Back from DC

Got back last night from the TGC Conference in Washington DC.  Now I have a much clearer idea of what we'll be doing and the expectations of the program.  I can't believe that I leave for Africa in less than two weeks!  There are 11 teaching fellows in our cohort - 3 from Minnesota, 1 from Wisconsin, 2 from Arizona, 1 from Michigan and 4 from New York. Two other teachers are science teachers, so we'll probably be spending quite a bit of time together.  The first week will be spent getting to know how the education system in Ghana works.  We're very lucky that the third day we're there is Independence Day, so we'll get to experience a true Ghanain (sp?) holiday.  After the first week, we'll be paired up with classroom teachers and be in schools all day working with other educators and students.  Each of us developed an "essential question" to explore while there. I want to investigate something about disease transmission or demographics, since that's the teaching unit I designed as part of the program.  I also want to ask my students what they want to know about Ghana, so I can bring this whole experience home to them in some small way.  As far as I know, I'll be in Accra the entire time.  We may venture out on the weekend, but that will depend on our host teachers and our own motivation I guess.

Washington DC was great! The first evening I took the opportunity to go to Chinatown for drinks with some Wisconsin folks.  Then the second night Rhode Island, Chicago, Oklahoma and I walked the entire mall and saw Washington Monument, WWII Monument, WWI Monument, MLK Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and White House.  They're truly spectacular at night and since it was President's Day weekend, lots of people were visiting.  After the conference was over, several colleagues and I went to see the original Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Magna Carta at the National Archives.  Although we didn't get a chance to see a lot, it was great to spend a little bit of time in DC enjoying what it has to offer.

I'm really looking forward to this opportunity to learn and grow both personally and professionally. I'm always amazed by the wonderful, insightful, intelligent people with whom I share this profession.  I'm completely humbled.  So many of these educators have traveled the world and seen places I can only dream of.  They have spectacular ideas and are so incredibly motivated to do and try new things.