Teaching transformation through time

As I walk through the pink doors into the NuVu Innovation School, a NuVu teacher, which is called a coach, is wandering around. Students are chattering away and yet through the thickness of the noise, the coach still hears their name being called. The coach comes over to the student pointing at their computer screen. The student was having issues with putting together a presentation, so the coach swiftly drags the images into their proper positions. The coach asks the student if they need any more help. The student shakes their head and says, “Thanks, Rosa.” Rosa walks away, her brown hair bouncing behind her, ready to help another student.

Believe it or not, Rosa Weinberg wasn’t always such an understanding coach. When she first started coaching, Rosa believes she was extremely forceful. She was out of an architecture master’s program and she was used to an environment of critics.`

“[My professors] wouldn’t necessarily tell you why they are giving you a particular kind of feedback.”

Because of this, Rosa would come up to students and give them the type of feedback that she was used to receiving. This left students confused because they didn’t really understand what they were doing and why they were doing it. On top of this, Rosa wanted to ensure her students were seen as successful by parents and NuVu administration.

“I felt a lot of pressure to have my students have good projects.” All of these expectations that Rosa was putting on her students created tension in their relationship.

At the beginning of her time at NuVu, Rosa wanted to teach full time. “I wanted to take on “One studio after another. Saeed [head of NuVu] told me it would be too difficult and only Andrew had enough energy to teach that much.”

Still, she tried her best and for a while, she was teaching studios left and right. At one point all of this coaching left Rosa exhausted, so she had to find a way to teach and relax.

 After six years, Rosa no longer teaches studios one after another. She has learned that taking breaks and rest time is important. She takes an art course outside of work for a few weeks each year to let her mind focus on something else. Rosa also leaves NuVu early on Tuesday and Thursday to let herself relax and get away from the students. Most importantly, she works on her own projects that are completely unrelated to NuVu. All of these rest and break times allow Rosa to focus on teaching more effectively during school.

On a cold Tuesday morning, Rosa walks around her studio, stopping at each table giving the students feedback. A few students look befuddled. When they ask “why” they need to iterate on their idea a step further, she explains that it will give the students more options. The students proceed to look at their prototype, twisting it around and talking to each other. When they decide what they are going to do, they start sketching out ideas.

After Rosa helps these students, she walks to the center of the room and starts working on her computer. She is coordinating with her co-coaches to decide what the next activity will be. It’s decided.

Rosa walks up to the front of the class and makes an announcement.

“Up next we will be doing our intro activity”.

When a student asks what the point of this activity is, Rosa smiles.

“This is to get your hands dirty and not have to think too much.”

She then tells students to break into groups and think about their ideas. While walking around Rosa hears her name and comes over to help the student. She leans over their desk and picks up their prototype. She looks at it and then sits down, takes out her notepad, and starts giving feedback. While talking with the student she writes down the feedback that she is giving them so that she can hand them the sheet when she is done.

She leaves her hunched over position at the student’s desk and she walks around proudly surveying the studio. Everyone is intensely working. Sketching, prototyping and socializing together. Sitting here, seeing Rosa now, walking around and joking with her students. Connecting with them, I could never imagine her being the coach she says she was in the past.

Out of the shadows

And back into the light

Entering NuVu Studio, a full-time innovation school in Cambridge, MA, you’ll find two men sitting in the back corner of the office space. Sometimes, they speak Arabic, then English, or a mix of both. Sometimes, one of them pops up to take a photo of a NuVu student wearing a hat or cape while the other walks around the block to take a phone call from Turkey and Jordan.

Amro, a tech-savvy NuVu veteran who knows all the shortcuts, sits in the back corner of the office with perfect posture. His official title is art director, but he does so much more.

I walked over for my first conversation with Amro. Quiet and patient, he listened to me as I proposed meeting times. He remained reserved.

The next day, I came to see Amro meticulously working on a website for NuVu. He slowly walked me through each step. All the steps had equal importance even the ones that lead to nothing. One time he was trying to work on the homepage he fixed it in a was but the lighting was not great. “I think I need to sleep on that.” He would approach designing the homepage tomorrow.

Amro’s desk space is impeccably organized. This mirrors his brain: always knows the next step, always knows where to find things, always aware of time and space around him. He showed me the sketches of the website layout this was in a notebook on top of his spotless white desk.

“I get visually distracted so when there is so much stuff I keep looking at that instead of the main screen. That's probably why I sit in the corner too.”

Amro started working on a picture of students working, everything was still in the picture, the only thing that wasn't was the students hands as they moved to type, drill, draw and other things. This picture will soon be animated and placed on the home page. He keeps finding minor flaws in this picture he tried to fix them the best he could. When he was taking the photos he only had one light which ended up causing problems later in the process.

Amro’s good friend and across the desk neighbor, Ramzi, has a different vibe about him. Ramzi has a very laid back presents he is usually wearing a t-shirt with jeans and boots. He’s quite the jokester, he was always making people around him laugh. He has a great appreciation for the work of the students.

“We did a prosthetics virtual exchange studio where kids in Turkey worked with kids in Florida and they made prosthetics for people with injuries from the war in Syria. One of [the projects was] a boot that allowed a girl [...] whose foot was fractured to walk. She was able to use that boot to walk.” 

“I manage the schools we work within the Middle East... Turkey and Jordan now and whatever random things that come up there. I work on developing the curriculum for these schools. I work closely with the teaching staff in Turkey.”

Ramzi said that he loves rock climbing but doesn't have time because the people he works with life in different time zones. For example, at 9 am in Boston it's 5pm in Turkey and at 5pm in Boston, it’s 1am in Turkey.

In the middle of our conversation, I asked Ramzi, “What is the funniest story from Nuvu?”

He paused. “I need to think for a second, I've been too busy to find anything that's funny.”

Because Ramzi works for NuVux in Turkey, he goes to Turkey every 2-3 months, which means that some of the time he isn't even in the Cambridge location. When Ramzi isn't in Turkey, he is on a Skype calls with the teachers and with the principal of the NuVux program every week. This is a very tiring job.

“[In Turkey], the daily schedule there is 9am to 6pm. So when I go I stay at a hotel. The town is a bit dodgy so someone is supposed to pick me up and bring me to work. I tell the coaches, we call them mentors, that I'm going to be in a little early like before 9am. So they’re like ‘ok great we will work [with you in] the morning. So I get up super tired, but I'm late because he's late picking me up so I get there at 9:45.”

He appears exasperated yet remains so enthusiastic about the work he’s doing. It’s contagious.

They both affect everybody at NuVu starting with Amro making a website that will be used all around the world. Ramzi is helping students in Turkey and Jordan with his work every day.

It's art and option-eering     Ji picks up a salad bowl for lunch the day of her interview. She walks over to a table in the hallway with Luis, a co-worker at NuVu Innovation School and friend. She is wearing olive green velvety pants, and a white sweater with grey cross pattern stripes, over that she wears a slightly clay covered grey apron, and on her feet are colorful patterned socks under brown leather shoes. She sits down calmly and crosses her right leg over the left before starting to eat.

Jiyoo Jye, or Ji, grew up in Seoul with two other siblings, an older brother named Sunny and an older sister who is also called Ji. She graduated from Centennial High School in Maryland and went to Carnegie Mellon University for college, and later attended Harvard Graduate School of Design. She knew that she wanted to do art since she was a kid, because she always would be always drawing and painting.

“Art is something that captures the remnant of that time period so whoever is alive during that time has the capacity to capture what they experience as a human [...] and express it in a non verbal way.”

When Ji is doing art, she feels very liberated and in tune with herself. She does art both for herself and to share it with the world. People say successful artists are the ones who make the most money but Ji doesn't agree.

“A very successful artist, in my opinion, is someone who can still value that practice for their own needs and fulfillment without the pressure and anxiety of a price tag. Because, ultimately, when you create something meaningful and valuable or beautiful you should be able to share that with as many people as possible without building walls around your piece.”

After lunch, Ji walks into work through a panther pink arch, into a bright modern room with plants studded around on windowsills and tables. On her left is the shop where Jon, the shop teacher, is sitting at his computer and typing. To her right are people chattering about various topics. She walks further down the hallway into her studio. Inside, students are working meticulously on modeling softwares and sketching their ideas. She walks over to a whiteboard and starts erasing and rewriting names.

“No one on this list is here right now. Ethan, would you like to be the first desk crit?” She is standing with a confident air, her feet are shoulder length apart and her arms are crossed.

Ji says that one of the reasons she likes coaching at NuVu is because she can convince her students that there is still merit and value in striving to become a certain type of artist in today’s society without selling themselves short. She says that NuVu is all about life long learning and how you can teach yourself and train yourself to learn everyday. She thinks that there should always be a way to access art in the public realm without having to go to a gallery or museum.

Ji is an inspirational and skilled artist and coach.

“There are always creative upticks and creative pitfalls. Both are very crucial, because without those pitfalls, you don't have inspiration. The times when you're bored and you can't work are also important ‘cause that's when it propels you forward to that episode when you're creating just lots and lots of work.”

Ji smiles and looks back down at the blend of ceramic and plaster spread across the table. She takes a rag and starts wiping down the raw clay in front of her. 

The teaching routine of a NuVu coach

Making a new way for kids to learn

After you walk up the stairs at 450 Massachusetts Ave, you see a pink door encased in pink walls. Once you open the door you will find NuVu Studio, a project-based learning school that allows students to explore their passions innovatively, by taking on problems and finding solutions. As you stroll through the studio you’ll find Ammar, a design coach. You can see the reflection of a student asking a question through Ammar’s glasses. Ammar is always ready to answer student’s wildest questions because he believes that NuVu has a pulse on the world and it responds to changes in real-time.

“A day to day routine for me is to be serious about work and implement humor so people can be the most productive they can be. For me, the middle of the day has to be very fun, I like when kids can be themselves. I like an environment where both the students and I can be funny.”

According to Ammar project-based learning is not a figured out field, so it can be approached in many different ways. To him, project-based learning is effective in the sense that it enables people to look for problems and solutions and allowing the opportunity to implement them.

“You can start anywhere, and make an impact.”

When Ammar and the students are on break, he is constantly raising their spirits by opening up his laptop and showing the student funny youtube videos and telling them about a comedian he loves. “ You know what you should watch? The philosopher’s soccer game, it’s so funny” He even tied his shoes together by accident, and made it into one big joke.

He paces across the studio and spots a student who needs help. He seemed impressed by the student's presentation, he smiled as he praised the iteration the student made, he overwhelmed the student with positive feedback. To Ammar, being positive is crucial to the studio environment. According to him, you usually have to listen to the student’s feedback and meet them where they are.

“it’s very important to be reinforced in the creative mindset, ask them how they can make it better, there’s no use to look at the dark side.”

As Ammar reviewed a student’s presentation, his eyes squinted with a look of disappointment. On the student’s screen was an extremely low-resolution image.

He sprang up, “It’s all gonna be okay, we just have to change a few settings.”

He sat with the student, logged onto google slides and talked through how to export the photo correctly.

“I admire his ability to push students to see things differently, He’s just so kind, and really funny,” Jon, the shop manager said as he carried boxes of materials.

He then paces across the studio, nobody seems to need help, so he sits down and works on his laptop. The blue glow of his computer screen infects his face. Ammar is working on a presentation on how to research.

“I think research is important, sometimes it is too easy to start building and skip researching, but if you research more, your project could be more interesting and compelling.”

Ammar’s hands are going back and forth as he acts out mechanisms while he explains something to a student. The student nods and smiles. Once Ammar left, the student immediately started working. Something that makes Ammar special is his coaching style. His philosophy is that it’s important for students reinforced in the creative mindset, he believes that doing this makes a better studio experience.

“I like things to be a discussion where there is a back and forth between student and coach, even in grad school you usually have to listen to your coaches feedback, here in order to get to things going there is always a discussion, ultimately you want the student to be engaged, I am very happy when a student can defend their ideas.”

 When you walk down the stairs at 450 mass ave, you are reminded about how education can be taken on in many different ways. Ammar, with his humor, intelligence, and genuine connection with students, is critical in shaping this educational experience.

Forever a teacher

As I entered the main space of NuVu Studios, a school specializing in innovation and project-based learning, I immediately noticed three things. The first is the students. They are working in groups of two, working productively and calmly. No disturbances, no loud noises or voices. The second thing my eyes immediately fall on is the space itself. It is neat, clean and well lit with rows of chairs and tables, filling the space in a grid pattern. The final thing I notice is Andrew Todd Marcus. He is helping a student who is hunched over at their computer, working on a 3d model. Andrew is simply asking them questions as the student scrolls through the design software.

 Andrew is a tall man, with black hair and a black and grey beard. He loves to joke with his students. Andrew seems to always be in a jolly mood. He wears practical pants and solid-colored t-shirts. As I approached Andrew in the morning asking for an interview, he immediately sets aside a time to talk.

In the interview, Andrew reflected about his on and off teaching career. He worked at a school when he was in his twenties. He then worked more as a carpenter, and then he went to architecture school and worked as a freelance photographer for a while, but he was always inclined to teach.

He started working full time at NuVu Innovation School eight years ago and he has become central to the NuVu experience for students and coaches alike. One reason for this is because he tries to connect with his students on such a deep level.

“There have been many students whose relationships with me have developed into friendships, and even after seven years we still talk, you know?”

Andrew asks a student their name and pronouns. The student answers, and Andrew chats with them for a short while. He then moves on to the next student and asks them questions about themself, based on what he heard them talking about with their friends, just moments before. He then proceeds to ask every student individually, going around the room, and learning more.

Something that makes Andrew such an effective teacher is his unique teaching style. As Andrew is teaching, he makes jokes and tells interesting stories related to the topic to keep his students attentive. He seems to relate to his students, and build lasting connections while still teaching the studio effectively.

One of the ways Andrew achieves such a perfect balance is hidden in the way he treats his students. From what I observed, he doesn’t treat his students any differently than a co-worker. He treats them with the respect that the conventional schooling systems are sorely lacking.

“I didn’t grow up and know I wanted to be a teacher. I always wanted to go back to being a teacher partially because I think our education sucks and I want to fix it, but mostly because I remember how transformative it was to connect with an adult who treated me like a person and not just like somebody that they needed to deal with.”

When Andrew is not focused on his students, he’s busy preparing for the next steps in the studios. He wants to be prepared. Over the course of the two days, I observed him preparing his next lessons whenever he wasn’t teaching. He prepared the next lesson during the student’s work time, he prepares it during his work time, and he prepares with other coaches for an upcoming assignment for the students.

As I watched Andrew teaching, I became very interested in the story that was unfolding. Andrew observes his students, waiting for a question to be asked. As I glance over at Andrew’s screen, the dim glow of schedules and plans fills my eyes. Andrew works tirelessly to make sure his students have a productive working day tomorrow. The students don’t seem to mind his presence at the desk.

Throughout hours of students nearly burning themselves with hot glue guns and asking where they can find M4 screw, he is consistently calm, collected, and helpful. Andrew walks over to help another student with a computer issue. As Andrew looks at the computer screen, he kneels beside the student.

 “What’s wrong?”

He asks them questions about what they know is happening on the computer, to help them understand the problem. He finishes and begins to walk around the studio, surveying the environment and student’s projects, looking for something to teach, or a question to answer.

“How does this work?”

“Why are you doing this?”

“Who will your project impact?”

“Why is your idea important to the world?”

Alligator man

The story of a man and his inflatable alligator

Dave had been with them his whole life. He had been born into the mafia. But he was seventeen when they got him really involved. He then discovered his love for crime, and business was good until the age of twenty-five when the government began their crackdown on a whole host of corruption scandals. He was tracked down and apprehended. He stayed there for two years before his daring escape.

I am pacing in my cell when I notice a small note on the wall.

"The back of your locker," it says. How did that get there? I guess I'll check, just to see what that's about. Not much better. I head over to the lockers and enter the code to open mine. Nothing. Weird. I look at the very back of the locker, still empty. Not sure what I expected. It's very small, not much of a "back" to it. Whoever sent the note wouldn't have my locker code anyway, not that that's going to stop anyone around here. Whatever, I need to get my jacket out anyway. Somehow my locker seems even smaller than normal... wait. And then I notice it: there is a small pull flap on the back. Ahhh, the back of my locker.

When I pull it I see the somewhat shiny folds of bright green plastic. It’s an inflatable alligator. I smuggle it back under my shirt.

It is 9:45 pm. "heading back for bed?” the guard asks as I walk past; I nod my head. As he locks the cell door, he does not notice the small shim I slide into the lock.

I open the door and close it again barely making a sound. (Something some students at an innovation school in Cambridge could use some help with). I'm not out yet. I still have to get over the fence and avoid detection. The alarm sounds. The gate has been left unlocked. I strip down so that when I land I will not be recognized by my prison jumpsuit.

The cold water numbs my back as I float away. Almost numb enough to mask the burn of the freezing water. I can hear the search party as they scan the island. They see the footprints leading down to the water. I can see the search boats heading north, towards the nearest land.

The most logical place for me to go. The first place that they would search. I am heading east. It’s a longer route, but also a boat free route. It takes hours to reach my destination, but when I get there I’m free. I just need to lay low for a little while and not draw unnecessary attention to myself.

The hero behind the scenes

Karen Sutton and her contributions to NuVu

By Cleo Podrasky

A woman sits on the edge of her seat, typing in ebbs and flows as she writes an email. She stares, thinking, and then bursts into a flurry of words. Her desk is fairly organized with notes about her plans for the day strewn on the right side of it, while pencil-holders and knickknacks are to the left. The incessant clicking of the keyboard continues as she gathers her thoughts and explains the programs offered by her workplace. She smiles faintly and sends the email, moving on to the next.

Karen Sutton, the Director of Operations at an experimental school in Cambridge, MA, tends to have a busy day. She either spends her time at her desk, writing miscellaneous emails to faculty, or she paces around, listening to people on the other side of the phone. NuVu Studio is a busy place, too, with students ranging from 8th to 12th grade working on their projects, racing in and out of the workshop with safety glasses still on their heads. However, few of these students truly know what she actually does, and realize her contribution to their education.

First off, she has to communicate with people outside of NuVu to make sure that the employees are getting paid and to discover whether or not the organization is adhering to the budget. This can take up most of her day, as these communications are coming in constantly. Because of this, she works within a certain policy; she consistently answers all of her incoming messages within 24 hours, even if she doesn’t have the answer. “Maybe it’s outdated or old-fashioned,” she says, “but I can’t stand a full inbox, especially when it’s in the double-digits.”

She also has to answer questions posed by companies who are helping NuVU expand their space. “I have quite a bit of responsibility with the financial aspect of this company, so I need to make sure that the invoices are being sent out, bills are being paid, and budgets are being adhered to,” she tells me in an interview. “I communicate all of this and work very, very closely with Saeed on that end. I don’t really share much information regarding finances with anybody else except for Saba, and to make sure that we are financially solvent is the biggest thing.” This tends to leave her fully in charge of communicating with companies about finance and services.

As she types one of these emails, she discovers questions piling up in her inbox. She purses her lips in thought and leans forward slightly. Oftentimes, she spends her whole day responding to contractors and employees, but that doesn’t stop her. “I love a challenge, and I love to take things on and do them well,” she says to me while working tirelessly on a letter. “I love my job, and the reason why I love this job is that, at my age, I got a second opportunity to really work hard, and learn, and sort of relive my thirties.”

As she’s about to begin another email, Saeed walks over to her desk and explains something about the plants. She glides over to the hallway full of Elephant Ear plants and other tropical greenery and clears the plants of insects and other critters that might harm them. While doing so, she explains to me her relationship with Saeed. “The only person who knows that I make a mistake is usually Saeed. l I stress out when I make a mistake. I hate, more than anything, when I make a mistake, and when I make a mistake, it’s like I just stabbed somebody. It’s just awful.”

In addition to taking care of plants (and her mistakes), she does many other things around NuVu. From staff to scheduling, to letting students in the front door, Karen oversees it all. “I make sure that all of the staff has what they need to do their job and feels supported by NuVu, and that falls into the category of HR,” she explains emphatically. “Benefits, insurance, making sure that they have information, that their questions are answered, so that in everything, from health to travel to expenses to day-to-day operations, people are informed.”

Originally, though, Karen didn’t have the same job here at NuVu. She started out as the Vice President of an educational travel company at age 25, which required a lot of effort and dedication to perform well. She had two kids soon afterward, though, and she made a decision to due to the complications of being a full-time mother. After floating around several easier, part-time jobs, she wanted to have more of a challenge. She joined the NuVu team, but for the first six months, few people, including Karen herself, thought that it was going to work out, as it was hard for her to adjust to. However, after those three months, “Things clicked, and I think I had personal growth; I understood dynamics much, much better.”

Now, Karen is sitting at her desk again, typing into her schedule. As usual, it is fairly packed, and yet she always seems to make room for more; after all, NuVu can be unpredictable, and many things change on a day-to-day basis. NuVu is busy, and because of this, Karen is too. However, she always makes an effort to look on the bright side, despite her worries about events; “There’s always a value in responding, and you never, ever know if your positive response will lead to some amazing opportunity to NuVu. You just never know- It’s better to be positive and professional because that generates good vibes everywhere.”