Mr. Michael Whalen is a teacher at Kearsley High School in Flint, Michigan, where he has taught for eight years. During his time with Kearsley Community Schools, he has served as the Student Council advisor and as the Social Studies Continuous Improvement chair, and has made presentations on professional-development topics such as technology use in the classroom and on the electronic lesson planning and resources offered by the Michigan Department of Education. Mr. Whalen served as an elected member of the Mt. Morris Board of Education for 11 years, was an administrative intern with the Kearsley High School leadership team, and was one of 24 teachers in Michigan selected to serve as a representative on Michigan’s Teacher Leadership Advisory Council.
Mr. Whalen received his master’s degree in educational policy and leadership from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, a bachelor’s degree in social studies education from the University of Michigan in Flint, and earned a minor in Finnish education and pedagogy while studying at the University of Helsinki in Finland.
For his Fulbright project, Mr. Whalen is exploring how India’s secular and non-secular schools are adapting to the social emotional impact of trauma caused by issues such as the COVID pandemic and poverty. In this area, he has been identifying strategies for inspiring self-awareness, self-reflection, and mindfulness in trauma-impacted youth which can then be shared with local and regional communities. Additionally, Mr. Whalen has been identifying various stakeholders that have successfully leveraged social emotional programming to positively impact student outcomes.