Well it is February 12th and I am about 15 hours away from beginning my Ecuador Adventure. The countdown clock is certainly starting to tick a little louder as my departure time approaches! My excitement about this trip is building more with each passing second. I am all packed and ready to roll!
I am eager for so many aspects of this trip, but none so much as being able to visit a school in the Amazon. I have so many questions going through my mind about this leg of the trip. What does the school look like? What resources do they have? Do they have schedules similar to ours? What are the relationships like between the teacher and the students? I just want to be a fly on the wall and observe what a normal school day looks like for these kids. I am sure that our visit will interrupt their day, but I hope to be able to see and feel what their days are like.
I have visited schools outside the United States before. The one that struck me most was in the interior of the Dominican Republic. My husband and I went on a tour in which we stopped at two different schools. The obvious take-a-way from this was to compare these schools to the good ole U. S. of A. and focus on what these schools did not have. However, that wasn't my take-a-way. I struck by what they did have. They had rich learning taking place with eager students and great teachers. It reinforced with me that educators are capable of having a profound impact upon their students no matter the conditions or resources available. Great teacher are great ten days out of ten, as our friend Todd Whitaker would say.
I am looking forward to visiting the school in the Amazon. I am sure that it will impact me just as much, if not more, than the school in the Dominican and empower me to do even more for the students and staff of the Middleborough Public Schools.
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