A group of Durham Public Schools teachers has traveled to Antigua, Guatemala, for a language and cultural immersion program.
David Stein, with the Duke-Durham Neighborhood Partnership, which organized the trip, has posted photos of the trip so far, including the educators' trip to a central marketplace, pictured here.
You might recall that DPS Superintendent Carl Harris was among the group that traveled to Guatemala last year, under the same program, which takes educators to rural and urban schools in the Central American country.
Among other goals, the experience aims to help bridge cultural gaps between educators and Latino students.
Stein and the group of teachers who went this year have promised to share their experiences when they return July 25. We plan to share more about their trip in the Aug. 2 edition of The Durham News.
Comments
Central Carolina to Central America
Sun, 07/20/2008 - 11:38 — proctorFrom Central Carolina to Central America, this is a most promising foray by educators from the Bull City of Durham. Guatemala and its Central American neighbors are every bit as deserving of top-priority hemispheric diplomatic initiatives by the United States as are Mexico, Canada and the nations of South America.
From education and economics to agriculture, technology and the environment, the United States needs to renew and rejuvenate its historic commitments to all regions of Latin America so that hemispheric improvement in the lives of all will not be dependant upon the splitting off of Latin American loyalities to exclusive agreements with the European Union and the emerging nations of Asia.
From the "Good Neighbor Policy" of FDR's time to the Kennedy Administration's "Alliance For Progress," bold and creative ground-level initiatives involving the fundamental needs of people throughout the Americans have always enjoyed bi-partisan support in the U.S. Congress.
Local outreach as exemplified by this promising Durham educational exchange can only help broaden the horizons for opportunity and advancement within all sections of the Western Hemisphere in the 21st Century.
Buen viaje, amigos!
David P. McKnight
Durham