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Relocating overseas is quite a production, especially if you own a house. With a Fulbright Teacher Exchange your present teaching situation is exchanged with a fellow teacher from somewhere in the world, from 6-8 weeks to a year.

After spending 8 years teaching in Europe, this time I decided to go on a Fulbright exchange. Here's why.

As a "Fulbrighter," you don't have to quit your job, sell your house or make any major changes. And you can still cut your tax bill by deducting all related expenses for yourself and the accompanying family members (air fare, travel gear, etc.).

Roxanne Nawara, an English teacher from Rosemount, Minnesota says that one year as a Fulbright foreign-exchange teacher in Hungary left her so invigorated that she took a leave of absence and a pay cut to stay a second year.

She would have loved to stay on to teach English there a third year. "Personally, two years was simply not enough," she says. "I had 10 different classes. I loved that challenge of learning, just making English fun."

An exchange of housing is a very liberating factor to the Fulbright program. Teachers from varying world economic situations will be given a stipend from the U.S. government and you will take your present teacher's salary with you to wherever you are placed.

In many areas of the world (e.g. Hungary) the cost of living is much lower than that in the US so you may even save money. The Fulbright grant will cover your relocation expenses.

Besides the status of being a Fulbright Teacher Exchange recipient there are any number of advantages to the program. As we mentioned already, you don't need to quit your job; you retain your salary;  job-related travel and assignment expenses become tax-deductible and the contract is only for one year or less.

*** THE FULBRIGHT IDEA

The Fulbright program was conceived in 1945 by J. William Fulbright,  an obscure  senator from Arkansas.  Fulbright envisioned the program as a cultural and educational Marshall Plan that would promote international good will and understanding through the exchange of scholars from the United States and those from other countries.

"The immediate stimulus for this program was the dropping of nuclear bombs on Japan," says Fulbright. "It impressed me very deeply that it was perfectly ridiculous to have wars continue. The progress of the human race is very slow. But I thought if we could take the best graduate students, who would later become influential citizens and leaders, and introduce them to the way other people do things, it would be the beginning of a way to avoid disastrous conflicts."

The first "Fulbrighters" began their travel in the fall of 1948 in exchanges with China, Burma, and the Philippines. Since then the program has grown exponentially. Approximately 4,500 new grants are awarded every year. More than 186,000 Fulbright scholars (both from the United States and other nations) have journeyed to 130 countries around the world on grants that range from two months to an academic year. Among participants are such Nobel
Prize-winning scientists as Joshua Lederberg, Emilio Segre, Charles Townes, James Watson, and Rosalyn Yalow.

*** FINANCE

The common misconception is that Fulbright is privately funded. In reality, the primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress. The remainder is supplied by participating countries.

*** WHAT KIND OF GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE?

In a sense, the Fulbright Program is really 125 different programs under the auspices of the Fulbright Scholarship program. Over the years, the layers of bureaucracy have thickened so we will need some help to go through this maze.  The major subdivisions are:

1. THE FULBRIGHT TEACHER EXCHANGE supports both foreign teachers in the United States and Americans teaching abroad. It is administered by The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Grants are available for elementary and secondary teachers.

2. THE FULBRIGHT STUDENT PROGRAM. Administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE), in cooperation with the U.S. government. About 450 annual grants for graduating college seniors and graduate students from the U.S., as well as 2,000 from other countries.

3. THE FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM  for Scholars/Professionals administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) in cooperation with the U.S. government. It sends in excess of 1,000 people annually to more than 100 countries, where they lecture or conduct research in a variety of academic and professional fields.

4. THE FULBRIGHT VISITING SCHOLAR PROGRAM (for non-US citizens). Nearly 1,000 visiting scholars come to the US every year for an academic year or term. Scholarships are offered in the following fields:

- Law, civil society, human rights, democratic development
- Natural resources and environmental management
- Public policy analysis and public administration
- Communications/journalism
- Economic development
- Educational planning and curriculum development
- Technology policy and management
- Public health policy and management
- Finance and banking
- Architecture and urban planning

This article describes the specifics of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.

*** WINNING THE GRANT:  STEP-BY-STEP DIRECTIONS

"It's a truly competitive program," said Jochen Hoffman, the chief of the Fulbright Teacher Exchange. "The eligibility factors are such that we are looking not only for qualified teachers, but flexible teachers and good ambassadors for the United States."

If you are a qualified educator or administrator at any level between kindergarten and four-year college, you may be eligible (there are a few restrictions).

STEP ONE. Verify if you are eligible.

Important: You must meet ALL the requirements listed below!

-- Be a U.S. Citizen,
-- be fluent in English,
-- hold at least a Bachelor's degree,
-- have a current full-time teaching assignment in the U.S. or one of it's
territories,
-- be in at least the third year of full-time teaching,
-- have approval of the school administration and
-- not have participated in a Fulbright Teacher Exchange in the last two
years.

If you have no problem with all of the above you qualify to file an application.

STEP TWO. Find out if there are openings for you. Here's how:

Click on the link below and allow the page to load:

http://joyjobs.com/fulbright/2001_country_index.htm -

Go through the list of countries and available positions.

This page is a quick and painless method of surveying the possible teacher exchanges. A grid tells you what countries are involved and for which subjects and languages. In five minutes you can establish if there is a placement you may be interested in or qualified for. The site is clearly presented with simple links, basic information and no hidden agenda.

STEP THREE. Download the Application Form

To download the Application Form and Application Instructions for 2001-2002 school year,  go to: http://www.joyjobs.com/fulbright/

After you download the files  print them out on a laser or ink-jet printer.

STEP FOUR.  Fill out the Application Form

*** TIPS

The first page is a short application requiring the most basic of information from the applicant, plus a  small area where you must provide a synopsis in approximately 50 words your personal/professional goals as related to the exchange. At the bottom of the first page (Aii) there are three little boxes: Approve, Disapprove and Abstain. Your strength as a
candidate apparently lies in these 50 words.

The biggest challenge at this point is to write a cohesive synopsis using only 50 words! Here's how:

1. Start with a free form letter, cover the important points: personal and professional goals.
2. Reduce your essay in half.
3. Put it down and forget about it for a week.
4. Cut it down to 50 words and finalize your synopsis.

The following pages ask for more information about yourself and your family, your school, and your school duties.

STEP FIVE: Write your essay.

Then comes an essay to be written on no more than two additional pages. The essay choices are very simple - provide a narrative picture of yourself or describe your future career plans and goals.

*** HOW TO WRITE A WINNING ESSAY

The essay will determine whether you will be invited for an interview or not. A poorly written essay kills your chances instantly so you MUST submit a solid piece if you want to win a Fulbright grant.

I worked and reworked my essays. I slimmed them down to nothing, threw them away and then rewrote them. The questions were so general and so open-ended that is was difficult to chose a point of view. I searched the Internet for samples from previous essays. Should I inject humor, be serious, academic or worldly?  If in doubt leave it out.

*** BE CONSISTENT

Develop a consistent approach and stick to it.  Use your professional and personal experience, interests and the information you obtained through research, to determine why you want to go overseas. All your written materials (and later the interview) must be in compliance with this idea.

Do not go if you have a secret agenda. If your real goal is different, be it travel, establishing business contacts, or preaching your religious or political views -- stay at home. You will save yourself from major disappointments.

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