About

DSC_0448_0 — We “Bright”-eyed “Fulbrighters” huddle up for a group picture after spending 3 days in orientation at The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio. We are pictured with Megan Hasting, the Assistant Director of the Office of International Affairs for the Center for Latin American Studies, Dr. Michelle Wibblesman, our group leader and professor at OSU, and Dr. Terrell Morgan, director of CLAS (Center for Latin American Studies). Without these individuals, we would not have had this opportunity! CLAS Newsletter (July)

In June 2017, the Center for Latin American Studies at Ohio State welcomed twelve K-12 educators from across the nation to campus for a week-long pre-departure orientation session to prepare for their “Teach the Andes” program abroad. I am one of the lucky Fulbright-Hays recipients who had the opportunity to travel to Ecuador and Peru with this program. Dr. Michelle Wibbelsman of the Department of Spanish & Portuguese and CLAS at Ohio State serves as the lead faculty instructor. In this blog, I will reflect upon the wide variety of activities in which we engaged that explored the history, politics, language, and culture of the Andes.

In participating in the month-long seminar project abroad, we are learning to approach Andean cultures from a multidisciplinary perspective, centered on the notion of the common good in the public square. The project is meant to equip us with integrative content, curricular resources, and methods of inquiry that we will adapt in our own content areas in the classroom setting.

I am Kerri Packwood, a teacher of 6th grade English Language Arts, mother of two, a wife, a cultural enthusiast, and world traveler (not necessarily in that order). Bear with me as I muddle through my own reflections as a “bright”-eyed Fulbrighter on this group project abroad.

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