Summer Exploration – Traveling to Germany with TOP

As a teacher, one of the elements that I love most about my profession is when I can make the subjects I am teaching come to life for my students. This summer I have been given the unique opportunity to travel to Germany through the Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) to experience contemporary Germany and immerse myself in the subjects I teach. With my fellow 13 TOP 3 teacher travelers from around the United States, I will be exploring the history and contemporary culture in the cities of Göttengin, Giesa, Leipzig and Berlin. After the initial shock of being accepted to be a part of this profession changing experience, I began to envision what I hoped to gain from this trip. The TOP program via the Goethe Institut has provided a variety of unique and extensive learning opportunities including traveling to the Friedland refugee camp, visiting the International Tracing Services, observing and interacting with students in German schools, traveling to the US-General Consulate of Leipzig and tracing the history of the cold war through tours of the Berlin wall – just to name a few. Perhaps the features of this trip I am most looking forward to are the connections with my educator colleagues, as well as the individuals I will meet along the way. I believe that one of the most important gifts we can give to our students is to provide them with the personal experiences of those who were eye witnesses to historical events of the past. I know that the collaborative opportunities and ideas created during this trip will truly impact my classroom and lead my students to be global thinkers. I also want to note that 2019 is a special year for the country of Germany as it marks the 30th anniversary of German unification. Throughout my posts you may hear me refer to Wunderbar Together, Celebrating the Year of German-American Friendship, this connects directly with the anniversary of German unification. I also want to take time to thank the organizations that helped to make this trip possible for all of the teachers that I traveled with: German Federal Foreign Office, Goethe Institut, Bundesverband Der Deutschen Industrie e.V., Siemens, Robert Bosch Stiftung and Deutsche Bank. Now pack your bags because we are headed to Germany!

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