On Jan. 19, nearly 50 educators attended the TEA workshop, Text and Contexts: Teaching Japan through Children's Literature. The Text and Contexts program began as a study tour for educators in 2006, funded by the Freeman Foundation. Another successful tour was completed in 2007, and a third tour, to be held this summer, is currently being planned (deadline to apply: Feb. 4).

The workshop was an opportunity for alumni of the study tours to share how they have been applying their experiences, extended their learning, and acquiring resources. It was a culmination of two years of TEA teacher-participants' efforts to teach about Japan in new ways.

After lunch, participants made paper mache daruma dolls in Mike Wojczuk's session on Art of Japan through Literature. Mike is the art teacher at Superior Elementary. Sue Remington, from Emerald Elementary in Broomfield, led the final session of the day, Learning from Japanese Elementary Schools. As always at TEA workshops, teachers were provided with teaching materials and resources for future opportunities.

Each participant received a copy of the book Haiku, by Patricia Donegan, which is also available for loan through TEA's Resource Center.

The next TEA workshop will feature Ji-li Jiang, author of well-known books exploring Chinese culture, such as The Magical Monkey King and Red Scarf Girl. Folklore as a Window into Chinese Culture: A Workshop for K-8 Educators will take place on Feb. 23. The deadline to register is Feb. 15 and space is limited!

TEA Developing Online Modules on Japan through Art

Joan Brylski's students at Pulaski Community High School in Wisconsin field test a lesson on the Heian period.

With participants' help, Chef Toi McDaniel created an authentic Thai meal for all to enjoy.

On Saturday, Jan. 26, the South, Southeast, and West Asia program (SSEWA) hosted a unique, hands-on workshop for K-12 educators, Spice, Rice, and Daily Life. One of the Asian Arts in the Classroom Series, the experiential workshop focused on the culture and cuisine of Thailand and Vietnam. Participants learned professional Thai cooking from gourmet Thai chef Toi McDaniel and saw Vietnam through the eyes and lenses of CU Political Science and Economics professors Lauri and Robert McNown, who spent the previous academic year in Vietnam on sabbatical.

They also received curriculum materials from the Stanford Program for International and Cultural Education unit, Feeding a Hungry World: Focus on Rice in Asia and the Pacific. Twenty-four participants enjoyed a day of cultural celebration and learning, as well as a delicious fresh Thai meal. Yum!

David Jane, Program Officer of the US-Japan Foundation, presents Alex Echevarria with the 2007 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award.

Alex's students support him at the awards ceremony.

On Dec. 13, Colorado Springs teacher and active NCTA participant, Alex Echevarria, was awarded the recipient of the 2007 Elgin Heinz Outstanding Teacher Award. Given by the US-Japan Foundation, the award recognizes exceptional teachers who further mutual understanding between Americans and Japanese. It is presented annually to two pre-college teachers in two categories, humanities and Japanese language, and consists of a certificate of recognition, a monetary award, and project funds. Alex was a participant in the 1999 Colorado Springs NCTA seminar and, most recently, the 2006 TEA China Study Tour.

Alex is currently conduccting an NCTA seminar in Colorado Springs. Over the years Alex has taught a wide range of history and social studies courses and currently teaches several IB courses, including IB East Asian Regional History, at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs. He plans to use the award’s project funds to continue to promote awareness about Japan in his school community, by buying teaching materials, establishing a permanent Asian New Year’s Festival, and building a Japanese garden. An essay Alex wrote on “perspective” appears in the Fall 2007 issue of Education About Asia.

Feb. 23: Folklore as a Window into Chinese Culture. This workshop for K-8 educators will highlight the role of the Monkey King fables within Chinese religion, culture, and history. In addition to meeting and learning from noted author Ji-li Jiang, workshop highlights include curriculum for elementary teachers and middle school teachers. Participants will receive a signed copy of Ji-li Jiang's book, The Magical Monkey King. Registration deadline is Feb. 15.

March 15: Democracy in China: Now? How? Ever? Workshop for educators. As China’s economy and society modernize, what are the implications for political reform and the growth of democracy? Rapid reforms have created opportunities for citizen participation at many levels and in surprising ways. But does flourishing capitalism indicate that democratic reforms cannot be far behind? This workshop will explore questions surrounding political reform and the emergence of civil society in China. Registration deadline is March 7.

Jan. 18-May 4: The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art presents the works of Susan Lee-Chun, Yumi Janairo Roth, Hiroshi Watanabe, and Wang Jing. The artists in the show have roots in Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and China, and their work explores the complexity of contemporary Asian and Asian American identity and heritage. Each artist demonstrates a unique response to a cross-cultural perspective, exploring issues of tradition, markers of ethnicity, and the importance of place. In addition A Taste of China, guest curated by Dr. David Raddock, will include works by Wang Jing. The Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art is located at 1750 13th Street in downtown Boulder, Colorado. Current museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm; Sunday noon to 3 p.m.; closed Monday. Regular museum admission is $5 for adults; $4 for students and seniors. Free to museum members and children under 12. For public information call 303-443-2122 or visit their website.

Feb. 20:  Dong Son Bronzes Lecture. Asian Art Association event at the Denver Art Museum. Reception 5:30.  Lecture 6-7 pm at Hamilton Building, Sharp Auditorium. Dr. Chan Kieu will present Dong Son Bronzes, details to be determined. For more information, email hquist@denverartmuseum.org or visit http://www.denverartmuseum.org/asianart.

March 1 (deadline): NCTA Study Tour: Visualizing Japan: History, Contemporary Culture, and the Arts. Tentative dates: June 26-July 16, 2008. Planned cities include Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Kamakura. Participants will visit schools, meet with specialists and artists, experience homestays, and talk with atomic bomb survivors. Eligible applicants will have successfully completed a CU-Boulder or partner site NCTA seminar and all requirements by March 1, 2008. Applications are available at http://www.colorado.edu/CAS/TEA.

March 7 (deadline): Summer Institute for Secondary Teachers: China’s Transformations on the Eve of the Olympics at University of Colorado at Boulder, July 21-30, 2008. All eyes are on China as it prepares for the 2008 Olympics. At such a critical time, it is important for American students and teachers to understand the dynamic issues that define China today. Summer institute participants will analyze China’s recent economic, political, and social changes, including such issues as political changes and individual freedom issues; environmental challenges of rapid modernization; the growing divides between rich and poor, urban and rural in China today; as well as insights into world media coverage of China and the Olympics. All major participant costs of the institute are covered through a grant by the Freeman Foundation. Applications are available here and must be received by March 7. For more information, e-mail Jon.Zeljo@colorado.edu.

New Opportunities

Feb. 11 (deadline): Host a guest teacher from China. The Chinese Guest Teacher Program is designed to help U.S. schools develop Chinese language and culture study programs and to promote international exchange between the United States and China. The program provides an experienced language teacher from China for the host school or district for a period of one to three years. Key benefits to U.S. schools and students include:

• Host schools can start or expand a Chinese language and culture program at minimal cost.
• Schools can lay a foundation for offering AP Chinese classes in the future.
• Students learn authentic Chinese language and interact with a native Chinese speaker.
• Chinese guest teachers serve as cultural resources in other subject areas.

Feb. 27 (deadline): The Korean Studies Workshop for American Educators provides U.S. educators with fully-funded study visits to Korea. In 2008, the Korean Studies Workshop will send up to 100 secondary school social studies educators from the United States to Korea to participate in a fully-funded, intensive 12-day workshop. Sponsored entirely by the Korea Foundation, the workshop is designed to enhance mutual understanding between the people of Korea and the United States by inviting certain U.S. educators to visit Korea and then share their experiences with fellow Americans upon their return. Following participation in the workshop, participants will be required to submit an impact report to the Institute of International Education.

March 1 (deadline): Literatures, Religions, and Arts of the Himalayan Region.  An interdisciplinary instituted funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. July 7-July 31, 2008, at the College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA.  Contact:  Todd Lewis.

March 17 (deadline): Pearl Harbor:  History, Memory, Memorial.  An NEH Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop offered by the AsiaPacificEd Program at the East-West Center provides teachers with a variety of narratives focusing on both American and Japanese perspectives.  Participants will also develop teaching units that incorporate material from the workshop.  Dates:  two opportunities on July 26-August 1, 2008, and August 2-8, 2008, in Honolulu. Application deadline:  March 17.  Contact:  AsiaPacificEd Program at the East-West Center, 808-944-7378, asiapacificed@eastwestcenter.org.

April 17-19: Building Global Competence of U.S. Students: Making Chinese Accessible for All. Renaissance Hotel, Washington, D.C. College Board and Asia Society are co-organizing this national conference on Chinese language programs in American schools. Hear U.S. and international, political, economic, and educational leaders share their visions, plans, or programs for Chinese language education in the global age. Learn:

• How to make the case for Chinese in your school and community
• Bring meaningful Chinese language programs to all students
• Model your program after best practices and research
• Prepare or find highly-qualified Chinese language teachers
• Discuss other relevant topics

June 18-July 17: Fulbright Program to South Korea for secondary social studies teachers.  Western Illinois University. Priority consideration will be given to early applicants.  Program approval of the grant application is pending. Fulbright-funded travel-study tour to South Korea led by director, Dr. Siyoung Park, Department of Geography, and curriculum specialist, Patricia Jones, University Advising and Academic Support Services. Twelve secondary social science teachers will be competitively selected to participate. The Fulbright-Hays grant would fund:  airfare, accommodation, food allowance, and the majority of land travel expenses for the travel to Korea and during the time of the program. Additional information and application materials are available by contacting: Dr. Siyoung Park, S-Park@wiu.edu, or Ms. Patricia Jones, PI-Jones@wiu.edu.

June 19-July 5: Summer Fellowship in Korean Studies, Korea Society. The Korea Society is pleased to announce openings for up to 20 American educators to participate in the 20th annual Summer Fellowship in Korean Studies program. All the expenses of the participants will be covered, including round-trip international airfare, accommodations, meals and program fees. This unparalleled learning experience and unique opportunity for extensive travel within Korea will be implemented with the financial support of the Korea Foundation and the Freeman Foundation. Applications are invited from social studies and language arts educators, including K-12 classroom teachers and professors or instructors in schools of education. Preference will be given to applicants who have a demonstrated ability to adapt to new cultural settings as well as the physical and psychological demands of an intensive study/travel program. Some prior familiarity with Korean culture and history also is highly desirable. Application Deadline: Feb. 15.

July 20-Aug. 24: 2008 Beijing Olympics China Study Program for Students. Open to all students in the United States. Offered by College of Business at Northeastern State University, Oklahoma. The group will travel to Beijing with visits to Shanghai (soccer venue) and Qingdao (sailing venue). The focus of the program will be on the development of cross-cultural knowledge and competence, and sport business/management skills through activities, guest lectures, and Chinese business/sport networking opportunities. Participants will provide support to Team-USA members for the Beijing Olympics at the USOC training center in Beijing. Email: ballsl@nsuok.edu or pan@nsuok.edu with questions.

Reminders of Formerly Mentioned Opportunities

Feb. 29 (deadline): U.S.-China Teachers Exchange Program
through the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations is now seeking applications for an exchange program for teachers in American and Chinese schools. This is an unusual opportunity for schools and districts wishing to begin or to strengthen Chinese language and culture programs and for teachers wishing to live and teach in China. Those interested in the exchange should send a letter to the Teachers Exchange Program, National Committee on U.S.-China Relations, 71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1901, New York, NY  10010, for more information and an application package. 

April 17-19, 2008: The National Chinese Language Conference will take place at Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. The Conference is co-organized by Asia Society and The College Board, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban), STARTALK, the National Foreign Language Center at the University of Maryland, American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Oregon K-16 Flagship, Chinese Language Teachers Association (CLTA), Chinese Language Association of Secondary-Elementary Schools (CLASS), National Council of State Supervisors for Foreign Languages (NCSSFL), Heritage Language Communities, and more.

July 7-11, 2008: The Fifth Annual Seminar on Korean History and Culture and the Korean American Experience for K-12 Educators in Los Angeles. This five-day seminar includes over 60 elementary, middle, and high school public and independent school teachers, administrators, and curricular supervisors.  It offers a unique opportunity to learn about Korean history and culture and the Korean American experience. $75 registration fee. Sponsors: The Korean Cultural Center and the Korea Academy for Educators (KAFE), a recently established non-profit. For applications and more information, contact Mary Connor at Mary@KoreaAcademy.org.

July 13-19, 2008: Indiana University's East Asian Studies Center’s 2008 Teaching East Asian Literature in the High School workshop. Application and information about the workshop, schedules, reading lists, and lesson plans from previous years’ workshops are now available online. The workshop, to take place in Bloomington, Indiana, is generously funded by the Freeman Foundation. This weeklong workshop provides a broad overview of East Asian literature to high school English and world literature teachers. Participants are responsible for a $60 registration fee (if accepted), two meals a day during the workshop, and travel to and from Bloomington. All other costs will be covered. Deadline to apply: March 7.

The Program for Teaching East Asia
University of Colorado at Boulder
595 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309

(303) 735-5122

The China Beat, in its own words, "examines media coverage of China, providing context and criticism from China scholars and writers." The first couple of posts show what they're up to: "Five Good Short Books on China," "After the Avalanche" (on the Taiwan elections), and "Anniversaries: The Rise and Fall of Wang Mang" (a controversial figure who usurped the throne 2,000 years ago).

TEA-Recommended Fictional Chapter Books about East Asia for Middle Schoolers

China

The Magical Monkey King – Ji-li Jiang
One of the best-loved figures in Chinese popular culture is the trickster Monkey King. Early traditional stories about him coalesced into Wu Cheng-en's 16th-century epic novel Journey to the West, which uses 100 chapters to chronicle the insouciant, courageous hero's adventures.

Water Ghost – Ching Yeung Russell
In this dramatic novel, Ching Yeung Russell shares a story based on her childhood in mainland China. Ying's day-to-day life at school and at home is vividly portrayed, as are her thoughts and feelings about the events that touch her. Though Ying lives in another time and place, today's readers will find her story moving and compelling.

Baba – Belle Yang
Baba is "Papa" in Chinese, and this particular Baba is Joesph Yang, born in Manchuria in 1928. His daughter, Belle, a writer and visual artist who was born in Taiwan but whose "spiritual address is so much in the West," set out to paint and to write – and thereby preserve for posterity – Baba's memories of his coming-of-age in northern China in the 30s and 40s. 

China's Son – Da Chen
Da Chen was born in China in 1962. The grandson of a landlord, he found that he and his family were outcasts in Communist China. Da was an excellent student until a teacher told him that because of his family's crimes he could never be more than a farmer. Convinced that his future was hopeless, he dropped out of school and joined a gang. They didn't care about his family's background or his lack of education. Then the Communist leader Chairman Mao died, and Da realized that an education and college might again be possible – but he would have to make up for the time he'd wasted. 

Japan

Hachiko Waits – Lesléa Newman
Based on a true story of a heroic dog in pre-WWII Tokyo.

Milky Way Railroad – Kenji Miyazawa; with Joseph Sigrist and D.M. Stroud, trans.
A fantastical tale by a famous Japanese children’s author.

Tokugawa period
The Old Man Mad about Drawing: A Tale of Hokusai – Francois Place; with William Rodarmor, trans.
A story about Hokusai, the famous woodblock artist.

The Ghost in the Tokaido Inn – Dorothy and Thomas Hoobler
A tea merchant’s son helps a judge solve the mystery of a samurai’s missing jewel.

The Master Puppeteer – Katherine Paterson
Set in 18th-century Osaka, the story recounts the adventures of a boy while teaching readers about the art of bunraku.

WWII
The Girl with the White Flag – Tomiko Higa
A memoir of a little girl’s survival during the invasion of Okinawa in WWII.

Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes – Eleanor Coerr
A story of a victim of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and her challenge to fold origami cranes.
           
Meiko and the Fifth Treasure – Eleanor Coerr
Similar to Sadako, this story discusses the atomic bombing of Nagasaki and the cultural art of calligraphy.
           
Cherry Blossoms in Twilight: Memories of a Japanese Girl – Yaeko Sugama Weldon and Linda E. Austin
Memoir of a Japanese woman that includes her childhood pre-WWII, WWII in Tokyo, and her journey to the United States after the war as a wife of a U.S. serviceman.

Japanese-Americans
Kira Kira – Cynthia Kadohata (Newberry Award winner)
A Japanese American struggles in the 1950’s as her family moves from Iowa to Georgia and her older sister is diagnosed with lymphoma.

Korea

When My Name Was Keoko – Linda Sue Park
Story of girl and her brother living under Japanese occupation of Korea and during WWII.

Sondok: Princess of the Moon and Stars, Korea, A.D. 595 – Sheri Holman
A story of a princess who became the first ruling queen of Shilla.

A Single Shard – Linda Sue Park (Newberry Award winner)
Set in 12th-century Korea, an orphan becomes a potter’s apprentice.

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