Watson Institute for International Studies, Brown University, Providence, RI – July 9-13, 2012

Competing Visions of Human Rights

More information and an application can be found at http://www.choices.edu/pd/institutes_seminars.php.

Applications are due by Friday, March 16, 2012

The Choices 2012 Summer Leadership Institute provides teachers with an opportunity to examine the concept of human rights and the challenges of enforcing human rights at an international level. Using the Choices curriculum unit, Competing Visions of Human Rights: Challenges for U.S. Policy, participants will learn from leading scholars in the fields of international law and foreign policy, explore effective instructional strategies for engaging students in the topic, and share best practices with other dedicated and innovative teachers.  Time is also allocated to discuss and plan new ways to conduct educational outreach, which is a requirement of the Leadership Institute.

There is no charge for the Leadership Institute.  Meals, housing, reading materials and a certificate of completion are provided.  Participants pay their own round trip travel.

Applications are due by Friday, March 16, 2012.

Online Workshop

REGISTER TODAY!

Space is limited. Preference will be given to trained Facing History educators who are members of our network.

How do myths and stereotypes become part of a culture? When does hatred become convenient? This online workshop will raise profound questions about the ways stereotypes and myths that lie at the heart of a particular hatred have evolved and why those lies persist despite heroic efforts to counter them. The content of this online workshop will draw largely from Facing History’s newest resource, A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism. Published December 6, 2011, the book provides not only an accessible history of antisemitism but also insights into the power of ideas – even mistaken ideas – to shape thought, judgement and ultimately behavior. During the workshop we will also be joined by Holocaust scholar Michael Berenbaum for a webinar conversation.

Online discussions and readings will give educators a chance to explore a variety of ways to engage with this material and these concepts. The workshop will allow interaction of participants with Facing History staff, and educators from around the globe. Prior to the workshop, please read the foreword by Sir Harold Evans to A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism.

All educators are invited regardless of their computer use skill level. The workshop is designed for you to work at your own pace and convenience throughout the week. By registering for this workshop, you are committing to logging on to the site and participating in the online discussion at least three times over the 11-day workshop and a minimum online time commitment of 5 hours.

All participants who complete the workshop will be given a free copy the book, A Convenient Hatred: The History of Antisemitism.

This residential seminar presents four of the FTE “Economic Issues” curriculum units in a concentrated four day setting.  Each of the four units is comprised of  5-7 lessons that include background content outline, student activities and simulations, and source lists.  In a pleasant, long weekend break, Issues participants are introduced to the curriculum units through involvement in lessons and simulations from each of the units.    (Ample time is provided on the afternoons of the second and third days to explore and enjoy the seminar location.)

Curriculum Units include:
Economic Demise of the Soviet Union
Is Capitalism Good for the Poor?
Issues of International Trade
Economics, Water, and the Environment

• Lodging, most meals, and program materials provided by FTE
• Optional graduate credit available for $102 per unit

For more information, visit:
ECONOMIC ISSUES FOR TEACHERS

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED

Economic Forces in American History is a cross-curricular program designed to help history teachers incorporate an economic way of thinking into their American history courses.  The lessons are designed to develop the tools of economic reasoning in the context of specific historical periods and broad historical themes, encouraging students to learn by ‘reliving’ history rather than just reading or hearing about it.

• Lodging, most meals, and program materials provided by FTE
• Optional graduate credit available for $102 per unit
• $150 stipend available to participants commuting to a program

For more information, visit:
ECONOMIC FORCES IN AMERICAN HISTORY

 APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED

The Economics for Leaders program is intensive, providing 50 hours of in-depth content and methodology instruction in a lab-school setting. A unique feature of the program is the classroom activity demonstrations in which teachers participate with high school students in economics simulations directed by the instructors. Attending teachers gain direct experience with the lesson plans they take home with them.

• Lodging, meals, and program materials provided by FTE
• Optional graduate credits available for $102 per unit
• $150 stipend available to participants commuting to a program

For more information, visit:
ECONOMICS FOR LEADERS  

APPLICATIONS ACCEPTED FIRST COME/FIRST SERVED

The HistoryMakers 2nd Annual NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers

Deadline: March 1, 2012

The HistoryMakers is proud to announce The HistoryMakers’ 2012 NEH Summer Institute for School Teachers in Chicago, Illinois from Sunday, July 8, 2012 – Friday, August 3, 2012. In a competitive process, teachers from across the country will compete for 25 spots as Summer Scholars. These Summer Scholars will spend the month of July studying the subject of African American Political History: From Reconstruction to the Present. Summer Scholars will also be trained in the disciplines of oral history while having unique access to primary source material. The goal of the Institute is to assist Summer Scholars in becoming “Master Teachers” and in developing curriculum for use in their classrooms.

The NEH Institute will focus on four major themes: 1) African American Political Development Pre and Post Civil War; 2) early 20th Century Black Political Strategies, Civil Rights Unionism, and WWII and Cold War Racial Politics; 3) the Civil Rights Movement; and 4) 1970s Black Politics and the New Generation of Black Politicians.

The HistoryMakers will select 25 Summer Scholars through a competitive national application and expose them to some of the nation’s leading scholars of African American politics and culture and the rich resources of The HistoryMakers’ digital archive (idvl.org/thehistorymakers) and website (www.thehistorymakers.com). This Institute was first held in 2010 and has been brought back by the National Endowment for the Humanities due to demand and because of its contribution to the humanities.

Full time middle and high school teachers working in public, private, parochial, and charter schools are eligible to apply. Successful applicants will receive a stipend of $3,300 minus the cost of accommodation.  All participants will stay in the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place hotel for the duration of the Institute. Completed applications must be postmarked no later than Thursday, March 1, 2012 and sent to:

Jessica Levy
The HistoryMakers
1900 South Michigan Avenue
Chicago, IL 60616

Please visit The HistoryMakers’ website http://www.thehistorymakers.com/edday/ for more information.
For more information on eligibility, see: www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html.

• Explore the character and accomplishments of George Washington while living on his estate
• Engage in an active exploration of 18th-century history with top historians
• Participate in interactive workshops, tours, fieldtrips, and group projects
• Discuss how to integrate the teaching of history into English, science, math, and geography curricula
• Return to your classroom and share new knowledge, teaching materials, and enthusiasm with your students

All teachers accepted into the institute receive a travel stipend and reside on the grounds of Washington’s home. Participants are required to complete one lesson plan for dissemination to teachers across the nation on the Mount Vernon website, and perform one in-service session for colleagues in their home district or state.
This year’s sessions will be held the following weeks:
Middle School Session: June 10-15, 2012
Elementary School Session: June 24-28, 2012
High School Session: July 15-20, 2012
Middle School Session: July 29-August 3, 2012

To apply, use our general application. Completed applications should be sent to education@mountvernon.org with “Teachers’ Institute Application” in the subject line.

Christie Morman, psychology teacher at Homewood High School, and I are interested in creating a collaborative network of area psychology teachers to share best practices.   Seems psychology workshops are few and far between.

Our idea is to invite psychology teachers from Central and North Alabama to come together to share effective, engaging, and creative activities used in the teaching of high school psychology.

PsychShare 2012 will be held at Mountain Brook High School in Birmingham on Saturday February 25th from 8:40 a.m.-12:00 noon.   There is no cost for the workshop.  Breakfast and refreshments will be provided as well as three hours of professional development.

To register, log on to STIPD.  The title and number are PyschShare Workshop – MB1112504.  Once you attend your hours will be verified in STIPD.   If you would please RSVP to FERGUSONM@mtnbrook.k12.al.us, as well,  so that we can keep running total of participants.    A few days out from the workshop we will send you the number of participants expected to attend so that you can bring the correct number copies of the activities you plan to share.

We encourage you to join us in what we expect will be an exciting morning of sharing, with our psychology colleagues, some of our best teaching activities.    Hopefully we will all leave with many new lessons and hands-on activities that we can immediately use in our classrooms.  Once again, Christie and I are very excited about this workshop and would like to see this become a yearly event.

Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions regarding PsychShare 2012.

All the best,

Matt Ferguson
Psychology Teacher
Critical Film Teacher
Mountain Brook High School
3650 Bethune Drive
Mountain Brook Alabama 35223
205-427-2425

The workshop focuses on the far-reaching impact of the European Recovery Program (ERP) commonly known as “The Marshall Plan.”  The week-long program begins at Marshall’s museum home, Dodona Manor, in Leesburg, VA. Using a series of primary documents from the Truman Library and the Marshall Archives, participants will gain a better understanding of the life and remarkable legacy of Secretary of State Marshall,  specifically his significant role in securing the passage of the ERP.

Through a partnership developed with the United States Department of State, participants will have the unique opportunity to experience an afternoon of learning at the department’s United States Diplomacy Center in Washington, D.C., and will have a tour of the historic diplomatic reception rooms there.

Teachers will complete the week at the Marshall Museum and Library in Lexington, Virginia. There they will study original documents, including his personal copy of the June 5 Harvard speech outlining the key concepts of the ERP, that relate to and reveal the background of some of Marshall’s most important decisions.

In addition to the planned ten participants from the United States, it is expected that six teachers from Europe (Norway, Austria, and Germany) will be participating in this year’s workshop.  This will provide an opportunity for interaction through the exchange of ideas and perspectives on how the workshop materials and content might benefit their respective classroom instruction.

Please make this information available to the membership of your organization through such methods as you may deem appropriate, such as newsletters, website, e-mail, etc.  The attached document contains more complete descriptive details, the benefits and requirements of the workshop, as well as an application form.  Persons interested in applying may use the attachment or may also simply log onto the George C. Marshall International Center website at www.georgecmarshall.org.   The application deadline is   May 14, 2012.

If there is a specific person within your organization who serves as a contact point for this type of program, I would very much appreciate their name, e-mail address and telephone number for future correspondence.