Applications accepted for teachers’ trip to Japan

The Toyota International Teacher Program is accepting applications through Jan. 9 for next summer’s 10-day program. A total of 20 teachers from any subject area will be selected from Missouri, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Ohio and Tennessee.

Teachers will be chosen based on their professional and leadership qualities, as well as their plans to incorporate their experiences and research into their curriculum. Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens, be employed full-time as secondary classroom teachers and have a minimum of three years of teaching experience.

Selected teachers will tour Japanese schools, shrines, conservation sites and factories, and they will take part in panel discussions with Japanese authors, historians, educators and business leaders.

The program focuses on four themes – history, education, environment and technology – and explores the effects each theme has on Japanese industry and society. Teachers will be taken to Tokyo, Kyoto, Nagoya and the island of Kyushu.

The program is funded through an annual grant from Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. Inc. and is administered by the Institute of International Education in Washington, D.C. Teachers can apply online at www.iie.org/programs/toyota or request an application by e-mailing toyotateach@iie.org.