Panama

In a final debriefing session, the 2017 Panama Teacher Match group of 20 volunteers reunited in order to give voice to the challenges and successes of their individual six week assignments in Panama.

Yesterday, in celebration of International Education Week #IEW2017, we attended the Institute of International Education’s (IIE) Open Doors 2017 briefing at the National Press Club. This year’s Open Doors report shows both improvements and declines in study abroad to and from the United States. Overall, the U.S. saw a 3.4% increase in international students and a 4% increase in U.S. students studying abroad.

Raymond Devenney was a participant in the 2017 program, Panama Teacher Match, implemented by Partners of the Americas and funded by the U.S. Embassy in Panama. In this program, Raymond worked for six weeks alongside local English teachers in the public school system of Panama, training and coaching them in different methodologies. This is his story of his experience during the program.

It’s been a busy month for us at Partners of the Americas as we have had the pleasure of announcing the winners of 38 grants, totalling $1.2 million dollars. The winners were higher education institutions located across 7 continents, 27 countries, and 24 U.S. states. (Next time, Antarctica!).

EducaFuturo provides opportunities for youth to develop interpersonal skills and entrepreneurial capabilities. It helps the youth succeed in school while also preparing them for jobs that will provide a living income.

PartnersCampus Goiânia is the first of our Brazilian student chapters and during its creation, the students thought a lot about what their chapter should focus on. They agreed that their desire was not to change the world, but rather to empower individuals to help themselves. Since then, the chapter has been working with cis and transgender women, refugees, immigrants, and ESL students.

“The topic of child labor is a multi-dimensional one that requires a comprehensive approach for its prevention and elimination,” Peña began at a panel discussing best practices in combating child labor at Partners' recent convention.

Every night, neighbors burned their garbage, including plastics, on the street where I was staying. At the height of the rainy season, piles of garbage mixed with standing water throughout the city - in the streets, ditches and culverts, residential yards, and outside stores.  Garbage rotted alongside food preparation. The afternoon I spent with Harold changed my perspective of the issue completely.

Nothing is as exciting as the opportunity to travel the world, visit new places, and experience new cultures.  For a teacher like me, travel is a great way to connect with professionals and students from different backgrounds, and with different teaching and learning methodologies. When I learned about Partners’ Panama Teacher Match program, I had to apply.