USAP PAETE

[adedios]

Ka Noel;

Here is an email that I received as a copy from a professor teaching in Pennsylvania - this was addressed to the dean of Ateneo:

(I have removed some personal info, but I am sending the email address of the person via private email to you. If you are interested in following this up, please find how you may be able to assist in securing support from DOST-Balik Scientist Program - math and science education is one of the priorities of this program. Perhaps, the Sangguniang Bayan Education committee would be able to communicate this proposal to someone at DOST, who may be able to assist in recognizing this as a part of the Balik-Scientist program. I would be more than willing to provide a strong letter of support, if DOST feels it is necessary)

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Greetings! .... Dr. Angel de Dios suggested that I contact you because of my plans to work with schools in Paete or other schools with similar needs through the Balik Scientist program. As such, I’d need a host university and Angel thought that, perhaps, Ateneo could serve this purpose.

I am hoping to visit the Philippines in Feb-March or Mar-April next year (2010) as part of my recently approved sabbatical leave which would involve an outreach to a country or two in Asia (the Philippines and, possibly, China or Vietnam or even Malaysia) to establish partnerships with 2-3 colleges or universities for two major reasons: recruitment of potential students and development of an academic exchange / study abroad opportunity for students, faculty and staff where I currently work.

While in the Phils, I hope to help out with teacher training or program development for a possible month-long commitment as a start. I may consider coming during summer (June-July) in the future. My expertise is in pre-college program development and developmental math teaching and academic advising. In fact, I'm hoping I can work with future elementary teachers or some high school teachers (especially those who may have math anxiety) as part of their professional development / teacher training and introduce to them an online computer program (called ALEKS) while providing lecture series or workshops to help them develop confidence and skills in math. I am working with McGraw-Hill to sponsor 20 access or course codes for this. I can also do program development for a summer academy to help high school students be acquainted/excited with math, science and health careers. If nothing else, just let me know other areas that could use my services.

I can discuss more of my qualifications or potential workshop sessions to offer, if needed. For now, I look forward to hearing from you as I would love to "give back" to our country for helping me become a passionate and committed educator. I hope you can assist me. Maraming salamat!

P.S. Some of my colleagues may come over for a site visit or meetings with constituencies at educational institutions like UP, DLSU, and Ateneo on March 8-12, 2010. It’s a year from now, but we like to plan ahead. Would it be possible for you to arrange such so I can encourage more of them to check out Ateneo for possible academic exchange/study abroad opportunity? I'd also like to see some Filipino faculty teach at Harrisburg Area Community College (HACC) or at Temple University through possible academic exchange program, in addition to sending US students there for study abroad experience. HACC is highly regarded for its nursing, business, and tech programs. We offer a number of study abroad programs to our students and staff (including faculty academic exchange with institutions in European countries), but have yet to offer one with an Asian institution (we may have China on board in July). Perhaps, Ateneo can be one of them
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"Do not worry about your difficulties in mathematics,
I assure you that mine are still greater." -- Albert Einstein
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-Angel

[kanoel]

Thank you for the information, Angel. Please forward the email address to my private email so we can plan ahead.
Ka Noel

[Roi]

I would like to suggest po to contact Director Ester B. Ogena of the Science Education Institute. This DOST service agency has a program for teachers in Science and Math. This agency does not only grant science scholarships but also teaching scholarships to science and math teachers. Maybe this agency can help.
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Renante R. Rivera