Free Press and U.S. History through Art, Institute for Training and Development in Amherst, Massachusetts

The Study of the U.S. Institutions for Secondary Educators program was a unique and enriching experience. First, because it combined theoretical with practical knowledge. Every morning and afternoon, we attended classes about American history, sociology, politics, education, and art from experts in their field. On the weekends, we travelled to different cities of historical or geographical significance to experience the sights, the museums, and the landscape. So, the program offered us an exciting and holistic experience of what American culture and everyday life were like.

The main theme of the program was the American Dream. We approached this idea, which has motivated waves of immigrants from all over the world to come to the U.S., with curiosity but also with a lot of caution. We were exposed to its origins, the different forms it took during the years, and its consequences today. We were encouraged not only to investigate it but also to criticize it. And that honesty and openness of the ITD people to reveal to us not only the bright side but also to the dark areas of their culture with a lot of self-criticism and without any fears or inhibitions, was what I am most grateful for.

The second major gain of this experience was the fact that the program was designed with the aim for us to learn things not only from the lectures and the site visits but also from the other participants. It was such an incredible gift for me to live, study and travel together with people from twenty different countries. We had amazing discussions, exchanged our experiences in education, our ideas about politics, sang together, and danced each other’s dances; we laughed at the same jokes and cried at each other’s sad stories. We realized that joy, sorrow, pain, and love are more universal than we thought, and we created these special moments when we touched each other’s hearts, which we will share and treasure forever.