E D U C AT I O N
Golden Opportunities
90 YEARS OF THE WALTER HINES
PAGE SCHOLARSHIPS
WORDS MARY GREER
Since 1924, UK teachers have
travelled to America to exchange ideas,
and share learning with colleagues
across the Atlantic. It took the first
Walter Hines Page Scholars as long as
two weeks by steam liner and train to
reach their destination, whilst in recent
years scholars have taken in as many
as five states and a dozen schools in
the same time. In partnership with our
friends in New York at ESU-US, scholars
take up generous offers of hospitality
from branches in every corner of the
country. The view of America from a
motel room can never quite match up
to the view from the homes and local
communities of ESU members who have
a passion for education.
90 years on, the opportunity for a
teacher to research and explore an issue
that is important to their own career,
classroom or school community remains
a unique one. In the current educational
landscape, the demands on teachers’
time show no sign of letting up. With
the support of UK teaching unions, the
ESU gives professionals from across the
country the chance to take two weeks
out of a busy term to explore a research
topic of their choosing through a tour
of America. This year’s scholars are
planning itineraries that focus on a
diverse range of topics from the status of
supply teachers, and global citizenship
in elementary schools, to pupil referral
units, and life-long learning.
Looking back at the last few years,
scholars have taken very different things
away from their tours and research.
Teachers such as Sheila Cook, have
focused on a challenge specific to
their own school context. Working at a
small secondary school on the edge of
Northumberland National Park, Sheila
was interested in how teaching enterprise
could help revitalise a rural community,
and enable young people to stay in their
local area. Visiting high schools and
educational organisations in Oregon,
Kansas, and Missouri, Sheila shared her
mission and practice with American
colleagues, whilst taking inspiration from
their own teaching and perspective.
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