Kate Boyens spent over three weeks in Indonesia in July and August, as part of the Teachers for Global Classrooms program with the U.S. Department of State.
“The purpose of the program is to go and observe schools and do some teaching together and talk about educational issues in whatever the host country is and then compare it to the united states and just build a partnership with another school,” said Kate, who teaches English Learners at District 203’s Scott Elementary School.
Kate and 14 other Global Scholars Fellows from around the U.S. met in the city of Jakarta on the island of Java. From there they split into smaller groups, with Kate and her partner traveling to Kudus.
“Immersing yourself in a culture where you might not travel on your own and you have a such a different experience than if you were just vacationing with your family is just such an enlightening experience, that I think everyone should experience multiple times in their life,” said Kate.
Now that she’s back in the U.S., Kate is working on a global education guide for the teachers at her school.
Naperville News 17’s Evan Summers reports.