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Feature article
History teacher heads to Costa Rica
Article and pictures by Tammy Lane
February 15, 2008
Joy Hickscan’t exactly take her students along for the ride, but they’ll soon hear about her zip-lining through a rainforest in Costa Rica. And they might see photos of her at a Central American coffee hacienda or a banana plantation.
It’s all possible because Hicks, a world history teacher at Edythe J. Hayes Middle School, took a chance.
“I thought, ‘Why not?’” she said, recalling how she applied for the study tour after reading about it in Kentucky Teacher magazine.
Hicks is one of 36 educators nationwide (from among more than 300 applicants) selected for the cultural and environmental learning expedition, sponsored by the Toyota International Teacher Program.
“I’ll be gone for two weeks. It’s a long time to be away from my kids here, but I’m excited about it,” said Hicks, who leaves Feb. 24.
She’s the only participant from Kentucky.
“This is a tremendous growth opportunity for her,” said Edythe J. Hayes Middle principal Sherri Heise, who described Hicks as highly dedicated.
“It will be a launching point for integrating science and social studies,” Heise added, as well as a way to increase students’ awareness of global issues.
Costa Rica is a biologically diverse country dedicated to protecting its natural resources. While there, the U.S. teachers will study local development, sustainable agriculture and conservation practices. Also among the trip’s highlights are a day at La Selva Biological Station, the site of important research on tropical rainforests; visits to national museums and talks with indigenous peoples.
“Our students don’t really realize how diverse our (own) country is and how we need to respect other people’s cultures,” said Hicks, who hopes to weave her experience in Costa Rica into lessons about how geography can explain cultures throughout the world, including plants and animals, and habitats.
Hicks, who admits to a fear of snakes, does not have to wait until her return to share her travels with her seventh-graders. “I’m going to be away from my classroom, but I’m going to be here, too, through technology,” she explained.
While in Costa Rica, Hicks will e-mail her fellow teachers here in Lexington, blog daily and upload pictures on the school’s shared Web space. Her students, who will know her itinerary, can send her questions, too, and she hopes to set them up with pen pals.
“They’re so curious about what other teenagers do at this age,” she said.
Zachary Atwell, for one, wants to know more about their activities and sports. He and Hicks’ other students are nearly as thrilled about the upcoming trip as she is.
“It’ll be really cool for her to come back and tell us about the cultures in that place,” Madison Steele said.
“She’s the kind of teacher who’ll make it come to life for (her students),” Heise said.
THE BACK STORY
The Toyota International Teacher Program, now in its 10th year, tries to expose educators to diverse peoples and ecosystems and inspire the creative teaching of international, cultural and environmental themes. It is funded through a $1.2 million annual grant from Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc.
The educators chosen for the Costa Rica expedition include first-year teachers and grandmothers. They were selected based on their professional and leadership qualifications and their plans to incorporate their experiences into their curriculum. Among the 36 are teachers of Spanish, language arts, biology, government and U.S. history, science, art, poetry, information technology and commerce, international studies, visual arts, ESL, math, anatomy and physiology, and astronomy.
The next professional development trip sponsored by Toyota is to the Galapagos Islands in November. Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, employed full-time as a secondary classroom teacher (grades 7-12) and have at least three years of classroom experience.
For more information, see www.iie.org/toyota.
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