TEACHERS AS STUDENTS: Three local teachers recently returned from a two-week visit to Turkey arranged through a Washington, D.C.-based organization, the Turkish Cultural Foundation. Its Teacher Study Tour program is organized in collaboration with the World Affairs Councils of America and its nationwide chapters.

Kim Young of Weston High School, David Byron of Newton Country Day School of the Sacred Heart, and Sotirios Pintzopoulos of North Reading High School were among 57 teachers selected nationwide for two trips supported by the international study grant.

As a followup to their trip, the Massachusetts teachers will work with WorldBoston, a nonprofit, nonpartisan affiliate of the World Affairs Councils of America, to develop lessons plans for their classrooms and events for the public.
In Turkey, they met with fellow teachers and students in order to learn about the Turkish educational system. Their stops included Darussafaka, a school for orphaned children, and Atakoy Ilkogretim Okulu, in the Turkish village of Karacasu, which is currently being supported by American teachers from previous study tours.

In Istanbul, the group toured Hagia Sophia, the Spice Bazaar, Topkapi Palace, and the Istanbul Archeological Museum. They also visited Bursa, the first capital city of the Ottoman Empire; Ephesus, where they toured the site of the Celsus Library built in 117 AD; the archeological excavation of Catalhoyuk, a 7,000-year-old Neolithic settlement that has been nominated for UNESCO’s World Heritage List; and the Cappadocia region, known for its landscapes and cave churches.

Since 2007, the foundation has introduced 348 American educators to the history, culture, and landmarks of Turkey. As part of the same program, nearly 2,500 teachers nationwide have attended educational workshops on Turkey held by local World Affairs Council chapters.