USA STUDY TOURS
2008
There will be a study tour to
New York & Washington DC in May/ June 2008
This tour will take place between 28 May and 8 June and will be organised as part of the US Government's International Visitor Leadership Program. It is supported by a generous grant from the UK Embassy of the USA as well as from TEAM.
The tour will include 4 nights in New York and 6 nights in Washington DC. The group will visit most of the following: the UN, the State Department, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the Supreme Court, the Pentagon, Congress, a State Legislature and a Senior High School. The tour will include presentations and Q & A sessions on most of the following: the US system of government (federalism, the executive, the legislature, the supreme court; and the roles played by the media, lobbyists, business and other opinion formers in US policy) and the political and cultural links between the US and the UK.
Sixth Form Teachers/lecturers in Government & Politics, History, Economics, Business Studies, Citizenship or other subjects where such a study tour would inform and develop the participant's teaching will be eligible for bursaries. Bursaries or subsidies will be for £700 towards the cost of £1075 (for those in shared accommodation) and £1525 (in single accommodation).
The cost will be £375 for those awarded bursaries and choosing shared accommodation
There are 14 places available and applications to join the tour must be made by 29 February. Applications for bursaries should be made on the form at the foot of this page and sent to the address indicated
Information about the last US study tour may be found under recent events
Please click here to download a bursary application form
Please click here to download a study tour application form
Bursaries sponsored by
2007
A Study Tour to the USA took place in May/June 2007
The group of 12 teachers/lecturers spent the week 26 May to 02 June at Jamestown and Washington DC under the International Visitor Leadership Program of the United States Department of State.
They visited Williamsburg, Yorktown and Jamestown (for the 400th Centenary celebrations). They were guests of the US Navy and NATO at Norfolk, Virginia before transferring to Washington DC.
In Washington they followed a program coordinated with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State.
There were presentations and visits on Federalism, US -UK relations, the role of lobbyists, US-Europe relations and US public opinion at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Heritage Foundation, the Fourth Estate at Politico, a media organisation and a discussion of the US -UK Fulbright Teachers Exchange Program.
The group also visited Woodrow Wilson Senior High School and discussed the International Studies Program with teachers and students.
At the Supreme Court they were addressed by a Fellow of the Court, at the House of Representatives by a staff member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and at the Delegation of the European Commission by a member of the Press Section. The group took part in lively Q & A sessions and also participated in home hospitality, and in cultural and sporting activities.
The 12 teachers/lecturers were supported financially by generous bursaries from the Financial Times and the UK Embassy of the USA.
A report on the visit to the USA in May 2007 by AEY from QEGS
All but one of the twelve members of the party were teachers or retired head teachers – or ‘educators’ as we are known in the United States – involved in teaching history, government and politics, or geography at 6th Form level. The visit was sponsored by the US Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs as part of their International Visitor Leadership Program, and partly financed by the Financial Times and the United States Embassy in London. Dr Hempsall also kindly agreed that QEGS should provide a financial contribution.
JAMESTOWN
The purpose of the visit was to deepen and broaden the participants’ knowledge and understanding of US politics, government and culture. Never having travelled to the Americas I leapt at the opportunity! A fascinating, but hectic, programme on the east coast was arranged for the group, beginning with two days in Virginia. Here we began as tourists, exploring the earliest English colony at Jamestown. This year is its 400th anniversary; had we been there two weeks earlier we would have shared the experience with Her Majesty the Queen. Jamestown was established amidst swamps on the banks of the James River. Although little remains at the original site, the fragments of the colony are carefully preserved. A ‘living history’ reconstruction, known as Jamestown Settlement, has been opened nearby, including faithful replicas of settlers’ homes, an American Indian camp, and three magnificent sailing ships. ‘Interpreters’ in period costume are on hand to chat with visitors and guide them around the site. On a much grander scale the nearby town of Williamsburg has a preserved ‘colonial’ quarter consisting of homes, shops, restaurants, and civic buildings, again with suitably clad interpreters. We enjoyed a meal in the King’s Arms tavern, served by a young man in 17th century costume who did his best to address us in 17th century colonial English and serve 17th century style delicacies – but the bill was in 21st century dollars! Although some of the party thought the living history format somewhat crass, I enjoyed it immensely. We can thank the Rockefeller family for funding the project some eighty years ago; without Colonial Williamsburg as a model I wonder whether England’s excellent and highly successful Ironbridge or Beamish heritage sites would have been established? The final historical site that we inspected was Yorktown, celebrated as the location where, in the war of 1776-83, the English were defeated and independence was won. As a personal act of forgiveness I bought the T-shirt celebrating the end of English rule in the US.
US NAVY & NATO
The formal visits began with a tour of the Naval Station at Norfolk, Virginia. The base occupies a massive site, and a large proportion of the world’s largest aircraft carriers, destroyers, frigates and amphibious assault ships were lined up on the James River estuary. It also contains one of the busiest airfields in the country. One of the naval personnel served ably as tour guide on our coach, engulfing us with statistics and history. We particularly admired the splendid avenue lined with the mansions of each state’s Rear Admiral, every building vying to outclass its neighbour. Of course, these mansions look out over a golf course. We enjoyed lunch at the Breezy Point Officers’ Club. Close to the naval base is the US headquarters of NATO. Here, Colonel Iron of the UK Army outlined the work of NATO and commented on its changing role in world conflicts. After a lengthy drive through miles of mixed forest – whose trees seemed half as big again as any we see in Britain - we arrived in Washington DC. On a sunny, cloudless evening we toured some of the city’s sights. So many of the places in the news each day are in Washington, and in a short time we were able to inspect the White House (its infamous West Wing modestly concealed by trees ); the Pentagon, the Capitol, the Library of Congress, the National Archives, the Vietnam War Memorial and some of the Smithsonian museums. Amidst the classical elegance of so many of these buildings, the futuristic FBI, World Bank and International Monetary Fund premises seemed inconspicuous. As the sun set and floodlights were illuminated, the Jefferson, Lincoln and Washington Memorials looked splendid.
LECTURES & VISITS
The next three days were devoted to meeting people with influence and well-informed insights into American government and world affairs. Dr Jeremy Mayer of George Mason University lectured on the workings of American federalism, making sense of some of the twists and turns in the selection and appointment of Presidents. At the Department of State our path did not cross that of Condoleezza Rice, who had set off for the G8 summit in Europe, but we were privileged to enter the ‘nerve centre’ where world news media (including Reuters, CNN and BBC) are constantly monitored for events and developments, and staff must decide what is significant enough to convey to Dr Rice. The elderly avocado-coloured telephone through which space shuttle personnel are contacted was a particular point of interest, surrounded by all manner of hi-tech facilities. Paul Miller, President of the American League of Lobbyists, explained how he and his colleagues provide information and advice for those Americans who wish to ‘petition the government for redress of grievances’.
VISITS & LECTURES
The following morning, Reginald Dale, a distinguished British journalist who has worked for the Financial Times and International Herald Tribune, gave a refreshingly clear and level-headed analysis of why Europeans ‘do news’ better than the Americans, and why many US citizens are ill-informed about the wider world. He despaired of the American addiction to Fox television news, providing an American amalgam of the Sun, Daily Mirror and News of the World, when compared with the excellence and broader vision of BBC’s coverage. At the Heritage Foundation’s Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom we were treated to a conservative view of world events – and a delicious and unexpected light lunch! I helped myself to a copy of their publication The Insider to study the lead article on how humans aren’t responsible for global warming. President Bush is now possibly viewed as a rampant environmentalist in the eyes of the Heritage Foundation. Our next port of call was the office of Politico, a newspaper founded in January 2007, which seeks to provide coverage of the politics of Capitol Hill, the presidential campaign, and the business of Washington lobbying ‘with enterprise, style, and impact’. Our final visit of the day was to the offices of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program whose officers explained the benefits of participating in the scheme.
MEETING THE PEOPLE
The organizers of the trip had thoughtfully arranged for each participant to spend an evening with a local family. Two of us were driven to a house in the leafy outer suburbs and entertained with stimulating conversation and delicious food, served in the garden. The evening was warm and sunny, and there were fireflies darting around to provide subtropical entertainment.
A US SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
The final day’s programme was even more crowded with activity. We arrived bright and early at the Woodrow Wilson Senior High, the largest comprehensive public (i.e. maintained) school in Washington DC which is known for its academic excellence and its ethnic and economic diversity. Its students are drawn from over eighty countries. Although known as ‘the white school’, under 25% of the students fit this description. After our initial bewilderment at the sign at the entrance (proclaiming that we were entering a ‘Peaceable School Zone: Help keep our students safe and drug free’) and the most stringent security measures at the entrance, we found the school to have a dignified yet relaxed atmosphere. We spent a lesson with some 16 year olds and their geography teacher, then a 17 year olds’ history lesson. This group was studying the Cold War, and we joined them in singing along with Billy Joel’s rock classic We didn’t start the Fire which catalogues 120 historical references to the 40 years up to 1989. This was immense fun, and I’ve played this repeatedly on my car stereo ever since! Despite its excellent reputation the school is not generously funded, as seen in the lack of air conditioning and the grim corridors in need of redecoration. I enjoyed the opportunity simply to talk with three of the students for a short time. Each visitor was presented with an XXL Wilson Tigers T-shirt, celebrating their soccer team.
CULTURE AND GOVERNMENT
The Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian was our next venue. Opened in 2004 its building is highly distinctive in golden stone, with informal curves and overhangs – a contrast to the ubiquitous classical style of the city’s public buildings. Apparently the building has no corners as American Indians believed that evil spirits would lurk in them. The restaurant offers meals based on the diet of the different Indian provinces: I enjoyed Northern Woodlands fare in which maple syrup was the dominant ingredient. A busy afternoon took us first to the Supreme Court, a classical building with a stunning interior of marble and wood panelling, where we were given insights into the complex workings of the institution. This was followed by an hour with a staff member of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, and finally we moved on to the E.U. Delegation, where the Deputy Press Secretary answered questions on the relationship between the U.S. and the E.U.
A VISITOR IN WASHINGTON
The geographer in me insisted that I spend every spare minute exploring Washington. Each morning I managed a couple of miles’ walking around the city streets before breakfast at a French style bakery. After the formalities of the day I took advantage of the new metro system to see as many of the sights on the tourist itinerary as I could and to explore the shopping malls, street markets, and ‘edge city’: this is the amorphous sprawl of outer suburbs that now characterizes American cities. The final Saturday was ours to spend as we wished, and I continued my travels, still in the tropical temperatures and slaking my thirst with iced tea – which, after Diet Coke, appears to be the favourite beverage on offer these days. Having almost exhausted myself, I joined the others on our coach to the airport. We had promised ourselves a really good farewell supper at Dulles Airport before our 11 pm departure; but the world’s most futuristic airport shuts its food outlets long before that time, so we had to look forward instead to the in-flight economy class catering.
The week was excellent in every way. It provided insights into the history and governance of America, and its role as the world’s most powerful nation. There was ample opportunity to be a tourist, to meet American young people, and to relax with a family. It also substantially increased my geographical knowledge of one small corner of the United States.
AEY 5/7/05
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