THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD grew out of the experiences of its predecessor-THE NEW YORK STATE CAPITAL DISTRICT EDUCATORS FOR DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA which itself sprung from the efforts of CHATHAM EDUCATORS FOR DEMOCRACY IN RUSSIA. Both of these groups were informal organizations of educators, students and business people who wished to make a difference and to experience the culture and life of Russia. The name of the group changed because more and more of the participants joining the bi-annual exchanges were from beyond the boundaries of the Chatham area where the project originated.
In 1993 Dr. Lisa Kuhmerker of Harvard University and Hunter College asked John Mc Gurgan of the Mary E. Dardess Elementary School in Chatham, New York to join her in making a presentation at the International Conference on Contemporary Education organized in Moscow, Russia by Professor Tatyana V. Tsyrlina of the Kursk State University.
As author of FREE TO TEACH; FREE TO LEARN-THE BIG BOOK OF IDEAS a work-text for teaching young children about democracy, Dr. Kuhmerker had been working with Mr. McGurgan and the staff of the MED school where her book was in use. She wished to present the theoretical basis for her book while Mr. McGurgan would describe the practical issues of democracy in an American school.
Three hundred educators from all over Russia and from several European countries and the U.S. participated in this unique gathering in a land just recently freed from its totalitarian regime. Many of the participants expressed interest in continuing the exchange of ideas and offered their schools as participants in future plans. Two schools in particular provided immediate opportunities for continued dialogue: Kozhukovo School in the southern port district of Moscow and the Yoshkar-Ola School in the Autonomous Republic of Mari-El east of Moscow.
Upon return to Chatham, John McGurgan spoke to his staff and discovered great interest in an exchange. Plans took shape and the following year, 1994, a group of 25 Americans met with the Kozhukovo School staff in Moscow and subsequently divided up to spend a week with educators in Yoshkar-Ola, Perm and
Saint Petersburg.
Within six months of those visits, Russian educators from the schools above visited Chatham’s schools. A true exchange had begun.
Working to expand and facilitate the exchanges in Russia, Professor Tsyrlina used her wide web of interpersonal relationships with educators throughout the land. She met with political, educational and business leaders in order to create the workshops and conferences that would form the foundation of the visits for the Americans.
Over the intervening dozen years, more than 40 educators and business people from all over the U.S.A. took part in the intercultural and educational exchanges of this informal group that wished only to help Russians and Americans understand one another and work together for the benefit of children.
