Teacher Study Tour
The Consortium for South Asian Studies, in conjunction with World View, offered a study tour to India for K-16 teachers in Spring 2010. Please check back for more information about upcoming tours.
See below for information about our recent teacher study tour to India this Spring. This should give an outline of the structure of future trips. For more specific questions please e-mail NCCSAS Outreach Coordinator Alicia Jones (alicia.jones@duke.edu). For more information about World View, visit their website at: http://www.unc.edu/world/
2010 Study Tour to India
The goal of the study visit is to help key educators become leaders for global education by looking beyond the borders of North Carolina and experiencing a culture, country, and people different from their everyday lives. Educators will learn more about India's education system while exploring significant cultural and historical sites. World View Study Visits are intended to be a unique and challenging professional development opportunity. They are not your typical tourist trips! Before the study visit, participants are required to attend a day-and-a-half seminar on South Asia and following the study visit participants come back together for a follow-up workshop participants will gain the confidence to add more global content to their teaching and help their schools become more global in focus.
Please view pictures from our Spring 2010 Tour to India below.
Past Participant Comments
"India, seen through an American lens, is a country of vast historical resources. The Indian people can be proud to open their historical sites for the world to see, study, and enjoy. India is also an example to all nations of how many religions can coexist and people of many faiths can live in one society. Despite its long history, India remains a developing country. There are deep issues with population density, poverty, and pollution. As an American, the contrast between the wealthy and the poor seems appalling. Education and economic development are the hopes for India’s future in bridging the wealth divide. For me, the trip held amazement, revelation, sorrow, and a deep appreciation for the United States of America. I think it is important to recognize that India’s goals should not be to become another America, but to become a better India. We send our sincere gratitude to the India people that we met throughout our trip. Their hospitality and kindness was touching and inspirational. " -- Community College Educator
Study Tour Itinerary
Highlights of the itinerary include the following: Delhi, where participants will explore old Delhi's sites including the Red Fort, built in red sandstone in 1648, followed by India's largest Mosque, the Jama Masjid. We will continue down the imperial avenue of Chandi Chowk, and also see the Raj Ghat, which is the site of Mahatma Gandhi's cremation and Shakti Sthal, the cremation spot of Indira Ghandi. In New Delhi we will visit the Jantar Mantar, Lakshmi Narayan Temple, a large Hindu temple where people of all faiths can worship, Qutub Minar, and Bahai's House of Worship, also known as "The Lotus Temple". We will travel by bus to Agra. What trip to India would be complete without a visit to the brilliant Taj Mahal? We will visit this magnificent wonder of the modern world, followed by a visit to the Agra Fort, created by Mughal emperors. The group will then travel by train to Kolkata to visit schools and a university, meet with educators, and tour the Victoria Memorial Hall and Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity.
A Special Note about Traveling in India
Traveling to India in the summer poses certain risks and special considerations. The trip will be both physically and emotionally challenging. The group will travel through various regions in India by air, train, and bus, staying an average of only two to three days in each location; there will be a great deal of walking. India in the summer is hot, hot, hot and temperatures can frequently exceed 100 degrees Farhrenheit. Although we will have air conditioned hotels and bus, most of the cultural and historical sites and schools will not be air conditioned. In order to participate in the study visit you must be in good general health. No immunizations are currently required for travel to India, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended that travelers to India read and follow the vaccination and preventative medication guidelines available online at www.cdc.gov/travel//indianrg.thm. In addition, the CDC recommends that travelers to are up to date on all routine immunizations. Please check with your medical provider or World View if you have questions or concerns. A good deal of flexibility is also necessary for travel in India. Expect the unexpected. A sense of humor will go a long way!
Study Tour Eligibility
The ideal candidate is an educator who is committed to global education and to increasing the opportunities for adding global content and activities to their school. World View considers international travel to be an essential aspect of being well-educated in the 21st Century and seeks candidates who have not had an opportunity for international travel. Thus, World View's study visit to India is open to any full-time educator, yet priority will be given to educators who are part of one of World View's partner schools, school systems, or colleges. Secondary priority will be given to educators who have not traveled internationally in the past. Participants of the past World View study visits may submit and application, but will be placed on a wait list.
Cost
The cost of the 12-day visit to India is $3,500. This includes round trip airfare from Raleigh-Durham International Airport, air and land transport within India per our itinerary, hotel accommodations (double occupancy) in 3 star or better hotels, a possible home stay with an Indian family, entrance fees to cultural and historical sites, services of a local guide, some meals per our itinerary, supplemental health insurance, and briefing materials. NOT INCLUDED are some meals, passport and visa fees, trip cancellation insurance, transport to and from the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, gratuities to tour guides, drivers, and hotel personnel, personal beverages, and other personal incidental expenses. Additionally registration, travel, and accommodations for the South Asia seminar, and travel and accommodations for the follow-up workshop are not included. (There is a single supplement charge of $385 if you would like a single room during the study visit for the hotel stays).
Conditions of Participation
1) All participants of the World View Study Visit to India must be full-time educators and have a willingness to become leaders for the global education in their classrooms, schools, community colleges, or school systems.
2) All participants must be in good physical health and be able to walk several miles and carry their own luggage.
3) All participants must be U.S. citizens, with passports valid at least 6 months after the return date of the study visit.
4) All participants are required to read all materials provided by World View in preparation or follow-up to this study visit and will be required to take part in all of the scheduled group activities while traveling.
5) All participants must assume responsibility for obtaining and bearing the costs of obtaining immunizations, passports, visas, and other ttravel-related documents. World View will supply helpful information to assist with the necessary documentation.
6) All participants must submit a photocopy of the first page of their passport.
7) All participants must read and sign the "Participant Agreement, Release, and Consent for Medical Treatment" form attached to this application.
8) All selected participants must adhere to the payment/registration schedule.
9) All participants must register and participate in the March seminar on South Asia. The seminar will be held in Chapel Hill and you are responsible for your own registration, transportation, and lodging costs.
10) All participants are required to take part in a one-day post-trip follow-up workshop in (date to be determined). There is not registration fee for this program; however you are responsible for your own transportation and lodging costs.
11) All participants will be required to complete and submit and Action Plan based on personal educational goals and objectives for the study visit. These Action Plan will be posted on World View's website.