Three area teachers returned from Turkey this month after a two-week ‘study tour’ of the country.  The Peoria Area World Affairs Council worked with the Turkish Cultural Foundation to send the educators abroad.  Angela Weck is Executive Director of the Council.  She says the teachers will craft student lesson plans about their experiences visiting Turkish historical and art centers:

“Having it be natural that we know something about the world is very natural to our mission,” Weck says.

“So when these teachers come back, we want them to plug in what they’ve learned abroad wherever they can.  So not necessarily to craft a special course, but to plug-in what they’ve learned in Turkey into their history class, or into their art or math class.”

Weck says Turkey’s growing economic and political importance makes it worth having local educators learn and share about the country.  The teachers are from Eureka High School, Metamora Township High School and John A. Logan College.  Weck says they also visited Turkish schools and learned about the nation’s education system.  The teachers share their findings at a November community event exploring the relationship between the U.S. and Turkey.