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K-State Today

March 5, 2015

College of Education announces premiere of 'Vale la Pena' documentary

Submitted by Patrice Scott

Vale la Pena: Revolutionizing Hearts, Minds, and Communities

The College of Education and its partners announce the premiere of an international documentary based on the Go Teacher program, an award-winning teacher education program for Ecuadorian English teachers.

"Vale la Pena: Revolutionizing Hearts, Minds, and Communities" will premiere at 2:30 p.m. April 7 in Forum Hall in the K-State Student Union. The documentary, which translates to "Worth the Pain," was made possible through a joint effort among the K-State College of Education; the Center for Intercultural and Multilingual Advocacy, or CIMA; Global Campus; Office of International Programs; and the Ecuadorian government.

Forty voices unite to tell one unique and heartfelt story about this inspiring international partnership. Hear firsthand accounts of why these English as a foreign language teachers left behind their country, friends and families for a year with the sole purpose of becoming better teachers.

Socorro Herrera, professor and CIMA director, believes the influence of the Go Teacher program likely will be measured in decades.

"There is a lot of rhetoric regarding what it means to form international relationships; yet, the reality is that it falls short because the players are always limited to a select few," Herrera said. "However, this project has opened our hearts — from the outside in and the inside out. The influence from this project will be measured for years to come, not only in Kansas but also abroad."

K-State was chosen as the lead institution to train 3,000 of Ecuador's EFL teachers, and the first cohort arrived in 2012. Partner institutions, New Mexico State University, Northern Illinois University, Kentucky University and Valparaiso University, along with former Go Teachers can watch the premiere via live stream.

To date, more than 1,000 teachers have completed, or are in the process of completing, the K-State program. Since it's inception, Go Teacher has received several awards including:

• 2015 American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education — Best Practice Award in Support of Global and International Teacher Education.

• 2013 Association for Continuing Higher Education Great Plains Region — Exceptional Noncredit Program Award.

• 2012 University Professional and Continuing Education Association Central Region — Innovative Noncredit Program Award.

For more information about Vale la Pena, watch for updates on Instagram and Twitter at #ValelaPenaKState.