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Boca Brava Panama

7/16/2018

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It was a wonderful day with students at Isla Bolaña yesterday. They were able to discover the Chiriqui National Park which consists of Islands in the Pacific off Panama’s western coast. There was a small reef with a variety of fish, corals, anemones, urchins, etc that they could identify. They also were able to see evidence of the lava flow that created the landscape. What a wonderful thing for a teacher to see students having fun at the beach but still in a definite learning environment. 
After returning to the Boca Brava Hotel, students opened up the bat nets for the evening, and caught some very large bats that will be processed for transport today. It is quite exciting to see them work with the professor, John Hanson. They can’t, of course handle the bats because they haven’t had their required rabies shots, but could assist with the mice and the DNA samples, etc. 
In my last blog I expressed my concern that there were no programs to help fund students for these activities. Well, our CSU biologist, John Hanson came up with some sources for grants and offered to work with us on them. One student offered to make it a capstone project to learn how to write grants. Well, once more it appears that obstacles are truly only opportunities to do something greater.
It isn’t easy to “buck the system” of beaurocratic education, but we seem to be doing just that with these types of programs. Fortunately, we have a great principal as our head “Viking” and she is quite a cheerleader for thinking out of the box. We thank God for her every day.
If any of you readers know of any other endowments, bequests, or grant sources, please let us know. There are so any wonderful students in our high schools that need these programs and the world needs their passion and future expertise. Take a look at our faacebook page in a few day for the link to our fotos and testimonials of this wonderful adventure in Panama.
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Panama!

7/13/2018

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It is incredible to think that just yesterday this incredible students and I were in the jungle mist of the cloud forest of Amistad National Park in Panama on the border of Costa Rica.  Their time there was well spent and their work, while labor intensive and muddy, enabled our biologist, Dr.  John Hanson, to trap, identify and collect specimens for his DNA research for unique species of mammals. They netted bats, hummingbirds, trapped mice and gophers, and set camera traps to photograph nocturnal animals. To see these students collecting data and working tirelessly was evidence that students indeed learn infinitely more in a classroom without walls. 
There always seems to be yet another education professor who does an endless study of student behaviors and achievements, but very little that shows the success of programs that take students out of the traditional classroom environment and into the real world, especially one in which they are challenged and excited by the experience.
Today we are on an island in the Pacific Ocean, a part of the Gulf Of Chiriqui National Park of Panama. Here they will also be trapping small mammals for a comparative study by Dr. Hanson of coastal mammals which may perhaps be of the same species as those he discovered on the island of Coiba. Here the students are also beginning a baseline data of monkeys on this island of Boca Brava. These high school students intend this project to be their senior capstone project. I have no doubt that should they continue, they will gain the recognition they deserve and  have the opportunity to do incredible work in the field in their future studies at a university.
Too often we forget that students need experiences such as this to find what excites them. We as teachers always tell them that they need to find what they love as their life’s work and they will never “work” a day in their life.  Unfortunately, it is most often students who have the financial abilities from their families who can have these experiences. There are few resources for students who yearn for the opportunity, and most schools don’t see it as important enough to supply that financial assistance.
Our company, Valley Language Services, is actively searching for grants, endowments, and foundations to extend these programs in association with Columbus State University and other institutions.  If your school or company is interested…please let us know. We are currently planning programs in Brazil, South Africa, Panama, USA, France, and Ecuador.

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International News

6/21/2018

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Those of you trying to find news on events outside the USA, it is useless to try CNN or MSNBC or FOX News! I normally use BBC app on my computer and phone but also Al Jazeerah has great headline news on their website. Unfortunately both Direct TV and Dish no longer carry it!
Many mission groups with projects in africa should pay close attention to events in Kenya, Somalia, Ghana, Congo, Liberia, and now particularly in Mozambique where missionaries are fleeing for their lives as the civil war which has never known truce is moving down from the north. The discovery of the world's largest liquid natural gas has Islamic terrorist vying for the control of this immense resource. Peacekeepers have already been deployed there but civilian aid groups are in perilous situations and it threatens surrounding nations as well. 

PLEASE, if your church is planning a mission trip to any place in east or central Africa, check the travel advisory first. Prayers are appreciated I am sure for the plight of missionaries and students in that area.

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Scientific Research in Panama

6/15/2018

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Preparing for our study abroad group in Panama, I have made great progress in contacts that enables University researchers to obtain permits more easily in Panama. Providing information directly to Dr. Rolando Tello,  Ministerio de Salud Animal, Ministerio de Desarrollo Agropecuario, Panama City, Panama. With the help of a good friend and attorney in Panama, Demosthenes Alberto Batista to assist your efforts, the process is greatly simplified. Check our website blog in July for photos and videos of high school research assistance from St.Anne-Pacelli High School working with mama project in Amisted National Park Panama!
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