Teach About US Update // April 20, 2018

Teach About US Update // April 20, 2018

by Joannis Kaliampos -
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And the winners are... Taker a look at this year's outstanding green action plans by our participants in Germany and the United States. Email not displaying correctly?
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Teach About US Update // April 20, 2018

Dear Subscriber,

This Sunday, on April 22, millions of people around the globe will celebrate Earth Day, making it the largest environmental movement in the world. This year's motto is "End Plastic Pollution" and like most other environmental challenges, this issue transcends national borders. And yet, to bring about change for sustainability, we must "think globally, and act locally", as the saying goes.

Now of course, our participants in the Going Green Project have known this all along. This year, we received many contributions to our school competition that all have one thing in common: They demonstrate that change for sustainability can emerge when people engage in creative project work at the local level. Read about these creative projects below in the newsletter.

The Teach About US Team at the U.S. Embassy, LIFE e.V. and Leuphana University, as well as our partners at the U.S. Consulates, the German-American Institutes, and the Transatlantic Outreach Program in Washington D.C. congratulate all students and teachers on their remarkable project ideas!

Yours,
Joannis Kaliampos
on behalf of the Teach About US Team and Partners
Joannis Kaliampos
Leuphana Universität | Scharnhorststr. 1 | 21335 Lüneburg

Fon +49 (0)4131.677-1662 | E-Mail | Web


This newsletter’s topics at a glance:


And the winners are... Going Green Awards 2018

With the student competition, our fourth installment of the Going Green project comes to a conclusion. Overall, 43 courses from nine Bundesländer and four U.S. states registered on our platform. Over five hundred students and their teachers spent many weeks exploring sustainable activities Germany and the U.S., discovering how their behavior can impact the environment, and figuring out innovative ways to create positive change in their communities.

The Teach About US team and our partners are delighted to announce the following student projects as winners of the Going Green 2018 Awards! Congratulations to all students and teachers!

These are the nine winning projects:

Going Green Together – A German-American Sustainability School Project,
by the Project Week Course (grades 7-12) at Louise-Henriette-Gymnasium in Oranienburg with teacher Jens Rösener, and the Social Studies course at Odyssey Charter School in Wilmington, Del., with teacher Melissa Tracy.

Life for Skins
by the English course (grade 12) at Albert-Einstein-Gymnasium in Neubrandenburg, with teacher Petra Wittner.

BK Halle Goes Green
by the course Gesellschaftslehre mit Geschichte bilingual at Berufskolleg in Halle (Westf.), with teacher Carla Merschhaus.

Leinwig's Lasting Lead – the Road to Sustainability
by the English course (grade 12) at Gymnasium Essen-Werden, with teacher Karsten Brill.

Our Sustainability Zone
by the English course 17/5 at Oberstufenzentrum Landkreis Teltow-Fläming in Ludwigsfelde, with teacher Patrick Emmelmann.

MTG Goes Green – Introducing the Green Break
by the English course (grade 9) at Mons-Tabor-Gymnasium in Montabaur, with teacher Nina Allgaier.

Small Steps for a Big Change
by the English course Q1 at Wilhelm-Kraft-Gesamtschule des Ennepe-Ruhr-Kreises in Sprockhövel, with teacher Martina Westermann, and the current events course at Berrien Springs High School in Berrien Springs, Mich., with teacher John Vitek.

Blackout – Wake Up and See the Truth
by the English course 10B at Humboldt-Gymnasium in Potsdam, with teacher Silke Meyfarth.

We Make the Environment Great Again!
by the English course 11 BG-W at Saalburgschule in Usingen, with teacher Gisela Wildermuth.

The first of these awards were presented yesterday at the concluding event in Düsseldorf organized by our friends at the U.S. Consulate and the Nordrhein-Westfalen Education Ministry (see photo). Representatives of the five participating schools in Nordrhein-Westfalen were invited to present their project ideas to the public at the Education Ministry. Vice-Consul General Benjamin Chapman and Education Minister Yvonne Gebauer emphasized the creativity and the sense of individual responsibility reflected by all projects and congratulated the students on their success in the competition.

Participants from Rheinland-Pfalz, Hessen, and Baden-Württemberg will meet on Monday at the invitation of the U.S. Consulate General Frankfurt, the German Earth Day Committee, and IHK Frankfurt. Participants from Berlin and Brandenburg will either be invited to a briefing at the U.S. Embassy in Berlin or an Embassy representative will visit them at their school. Dr. Martina Kohl will contact award recipients shortly to set dates before the summer break.

Again, congratulations to all participants and competition winners!

Upcoming Teacher Trainings in May and June

We will be offering teacher training seminars and workshops, and also introduce Going Green in the context of academic conferences this semester.

Teacher Training: Going Green – Education for Sustainability in the EFL and STEM Classrooms
  • In cooperation with the German-American Institute Saarland and Landesinstitut für Pädagogik und Medien Saarland
  • Speaker: Joannis Kaliampos (Leuphana University)
  • Venue: Landesinstitut für Pädagogik und Medien (Beethovenstraße 26, 66125 Saarbrücken)
  • Date/Time: May 23, 2018; 14:30-17:00
  • Registration: via Landesinstitut für Pädagogik und Medien
  • For questions pls. contact Caroline Collet at the German American Institute Saarland
  • More information here.

Teacher Training: Going Green – Education for Sustainability in the EFL and STEM Classrooms
  • In cooperation with Staatliches Schulamt des Landes Brandenburg
  • Speaker: Joannis Kaliampos (Leuphana University)
  • Venue: Humboldt-Gymnasium Potsdam (Heinrich-Mann-Allee 103, 14473 Potsdam)
  • Date/Time: May 24, 2018; 15:00-18:00
  • Registration: via the teacher platform of the Staatliches Schulamt Brandenburg; teachers outside Potsdam, please register with Ms. Silke Meyfarth (silkemeyfarth@freenet.de)
  • More information here.


Presentation / Conference paper: “I think they are irresponsible.” Teaching Sustainability with (Counter) Narratives in the Digital EFL Classroom
  • Speakers: Joannis Kaliampos (Leuphana Universität), Dr. Martina Kohl (U.S. Embassy Berlin)
  • Annual meeting of the German Association of American Studies, Didactics workshop (“Teaching Counter/Publics: American Studies and Digital Pedagogy” organized by Dr. Uwe Küchler, Tübingen, and Dr. Ingrid Gessner, Regensburg).
  • Date/Time: May 25, 2018; afternoon (14:00-17:00)
  • More information and registration via the conference website: http://dgfa.de/annual-meeting/

Teacher Training: Going Green – Education for Sustainability in the EFL and STEM Classrooms
  • In cooperation with Julius-von-Reuter-Schule Kassel
  • Speaker: Joannis Kaliampos (Leuphana University)
  • Venue: Paul-Julius-von-Reuter-Schule Kassel (Schillerstraße 5 - 9, 34117 Kassel )
  • Date/Time: June 15, 2018; (time tbd)
  • Information on registration: Joannis.Kaliampos@leuphana.de
  • More information will be added to our website soon.

Outlook 2018/19

Our materials will remain online, and they can be used during the concluding months and weeks of this school year. E.g. you might want to work with our project week materials. We would encourage you to share your results with us and post them on the website. You might also want to submit them to the student competition next year. Enlist during the school year 2018/19. We look forward to beginning the fifth cycle of Going Green in September 2018.

From our Teach About US Blog

Recent posts

Our bloggers report about green developments and challenges in the US. Read on in their blog posts and use these texts in your classes.

Hope for Life in the Great Lakes
guest post by Elizabeth LaPensée

Germany and U.S. Climate and Energy Policies at the Local Level: Common Puzzles
guest post by Nilda Mesa

Thanks for Subscribing

The team at Teach About US wants to extend a hearty 'thank you' to all of our wonderful teachers, students, and readers. You've made the Teach About US community shine, and we want to keep that going! If you're not a regular just yet visit the Teach About US website for some exciting student projects, fun and interactive teaching resources on politics and sustainability in the U.S., and much more!

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