Here I am sitting at my desk in my hotel room in the Westin in downtown D.C. For the first time in my work life, I feel as if I am truly valued as a professional.
It may seem silly to my friends who work as architects, pilots, lawyers, but you have to know that we teachers don't often get to go to conferences. When we do, we often have to beg for the time away from the clasroom, supplement with our own money, share rooms, etc., etc. The unstated message is that teaching and teachers are not valued therefore, not funded. In U.S. culture and even in our own teaching institutions, we are often not afforded the status of true "professional".
Not so here. I have my own beautiful room with wifi, two very fluffy clean white beds, and I even had a 5-minute chair massage in the lounge this afternoon. In addition, each fellow's creativity is valued and encouraged. One of the major components of each person's post is to identify a need at the host institution and develop a project around that need. Each grant includes a budget to make that project a reality.
In addition, we were each given a generous allowance to choose books. My choices focus on pedagogy and language acquisition theory, as those are the classes I will be teaching in which I have the least experience.
Orientation sessions this week include topics such as public diplomacy, health benefit information, regional security briefings, and introductions to the many people at the embassy with whom we will be working.
There are 143 other fellows that are being placed all over the world. Fellows are working in countries such as the Ukraine, Syria, Egypt, Brazil, Guatemala. . .88 countries in all, and their bios are rather impressive. All posess master's degrees; many have Ph.D.s. Almost all have taught in many countries, speak at least two languages (one speaks eight!), and many have been Fullbright recipients and/or Peace Corps volunteers. I have to admit, I have had moments when I wondered how I was chosen to be among this class.
