Vandana Suryawanshi (an Indian) Selected as First International Teacher for US Space Programme

When Vandana Suryawanshi's name was announced, the 1,100-odd students and teachers of Vidya Valley School in Pune reportedly erupted with joy. Suryawanshi, a 48-year-old biology and earth sciences teacher, had become the first foreign teacher — and the only Indian — selected for the US-based Space Foundation's National Flight of Teacher Liaison programme.

She had submitted a project titled "The effect of atmospheric pressure and gravity on human beings and plants, on earth and in micro-gravity." It was approved; a congratulatory message arrived on January 24, 2012, followed by the formal announcement that week. Trustee-principal Nalini Sengupta called her school's achievement a landmark: for the first time in the programme's 10-year history, the Space Foundation's expert panel — comprising space industry, military, and education professionals — had chosen a teacher from outside the United States.

Each year, about 20 liaison teachers are selected for their active promotion of space and science education. They attend workshops, learn how to teach about space — essentially using the "thrill of outer space" to teach science — and return to their classrooms as advocates for space-themed education. Suryawanshi was to join 19 American educators for training in Colorado Springs in mid-April.

"I am looking forward to sharing the knowledge I gain there with my pupils," she said — which is, of course, the entire point. One teacher, properly inspired, goes home and infects hundreds of students with the same curiosity. That is how space programmes survive: not only in laboratories and launch pads, but in classrooms.

Sources

• Indian school teacher set for US space programme — Space-Travel.com / IANS
• Space Foundation Teacher Liaison Program Adds 13 Educators in India — SpaceNews