Nine area teachers combined work and play on a recent trip to Europe.

The two-week trip was arranged through the International Network for Education and Travel Inc., a consulting company in Jackson. The group visited the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium.

INET President Marvin C. Swanson has spent his entire career developing international programs.

"Many people like to travel, but they don't want a canned tour," Swanson said. "They'd like something specific to their interest and that's what we specialize in."

Many times the group assists in the development of a trip or approaches an organization about the possibility of planning a specific trip.

Karen Atwood, a teacher at Cape Girardeau Central High School, led a group of elementary, high-school and university teachers to Europe with a specific goal: to observe teaching methods and curriculum.

Originally the trip was designed as a graduate course but none of the participants needed credit. The group went anyway.

"They wanted to do it because they wanted to learn more," Atwood said.

European Orientation Center, a Maastricht-based group affiliated with the University of Limburg, helped arrange tours of several European schools.

"It's not a travel agency but truly an educational tour," she said. "It was an excellent balance between the cultural tourist sites and educational sites."

The teachers learned about differences in the American and European education systems. The most prevalent differences were the methods of school funding and preschool curriculums.

European schools are funded at the federal level, not locally, Atwood said. Almost 90 percent of the students attend classes before age 6.

"Many of the methods are similar to what we currently do," Atwood said. "It's nice to feel that the teachers were doing and trying the same sorts of things and looking for ways to improve education."

The trip abroad sparked some new ideas for Atwood, who has been teaching in the Cape Girardeau district for 12 years.

"I came back energized," she said. "I've been thinking about how to improve what I'm doing in the classroom to better serve the students."

She said many of the European teachers were faced with problems like wishing for more computer facilities or smaller classrooms and more teachers -- an international dilemma since American teachers have the same challenges.

"Their excitement and commitment made me more committed to being a better teacher," she said.

On the trip were Doug and Karen Atwood, George Peo and Myra Morris-Peo, Ann Bartlett, Fred and Darla Snider, Elsie Heller and Bonnie Wilkening.