PA School Librarian in Germany

Photo taken from Mt. Washington

I am currently in the air, having just left Pittsburgh International Airport bound for Mainz, Germany*! I have been anxiously anticipating this moment since February, after learning that I was accepted by the German American Fulbright Commission to attend a seminar for high school teachers. For the next two weeks, I will participate in a program entitled “Education in Germany - a Multi-Faceted System,” along with 14 other American teachers. Although the program schedule is very full, I find it important to document my experiences here, whenever I have a free moment. I hope to be able to look back on these two weeks and continue to learn from them, long after the program is over.

Mainz-bound!

“As a school librarian,” I state in my seminar application, “I convey my curiosity and passion for learning through the way I approach my profession and through the way I live my life. This passion for learning continually manifests itself as a desire to be culturally literate for my students, for my peers, and for myself.” I feel incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to learn about the German education system from the teachers at German schools and through the faculty at Johannes Gutenberg University, Mainz. I will be forever grateful to these teachers (and to the German American Fulbright Commission!) for helping me to gain a greater sense of cultural literacy. In turn, I hope to be a good ambassador for my school, the library profession, and my country.

*I wrote this entry in the air, but had to post it when I had access to wifi. So, (update) I have arrived!
** For those interested in joining a similar program (either as a professional in the US traveling to Germany or as a professional in Germany traveling to the US), see the German American Fulbright Commission website. 

On the Main River in Frankfurt