Future blogs will feature news about our 2009 exchange in Kursk and Kurchatov as well as updates on the progress of our  RUSSIAN-AMERICAN EDUCATION FORUM: An Online Journal.

It is good to be back at work. I look forward to hearing from all our readers and Amerus Exchange members both old and new.

Sincerely,

Jack Mc Gurgan

 I am happy to inform you that our “child”, our journal “Russian-American Education Forum” is finally online. Please check the following link: www.rus-ameeduforum.com  All the comments, which many of you made, are posted immediately after the articles.

This is to also say thank you to all of you who have worked so hard to help it happen. I truly appreciate your support and understanding, and patience.

I welcome your comments and suggestions, and also ideas of how to raise funds for next issues. Please, remember to advertise it to your students and colleagues; we need as many readers as possible to get. By the way, the web site has a capacity to tell us how many visitors we have had every day.

Thanks again, enjoy the journal, and I look forward to hearing from you very soon.

Yours,
Tatyana

Dr. Tatyana V. Tsyrlina-Spady,
Professor of Education,
Editor-in-Chief, Russian-American Education Forum: An Online Journal
Vice-president, Regional Open Social Institute,
Kursk, Russia

Natalia Sergeevna Kitsul, Principal
Rehabilitation Center for Children
and Youth with Health Disabilities
Kurchatov, Kursk Region, Russia

Letter from the President:

Dear Natalia Sergeevna,

 It is with great pleasure that I write to inform you that THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD has chosen you as the 2009 recipient of its Professor Lisa Kuhmerker Memorial, “Builder of Democracy” Award. In as much as you have labored for more than ten years to create a unique environment of learning in the City of Kurchatov, Russia; have assembled a remarkable staff dedicated to the complete development of each  student; have consistently struggled to provide your students with a wide range of learning opportunities; have striven to provide each child with skills that will assist him/her in building a life of liberty, happiness, and freedom from fear; have taught your students the importance and dignity of work; and have impressed upon the inhabitants of your city and region the value of each and every human life, THE AMERUS EXCHANGE wishes to recognize you.

It is with great respect that I present to you this award, created in honor of Professor Lisa Kuhmerker, a renowned teacher, a moral education leader of distinction, and a champion for the recognition and support of Russian educators who are dedicating their lives to the task of helping the children of Russia to build a wonderful future for themselves and their motherland.

I thank you for your commitment. A glorious task in one portion of the globe brightens the entire world. I know that Professor Lisa Kuhmerker had educators like you in mind when she suggested to me that our organization create a method for recognizing teachers and educational leaders who work to strengthen the principles and practices that build student involvement in the life of their nation.

On behalf of the members of the board, its representatives, and the citizen diplomats of THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD, I congratulate you, your noble staff, your wonderful students, the city government, and the citizens of Kurchatov on this recognition and thank you all for creating and supporting such a marvelous educational institution. 

With sincere wishes for many more remarkable years,

 John Mc Gurgan, President

Professor Shurkova speaks clearly about a problem facing Russian educators since the fall of Communism. Under the Soviet Union, the schools had a moral force that guided all their activities, Communist theory. Trained ideologues guided every school in all aspects of curriculum and activity. Parents were motivated by the party in a variety of ways to support the schools. Students had the motivation of party youth organizations and the pressures on their parents to conform, behave, and study. With the changes of the past twenty years, educators have seen their former moral authority dissolve along with the Communist philosophy. The search began to replace the highly organized structure of former times with a replacement. Will it be the Russian Orthodox Church? Will it be a Western view of Democracy? Will it be a philosophy and structure developed in Russia by Russian educators themselves? Professor Shurkova describes her hopes and those of other educators for an ideal leader/moral authority who, with true, Russian values and real, Russian solutions help rescue their schools. I feel that this article accurately describes the deep desire of Russian educators for a just, fair, kind, humane, ethical, and deeply intellectual future for their students.

  -Jack Mc Gurgan, retired teacher and principal of 43 years experience, President of THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD.

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Professor Shurkova’s prospective in her article comes as a surprise to me.  The last line, “I trust that there is only one thing which is truly difficult for a school principal and that is to stop being just an administrator” is untrue for any of the principals that I know.  A successful principal needs to be able to take care of the administrative portion of the job, but the focus should be on the students.  In order to increase student achievement in all areas; “manage” the day-to-day running of a school; ensure that the students’ and staff’s emotional well-being is considered and enhanced; and that the morale of all stakeholders is cultivated, a principal must use distributive leadership.  No one person can be all things to all people all the time.  Principals have to surround themselves with “superstars” and use the strengths of those people to help move the school ahead. 

 I agree with Professor Shurkova’s take on how a principal should “put these values into practice daily.”  A principal should be visible to the students and staff and also be approachable, friendly, and positive.  Greeting people as they enter the building, calling students by their names, remembering important events in the staff and students’ lives and referring to them, and most importantly, not being “scary” are all activities that I engage in each day, as do the other principals I know. 

It seems that there is a longing among principals in Russia to be given the opportunity to grow as leaders and to focus on the needs of the students, not just the buildings.  My hope is that they are given the professional development, time, and resources needed to achieve their goal.

-Ellen O’Neill, Elementary Principal of 4 years experience, Southold Elementary School, Southold, NY

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To read the complete article by Prof. Shurkova, click HERE.

If you’ve been on an Amerus Exchange, please share your comments and photos.

The dynamic dialogue between educators of both countries begins now. Successful solutions to the difficult problems of education may be just around the corner if Americans and Russians can use their history and experience to blend a synthesis of ideas and techniques. The EDUCATION FORUM is a cyber faculty room; a place where serious discussion can take place.

GO TO:  www.theamerusexchange.org and click on E-JOURNAL (in the menu on the left) or click on the E-JOURNAL page on this site.

Due to the poor U.S. economy, THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD has cancelled its Education Exchange 08 scheduled to work in Russia during April of 2008. There were too few participants to create a viable seminar in Kursk.  We realize that there was no way to avoid your individual cancellations at this time. Your work of citizen diplomacy is very important to our country so we will continue looking for ways to ease the financial burden of participation and will reschedule an Education Exchange as soon as possible.

Good News:

The university partnerships between John Jay College (CUNY) and The Regional Open (ROSI) and Iona College and ROSI are in their initial stages.The other good news project is also in very early stages but looks very promising.

Dr. Lizinsky of the prestigious PEDAGOGICHESKII POISK(Pedagogical Search) publishing house of Moscow, Russia, approached THE AMERUS EXCHANGE, LTD recently. Dr. Lizinsky has asked us to co-find a Russian/American, education oriented, electronic journal. Presently, there are education e-journals available on-line from most parts of the world with the exception of Russia.

Our experience working with Russian schools has shown us that innovative and energetic Russian educators have tremendous ideas that could prove valuable to American teachers. An education-oriented e-journal would make Russian ideas, strategies, and techniques available to an American audience. The on-line journal could also serve as a platform for American educators interested in sharing their findings, experiences, and theories with enthusiastic Russians. TAEL’s mission is to support this kind of intellectual exchange. The e-journal’s scope and reach would be practically unlimited.

A successful Russian/American, education e-journal could serve to support our university partnership projects and could certainly stimulate interest in Education Exchange visits to the United States and to Russia. On-line collaborators and friends might want to meet and work together with their colleagues, in person.

This new year has already had its setbacks but also its promises of great progress toward developing cultural and professional understanding between the US and Russia. We look forward to bringing each of these projects to fruition. We hope that you will come along for the ride. Translation costs for the e-journal are our biggest obstacle. Perhaps you have ideas or resources that can be of help. We are searching for an American university with both education and Russian programs that might be interested in becoming a sponsor of the e-journal. We appreciate every bit of your interest, your ideas, and your financial support.

This is a message from the President – Jack McGurgan.

 The EDEX08 group will visit three areas while in Russia: The Moscow Region including Vladimir, Suzdal, and Goos Khrystalny; The Kursk Region; and The Saint Petersburg Region. Participants may opt to visit only the first two regions if time is a factor. TAEL’ major workshops and seminars will take place at the Regional Open Social Institute, a private university and TAEL’s strategic partner in Kursk.

 Students wishing to join EDEX08 must be over 18 years of age. Children are invited if accompanied by a parent. Retirees are openly welcome on the basis of their life and occupation experience. A cost estimate for the full trip is $2,800. The shorter option is estimated at $1,900. TAEL is constantly working to reduce costs for the citizen diplomats who give of their limited time and treasure to do America’s work. Our fundraising success will be apparent if we are able to make further cost reductions to individual, citizen diplomats.

Working in Russia since 1993, our experience and connections enable us to cut costs in many ways. Most effective is our relationship with “Our Friends in Moscow,” a group of teachers who have helped us to get around Russia and cut costs for 14 years. They are now organized as a travel assistance company but are fundamentally still our very close friends. From beginning to end, our time in Russia is in the hands of our friends.

Visit our temporary website for more information and to register:   www.theamerusexchange.org       Direct questions to: jamerus@taconic.net

Congratulations to Paula Ptaszek (bottom left in the above photo), the recipient of the first annual “Outstanding Citizen Diplomat” award.  Paula, a veteran of 5 trips to Kursk, was honored for her service to the Amerus Exchange.The award was presented to her at a luncheon attended by many former Amerus Exchnage participants on July 3, 2007.