves this way.
That's a muscle and I think youknow teaching a topic is one
thing, but teaching learning isa.
You know that's strong Kung Fu.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
I think, yeah, you're right, you all hit the nail on
the head.
There's learning for the sakeof learning, numbers, learning
your letters, learning you knowa verb from a noun, but then
there's the why of learning andwhat you can do with it.
And I think I speak for manywhen I say thank you for taking
that time to go that deep withour students and you know being
(35:10):
innovative, and thank you allfor joining us.
I could talk about this forages.
I could talk about books.
I love hearing you all get soexcited about the students, but
thank you for joining us and forsharing all of your knowledge.
Thank you, thanks for having usand thank you for joining us
and for sharing all of yourknowledge.
Thank you, thanks for having usand thank you for listening.
If there's a topic you'd liketo hear discussed, send us an
email to communications atcanyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
Welcome to Connect Canyons, a podcast sponsored by
Canyons School District.
This is a show about what weteach, how we teach and why we
get up close and personal withsome of the people who make our
schools great Students, teachers, principals, parents and more.
We meet national experts too.
Learning is about makingconnections, so connect with us.
Speaker 3 (00:38):
Wouldn't it be nice if love was all around us?
That's just one of thethought-provoking questions in
Daniel Nayeri's book the ManyAssassinations of Samir the
Seller of Dreams.
Nayeri is an award-winningauthor of more than a dozen
books.
Welcome to Connect Canyons.
I'm your host, frances Cook.
So why are we talking aboutthis nationally renowned author?
(01:00):
Well, that's because he's herewith us today.
Welcome, thanks for having me.
How Mr Nayeri's visit to CanyonSchool District came about is
thanks to two teachers fromAlbion Middle School, stephanie
Corianis and Stephanie Nassar.
They are also joining us today,along with Albion principal
Eric Gardner.
Thank you all for being here.
Now I'd like to start with ourteachers.
Tell us about your idea and howthis visit came about.
(01:22):
Tell us about your idea and howthis visit came about and it's
not just a quick visit to aclassroom with a little reading
of an excerpt you took this to awhole new level.
Speaker 4 (01:33):
The goal of this project was to unleash the power
of one shared text, and that'skind of our jumping off point
for this.
So we went to NCTE way back inNovember of 2023, and we
realized that Daniel Nayari wasgoing to be at the conference
and we made sure that we weregoing to be there because we
(01:55):
both loved his book EverythingSad is Untrue and we were kind
of fangirled about that storyand said we have to go, we have
to meet him.
So we came with our books readyto sign and he was there on a
panel talking about his new book, the Many Assassinations of
Samir.
And at that point, after hespoke, Stephanie Nassar turned
(02:19):
to me and she said we're goingto have Daniel Nahari come to
our school and we are going tohave every grade read this story
, and that's going to haveDaniel Nehari come to our school
and we're going to have everygrade read this story, and
that's going to happen.
And I was like, all right, yougot this.
Yes, let's do this.
Speaker 5 (02:35):
so to add to what Stephanie is saying, we also
went to see sessions about howto do an all-community read at a
school, and as we were sittingthere, what dawned on us was the
power of empathy and teachingmiddle schoolers what it is to
(02:56):
be empathetic towards anotherperson.
And in today's culture it's suchan important skill to teach and
for students to learn, and youcan't just teach at them, you
have to teach it with them.
And so we came back and satdown with our principal and said
we need to do this and this ishow we need to do this, and we
(03:20):
need to immerse an author withour students on a very personal
level where he can talk withthem, he can do some of the
great elective classes with them.
And Mr Gardner's response wasthis is great, where are we
going to get the money?
So from there, I, being onschool community council, had to
(03:45):
pitch it to them and they wereon board right away.
They were passionate aboutcreating reading as being a
focal point for the entireschool around the text.
Skip ahead a year.
And I said to to Stephanie wehave to get money like this.
(04:07):
We it's not just about the feesto bring in an author, it's
about resources to create artand music and cooking and
everything that we want to gowith it, the ordering of 300
plus books and the you all ofthat.
So we went after a couple ofgrants.
Our first grant that we wereawarded was Voya, which is Voya
(04:31):
Unsung Heroes, where we got$2,000.
And then the next one was theCanyons and Foundation, where we
were very generously awarded$8,000.
And so we were able then totake all those funds.
We were very generously awarded$8,000.
And so we were able then totake all those funds and give
them back to Mr Gardner to beable to use to cover anything
(04:53):
and everything around this visit.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
We also got donors' shoes and we did.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
yes, yeah, we got donors' shoes for a whole set of
books.
Speaker 3 (05:03):
You guys went to town .
Yeah, we got a donor to choosefor a whole set of books.
You guys went to town.
You know it's such a great ideaof having it go beyond just a
single classroom readingsomething.
I want to come back to that.
But you talked about empathy.
Daniel, I'd like to bring youback in and let's talk about how
you came up with the idea forSamir's story and his little
(05:26):
monkey, and you know it's it forme.
It was a very interesting wayof learning empathy.
Speaker 2 (05:33):
Well, thank you, um.
For me it was a veryinteresting way of learning
empathy, but for a slightlydifferent reason.
I um, the book I'd writtenwritten previous to that was a
book called everything sad isuntrue, and it was about my
coming to the United States withmy mother.
My father had stayed back inIran, and so in a lot of ways
it's about the strength that mymom sort of shows and she's kind
of the hero of that story andeveryone sort of said, wow,
(05:54):
that's like a love letter toyour mom.
And I said, yeah, you know,that's that is what my early
childhood looked like.
But then there was this littleseed planted where I was like
what would it look like if I waswriting something for?
And about my dad trying toexplain my dad to people.
And that is something that wasparticularly challenging for me
because he's always sort of justbeen a voice on the phone, and
(06:15):
so as I started to think moreabout him, it started to take on
a bit more of a fictionalcharacter as well.
I was having to sort of fill insome gaps, and so I called my
agent and I said, okay, andshe's like, well, you know, what
have you got next?
And I said you know an 11thcentury Silk Road comedy in
ancient Uzbekistan.
And, um, she didn't hang up, sothank goodness.
But I, uh, I got to write thatstory and it does.
(06:38):
It is about someone who you know, for me represents my father's
personality a lot, but the restisn't exactly the same.
It's it's a poorly huckster.
He's this merchant who goesfrom village to village
swindling people, and and hisassistant, um, who he calls
monkey, cause he used to be amonk, and and monkey is telling
you the story.
He's telling you that my masteris an unserious man.
(06:59):
He I don't like him very muchat all.
Monkey is a very religious anddevout young boy, and so he
thinks that his master's a liarand he thinks he sort of
deserves it when they find outthat each of the villages that
this man has swindled havegotten pretty upset and they've
each hired a different assassinto come and kill him.
And so he says you know, I,even though he doesn't deserve
it, even though you know mymaster is a um, is a con artist
(07:23):
and a huckster I had to save hislife six times and, would you
believe it, he still didn't freeme.
And he said and so this is, ofcourse, the witness of Monkey,
because he tells you at thefront that he was the seventh
and the successful assassin.
And so from there you're sortof thrown into the story of how
Monkey and Samir kind of come tobe at first, this odd pairing
(07:44):
who end up becoming not onlyfriends but family and, you know
, gain this incrediblerelationship where they each
sort of bring something to teachto the other person.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I thought you did a wonderful job of kind of that
foresight but also throwing youfor a loop.
You know, the very firstchapter is the first time I was
ever stoned to death and you go,wait what you can do that twice
.
I didn't know that was a thing.
But I will say every time I seethe word nonsense now I hear it
in the narrator's voiceNonsense.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
Samir says nonsense all the time.
Speaker 3 (08:21):
So it's this wonderful weaving and, as
teachers, I love how, then, youtook that and you turn it into
so many different lessons.
So, for the last two days, yourentire school, your entire
community has spent learningwith this book as the pillar of
(08:43):
everything you've been able toachieve.
Walk me through how the lastcouple days have gone for all of
you.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
It's been fantastic in so many ways.
One thing we read the book andwe listened to it on audio and
so we were listening.
Daniel narrates the book and sothe kids have been listening to
Daniel you know his voice forweeks and then to finally see
his face and to hear him, Ithink was a pretty cool thing
(09:13):
for all of the kids.
They really have been soexcited for his visit.
They had all sorts of questions.
You know, and I would say youshould ask that when he is at
our school, and so we reallybuilt up this.
You know, and I would say youshould ask that when he is at
our school, and so we reallybuilt up this.
You know excitement around himcoming to our school to finally
have it, be here and have thekids be so sweet and so many
(09:34):
kids wanted their books signedand it was really nice to see
all of our planning andeverything that we have been
talking about for the last 18months kind of come to fruition.
Speaker 5 (09:43):
So one of the things that happened the second time we
were with Daniel was he shareda snack with us.
It was dates that we knewbefore then that his prior
career was a pastry chef.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
A professional pastry chef.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Like my mind is blown at the amount of things on your
resume just so you know, likewe learned that story today and
it's a fascinating story, but um, side note so he shared this
snack and so that kind ofsparked this whole wait.
We can go outside of Englishand we can bring in all these
(10:24):
other courses and classes andelectives that happen, and so
Daniel made his snack that hemakes all the time at home with
our FAC students.
Our art students wanted to puttogether a batik based on the
story, which all 700, they alltouched it right.
(10:46):
And the music department didthis huge project based on the
novel, where they theirculmination was coming together
to play, but they alsoindividually created these
projects.
Science looked at the wind withthe sand and how it affects
people if you're walking on it.
You know the discovery of thenumber zero, yeah, which is
(11:09):
another really big deal.
And all the way to our STEMclass, which is they did
woodshop, and Daniel got tocreate a phone stand today right
, although the student Lila wasmostly guiding my hand.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
There's some very very patient students in that
class.
But, yeah, I got to doeverything.
I've never gotten to do thatbefore.
I've never had such animmersive experience where I
feel like in two days I got togo into every part of the school
.
Right, I've never gotten to go.
I've always wanted to.
I always ask but I neverthought I would.
I've always wanted to.
I always ask but I neverthought I would get the
opportunity and to haveStephanie and Stephanie both
(11:49):
kind of not only get behind itbut allow it it's almost always
shut down because I've beenasking for years.
But now, you know, in the lastfew days, you know, we got to go
and cook with the students andI got to tell them about the
Silk Road snack.
We got to go and cook with thestudents and I got to tell them
about the Silk Road snack.
And I was in a wood shop, wewere in art classes, there was
(12:11):
pottery it was just a blur andof course we got to talk to the
students who really want to bewriters and, you know, pull up
our sleeves, talk, shop abouttheir writing and their response
.
And to me, the whole of it hasbeen this really incredible
spirit that I'm not used toright.
What happens sometimes andevery visit is beautiful in its
own way, but often what happenswith visits is you know you'll
(12:32):
come in and people have alreadyread your work right, and so the
energy is sort of always youcome in and they're reacting to
that work, and so the energy isalways sort of pointed toward
you and that's lovely and itit's nice.
But you know, the highestachievement that any artist can
have right, the highestachievement any writer can have,
is to be like an inspiration toother people to make things
(12:55):
right.
The compliments are nice, thecompliments are I'm not allergic
to compliments, but but if youknow to be an epigraph in
someone else's novel, that quiteliterally is saying you've
inspired a piece of this work Tobe someone that other artists
look to as someone who sparkedtheir imagination and to have
(13:17):
these last two days be thatacross every topic.
Now the science students aremaking things and the art
students are making pottery andthe the cooking students are
making food.
They're all making their ownthing and the writers got to
share their work right.
That is a very powerful thing,because now the energy gets to
be not only sort of more, sortof, you know, balanced, but now
(13:40):
I can react to their work.
I can say, wow, I just readyour work and I really like this
little line here and I thoughtthis was great and I'd love to
see more of this.
And that is exactly the way Iwould love to interact, because
one, it is, the highest honoryou can have is that this in
some way was sparked bysomething you wrote.
But also, you get to be thething that I was first, which is
(14:02):
I get to be a reader, I get tobe an eater.
I get to be the thing that Iwas first, which is I get to be
a reader.
I get to be an eater, I get tobe a student.
I get to be, you know, somebodywho reacts to art in front of
me.
And this school, you know, hasbeen, you know, albion Middle,
has been wall to wall, coveredin, you know, the projects of
these students from, like youknow, comparisons of the Silk
(14:24):
Road travel networks to theGreat Westward Migration travel
networks, like Utah studies.
And then you know, but you alsohave, you know, spiral pottery
from art class and felting inyou know a different class and
and of course the Englishdepartment, doing all kinds of
deep dives into the lyricism ofcertain sections of the text or
(14:44):
the history.
Of course there's so much toreact to and it's all over the
walls.
You just get to walk in and seeit.
Speaker 3 (14:52):
So that's been a delight.
I imagine it's got to be sodifferent for you as an author
to come into a situation likethat, where there's something
new for everyone.
Eric, how have you seenstudents reacting and teachers
reacting to this group project,as it were?
Speaker 6 (15:09):
I would say it was almost like a giant snowball
that picked up steam.
As we first pitched it outthere to the staff, you know you
had some people jump on boardinstantly and then there were
others that were a littleskeptical.
But it was interesting.
As we've done things as a we,the whole idea of that book is
community At least that was abig takeaway that I took from it
(15:32):
and so.
But as we've done stuff as astaff, like we had a paint night
a few weeks ago and like towatch everybody come together,
teacher wise, teacher wise andthen all of a sudden everyone
those who were even hesitant tomaybe participate at first,
they're the ones coming up withthe projects and putting the
displays on Like I've just lovedit.
And then the thing that onething that I've just loved from
(15:55):
this is we've been able to reachevery kid from a broad level,
like at today's assembly.
And then the one that I lovethe most is yesterday's writer's
workshop, where to sit in frontof a Newbery award winner and
to have them actually read yourstory, and not just read it but
give specific feedback about it.
(16:16):
I mean, I remember nuclearfallout or darkness.
Yeah, and he knew thecharacter's names it was like
Mikal, something I can'tpronounce it Anyways but it was
touching, it was getting to me,so I left because I was starting
to tear up and I was just, Imean, what kid really gets that
experience?
And so I love this whole thingthat it's brought us all
(16:39):
together, both staff andstudents, and it's given
everyone in the school anopportunity that I would say
most kids don't typically get.
Speaker 3 (16:49):
I loved hearing your favorite part about it, and
you're right.
I mean, I think most writers oranyone who's aspiring to be
something right you don't alwaysget that level of somebody
sitting down who knows whatthey're doing and being able to
come to you and say, yeah, thispart's great, or you know you
need to work on that, so that's,that's really special.
I'd love to hear your otherfavorite parts from the last two
(17:11):
days.
To the three of you the twoStephanies and Daniel is there
one, a highlight that juststicks with you, or is it all?
Speaker 5 (17:19):
still sinking in.
I would say, for me, one of themost highlights was yesterday.
We we gave out passes toanybody who wanted to get you
know a book signed, a piece ofpaper signed like we didn't care
.
Right, and the line was out thedoor of the library.
And Daniel, when he signs hisbook every depending on which
(17:40):
book he's signing he has aspecific illustration that he
uses.
And Stephanie the otherStephanie was walking the line
writing the names down becausewe learned quickly how we have
to do this, and I was sittingnext to him and I kept going
we're not going to get throughthe line.
We're not going to get throughthe line, like I feel really bad
.
He's like just, it's okay.
It's okay Cause he's drawing apicture, but he made every
(18:03):
student feel seen and everystudent feel heard.
And in that short interchange,those students walked away with
the feeling of, yeah, this is aNewbery Award honoree winner,
but he's a person just like you,just like me, and that he that
(18:29):
maybe I can do this too becauseI'm a person too.
And I think, like going into thedifferent classrooms, whether
they he was just answeringquestions, or today we played a
game with characters.
It was so much fun in creativewriting, which was a blast.
But every student, from yourresource special ed kid all the
(18:52):
way up to your accelerated kid,was able to be touched by this
experience.
He did go into a resource classyesterday.
He did sit on the floor and doa fireside chat with a resource
English class and those kidsthey're all boys, right, there
were all boys in there exceptfor one student, and you could
(19:12):
tell that these boys don't read,they struggle, and yet they
resonated with the humanity thatDaniel represents and I, and
that's a big deal.
That's a big deal.
So, like Eric said, it's soimportant that broad spectrum we
all got together in theauditorium.
Steph disagree, like he'sprobably touched six, 700
(19:44):
students individually withoutrealizing that that vast number,
you know, spent time with himand got to have a moment with
him, to the point where heremembers names, by the way,
which is obscene because ittakes teachers so many weeks to
learn their students' names.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
That beautiful stephanie k.
How about you?
Speaker 4 (20:01):
I think a couple moments that will stick with me
is one uh, yesterday, thewriter's workshop, the first,
the first kid to get feedback onhis writing, was sitting in the
front and I watched his littleface.
Just, he, just he was gettingfeedback from a real author that
was published in his awards.
Yeah, and he just was.
(20:21):
I had, I took a little pictureof his, of his face, because it
just he couldn't get enough ofit and I thought that is
something special that you knowhe'll remember forever.
And a lot of the kids felt thesame.
They reacted the same way.
I also loved yesterday when wewent into the orchestra.
When we went into, they playedsome songs and after they played
(20:43):
their songs they talked abouthow the song connected to the
feelings of the story.
And hearing them make theseconnections that were so deep
and thoughtful and you know they.
Really for me it was like theyunderstood our goal.
You know they're doing it,they're getting it, and so that
was a really yeah, withouttelling them they were getting
(21:04):
it.
So that was a really specialtime for me to see that.
Speaker 3 (21:09):
That's got to be fulfilling, as educators, to you
know, set this goal I mean, thetwo of you have been working on
this for a year and a half nowand to have it finally happen
and then see, yes, that that ahamoment, they got it.
That's beautiful, Daniel.
What's what's been your biggesttakeaway?
Speaker 2 (21:27):
Oh, my goodness, it's , it's been amazing.
I you know I have two.
I have two the first.
The first one is I'm going to.
I'm going to tell you the storyof meeting, meeting the two
Stephanies from my perspective.
I came down, I I was as theseconferences are really, you know
, full of people and all kindsof things and it's really they
can be very um sort of they canjust be kind of a blur of people
(21:50):
and faces and whatnot, and Iwas sitting in this, uh, hotel
lobby waiting for, waiting forsomeone, and I was, I was gonna
doing some, just writing, and Ihear from across the way and I'm
not a particularly what's theright word, like I'm a pretty
introverted person, like I'mpretty shy, I guess is the right
word and so I just hear my name, that feeling a shy person gets
(22:12):
when they're like oh my gosh,I've been made into a public
spectacle.
Speaker 1 (22:14):
What's?
Speaker 2 (22:14):
happening.
No, but I hear it was Stephanie.
Speaker 3 (22:19):
Nassar, I mean, if you didn't want to be a public
spectacle, maybe don't do so.
Speaker 2 (22:22):
And I looked up and that was all the confirmation
she needed to know that she hadguessed correctly and they came
over and they were so excited,they were so genuine and so
delightful to say like and Ishould point out like outside of
writing conferences, likepeople don't shout and scream my
name or anything like that.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
That's not what I'm used to at the ice cream shop.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
So I, you know, and so it's delightful on some level
and also kind of like, okay,hello, hello, you know, oh, you
three know each other and oh, weteach at the same school and
you know, we'd like to have youcome and all told that's a
really lovely personal, like youknow situation and you can, you
so, but you sort of bookmark itbecause you're gonna have a
hundred more interactions in thenext two days, sure, but you
(23:06):
know, you sort of it's one youremember, and and then the next
time, and they, but they stayedin touch and there was this
feeling that oh, okay, these,these three, might be the real
deal.
I know these, this might be um,you know this, this might be um
, but you don't know you know,everybody talks, everybody says
nice things.
You know, as we know, in the, inthe arts, you can sort of die
of encouragement, you know, andpeople so, because everybody can
(23:27):
be nice and so, um, but thenthe next time they were I was
going somewhere they were like,are you, are you going to be at
this conference?
And I said, sure, of course,you know, let's try it out.
And again you sort of meet themand there's just an overflow of
energy and enthusiasm, but alsolike understanding of what's
going to happen and vision andall these things, and you go
(23:48):
okay, yeah, yeah, I think theymight be the real deal this
might actually happen.
This might and so, but then youget here and it's a whole
different thing.
I get here and it's and you sayand, and there's just some
important dynamics to point out.
You know, in in schools and instuff in general, um, you know,
my goal, my goal is never likeI'm not.
I'm not a big fan of trying tolike, uh, put kids into a
(24:12):
situation where they they'rejust like losing their minds
because, like, oh look uh, youknow like excitement over
because kids can be just likeyou.
You know, they can be churned upyou know, and for that for, for
any, for anything, for anythingthe wrong thing.
And I think for me, you know,always one of my goals is to
come in and say, actually, youknow, like, you know, sort of
(24:33):
democratize all these things areas much as possible, like I did
not come from a space where itwould be expected of me to have
done anything like this.
And I, I certainly, you know,it's been a surprise, um, it's
been.
I, you know, when I got to thiscountry I sort of thought, you
know, I thought my son would getto have a good life, you know.
And so, um, and so when youland, you're like, oh okay, this
(24:56):
is, you know how, how are theygoing to handle this?
And in other scenarios,sometimes what they want is the
most sanitized version, becauseyou know it's a very, maybe a
bureaucratic situation and theydon't know who I am, they don't
yet have the trust in me that Icould really speak to their kids
, and so they don't really wanta personal experience, they want
a sanitized experience.
Come in, just give us yourstump speech, do a signing, and,
(25:19):
like you know that, in, justgive us your stump speech, do a
signing and, like you know,that's fine, that's all, that's
all the programming.
We'll do a signing at the localbookstore as well, and that's
for what it's worth.
It's a great event, that's fine,but it takes an incredible
amount of trust and person.
You know, like personal umconnection and so and I got in
and I went oh, okay, this iskind of what they're going for
(25:39):
and the underpinning reason forthat is because their agenda is
my agenda as well.
Their agenda is to say to kidslook, you can do it too.
The agenda is fundamentally tosay that yes, these things of
the world, like medals, are nice, best-seller things.
(26:00):
All those things they're nice.
Nobody who wouldn't want themand I'm excited about them.
But actually he'll be just asjazzed about your writing as you
are of his, and to have theopportunity to speak to them
personally about that and tomeet them there.
That's a trust that I thinkteachers put in you, because you
could show up and also insult akid or not hold a fragile
(26:24):
moment delicately, but at thesame time it truly sort of takes
the real deal kind of teacherswho are kind of spending a year
to do this, to build for theirstudents.
That's not normal.
I'm really thankful for that.
It was a surprise in almostevery way these last two days.
Speaker 3 (26:45):
That's beautiful.
I think you're right.
It takes a certain amount oftrust to bring in somebody you
have only met a time or two at aconference and not only grant
access to a classroom but tohundreds of students, and it
worked.
It sounds like it worked verywell.
I'd love just you know finalthoughts on from anyone who'd
(27:10):
like to share.
You know just why events likethis are important when it comes
to educating our young ones,and you know showing them again
that you can do this too, youngones, and you know showing them
again that you can do this too.
This is, you know, whatever youwant to do, reach for it, it's
attainable.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
All right, I'll go first on this.
You know, all this to mestarted a year and a half ago
when I started at Albion, in thesense of I truly believe that
you should invest in yourteachers, your students and,
yeah, you got to hire some staffto support it.
But you know, when I pitchedthem, the idea I want you guys
(27:49):
to go to national conferences,the whole idea is to get
inspired, to learn these newideas and see things differently
.
So when they came back and theysaid we want to do an all
community read, we heard aboutit, but we could do better than
what we heard about it.
I said well, that's a great idea.
I said, well, what's the bookyou want to read?
And they're like, it's aboutthe Silk Roads.
(28:12):
And I said I'm already sold.
You can stop right there,because the whole purpose of the
Silk Roads, right, was thistransmission of ideas.
And to watch, to watch teachersget inspired and invested and
motivated over this whole thingwas just awesome.
And then to watch the studentsget on board with it as well,
(28:35):
it's everything you could hopefor as not only a principal but
an educator and a parent.
And so to inspire people, right, that's the business we're in.
And some lessons, you know.
Do I think a kid's going tolook back and remember their
math lesson they had today?
No, but do I think they'llremember an experience like this
(28:55):
?
Speaker 5 (28:56):
Yes, like this.
Yes, well, to that, to thatwhen we applied for the grant,
most of the we were asking otherteachers that had won the grant
in the past and it was neverfor an experience, even though
it says in the descriptor thatit can be an experience, and I
remember saying to Stephaniethis is a long shot but we got
(29:16):
to try because in the past itbeen equipment or resources or
something.
And when we won we won, becausethis is an immersive experience
and that you know, and Ericbelieved in our mission, he
believed in what we were afterand we putting aside yes,
(29:41):
face-to-face with Daniel acouple of times, but many, many
Zoom calls many manyface-to-face.
Zoom calls, I guess on behalf ofStephanie and myself.
Thank you to Daniel fortrusting us that we weren't
going to do anything, you know,and to provide such a loving,
(30:03):
approachable environment which,if anything, I think that's Mr
Gardner like to allow us to fly.
But he also believed that ourstudents would embrace this.
It's not like every school.
You would want to do somethinglike this, because the
population and and he hascreated a population of students
(30:26):
that thrive Right.
I think the last two days hasbeen evident of that for sure.
Speaker 3 (30:34):
You mentioned the grant and, daniel, I think you
hit this nail on the head aswell that, uh, you know these
two are just so passionate aboutteaching, and Eric as well.
But I remember when we came inand announced the grant winners,
stephanie Nassar was just overthe moon, excited.
(30:58):
They're the cutest pictures,and you can just see it in her
face of just what we won.
This is amazing, and I rememberDenise Haycock, the development
officer for the CanyonsEducation Foundation, said you
know, this was so unique becauseit's an experience.
It's great to be able toprovide those physical resources
, the devices or classroommaterials that you might need,
(31:20):
or maybe a teacher's getting a3D printer, but to be able to
support something like anexperience.
Are they going to remember themath problem?
No, maybe they'll remember thatthey had a little market and
you could buy materials andthings, but they'll remember
getting to talk to Daniel.
Stephanie K how about you?
Speaker 4 (31:38):
I think we really wanted to capture or create.
We wanted to be innovative inhow we taught kids to have
empathy, to dream big, to bekind to each other and to show
them that their learning isconnected, that a story that
they read in ELA has connectionsto the art they're creating,
(32:02):
has connections to the musicthat they learn, has connections
to science and math and evenUtah studies, right, and this
book that we read was from the11th century, like that's when
it takes place.
Right, this book takes placeduring around the 11th century
and the kids were able toconnect to the feelings and the
emotions and of the story and Ithink all of that was just
(32:25):
really important.
And then to have Daniel come atthe at the end and really
support all of the things thatthey had been, that they learned
through the book was very kindof, uh, a really cool thing and
um, and that was what we wanted.
We wanted it to be innovativein how we approached it.
So, daniel, I think.
Speaker 2 (32:44):
I think the unfortunate part is now
everything has to be compared tothe this, and so I'm always
gonna be, I'm always gonna belike but they didn't let me cook
um, so, or you know, it's justso many other things.
It's so funny.
The examples, like reallyabound.
It's been a really packed umtwo days and I think the yeah, I
mean, as far as I mean, I thinkthe question was about what I
(33:06):
think in terms of how it willaffect the kids.
You know, I do love all of that.
I think you both nailed it.
I mean, you just heard threeexperts on the topic speak about
this and they sort of nailed itright Of the multidisciplinary
nature of not just any topic butof learning in general.
How you it doesn't this topichappened to be this but that to
(33:29):
say to a kid, you know, someday,you know, learning, how to
learn, is something we often sayin, you know, the liberal arts
colleges and in schools, youknow.
But what does that actually meanwhen we say that, like, how do
you give somebody a toolkit tosay I want this topic in my life
, whatever it might be, jazz,music or 1940s, la, like who
(33:51):
cares what the topic is?
Do they actually have this sortof skill set to teach
themselves on these topics inthis multi, and to show them
that actually not only can youimmerse yourself in a subject,
but you can do it in almostevery aspect.
You can grab any aspect of thatparticular topic and and go
(34:12):
forward, depending on what yourparticular preferences might be.
That's a.
That is a lifetime skill.
You know, that's one of thoselike you're watching people
train something that they'll use, not just because of the facts
of the Silk Road but because, ifthey want to I don't know learn
a foreign language, they willknow that they should immerse
(34:34):
themselves this way.
That's a muscle and I think youknow teaching a topic is one
thing, but teaching learning isa.
You know that's strong Kung Fu.
Speaker 3 (34:47):
I think, yeah, you're right, you all hit the nail on
the head.
There's learning for the sakeof learning, numbers, learning
your letters, learning you knowa verb from a noun, but then
there's the why of learning andwhat you can do with it.
And I think I speak for manywhen I say thank you for taking
that time to go that deep withour students and you know being
(35:10):
innovative, and thank you allfor joining us.
I could talk about this forages.
I could talk about books.
I love hearing you all get soexcited about the students, but
thank you for joining us and forsharing all of your knowledge.
Thank you, thanks for having usand thank you for joining us
and for sharing all of yourknowledge.
Thank you, thanks for having usand thank you for listening.
If there's a topic you'd liketo hear discussed, send us an
email to communications atcanyonsdistrictorg.
Speaker 1 (35:39):
Thanks for listening to this episode of Connect
Canyons.
Connect with us on Twitter,facebook or Instagram at Canyons
District or on our website,canyonsdistrictorg.
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