Will Your School District Send You Overseas?

I mean for professional development purposes, not banishment?

Pulse Contributing Editor and educator extraordinaire, Ron Canuel, is hosting a terrific conference, The 4th Annual International Enhanced Learning Strategies Showcase, May 7-9. Although Ron's school district has 6,000 students with personal laptops, five years of successful research-based practice to share and outstanding presenters, he's finding it difficult to attract American educators.

While I realize that it is growing increasingly difficult for professional educators to leave their school buildings for any reason, travel to another country - even when that country is just across the border from Burlington, Vermont is nearly impossible. This conference is being held a similar distance to Burlington, Vermont as White Plains is to New York City. None of that matters though. Most US school districts will not allow travel to scary non-American places like the largest English-speaking school district in Québec. (perhaps this is just our fear of accent marks)

I was inspired to compose this article by an email I received from an Australian educator asking if I could recommend some outstanding schools for her to visit in New York. I receive similar emails from educators around the world on a regular basis. The worst part of these requests is that it is often difficult to identify schools I would recommend visiting.

Nevertheless, this Vice Principal, like so many other correspondents are being sent all-expenses paid overseas (a much greater distance than Burlington to Orford, Québec) in order to visit schools and observe practices that might enhance their own schools back home.

Imagine that - spending a few thousand dollars to buy a plane ticket, feed and house an educator on a mission to learn more about education! These educators won't have to take a sick day to attend a conference or pay their sub's medical benefits either. The school actually invests in them and treats them like adult professionals.

Please suspend your disbelief. This actually happens - mostly in other countries who think there are lessons to be learned outside of their neighborhood.

American public education's fear of flying seems all the more pathetic when it accompanies the endless raving about foreign competitiveness and "learning in a global society."

Perhaps Seymour Papert said it best, "When we call them a developing country, does it mean that we stopped?"