Posts Coming Soon…

Hello colleagues and friends.

If you have been anxiously awaiting daily blog posts about my experiences in the Philippines as part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) program, I apologize for the delay. On the first day of the 17-day trip I got a call from my family in Boston telling me that my youngest sister Emily, who had been experiencing headaches the week before I departed, was diagnosed with a cherry-sized brain tumor in her right Temporal lobe.

Needless to say, this was shocking news. Luckily, my family lives in Boston about three miles from some of the best hospitals and surgeons in the world, and her doctors agreed that a Craniotomy to remove the tumor and surrounding irregular brain tissue was the most prudent course of action. Emily’s surgery date was pushed back to Monday, July 14, and I decided to participate in nearly the full TGC program and return to Boston two days early on Thursday, July 10. It was great to spend quality time with Emily and my family before the surgery. Emily has one of the leading brain surgeons in the world, and he is confident that her surgery was a success. I have spent the majority of my time with Emily and my family during her recovery, and Emily has been making progress every day. She is walking around the house, sitting up for long stretches, starting to eat solid food, and even playing cards. She has a meeting Thursday, July 24, with her surgeon and Neuro-Oncologist to hear about the preliminary pathology results. We have our fingers crossed for good news.

It was my intention to post blog entries every day on my trip and this did not happen. Between the long days on the program, Skypeing with Emily and family both early in the morning and late at night, spotty internet at times, and slow picture upload speeds on WordPress, I decided it made more sense to post about 40 pictures with captions and a short description of my activities each day on Facebook. Blog posts with pictures, videos, and reflections about each day in the Philippines will be arriving soon now that Emily is fairly stable and making progress. Thank you for your patience!

I appreciate all of the love and support of friends, both old and new, during this difficult time. My family and I thank you.

–Paul

Departure

So it’s been a while since I’ve last posted. I forgot how busy the end of school can be. I finished my year at Boston Community Leadership Academy on Friday, June 20, after grading 16 Advanced Algebra final exams and entering final grades for that class. Tomorrow some students have portfolio presentations for some of their classes, and the last official day of school for teachers is Wednesday, but I’ll be getting on a plane at 7:30 tomorrow morning to embark on a long day of travel to the Philippines. First I’m heading to L.A. (6-hour flight) where I’ll meet up with nine other teachers (one other teacher who lives in Hawaii will meet us in Tokyo) from the Teachers for Global Classrooms (TGC) program who will be spending nearly three weeks in the Philippines. From LAX we head to Tokyo (11-hour flight) before concluding our travel with a 4.5-hour flight to Manila. It will be a long day..

We arrive in Manila at about 10 p.m. local time on Tuesday the 24th (Manila is 12 hours ahead of Boston’s EST). The first three days in Manila we have a lot planned including:

* A lecture about the history and culture of the Philippines

* A visit to the U.S. Embassy including meetings with officials (and possibly the Ambassador) and the Philippine American Educational Foundation

* A Historical Tour of Manila

* A lecture about the Philippine Education System

* A visit to Saint Paul College Pasig (a private high school)

* A visit to Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino High School (a public high school)

* A visit to Makati Science High School (a public high school)

* A panel discussion with local education leaders at Makati Science High School

* A meeting and dinner with participants of ILEP (International Leaders in Education Program), a different IREX (International Research and Exchanges Board) program

I really wish the United States had not given up a goal in the final 30 seconds of extra time in its World Cup match tonight against Portugal because now its 12 p.m. EST match Thursday (12 a.m. Friday Manila time) against Germany will matter. We have an 8:30 a.m. school visit on Friday morning, but maybe I can sneak in a nap after dinner Thursday and catch part of the game if that have it at our hotel.  

After three full days in Manila, I will be heading to neighboring Quezon City in metro Manila where I will spend 10 days with Helen Haskell, a science teacher from Albuquerque, NM, and our host teacher, Tutham Librea. I have been in touch with Tutham using viber, a free way to call anywhere in the world over the internet and she seems quite nice. She teaches biology at Ateneo de Manila High School, a prestigious, private, all-boys Jesuit school in Quezon City. She participated in ILEP last year at Kent State in Ohio and she is returning there in August to begin a PhD program. She has planned an exciting 10-day agenda for me and Helen and I look forward to spending my time in the Philippines with such accomplished educators. I look forward to learning about what makes Ateneo a successful school, visit math classes, meet with various educators like the director of Global Education and chess team coach, and get to know the students and faculty.

During our time in Quezon City we will:

* Meet with the principal, administrators, and faculty at Ateneo de Manila High School

* Visit historical and cultural sites

* Spend a full day shadowing a 12th grade student

* Observe math and science classes

* Co-teach lessons

* Observe Ateneo de Manila High School students perform an “immersion” activity in a poor neighborhood of Manila

* Visit the Philippines top television station

* Visit Ateneo Junior High

* Participate in Philippine-American Friendship Day (July 4th) social studies discussion

* Visit Mount Pinatubo

* Stay with a host Filipino family for a full day/night

* Visit the Malacanang Palace Museum (Official Presidential Residence)

* Meet the Ateneo chess team

* Visit the Educational Research and Development Assistance School

Helen and I will then head back to Manila and meet up the rest of our group of 11 teachers for the final three days our program. In addition to synthesizing our experiences, we will take a day trip to Corregior Island in Manila Bay that was bombarded during Japan’s invasion of the Philippines in 1942.

I can’t wait to begin my journey to the Philippines tomorrow morning and will be updating my blog regularly. Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions.