The Korea Academy for Educators announces the eighth annual seminar on Korean History and Culture and the Korean American Experience from August 1-5, 2011 at the Korean Cultural Center, LA. Fellowships (transportation, six night hotel stay in Koreatown, and a small stipend) are available for educators who live more than 50 miles from LA.

You will also realize a unique opportunity to learn about Korean history and culture from prominent scholars:  John Duncan, (Chair Korean Studies, UCLA), David Kang (Director, Korean Studies Institute, USC), Don Suk Kim (Chair, Dept. of Ethnomusicology, UCLA), and Edward Park (Director, Asian Pacific American Studies, Loyola Marymount). You will also learn about the Korean American experience from a prominent Korean American author, Helie Lee (Still Life with Rice).

For more information, contact Mary Connor (President) after January 1, 2011 at Mary@KoreaAcademy.org. View our updated website: www.KoreaAcademy.org and watch the four minute video.

The American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) will be conducting the 12th annual National High School Essay Contest.  The contest is open to all United States high school students enrolled in an American high school curriculum program whose parents are not in the American Foreign Service.  Students submit an original research essay of 1000 words.  The deadline is April 15, 2011.  First prize will receive a check for $2500 and a trip to Washington to meet the Secretary with their family. 

For more information go to our website: http://www.afsa.org/essaycontest/

Programs are sponsored by the U.S. Department of State's
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Application Deadlines are in bold.

December 19, 2010 - The Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange Program (CBYX) a fully-funded academic year abroad for German and American high school students. Live with host families, attend a German school, and participate in community life. Language skills not required. Visit http://exchanges.state.gov/youth/programs/cbyx.html for details.

January 11, 2011 - International Educational Seminars in India, Italy, or Greece provide a 5-8 week professional development opportunity for secondary teachers in summer 2011.  Visit
http://www.americancouncils.or/educationalSeminarsSearch.php for details.

January 12, 2011 - The Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Abroad program offers American high school students and recent graduates full scholarships for up to one academic year to live and study in countries with significant Muslim populations. Visit http://www.yesprograms.org/yesabroad for more information.

As a way to learn about the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is at the core of UNICEF`s work, the U.S. Fund for UNICEF`s Education Department has created and compiled classroom resources for grades 6 to 12, which can be found at http://teachunicef.org/explore/topic/child-rights-crc. Resources included a middle school unit, youth stories, an informational activity sheet, videos, and podcasts.

Teachers will also find links to additional information on the CRC, such as a link to the Campaign for U.S. Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at http://www.childrightscampaign.org.

New Current Issues Topic
Conflict on the Korean Peninsula:
North Korea and the Nuclear Threat

With the recent news of North Korea's alarming nuclear capabilities and last week's shelling incident on the South Korean border, the eyes of the world are on the Korean Peninsula. In the newly updated curriculum Conflict on the Korean Peninsula: North Korea and the Nuclear Threat students explore the history of the conflict between North and South Korea and the development of North Korea's nuclear program. With this historical understanding, students consider the issues surrounding the international response to the North Korean nuclear threat.

See it here: http://choices.edu/resources/detail.php?id=195

The Global Security Matrix
What makes us safe?  What threatens us?

The Choices Program has just launched its version of The Global Security Matrix. The matrix uses text, images, and video to help students explore a broad range of threats as they play out across the layers of the international system.

Using the Global Security Matrix students will:

• Explore the concept of security.
• Consider threats to security and how they affect a range of actors from individuals to global society.
• Identify and assess media sources' coverage of security.
• Rank threats to security and explore how these threats might be addressed.

Explore the Global Security Matrix here: http://choices.edu/gsm/index.php