Travel Opportunities for Teachers!

Monument in Gettysburg National Park

As we know, teaching can be hard. You give your time, your focus, and your energy to your students all year long, and often there are not many immediate rewards. One major benefit of being an educator, however, is the opportunity to travel and gain professional development during the summers. Many of these programs are free or come at a nominal cost for educators.

I have gone on several trips through a TAH grant program I was a part of for four years, as well as through the Gilder Lehrman Institute for American History. 

Our GLI group at Gettysburg College

Train station where Lincoln came in to give his Gettysburg speech

The GLI summer seminar I attended was at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. It was wonderful to meet teachers from all over the country, get the chance to work together, and to learn from an expert in the field. I came back from the week-long seminar feeling excited about teaching about the material I learned, and invigorated as a teacher!

Location of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in the cemetery

                                                                                                 

It is inspiring to meet other teachers from other states, and hear about their challenges and successes. It also helped me feel less isolated in my little school, in a little district, in Southern California. 

The deadline for the Gilder Lehrman seminars is February 15, 2013, but I advise applying early. Everything is done online, and it only requires your personal information and a 500 or less word essay stating your goals for the seminar. 

Bust of Lincoln at the Gettysburg Cemetery

The seminars are located all around the United States and a few are in England. I applied for The Age of Lincoln seminar at Oxford, UK for the summer of 2013. I will be thrilled if I get it!

I have never been on a National Endowment for the Humanities seminar, but I have heard great things about it. They have seminars and institutes all over the world! This application takes a little more time, as it requires cover sheets from the site, a resume, a 1-4 page essay, and 2 letters of recommendation, but the travel stipend is generous. The deadline for the application is March 4, 2013.

Let me know if you apply for any of the trips, or if you know of other programs for teachers!