Thurs 27 Sept: I was a fly on the wall this afternoon at a Nuestra Escuela staff professional development meeting, at which the school's Education City coordinator, Josué McGrath Rosario, introduced the methodogy of Self Managed Learning as a structure for supporting student autonomy within a learning community. I have notes to read up on from the presentation today which will hopefully assist my understanding given my limited comprehension at this stage of spoken spanish... people tend to speak quite fast in Puerto Rico.. still, with the aid of powerpoint notes, & my companion dictionary, I was able to pick up enough today to follow the key ideas within the concept & some of the general points of discussion..staff were asked to consider how this type of methodology might fit alongside the school's own unique approach to helping students realise their potential: 'Todo por Mi Estrella' (All for My Star)...a programme which utilizes the star as a quest symbol.. representing the self-identified person or purpose for which one is prepared to give their all... in order to strive to be the best person they can be (personal development & integrity) as well as achieve that which is important & necessary for them in reaching their goals (PEPs, Personalised Education Plan/ pathway for achievement)...I found it invigorating to be listening to a professional dialogue about a topic which resonates so profoundly with me..reshaping the perception of what facilitates learning... & how best to support learners to discover for themselves what is essential to their own personal growth.. & what their hearts & minds desire to know..am looking forward to part 2 tomorrow when staff have had a chance to digest the ideas & come back with queries for discussion. Just prior to that I have a scheduled meeting with Josué regarding his Education City role..with the remaining weeks I have left here I hope to get as much info & experience as possible that will be of use to assist educational development in NZ...so if any of you have any burning questions I can put to Josué or others let me know within the next few weeks..however I can always contact Nuestra Escuela once I get home with further queries as they eventuate...have mixed emotions about heading back to NZ..I love it here..will be hard giving up my Puerto Rican sanctuary to go back into the rat-race of managing a maniac lifestyle to pay the mortgage..anyway, lots of awesome events to look forward to when I do get back..see you in a month.. Arohanui Besos y abrazos Taan :-) x
Love this garden addition down my street.not that I've seen any live mules around here but it certainly conveys a feeling of being in Puerto Rico..I guess like seeing a kiwi icon conveys a sense of NZ although most of us can't claim to have seen many live ones of them! :-) Initially I just thought this was creative architectural design & landscaping for the sake of an interesting theme but on the way back from the supermarket this afternoon I saw a couple of men sitting at a table by the entrance-way actually playing chess. I would've been keen to get closer & observe for a while but I was carrying groceries & had dinner to cook. Quite a mission trying to find ingredients like what I'm used to at home. Went to 4 supermarkets trying to find flaky pastry..try saying hojaldre (pronounced or-hal-dre) spanish for flaky pastry, several times over..it's not easy I can tell you..anyway, it may be catered for on the internet translator site but its not in Puerto Rican supermarkets so I ended up making it myself..butter, & cheese just aren't the same either so personally I felt the bacon & egg pie and apple crumble I made for dinner this evening weren't as tasty as when made with kiwi ingredients but my international dinner companions (from Chile, Marcedonia, Bangladesh, the States) all seemed suitably impressed anyway. Would still love to score some puha & treat them to boilup! 'carambola' or star fruit from the neighbour for desert..cute fruit & yummy too. These little lizards are so cute..they scuttle about in the garden & up the exterior walls..managed to get close enough to take a snapshot this afternoon after not having been quick enough the last few days..this one almost posed for me! Managed to catch a glimpse of some local birds in the silk tree outside the front of the house too..after just having commented to my flatmate about the sparsity of birds around here compared to back home..had it confirmed though that the chant I've been waking up to every morning which sounds like someone repeatedly saying "Las cantares" is infact a bird..so they are about alright, just not so easy to spot. The little native frogs, which I am yet to spot, are called 'coqui' (pronounced coc-key) 'cause that's the sound they make..it's pretty much continuous but I've found it intriguing & pleasantly Puerto Rican..actually I'm really enjoying the different symphony of sounds..haven't found the local dogs having a regular bark-athon too irritating yet either..kinda just part & parcel of the place really...much like the latin music blaring from every direction during the day..salsa dancing here I come! I hadn't made listening to music part of my routine in recent months 'cause I've always had other things to do & taking my focus..so it's nice to have the head space now to appreciate music for the sake of enjoyment & entertainment..& in my case it's educational too 'cause it's an integral part of the culture I am uploading...can't say I had heard of reggatona as a genre but I'm beginning to like it. Almost succumbed to a 4pm siesta on the veranda today but decided to pull a few weeds in the garden first..3 hours later the front of the flat looks amazing & I am still perplexed as to how come I don't do this for my own garden back home! Amazing what one can be inspired to do when one is not ridiculously exhausted from the usual stresses of daily life! Even managed to inspire my flatmate to come outside & start pulling when he saw the transformation occuring..he got gardening fever too & even planted some seeds for the first time ever..I took a foto for him to send to his mum..we mums are impressed by things like that..I think my dad would've been impressed with my gardening efforts today..anyway..must take some footage of the exterior & interior of the flat tomorrow..now that I have given it all a 'Monica' ..just wish I had taken some before shots! Went for a walk b4 dinner..much cooler at that time..must say I was impressed that I didn't see much in the way of litter..apparently most people own cars & drive everywhere so I wonder if that makes a difference to there not being debris left along the sidewalk..spied a bit around McDs though..guess fast food magnates are a magnet for sloths universally! Anyway..almost 4 am over here now..gotta try get a few hours kip in before the new day unfolds..my flatmates are under instruction to speak to me only in Spanish as of tomorrow morning so am gona have to be sharp too..buenos noches amigos. Hasta la vista! Tania :-) |
Tania CorbettThrough my Puerto Rico experience I hope to gain valuable insight to further contribute ideas for city & educational developments within our local region. Archives
November 2012
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