Dear Teachers, Now that the new school year has begun in all German states, I would like to remind you of a few programs that are coming up. Some of them relate to our Going Green project directly. A few others address another important subject: media literacy and developing the skills to detect disinformation. Obviously, there is a connection because disinformation on the issue of climate change is, unfortunately, wide-spread. We hope you will find the time to join us or our partners for some of the following events:
 

Going Green

1. Wednesday, 22 September, 5:00 PM- 6:00 PM: A Q&A session with the Teach About US team and our regional partners in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria: Check out the Demo courses on https://www.teachaboutus.org/ and come prepared with questions and suggestions. Please register here . You will receive a link to the event via e-mail. 

2. Thursday, 30 September, 8:00 PM-9:00 PM: Women Leadership in Climate Activism - And What We All Can Do to Save Our Planet. Fireside Chat with Dr. Katharine Wilkinson, author, strategist, and teacher, and Dr. Catrin Gersdorf, Professor and Chair of American Studies, Würzburg University. Time magazine featured Dr. Wilkinson as one of 15 “women who will save the world” and Apolitical named her one of the “100 most influential people in gender policy.” She is co-founder of The All We Can Save Project that supports women leading on climate. Prof. Gersdorf’s research is located at the intersection of American Studies and the Environmental Humanities.

Please register here via e-mail: teachaboutus@leuphana.de. You will receive a link a few days prior to the event.

If you would like to prepare your students for this session, see Katharine Wilkinson's suggestions how to be of use on climate in this recent piece in Time.

Media Literacy/Disinformation

3. Tuesday, September 28, 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM: Webinar on "Media Literacy - Detecting Disinformation in the Classroom" with Bret Schafer, Media and Disinformation Fellow for the Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund of the United States. The Bavarian press Academy invites interested teachers of English, History, or Politics to participate (Fee: EUR 50). More info here. 

4. Monday, October 4th, 6:00 PM: Webinar on “Preparing Students for Life, Work, and Citizenship by Teaching the Controversies” with guest speaker, Dr. Diana Hess, Dean of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and author of the book, Teaching the Controversies.  This is the kick-off event of “Medialogues” on Propaganda, a year-long Professional Learning Community for German and American educators and teacher educators, developed by Renee Hobbs (University of Rhode Island USA) and Silke Grafe (University of Würzburg, Germany). In the Fall/WInter of 2021, educators and teacher educators will gather for online dialogue. We will build meaningful relationships built on respect and trust. In this co-learning community, everyone learns from everyone. More info here.

Finally, save the date for a virtual Fireside Chat with leading U.S. environmentalist and activist Bill McKibben on October 28, 7:00 PM (invitations will go out at the end of September).

As always, let us know if you have any questions or suggestions. Thank you for your engagement!

With best regards on behalf of the Teach About US team,

Dr. Martina Kohl