Information and News For the Global Educator
1. '93 WTC BOMBING SUGGESTS NEED FOR BETTER LANGUAGE EDUCATION
A recent issue
paper by the Center for Applied Linguistics cites evidence that "vital information regarding the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center was in hand
well before that attack, but it was backlogged among many other items needing translation." With only 8 percent of U.S. college students studying
a language, and only 10 percent of those studying a language other than Spanish, French or German, the article calls for both better use of the
language talents of recent immigrants and their children (one in five children enters school speaking a language other than English) and for more
and earlier foreign language programs, improved teacher preparation and incentives to attract and retain qualified language teachers. The article
can be found at http://www.cal.org/ericcll/langlink/deccurrent2.html.
2. INDEX RANKS IRELAND AS MOST GLOBALIZED COUNTRY
According to an index
developed by "Foreign Policy" magazine and the consulting firm A.T. Kearney, Ireland is the most globalized country in the world; the U.S. ranks 12th
among 62 countries examined. The index uses data from 2000 to compare the level of the countries' international relations and trade, technology and
Internet use, foreign investment flows, and travel and tourism activity. Small countries, forced to look outside their borders for economic sustenance, tend to show higher levels of globalization than large nations
that have sizable internal markets. China, Mexico and India all ranked in the bottom quarter of the index. The full article can be found at
http://66.113.195.237/issue_janfeb_2002/global_index.html.
3. Peace Corps Day - Friday, March 1, 2002
Since 1961, more than 163,000 people have served in more than 130 countries around the world as Peace Corps Volunteers. Each year on March 1, this
tradition of service is celebrated as Peace Corps Day. As all Volunteers know, part of the Peace Corps' mission is to educate Americans back home
about the people with whom they lived and worked.
Now more than ever, Americans need to know more about the people, culture, and customs of your host country. By telling your stories in places like
classrooms, libraries, places of worship, community centers, and the workplace, you are strengthening the ability of Americans
to better understand the world, themselves, and others.
For more information visit http://www.peacecorps.gov/rpcv/peacecorpsday/index.cfm
or contact:
Agnes Ousley, Peace Corps Day Coordinator
Peace Corps Headquarters
Domestic Programs
Second Floor
1111 20th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20526
4. NEH 2002 Summer Seminars and Institutes for School Teachers
(Information available at http://www.neh.gov/projects/si-school.html):
Each year the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) offers teachers opportunities to study humanities topics in a variety of Summer Seminars and
Institutes. The dates and duration of each project is listed under each title on the NEH website. The application
deadline is March 1, 2002.
Please direct all questions concerning individual seminars and institutes as well as all requests for application materials to the appropriate director.
General questions concerning the National Endowment for the Humanities' Seminars and Institutes Program may be directed to
202/606-8463 or e-mail: seminst@neh.gov.
Seminar topics include the following: Writing Africa: Comparative African
and European Palavers and Perspectives, Beginnings: Four First Novels of Native America, Social Justice, Identity, and Human Rights, as well as
others. Institute topics include the following: The Arab World and the West: A History of Cultural Encounters,
Cultures and Religions of the Himalayan Region, Archaeology in Jordan: Cultures of the Ancient Near East as well as
others.
Valuable listservs and free email news services
Peace Corps
Global TeachNet
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International Herald Tribune
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The New York Times
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The News and Observer
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