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Furnace Woods ELL Teacher Learns Through Travel

MONTROSE, N.Y. – Unlike grammar, cultural understanding doesn’t come with a handbook and is best understood through firsthand experience. Gretchen Flintosh, a Furnace Woods Elementary teacher, was the recipient of a highly competitive Fulbright Grant to visit India for the entire summer and is taking the experience right back to her English Language Learners classroom.

“The time that I spent in India this summer was unparalleled to any other trip I have taken,” said Flintosh. “On a multitude of levels, India is filled with beautiful complexities and paradoxes that one needs to experience firsthand in order to understand.”

Adam J. Grotsky, executive director of the United States India Educational Foundation, said the aim of the program was to give the group a taste of Indian art, culture and heritage. He said the group also wanted to provide "a direct understanding of the challenges and remarkable ways of the education system in India.”

The Fulbright, which is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, focuses on providing short term grants for U.S. educators in social sciences and humanities to improve their understanding of people and other cultures. According to the 2000 U.S. Census of 2000, about 17 percent of people five-years-old and older living in the 10567 zip code, speak a language other than English at home.

“When Gretchen received notification of her Fulbright Scholarship last spring, she realized a life-long dream,” said Alice Gottlieb, assistant superintendent. “In addition, as a teacher of our English Language Learners, the more exposure she has to the many cultures of her students, the more effective she can be.”

The group was brought to eight different Indian cities, including Shimla, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, Maduai, Chennai, Bhubneswar, Kolkata, Vatanasi and Agra. The group visited various schools, colleges, museums, rural areas, and NGOs. For more information on USIEF’s initiatives visit its website or email manu@usief.org.in.

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