Date of interview: 18 May 2023
Karin Tramm is a navy wife, DoDEA teacher, and mother of two BRATs. She attended Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee, earning a B.A. in Elementary Education. She holds a M.Ed. in Early Childhood Education from Peabody College of Education and Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and an additional M.HR. from the University of Oklahoma.
Karin began her overseas teaching career in 1983 on the beautiful island of Guam. In 1986 she joined the Department of Defense Dependents Schools (DoDDS) now Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA), which took her to Kalayaan Elementary School at Subic Bay Naval Station in the Philippines. There she met her future husband, Gene, a naval meteorologist. She transferred to Bamberg, Germany to teach at Strullendorf Elementary School and then to Naples, Italy to teach at Naples Elementary School.
The Tramms relocated to Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California, where their two sons were born. They went on to Naval Air Station Keflavik, Iceland, where Karin started a photography business. Karin's photographs have been featured in shows, newspapers and magazines, as well as presented to the White House. Karin also wrote for the base newspaper, The White Falcon, The USO News, and Iceland Explorer. From there they transferred to Virginia Beach and then rotated back overseas to Rota, Spain, where Karin re-entered DoDEA to continue her teaching career.
Upon Gene’s retirement from the Navy in 2006, they moved to Vicenza, Italy, where they lived and worked for 16 years. The Tramms both recently retired from DoDEA and now reside in Parrish, Florida.
Karin's short stories, There’s a Cobra on the Slide, and The Agriturismo Bolzano Vicentino, are included in the anthologies, Schooling with Uncle Sam, and Host Nation Hospitality, published by the Museum of the American Military Family. 100 Days Smart is her first book.
MWSA: How did you find out about MWSA?
Karin Tramm: Elva Resa Publishing, an independent publisher specializing in resources by, for, and about military families, holds a zoom meeting once a month for their current authors and illustrators. During the conversation, MWSA was mentioned as a resource for military connected writers. This being my first book, I’m always excited to network and learn from others on the same path. I look forward to being a part of MWSA.
MWSA: What compelled you to write 100 Days Smart, a book about military connected students during the pandemic?
Karin Tramm: So many Americans are unaware of DoDEA Schools to start with and our military connected kids were on the frontline of the European outbreak, two or three weeks ahead of the states.
On the 100th day of kindergarten, I put my kids on the bus, waved to them, and said, “See you on Monday!” Little did I know that would be the last day I saw them. With the first COVID-19 death (in Italy) just miles down the road, school was closed. At first it was just for two days, then a week, then until Spring Break, and finally for the rest of the school year.
Teachers jumped in with online instruction within that first week and forged on, building the plane while flying. I woke up one morning and realized the significance of what was happening and asked myself who would ever write about his. Someone needed to document what was happening within the American military community in Italy, and especially how it was affecting the kids. I wanted to show how tough they could be in almost any situation, even during a pandemic. They were my heroes.
Even though we continued school online, we never really had a proper good-bye as a class. That’s important for the kids, but it’s also important for the teachers. As I continued to write, it helped me process my situation and brought a lot of closure.
MWSA: How do DoDEA schools compare with stateside schools from a teacher’s perspective?
Karin Tramm: I’ve been fortunate to make teaching with the DoDEA system a career and to have my sons attend and graduate from DoDEA schools. The school culture is a reflection of the high value military families put on education, creating an integrated organization between teachers, parents, and communities. Large numbers of parents support the school, both as volunteers and as employees. Commands support parents by allowing time off for conferences and volunteering. Other programs such as the Military Family Life Counselors, MWR, SKIESUnlimited, the art center, and youth sports, partner with the schools in a variety of ways to enrich student success. Overseas travel gives an expanded worldview and rounds out DoDEA students.
The most important aspect, in my opinion, is that every student has an employed parent, health care, and a place to live. Having those basic needs met gives everyone a step up in an educational setting. Not to say there aren’t challenges. Living overseas, TDY, deployments, and the high turnover rate of families, are all factors that come into play in an educational setting. To counter that, DoDEA shines with many plans and people in place to meet the individual needs of each student, both overseas and stateside. I can’t say enough positive things about the teachers, families, communities, and students, that make up the DODEA partnership. I’m proud to have been a part of that.
MWSA: What impact has overseas life had on your worldview?
Karin Tramm: Anyone who has been stationed overseas has learned to be more tolerant and understanding of differences, both cultural and personal. I’ve learned that different isn’t better or worse, just different. I try not to be judgmental and to embrace diversity and opposing views because that’s how we learn about others and ourselves.
I’d like to think I’ve become more patient, observant, and flexible! I’m the kind of person who needs routine and predictability so striving to just roll with things was one of my hardest challenges. I know that everyone connected with the military learns to do this early on, whether they’re overseas or not. I always try to expect the unexpected; to adapt, regroup, and move forward.
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Often, I’ve been asked which location was my favorite and I can only say it has to be where I’m currently at. Every place is a balance of joy and difficulty and many times the joy comes later, out of the difficulty. I always try to look for the positives and take advantage of my time and place. I love to try new food and check out local events. I botch up the language, but keep my sense of humor even when things might not be so funny at the time--I’m sure I’ve given the locals a few good stories to share at the table.
MWSA: When the lockdown occurred, in what ways did you have to reinvent yourself as an educator?
Karin Tramm: I’d like to share a quote from my book:
“Reinvention is what military spouses do best. In my past lives I’ve been a teacher, a stay-at-home mom, a travel writer, a bartender, a grad student, a photographer, and finally, a teacher again. Every time our family moved to a new duty station it required a restart. New home, new friends, new job, new life, and so it goes for a Navy wife. Now this job would require a restart as well. As much as I didn’t embrace change, I had plenty of experience with it.”
I had to become a Robo-Teacher and with that technology became my biggest challenge. Children get a lot of screen time at home and I firmly believe my kindergartners deserve face to face instruction at school. For that reason, I wasn’t up on the latest and greatest tech components of the curriculum. I was proud that I knew how to write electronic parent newsletters and that was about it. Thank goodness for my aide, who was on it, and helped me before I even knew I needed help. She was a champ at finding online resources, using google classroom, and cleaning up my tech messes, which most times she was kind enough not to point out.
I had to learn to involve parents in a new and interactive way. They were the “home teachers” and we were partners in learning now more than ever. I had to design lessons that allowed them to assist students with hands on learning at home. I also needed to construct a process for students to share their learning with classmates in an easy and meaningful way, all done on line in a simple fashion that a kindergartner could understand.
The most important thing I did, however, was to give myself permission to fail. I’m a planner and I like for everything to go as planned; kindergarten is definitely not the place to wing it. When things fell apart, and trust me they did, I learned to take a big breath and try Plan B. I think we all can agree our “big breath” moments make us stronger and better.
MWSA: Were there any changes that took place during the pandemic that turned out to be for the better?
Karin Tramm: In the classroom I did learn to be more tech savvy and that helped when we went back to school face to face in the fall. We relied heavily on online resources and tools and I was in a much better place to handle that after my experience with virtual teaching. Having those skills in my pocket also helped me navigate this new world of being an author. I’ve learned how to use social media more effectively and even built my own website.
The pandemic helped me refocus my family priorities as well. I was plagued with mom guilt for not being there for my sons when the pandemic hit. I was completely helpless when they were in limbo in the states and couldn’t come home to Italy. I was scared for my parents in Florida as I watched things go from bad to worse in Italy, knowing they were just weeks away from the coming storm. I was fortunate to have enough years in with DoDEA and decided to retire from teaching in 2022. I do miss my friends and my Italian life, but I’m so happy to be sharing laughs and special times with my family.
As a society, we’re still frayed around the edges from this experience. Loved ones lost, financial turmoil, as well as social and political and upheavals are scars we’ll bear far into the future. I hope as we continue to move forward, we can look beyond ourselves and approach life with a bit more compassion and respect for others and rebuild our sense of community.
MWSA: Do you think your story will encourage others to open up about their own pandemic experiences?
Karin Tramm: Everyone has their own pandemic story, unique to time and place. Many of those stories are still inside waiting, waiting, waiting, most times needing, to come out. As I’ve talked about my book, I notice people are initially hesitant to join in the discussion, the pandemic still being a bit raw and sometimes even divisive. Once the door opens, however, young and old alike have a lot to share. I’d like to think this book gives people some validation, a springboard to begin their own conversations, and some healing. The whole world needs a bit of that.