BRIDGE will support the travel of delegations of students and teachers from the overseas schools to the United States for a program primarily in their partner schools and communities. The initial target is four students and one teacher from each school. The minimum stay in the U.S. is three weeks; where the partner schools agree, longer stays are possible. Exchanges will live with U.S. host families, attend school, and participate in extracurricular activities to learn about the daily life of American youth. They will also participate in activities designed to teach them about community life, citizen participation in a democracy, the diversity of American culture, and issues related to their thematic projects. Exchanges will have opportunities to give presentations on their countries and cultures in schools and community forums.
Participants will receive at least one pre-departure
orientation and an arrival orientation session in their host community.
iEARN will organise a pre-departure program for the participating students, host families, and educators in conjunction with the American embassy. Orientation information will also be
supplemented through iEARN’s web site and interactive forums. The pre-departure
program will include information about: the goals and objectives of the program; general
information for international travel (visas, passports, customs, security, etc.); general
and specific information about the United States (history, geography, educational system,
justice system and laws, religion, , daily life, etc.); and appropriate school dress,
school regulations, and conduct.
During the
pre-departure orientations, iEARN will carefully match exchange youth with U.S. students
and families for the home-stays, so that paired students and families may interact online
before the actual exchange. iEARN will be sensitive to gender issues, such as matching
all-girls schools with like schools in the U.S., where possible, and ensuring that girls
are not placed in families with teenage boys. Following the arrival of the exchangees in
the U.S., the host school will conduct a welcome orientation for the participants. There
will be both formal and informal welcome receptions for the guests and their host
families, and a formal school orientation by the administrators and educators involved in
the program. Although exchangees will generally see each other every day, the exchange
students will meet with the educator at least once per week to discuss issues of culture
shock, confusion about customs, and other issues. This "ongoing orientation"
will be important in ensuring that the students feel comfortable in their new homes and
schools and that potential issues are resolved as soon as possible in a supportive
environment.
The U.S. school
will arrange for home-stays, offer classroom time for the visitors, and organize a group
community action project, group cultural activities, and meetings with municipal and
regional professionals. The BRIDGE educators will “shadow” their hosts, as U.S.
educators share their expertise successfully implementing environmental curriculum in the
classroom, while team-teaching high school classes. Educators will have the opportunity to
speak about current events and education issues in their respective countries. The
visiting educators will also examine how the U.S. educational system, through the school
board, Parent-Teacher Association, and a student council, partner with local nonprofits
and businesses to support education.
Because iEARN projects are designed to be action-oriented, community-based projects, host schools will be encouraged to propose a community service-learning activity related the thematic issue they have chosen. Additional program elements, such as a visit to the state capital or participation in regional or national meetings and seminars that relate to thematic issues, are also welcome. iEARN will make efforts to have exchange participants on the East Coast meet with officials in Washington D.C. to discuss their programs. Examples of past activities by iEARN youth include: writing to elected officials about local environmental policy decisions; launching a grassroots campaign to raise funds, providing classes for orphans; raising public awareness of children with disabilities; and publishing poems to use as tools to initiate collaborative dialogue. Participants will share their project ideas and results through the BRIDGE forum, where they will receive feedback from schools worldwide.
BRIDGE-3 Student Selection for the Year 2005-2006
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