First Presentation Day

Our host did a fantastic job locating a hotel for us (right across from the train station) that was within our budget. It included a great breakfast buffet that my partner teacher and I ate by the pool each morning (well, except one morning when a tour group took all the good spots. lol.)

It's impressive how many teachers teach at a public school and at a separate language school for adults in the evening. Today's presentations were at the language school. I presented highlights from the research book, How People Learn. My partner teacher shared best practices in working with English learners. I'm hoping she will present it at one of the NSTA conferences in the future since it was packed with great information and ideas.

The teachers were all so generous in being active participants and asking great questions. I know that I definitely learned things from them so I hope they all got something from our presentations too.

Random cool things - The center has a "Sign Language Cafe" on site. It even has the Moroccan sign language posted for the main dishes so you can order using the sign language. The food was amazing. We later learned it was connected to the program we would be taking a cooking lesson from later in the week. I loved how the people in charge of the program realized there was an untapped group of trained cooks/chefs that needed a place to show off their talents and figured out a way to create that opportunity.

We got back to the hotel early today. I think I was in my room by 8:30ish. And yes, that is early for this trip. I think I was tired and ended up just eating some of the emergency Clif bars I brought with me. Sometimes it's nice just to relax and not do anything.

Tips for future TGCers - I do recommend carrying some Clif bars (or other protein bars) with you when having some downtime is more important than a big meal. I usually take a handful of bars with me and some fun snacks too.

Accessibility - Even schools and language centers will often have unequal flooring, uneven stairs, and lack handrails in places. Prepare for taking your time getting up and down from the various levels of buildings. There are some beautiful locations once you arrive but take your time to get up there. (Most of the schools and language centers do not have elevators.) Be sure to bring any mobility devices that might help you in these circumstances.