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Arkansas teachers, principal headed for Taiwan Saturday, Jun 9, 2007 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - Three Rogers teachers and a Little Rock principal will travel to Taiwan this year to participate in a new teacher exchange program, state Education Commissioner Ken James announced Friday. Selected for the program were Silas Granderson, a physical science teacher at Elmwood Junior High School in Rogers; Marilyn Hodgin, who teaches English as a second language at Grimes Elementary School in Rogers; Carolyn Scott, a second grade teacher at Lowell Elementary School in Rogers; and Nancy Rousseau, principal at Little Rock Central High School. "I know what they bring back to us from their experience will greatly benefit all of us for years to come," James said at a news conference. Starting in August, the three teachers will be under an 11-month contract with Taiwan's Ministry of Education. After a month of orientation, each will be assigned to a school to help teachers and students learn English. Rousseau will observe the Chinese language program in Taiwan from July 6-14 as a guest of the Ministry of Education. The selection of teachers exclusively from the Rogers School District was not planned, according to James. "We had 20 people (from various districts) express interest," he said. "We had 11 applications submitted, and through the application and interview process, these teachers rose to the top." Education Department spokeswoman Julie Thompson said she expects teachers from other districts to participate in the future as the program grows and becomes better known. The teachers' salaries will be paid by the government of Taiwan, which also will assist with housing. The program grew out of a meeting then-Gov. Mike Huckabee had with Taiwan's minister of education during a visit to the Asian country in June 2006. Indiana, Iowa and Ohio have similar teacher exchange agreements with Taiwan. Hodgin said that before she learned of the program, she compiled a list of 100 things she wanted to do before she died. Spending a year teaching overseas was on the list. "Most of my students in Rogers are Hispanic, and so I'm looking forward to the opportunity to work with a different type of student and seeing some of the needs that they have, and to be able to come back and share that with the faculty and the staff as well as the students," she said. Rousseau said that starting in the next school year, Central High School will offer its first class in Mandarin Chinese. Almost 90 students have signed up for the class, she said. "I know so little about this, so this trip is going to be great," she said. Karl Lee, director of the Houston office of the Taiwan Ministry of Education, joked about the possible impact Arkansas teachers could have on Taiwanese students. "Maybe someday you will meet some Taiwanese speaking with an Arkansas accent," he said. |
