My International Contacts- Part 3
As of today, I have just gotten a response from one of my international contacts - Dr. Carolyn Ronquillo.Teacher Carol, as I call her, said that while she was teaching in the US, the top issues regarding quality and early childhood professionals being discussed were teacher evaluation and continuing professional development. She also shared that in the Prince George's County, USA (where she worked for more than 3 years), there is an office under Human Resources that is in charge of Professional Development. She added that all courses for professional development are posted online and teachers can register (most of the time these are free or have credit points or the teacher/participant is even paid, especially if the professional development seminars are on Saturdays or after office hours. That is why she believes that in terms of her experience in that county, there is no reason why teachers cannot attend the professional courses offered. This is very different from my experience as a teacher in my country, as we hardly have funds for professional development.
I also got to ask her what her professional goals are and she indicated two:
(a) to write a textbook on early childhood education for college students since most books are Western;
(b) be more active in international professional organizations to prove that ECE in the Philippines is at par
with the developed countries.
In terms of her professional hopes, dreams and challenges, Dr. Ronquillo noted that her new teaching assignment as a teacher educator in South Korea by March is going to be a big challenge for her. This is because she is anticipating a lot of adjustments with regards with instructional strategies, student evaluation, course requirements, and adjusting to a new University and management.
Nonetheless, I believe that Dr. Ronquillo will do well in her new teaching post as I personally have seen her passion in and dedication for the field. She was able to adjust well during her exchange program in Japan, did well as a faculty member, preschool teacher, College Secretary and Chairperson at the University of the Philippines and had very high ratings as an early childhood teacher in the US.
Corresponding with her has shown me how we all have challenges and dreams. That we just have to work on overcoming challenges and reaching our dreams. We all want to be better people and better teachers.
posted by Elizabeth King Santos @ 5:22 AM
3 Comments:
Elizabeth,
Sounds like Teacher Carol is a great source to have on your side. Im envious that she has been able to do so much in her career. Having passion and dedication is a bonus. To be passionate and dedicated to your job is so rare. I wish her the best. Thanks for posting.
I am so glad that you were able to keep in touch with your international contacts. I believe teacher evaluations will be an issue for years to come since the expectations of teachers keep changing and adjusting based on research. Sometimes is good to hear and compare our professional situations and experiences with a more knowledgeable person since kind of assures us that there’s still hope for the earl childhood field.
Hi Elizabeth,
I find it thrilling to hear of Teacher Carol's goal to write a textbook for EC students! She sounds very inspiring. Thank you for sharing your contact with us.
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