Evanston Township High School junior Mike Perisho can still recall his study abroad trip to Germany two summers ago, when he visited the remains of the Berlin Wall, toured historical sites in southern Germany and attended classes at a high school in Heilbronn.
He also developed a close friendship with his host family’s son, with whom he still keeps in touch via e-mail.
Perisho, 16, had hoped to apply for ETHS’ study abroad program again this year so he could visit his friend, but the school’s decision to cancel all study abroad trips for the 2001-2002 year spoiled his plans.
“I was planning on going again before I left (ETHS) and having the same (host family),” Perisho said. “It would be more fun because I could understand what was being said.”
School District 202 board members and Superintendent Allan Alson canceled the trips in December after months of debating whether ETHS students would be safe in foreign countries after Sept. 11. School Board Vice President Margaret Lurie said several factors contributed to the board’s decision.
“It was a lot of things – concern if we cancel the trips at the last moment, money won’t be returned,” Lurie said. “We had staff who were uncertain about going. Student safety was the absolute issue.”
Some parents approached the school board in November, saying it should be up to parents to decide whether they feel comfortable sending their children abroad. Heidi Hoppe, whose daughter intended to apply for the German study abroad program this year, said parents should have been allowed to plan the trips themselves.
“They should have let parents decide and assume the risk,” Hoppe said. “From a global perspective, I think it was a ridiculous decision to not trust other nations. I think now more than ever we need to build bridges with other countries. I think the parents were disappointed.”
Kathy Miehls, director of public relations at ETHS, said parents could plan trips that are not affiliated with the school.
“If parents want to do something completely on their own, that’s fine,” she said. “But it would have nothing to do with ETHS. It cannot have our name on it.”
About 20 to 25 students participate in each of five study abroad programs each year, Miehls said. ETHS regularly offers trips to Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Japan. Most trips are usually two or three weeks long and teachers select students based on teacher recommendations and interviews, said Kathy Pino, chairwoman of the world languages department at ETHS.
Pino said this year’s cancellation of trips is nothing new.
“Every now and then we don’t have it and that doesn’t make news,” she said. “Nobody calls us. There are years with incidents in other countries that prevents us from going.”
But ETHS German teacher Kornel Simons said the decision reflected a lack of emphasis on learning foreign languages in U.S. high schools.
“In the United States, the priority of learning a second language is not very strong,” Simons said. “The American psyche is, ‘Everyone speaks English so why learn another language?’ Foreign language is on the periphery of scholastics and I don’t think that will change.”
Perisho said the trips were a major draw for students to take a foreign language, especially because foreign languages are not a graduation requirement at ETHS. He said he disagreed with the board’s decision.
“It wasn’t a very good excuse because of the terrorist attacks to cancel it,” he said. “The other kids were pretty disappointed that they couldn’t go. No one really supported the decision.”
While ETHS administrators have not formally discussed next year’s trips, they said they assume those trips will continue as planned.
Studying abroad gives students a chance to experience cities beyond Evanston, Perisho said. Students unable to go abroad this year are losing a good opportunity, he said.
“I had a lot of fun, so they are missing out,” he said. “You do learn a lot. My German got better just in this three-week period.”
