Uruguayan Schools & Life: A Journey in Global Citizenship with Señora Koch

  Montevideo! My brain is full and if you geek out like me on the benefits of Public Education; then you would have fascinated by today. Like the U.S., Uruguay is redefining some of their educational priorities after the pandemic. The focus here is on Transformational Learning~ ironically something I have heard Matt mention is the focus in the Kalispell School District.  We were gifted today with time from the Director of Education at the Ministry of Education, the director of Fulbright, employees from the US embassy, university board members and the directors of Innovation programming.  They shared these highlights that might interest you. If you want to learn more- check this ANEP link. Uruguay was the first country in the world to implement the One Laptop Per Child program through the Ceibal Plan, ensuring connectivity and access to content for all children in the country’s public system. Education is compulsory for 11 years (between the ages of 4 and 15) and it is di...

 Travel Days can be enlightening! It’s amazing how much we can build our global competency just from airports and airplanes. This will be a quick entry as I have only slept about 10 hours in the last 48 hours. But we arrived to Montevideo safe and sound and only missing one of the 17 suitcases from our group- and it happened to be mine 😏. But, I have already connected with a friend of a friend (Kelly Elder: former MT teacher of the year who now lives in Montevideo and teachers at The American School) and he knows the lost luggage scene and has given me some inside information on how to navigate the scene. So, on to the learning that has already happened! 1. I have a whole new appreciation for US flight attendants-they keep order like now one else! 2. I’m going to enjoy trying all the different foods and even spotted one today that my students taught me about when we were doing our food and country unit this year~alfajores (super deliciosos)! 3. My friend and colleague Jenny random...

  Familia y Amigos(as)- In just a few days, I'll be heading to Montevideo and Salto Uruguay as phase 3 of my Fulbright fellowship journey! It's been an amazing year of growth, both personally and professionally, and I'm excited to continue learning in South America throughout June. The focus of my Teacher Global Classroom Fulbright program is to provide training, experience abroad, and course work that encourages teachers (and in this case, me) to bring more international perspectives to my classroom and school. I truly thought I was already doing this in my classroom, but after this program, I realize I had much to learn and still do! Next fall I will launch my website with comprehensive tools, resources and personal experiences. For now, I'm adding to my toolbox by immersing myself in Uruguayan culture and Spanish language. Heading to Uruguay this week is what my cohort and I have been working towards all school year. We are a group of 16 from all over the United St...