Spring - National Peace Corps Association
Spring - National Peace Corps Association
Spring - National Peace Corps Association
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A Teacher Workshop in the Amazon, by Nancy Paul<br />
Most elementary teachers have read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry or The<br />
Red-Eyed Tree Frog by Joy Cowley to their classes. And most Returned <strong>Peace</strong> <strong>Corps</strong><br />
Volunteers jump at the chance to travel when they can. I’m lucky to be an RPCV<br />
who is also a teacher and gets to travel every summer. While perusing NPCA’s<br />
Global Education News, I often saw an ad for a trip for teachers to go down to the<br />
Amazon in Peru and work with scientists and learn ways to bring the rain forest<br />
back to their classrooms. Last summer I finally went and met with teachers from<br />
all over the U.S. who ranged from kindergarten teachers to high school Spanish<br />
teachers.<br />
The experience was magical. At night I fell asleep to the rousing symphony<br />
of insects and frogs. In the early morning with mist rising off the river we went<br />
bird watching and saw birds representing every color of the rainbow. We walked<br />
on swinging bridges overlooking the green canopy, which was like looking over<br />
the ocean, going on for miles and miles and never ending. Most surprising to<br />
me, was that unlike the posters in my classroom that showed an abundance of<br />
animals gathered together, animals were difficult to find, and we wouldn’t have<br />
seen anything if it wasn’t for our expert guide Lucio, a Peruvian national. Instead<br />
we quietly followed him as he pointed out the amazing mimicry and camouflage<br />
abilities of the various insects, reptiles, and birds.<br />
We also had a community service project where we painted a school and got to meet villagers who lived along the river.<br />
Even though my former <strong>Peace</strong> <strong>Corps</strong> site was in the Marshall Islands thousands of miles away in the Pacific I pulled up a<br />
chair and felt right at home. People who once dressed in woven fibers from the trees were singing away and sharing food<br />
dressed in jeans and t-shirts that Americans had probably donated to the Salvation Army.<br />
If you decide to go it is worth stopping in Lima a day or two early to check out the museums and the restaurants for the<br />
tasty Peruvian cuisine. An optional extension tour of Machu Picchu is offered.<br />
The Educator Academy in Peru is again being offered July 2-11, 2013. For details go to www.amazonworkshops.com.<br />
Professional Development in<br />
Costa Rica<br />
Join 13 teachers from across the U.S.<br />
and discover how you can bringCosta<br />
Rica and the MDGs into your curriculum!<br />
We are accepting applications<br />
for a 5 week professional development<br />
program in Costa Rica this summer,<br />
June 14-July 19 (approximately). The<br />
theme of the program is “Teaching the<br />
United Nations’ Millennium Development<br />
Goals: Costa Rica.” Full-time K-12<br />
teachers in the social sciences, humanities<br />
and Spanish from across the U.S.<br />
are eligible to apply. Cost is $1,000 and<br />
covers round trip airfare from Detroit,<br />
lodging, meals, admission fees, transportation<br />
in Costa Rica. Sponsored by<br />
Michigan State University’s Center for<br />
Latin American and Caribbean Studies,<br />
the College of Education, and the<br />
Earth Charter International Secretariat<br />
in Costa Rica.<br />
Application deadline is March 11.<br />
For more information & an application:<br />
http://2013costarica.wordpress.com<br />
GEEO Summer Programs for Educators<br />
Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) is a 501c3 non-profit<br />
organization that runs summer professional development travel programs designed<br />
for teachers.<br />
GEEO is offering 23 different travel programs for the summer of 2013: India/<br />
Nepal, Italy, Portugal/Spain, Amalfi Coast, Eastern Europe, Budapest to Istanbul,<br />
Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Comfort Thailand, Thailand/Laos, Cambodia, China, Comfort<br />
China, Russia/Mongolia/China, Turkey 15 day, Turkey 8-Day, Kenya/Tanzania,<br />
South Africa/Mozambique/Zimbabwe/Botswana, Morocco, Peru, Ecuador,<br />
The Galapagos Islands and Costa Rica. The registration deadline is June 1st, but<br />
space is limited and many programs will be full well before the deadline.<br />
Educators have the option to earn graduate school credit and professional<br />
development credit while seeing the world. The trips are 8 to 24 days in length and<br />
are designed and discounted to be interesting and affordable for teachers. GEEO<br />
provides teachers educational materials and the structure to help them bring their<br />
experiences into the classroom. The trips are open to all nationalities of K-12 and<br />
university educators and administrators, as well as retired educators. Educators<br />
are also permitted to bring along a non-educator guest.<br />
Detailed information about each trip, including itineraries, costs, travel dates,<br />
and more can be found at www.geeo.org. GEEO can be reached 7 days a week, toll<br />
free at 1-877-600-0105 between 9AM-9PM EST.<br />
The travel programs featured on this page target teacher professional development<br />
and/or curriculum development. For an experience geared more towards<br />
hands-on service, educational programs and a close-up view of the impact of<br />
volunteer service, consider traveling with the <strong>National</strong> <strong>Peace</strong> <strong>Corps</strong> <strong>Association</strong>’s<br />
Next Step Travel. Learn more about this unique program at http://travel.<br />
peacecorpsconnect.org<br />
10 Global Education News, <strong>Spring</strong> 2013 www.peacecorpsconnect.org
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