Eastern German Teachers Visitors Program
Ambassador William R. Timken, Jr.

Leipzig, July 17, 2007

 

As prepared for delivery.

 

 

Welcome to everyone.  Thanks for coming. 

 

Today we would like to talk with you about our exchange program for Eastern German Teachers.  The program was developed by the Embassy in 2003 but it is a private-public partnership.  That means we have joined with the private sector to pursue a common goal – and that is to give teachers from the five new Federal States first-hand information about the educational system, government, culture and history of the United States.  We have had significant success so far – and we want to build on that success.  To do that, we need the continued support of the private sector.

 

This is how the program works. We send teachers to the U.S. for a two week visit.  They spend one week in Washington.  The second week is hands on.  Each teacher stays with an American host family and works with teachers at a local high school.  The schools are selected with the assistance of the “American Association of Teachers of German.” They can be located anywhere in the United States.  So far, some 58 eastern German teachers have traveled on this program.  The teachers have been hosted in 19 different U.S. states. The U.S. Embassy raised over $163,000 to make that travel possible.  

 

Those are the facts.  That’s what Sue and I learned about the program at an Embassy briefing shortly after we arrived in Germany in August 2005.  But it was in Dresden in October 2005 that we learned just how valuable this program is.  We sat down to lunch with six teachers who had participated in the program.  They explained to us how much the trip to the United States meant to them both personally and professionally.  We knew right then and there that this program was worth supporting.  The teachers travel as individuals but, in terms of the impact of their visit, it is as though they bring along their whole school.  This program is truly an example of how exchanges can touch whole communities.   Considering the many people teachers are in contact with every day, we estimate that this program has already impacted over 10.000 people on both sides of the Atlantic.  This program creates a network of connections that has already created significant multiplier effects.  There is potential for more.    

 

Before going any further, I would like to introduce two teachers from this region who participated in the program, Ms. Renate Dorn and Ms. Jeannine Kämpfer (pron.: KEMP-fer).  They will describe what this program has meant to them and to their schools.  They convinced me about the value of this program.  I am sure they will convince you too.

 

[Presentations by teachers]

The most important element of the Eastern German Teachers Visitors Program is the “multiplier effect.”  It has an enormous potential to deepen and broaden what is often a superficial knowledge of America among young people. 

 

Returning teachers have told us that the trip “energized” their teaching.  It changed their attitude on teaching about the U.S.  The expertise they gained gave them a new confidence.  It equipped them to deal with stereotypes, misconceptions, and biases from the students as well as from their fellow colleagues.  They came back convinced of the relevance of teaching about the U.S.   They found that their enthusiasm -- what one teacher described as the “I-can-do-it bug” -- was contagious.  

 

We have also seen relationships between German and American teachers and their schools develop and grow, resulting in an ongoing exchange of ideas and teaching materials.  Some of the past participants have welcomed their American host teachers to their own classrooms in Germany, in some cases building a classroom-to-classroom exchange program that will continue for years.  Others have established on-line connections between their American and German classes, putting the students in contact with each other over the Internet.  All participants have shared their experiences with their colleagues, including sharing new ideas about lesson content and curriculum that they observed in the United States.  So it isn’t only the participants’ own students who benefit from this experience, it’s also students in other classes.  This reinforces something that we’ve known for a long time: when it comes to multiplier effects, the most effective multipliers we can send on an exchange program are teachers.

 

I think you’ve heard enough about the good this program has done in the five new Federal States.  Let’s talk now about how this program is funded.  It is a true public-private partnership.  The U.S. Government takes care of all of the program logistics, including the Washington program elements, family placements and school matchings, as well as all administrative and overhead costs.  One hundred percent of private contributions go to cover the actual airfares, lodging and food costs of the participating teachers

 

As I said before, some 58 eastern German teachers have traveled on this program.  We now intend to send two new groups of 10 teachers each, to travel in the spring and fall of 2008.  We estimate the cost of each of these group programs at 35,000 euros, or a total of 70,000 euros for both groups.

 

The teachers will come from the eastern federal states Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, Brandenburg and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.  They will be East German-born.  For the most part, they will be teachers of English or the social sciences.  Embassy and Consulate staff will select the participants.  We have a network in place for a broad, fair recruitment process because of our work with school systems throughout the region on programs for students and in-service training for teachers.  Companies are not involved in the selection process. 

 

We’ve asked you here today as a representative of your company to consider contributing to this program.  I can’t think of any cause that’s greater than helping the youth of today to become capable, contributing citizens of tomorrow.  Teachers are crucial transmitters not just of the necessary language skills, but also the attitudes that open up the enormous opportunities this world offers to their students. 

 

As some of you might know, I myself come from a business background.  I know that companies come at exchange experiences from a very different perspective than government does, but I think we have a lot of interests in common.  One thing is certain: the solutions to the challenges of the 21st century are not going to be met by government alone.  A close partnership between government and the private sector is essential.  By the same token, in the bilateral relationship, individual citizens, businesses and organizations bind our countries together with a strong network of economic, cultural, and institutional ties.   That is what our German-American partnership is all about, a “partnership in leadership,” as former President Bush described it at the close of the Cold War.  In looking back on his presidency, President Bush Senior also said, “Helping Eastern Germany to be democratic and free, thus liberating the productive powers of its people, was one of my greatest privileges." 

 

The Eastern German Teachers Visitors Program is an extension of those sentiments.

 

Based on our experience over the last two years, Sue and I have learned that exchanges are one of the most effective public diplomacy tools we have.  Everybody that we talk with who has participated in an exchange says the same thing -- that their lives were changed forever.  The bonds that have been created have proved to be incredibly productive.  Let’s work together to extend those bonds.  It’s in all of our interests.

 

Before we close today, I would like to open the discussion up to questions for either myself or for the teachers. 

 

In closing, I’d like to thank everyone for coming today and for your attention.  We will follow up with each of you in the coming weeks to discuss your company’s participation.