Apply Now to the USC Shoah Foundation Institute's Teaching with Testimony Summer Workshop with ALL Expenses Paid

Founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg the USC Shoah Foundation Institute is currently accepting applications for its 2011 Master Teacher Workshop, Teaching With Testimony, which will take place July 18 to July 22, 2011.  This five day workshop is an all expense paid experience geared toward secondary school educators. Successful candidates will receive a stipend, Certificate in Teaching with Testimony, and twelve graduate-level continuing education units (CEUs) at USC's Rossier School of Education.

During this workshop participants will actively engage in the power of visual testimonies of Holocaust survivors and other witnesses and explore the methodologies and practices for bringing these moving stories into the classrooms to help today's students think deeply about the implications of prejudice, intolerance, and bigotry in their everyday lives.  Through these powerful testimonies participants will then be asked to develop a testimony-based project and present it in their schools, communities or through their professional organizations.      

Do not miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!  Deadline is May 2, 2011...feel free to pass this along to educators you think may be interested!

For more information and to download the application click HERE! Or email Melissa Jones at mcnear@usc.edu.

Keep Your Classroom Up-to-date About Egypt!

In an increasingly fast paced world, where new discoveries are made constantly and changes take place abruptly, it’s important to adapt your curriculum to current events. Recently, the Middle East was engulfed by rioting. Egypt has been an epicenter of this revolution and keeping students informed is of great importance. There are helpful lesson plans available online to facilitate these discussions. 


A beneficial resource is The Choices Program which you can find here. They have comprehensive lesson plans and curriculum guides explained in great detail.

The New York Times also has a great resource if you are having difficulty integrating Egypt into your lesson plans. It includes interactive examples, fun projects, and handouts to encourage sharing of thoughts and discussion.

PBS has also done its part to encourage awareness of the Middle East revolutions. They have created and complied a great amount of videos and other resources that are helpful in analyzing Egypt and the democratic government that is being established.

Garbage Dreams Trailer- Documentary about youth who pick garbage in Egypt for a living.

In addition to the videos, you can obtain more visual media, mostly maps and charts, from Thinkfinity. They have a great deal of information regarding Egypt as well that is readily available here.

Jessica Elsayed, 17-year-old Egyptian journalist.

To give students a youth perspective, you can show them Jessica Elsayed’s blog on Youth Journalism. She is a 17-year old girl covering stories about Egypt and giving her insight into the changes being seen in the country.

Beautiful Machine- artwork by students from USC Family of Schools

When: ~ Tuesday, March 22, 2011 - Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Location: University Village Shopping Center
3375 South Hoover Street Los Angeles, CA 90007

E-mail: fmoa@usc.edu

Web Site: http://fisher.usc.edu

Free!

Student artists from the USC Family of Schools portray machines that positively impact people or the environment.

Each academic year, the USC Fisher Museum of Art plans, curates and professionally installs four temporary student art exhibitions at the University Village Shopping Center food court for the Art in the Village program.

For this show, elementary school kids belonging to the USC Family of Schools (32nd Street/USC Magnet, Foshay Learning Center, John Mack, Norwood, Vermont and Weemes) and two parish schools (St. Agnes and St. Vincent) were asked to think about a machine that does something to impact their lives or the environment in a positive way and submit art matching the theme “A Beautiful Machine.”

Each exhibition kicks off with an opening reception at which the student artists are the stars. The children have the opportunity to speak with family, friends and community members about their artwork. They are congratulated on their achievements during an awards ceremony, at which they receive a certificate recognizing their participation.

Funded in part by a USC Neighborhood Outreach Grant, Art in the Village represents a partnership between the USC Fisher Museum of Art, the University Village Shopping Center and the USC Family of Schools. Visit Site

Calling All Teachers!

The Natural History Museum is looking for teachers to help create their activities and lesson plans for their brand new Dinosaur Hall.  If you are interested in helping with the creation of this new exhibit to develop lesson plans and field trips - follow this link and download the application under Calling All Teachers!  A stipend will be provided to all those who work on the project, as the museum recognizes that teachers are busy people.  

Opportunities are also available at the Page Museum.  Don't worry if you don't know too much about the museum, all teachers will be debriefed about the exhibits as well as other behind-the-scenes tours and discussions with scientists.  

California Science Center's - Ecosystems

The renovation that has been 10 years in the making at the most visited museum in Southern California finally arrived last spring at the California Science Center.  This new exhibit highlights the many thriving ecosystems of the world including but not limited to swell sharks, kelp forests, maggots and even live larvae.  This exhibit even allows for you to be put into the path (but out of harms way) of a flash floods and desert storms.

The $165 million Ecosystem Experience is completely free, but would not be possible without the donations of generous patrons (so don't forget to give anything you can).

Hope to see you there!        

2011 Teacher Recognition Award Nominations!

Is there a teacher you know who makes it possible for you to learn, study, or grow?  Is there a teacher that makes a profound difference in his/her school and goes beyond the call of duty? 

Every year ECCLA and USC-CCR partner to recognize teachers that make a difference!  Full-time teachers working in one of the designated ECCLA service area schools bounded by Olympic Blvd, Alameda Avenue, Slauson Blvd, and Crenshaw Blvds are eligible to win.  There can only be one nomination from each school per year.  All nominees will be honored at an awards ceremony at Natural History Museum on May 19, 2011.  

To nominate your favorite teacher download the Rules and Nomination form here.  The deadline is for nominations is Friday, April 1, 2011.  

Calling All High School Seniors!

Every Spring ECCLA and the California Retired Teachers Association (CRTA) award three graduating seniors - in the ECCLA service area - with Higher Education Scholarships of $1,000.00 each.  The selected winners will receive their cash scholarship in the fall of 2011 once proof of enrollment in a U.S. accredited college, university or trade school is received.

Students must submit a completed application, two original letters of recommendation, an original essay, and a copy of the applicant's senior high school transcript.

We look forward to reviewing your submissions!

To apply please click here and download the first Rules and Application form from the top of the page.