Brian F. Germain

Brian attended Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, CT where he graduated Magna Cum Laude with a B.S. in History and Psychology.  Upon completion of his undergraduate degree, he was accepted to the Isabelle Farrington College of Education, also at Sacred Heart University, where he earned a Masters in the Art of Teaching with a 4.0 Grade Point Average.  Brian is continuing his education and is currently enrolled in and Ed.D program at American College of Education to earn his Doctorate in Educational Leadership.

Brian spent a full year student teaching at High School in the Community in New Haven, CT.  They continue to make national news for progressive reforms in both teacher contracts and student learning as they employ a self paced mastery model of learning.  Brian then taught at Putnam High School in the Quiet Corner of Connecticut for 5 years,  where he served as Social Studies Department Chair and was recognized as the 2012 Teacher of the Year.  He spent most of that time experimenting with varying levels of technology integration and flipped learning after stumbling upon a TED talk by Salman Khan in March 2011 and finding the principles of more intense technology integration both intriguing and inspiring.  He worked with his department to implement a comprehensive Mastery Based Learning model using Standards Based Grading which took extensive research and constant evolution.  Both of these progressive approaches foster autonomy in a student-centered classroom while allowing flexible time to ensure all learners gain a depth of skill based learning that endures.  This structure has grown into a rich model of Competency-Based Education.

Brian then moved overseas to teach AP Psychology at Beijing No. 4 High School which is renowned in China for consistently ranking in the top three schools in the country.  He continued to serve as the chair of his department, expanding his role in administration and teacher evaluation while undertaking new leadership roles as well.  In 2016 after noticing the mental health stigma in China, he began a campus wide wellness initiative to reduce stress and increase multiple facets of emotional health for both students and teachers.  He ran counseling sessions and incorporated pillars of mindfulness into his curriculum through guided meditation and focus techniques.  The 2017-2018 school year will mark his first year teaching at the International School of Beijing.

During the summer months, Brian likes to adventure across the country, meeting new people and volunteering with various charities.  In 2010, he rode his bicycle across the country to build houses with Habitat for Humanity (http://www.bikeandbuild.org).  In 2011, he attended a week-long AP US History institute in Texas followed by an East Coast history tour focused on content and pedagogy (http://presidentialacademy.org/). He was chosen as Connecticut’s single representative to join a group of the nation’s finest Social Studies educators.  Somewhere in between, he rode his bicycle from Wallingford, CT to Niagara Falls with friends, again building homes with Habitat along the way.  In 2012, he hiked 700 miles of the Appalachian Trail starting in CT and ending at Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus.  (He completed the middle third of the trail in the summer of 2015 before moving to China). In 2013, he established a small non-profit to provide scholarships to local graduates pursuing a college degree and published his very first book while continuing research on educational technology.  In 2014 he boosted his classroom curriculum and sense of wonder by traveling to historical sites across the county and South America.

In 2016, Brian spent two months working with an NGO in Kara Tepe Refugee Camp on the Island of Lesvos in Greece.  Every resident there had unbearable stories beyond the mind’s capacity for suffering.  While discovering the true power of the human spirit and developing some lifelong friendships, he got an up close and enduring lesson on the things that really matter in life.  Upon returning to China, he has worked to spread awareness and raise money for families he met and organizations he worked with by committing to one fundraiser a month, such as aerobics sessions or charity dinners. In 2017, he went to the Beqqa Valley of Lebanon to offer aid to support to a less publicized segment of the refugee population.  While there, he led an informal ESL school that met on the side of a road underneath a tree.

Sometimes he’s a rapper:

Sometimes he’s a poet: