A PUBLICATION OF THE ALBERTA COUNCIL FOR GLOBAL COOPERATION
V O L U M E
FALL 2013
5
Educator Profile: Anna Ponce Anna Ponce is one of those passionate educators that ACGC feels lucky to know! A teacher at Father Lacombe High School in Calgary, Anna is inspired daily to engage her students' in issues of global citizenship. One of these inspirations is Simon Atem, m e f o se n a se a former “Everyone has d e e n st ju student of ts pathy. Studen Father ned!” Lacombe. their eyes ope Simon made it his mission to build a school in his home town of Aweng, South Sudan and succeeded, even with hurdles in his way. In addition to acknowledging Simon, Anna recognizes and is inspired by those teachers who guided and supported him. Anna is also inspired by her parents, who immigrated from the Philippines and built a successful life, despite the hardships they encountered. Motivated through reading and professional development, Anna understands that educating yourself is a necessary component to reflecting on issues of social justice beyond a superficial level. Anna carries a deep passion for meeting new people and learning about cultures first-hand. Having spent time with
the Mayans, Bedouins, and the Maasai peoples, she has learned a great deal on how humans can be so different and similar at the same time. Anna's love for Social Studies stems from her constant curiosity with what happens around the world. 2012-2013 proved to be an exciting year of social justice initiatives for Anna and her students at the Social Justice Club at Father Lacombe. The group spent time fundraising, as well as raising awareness about water sustainability and poverty for organizations such as CAWST, Free the Children, War Child and World Vision. Anna is most passionate about issues concerning gender equality and ensuring that children's rights are met. She is moved by the work of Stephen Lewis and Senator Romeo Dallaire, admiring their dedication to working with and for women and children.
personal level. After the experience of seeing first-hand the struggles that many women go through, Anna became inspired and even more passionate. When she is asked how she motivates her students to become engaged citizens Anna responds by saying that everyone has a sense of empathy, and students just need their eyes opened. Anna provides them with that opportunity and guidance. Her strong passion when she teaches and plans initiatives with her students is clearly contagious. Her students are immediately affected and once involved they become passionate themselves and pursue initiatives of their own.
Having taught at an elementary school in Bujumbura and visited a women's clinic in Kimenge, one of the poorest parts of Burundi, Anna came to know those she met on a
Development in a Box—Seeking Feedback! Currently in its fifth year, Development in a Box is now in over 500 schools across the province of Alberta. We hope you are enjoying the resource! In order for us to continuously improve Development in a Box and support educators in the work they do surrounding global citizenship, we are seeking feedback on the program through a short interview. Understanding that educators are extremely busy, we promise to take no longer than 10 minutes of your time. If you are interested in providing us
with feedback, please contact Joëlle at projects@acgc.ca or at 780.988.0200. We thank you in advance for your time! Don't have your free Development in a Box yet? Contact us by email or phone (same as above) or visit www.acgc.ca for an online registration form. While we've run out of hard copies, we have plenty of DVD copies to share! Development in a Box is also available online at www.acgc.ca.