Pan American World Airways teacher, Vol. XII, No. 3, February 1956

              

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PAM ÄMTKTCAK
World A/ruave Teacher

February, 1956
Published by Pan American World Airways
VOL. XII No. 3
Teenagers from 34 Countries in U.S. for Herald Tribune Forum
An air trip to the United States, three months to visit with American families and attend American schools in the New York City area, trips to Washington, D.C. and other places in the United States and a place in the program of the Herald Tribune Forum for High Schools at the Waldorf Astoria in March are the rewards for each of the 34 teen-agers chosen as Forum delegates from abroad this year.
The Forum now is in its tenth year— Pan American World Airways has been a participant in the project from the beginning by flying delegates from their home countries to the United States and return.
Delegates were selected in competitions organized under the auspices of the Ministries of Education in the various countries.
To be eligible, a boy or girl had to be 16 to 18 years old, native born in his or her country, fluent in the English language, and have an active interest in world affairs. Preliminary selections were made upon the basis of 1,500 word essays in English on the subject “The World We Want’’. Each participating school selected a winner who was then certified to the Ministry of Education, which in turn selected six finalists. The winner for a country finally was selected by a committee which based its decision upon personal interviews and autobiographies written in English by the finalists.
Orientation at Sarah Lawrence
The delegates arrived in New York City in late December, some on Christmas Day, and assembled at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, for a few days of orientation, and an opportunity to meet each other. They separated then and went to the homes of their host families.
Prime requirement for a host family is that it include a teenager of the same sex as the delegate, who is host or hostess to the delegate. The visitors pass from one family to another every two weeks, so that they can observe the United States from as
many points of view as possible, and so that as many schools as possible may have the advantage of getting acquainted with the youngsters from abroad.
High schools in the New York area are vital participants in the program, for they arrange hospitality for the delegates in the homes of their students, and design programs of school and community activities which will give the visitor an intimate picture of every-day life in the United States. This program is arranged so that the visitor has the maximum opportunity to give Americans information about his own country.
There is no lack of opportunity for the visitors — schools and families vie for the privilege of entertaining them. Biggest problem is to keep programs at a level which
will allow for rest and relaxation. This year, the information sheet sent to schools from the Herald Tribune specified that “delegates are expected to go to school four days each week, but not necessarily to attend the host students’ classes. The student planning committee should work out a tentative program of class attendance and extra-curricular activities that will be mutually beneficial to host school and guests, and confirm it after consultation with them. Delegates should have one school day free each week, to stay at home and rest, write letters, and so on.”
Activities include a weekly television program broadcast over WOR-TV, a panel discussion of “The World We Want”, in which every delegate has an opportunity to participate — four to a program. The programs
CANDLE DANCE—The Indonesia delegate to the forum Ratnati Iskandar di Nata, demonstrates a dance which is typical of her country.