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An Overview of Week 1 & 2 of the Seminar and Our Future Hopes

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The anticipation for Barbara and I began to build on Sunday June 18th, the night before we began facilitating our 2 week English Seminar. We had roughly 70 teachers, half of our teacher population was from the city of David, the other half was from the Comarca. The Comarca has schools that are outside of the city and are commonly traveled to by boat, horse, car, and walking for hours on end. Our seminar lasted from 8 am to 12 pm for 10 days total and the teachers were awarded with a certificate of completion at the end of the second week. Our first week consisted of setting the ground rules. Barbara and I began with a Social Contract, a new concept to many of the Panamanian teachers. The Social Contract allowed us to create three rules as a whole group that would set the environment for the rest of the seminar. Teachers were taught attention signals through the use of application between Barbara and I. Our main focuses were: CHAMPs, Content & Literacy...
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Teachers as Students: School Observations

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 The teaching and learning process are interchangeable. It is not the individual who knows the most who will succeed, it is the individual who studies and consistently practices application of the learning process, integrates metacognition, and has the ability to use previously received knowledge in an appropriate situation as a successful solution to future endeavors. The mission of the Rotary International Teacher Exchange is to provide Panamanian and United States teachers the opportunity to compare and contrast methodology, and to exchange and share ideas of improvement. Tomorrow Barbara and I will give a seminar in front of 60 Panamanian teachers. Last week we had the opportunity to observe different schools. Some of the teachers we met and observed will be attending our seminar tomorrow. The purpose for observing the schools was to allow us to see the norms of the classroom, provide feedback for future improvements, and implement different strategies from our own trainin...
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Las Lomas, Boquete, y Los Molinos

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Exploration is a state of mind. An individual could be in their backyard or thousands of miles away from home, however, when they pass by a flower without a second glance, the individual has already lost the gift of exploration and appreciation of their surroundings, and the opportunity to understand their world.   Where one person praises a flower for its beauty, another individual views the flower's role within its ecosystem, and yet another unfortunate soul forgets to see the flower at all.  Sparks of wonder ignite an entire universe of knowledge and connection. To have a comprehensive amount of knowledge is to have the humility that we do not know anything at all. As the Red Hot Chili Peppers put it, "The more I see the less I know." Curiosity is the root of knowledge. Questions must be asked, surroundings must be intricately examined.  Patterns recorded. Mysteries solved, led by the creation of newer mysteries. Understanding must be sought. Growth is a continuou...
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Au Revoir Wichita y Hola Panama!

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Friday, June 9th 2017 After being patted down, running around, and traveling through three different towns...our final destination has been found. Panama has made the journey worth the dream. It would take your breath away.  Carol departed from us the moment we arrived in David to go to Boquete. Ever since Carol left us, Barbara and I have decided we are the "Dynamic Duo in David". Our host mother, Gloria, warmly greeted us upon our arrival. Her sweet embrace reminded me of the cultural warmth I feel when surrounded by Latin American culture. The Latin American culture for me is similar to hearing a familiar and long forgotten melody, or the sensation of recalling fondly made memories.   Immediately after arriving from the airport we went to eat at a restaurant where the owner cooked the food himself and knew our host family personally.  The humidity in Panama is intensified at this time of the year. Currently it is the rainy season, also known as t...
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Location: David, Panama
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