Huntley High history teachers heading to Philippines this summer

Two Huntley High School teachers are headed to the Philippines this summer to learn more about the Southeast Asian country so they can enhance their classroom curriculum at home.

Anne Sharkey, who teaches world history, and Clay Henricksen, who teaches U.S. history and global studies, will participate in the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad program. They will be among a delegation of 12 public school teachers and community college professors from northern Illinois, along with two Northern Illinois University professors of language and anthropology traveling June 20 to July 20.

The goal of the Fulbright program is to help educators bring curriculum about different regions back to U.S. classrooms, said Sharkey, 29, who has taught for seven years at Huntley High.

"We have a lot of areas of the world that we don't cover," she said. "The kids need exposure to some of the other regions."

During the monthlong trip, organized by NIU's Center for Southeast Asian Studies and funded by the U.S. Department of Education, the duo will explore the culture and history of the island nation, working with teachers and mentors from Philippine Normal University in Manila to develop lesson plans for their classrooms here.

"Within our curriculum, there is not a huge connection to that region," said Henricksen, 25, in his second year of teaching at Huntley High. "There is a strong relationship between the U.S. and Philippines as a result of it being a former colony. Culturally, it's probably a little bit closer than other countries in the Southeast Asian region."

Henricksen said he has a few Filipino students in each of his courses, and that it's a growing population.

It's the first educational trip abroad for Sharkey and Henricksen, who have visited 24 foreign countries combined. They will be staying with three host families of teachers in the Philippines.

"While we're there, it's more of becoming kind of the student again to then become the teacher back home," Henricksen said.

Aside from reading language and travel books and watching movies about the region, Sharkey and Henricksen are learning common greetings and cultural norms from Huntley High sophomore Megan Laferlita, a Filipino immigrant.

Laferlita, who is in Sharkey's Advanced Placement world history class, said she is enjoying the role reversal.

"We just have really fun conversations," said the 16-year-old who was born and raised in the Philippines and has been in the U.S. only 10 months. "Mainly, the struggle is the language. Miss Sharkey, for some strange reason, has a decent Filipino accent, whereas Mr. Henrickson kind of struggles with it. We mainly talk about how different the culture is in the Philippines, about how religion plays a big part in the family household, the different sayings and customs."

Laferlita taught them to be mindful of cultural etiquette, such as praying before eating and taking shoes off inside the home, and to not be afraid "if you see a picture of Jesus there on the cross bleeding."

The delegation of American educators will learn about Philippines' history, its role in the region, its relationship with the U.S., human rights issues, ethnic and religious diversity, and the challenges of emerging democracies in the region. The group also will visit Philippine Normal University's two satellite locations in the northern and southern regions, and engage with different political groups, mosques and temples of various minority faiths, such as Sikhism and Buddhism, in the predominantly Catholic country.

While navigating the language and customs could be challenging, the culinary experience might be more rewarding, Henricksen said.

"Pork is king in the Philippines," he said excitedly. "I don't foresee a problem adjusting to that."

Sharkey's food allergies to chicken and eggs, however, may pose a problem. "I'm learning all the words of everything I can't eat," she said.

As a requirement of the program, they will blog about their travels and people can follow them on Twitter.

"What Fulbright has done for educators, it's really a big deal," Henricksen said. "It's humbling that I would be allowed to participate in something like this."