12 Illinois K-12 teachers have been awarded full scholarships to attend a week-long seminar in Germany

CHICAGO–This summer, The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) will bring German and Illinois educators together again through its established True Learning, True Teaching seminars. From August 21-27, 12 Illinois teachers will attend this year’s IHC-sponsored seminar in Potsdam and Hamburg with approximately 12 teachers from the Hamburg region. This seminar will give teachers the opportunity to explore the topic: “German-American Relations: Education and the Transatlantic Partnership.” The City of Hamburg’s Department of Education is cosponsoring this seminar.

The program will feature a set of lectures about “German-American Relations at the Grass Roots Level: The Chicago-Hamburg Sister City Relationship.” Sarah Ames of the Chicago-Hamburg Sister City Committee will present the first part of this program, “A View from Chicago;” Harald Clapham, City of Hamburg Department of Cultural Affairs, will follow with his presentation of “A View from Hamburg.”

Other scheduled events include lectures on “German-American Security Cooperation after September 11: The Hamburg Experience,” by Staatsrat Walter Wellinghausen, Department of the Interior, City of Hamburg; “Understanding the United States: German Conceptions and Misconceptions about the United States and Its People,” by Ransom Bradford, formerly of the University of Munster; and “The Current State of German-American Affairs: A German Perspective,” by Hans-Ulrich Klose, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, German Federal Parliament.

The following Illinois teachers have been accepted for this seminar in Germany:

Ms. Pamela Hodges, Anna Jr. H.S. (Anna)

Ms. Aiko Boyce, Best Practice H.S. (Chicago)

Ms. Margaret Johnson, West Park Academy (Chicago)

Ms. Janette Ramirez, Chase School (Chicago)

Mr. David Fisk, Near North Special Education Center (Chicago)

Ms. Lynn Fitzgerald, Prosser Academy (Chicago)

Ms. Anne Marie Sherry, Whitney Young Magnet H.S. (Chicago)

Ms. Loretta Wasielewski, Nazareth Academy (LaGrange Park)

Ms. Vickie Fotis, Woodgate School (Matteson)

Ms. Kristin Ehteshami-Afshar, Morris Community H.S. (Morris)

Ms. Carolyn Cosentino, Rich Central H.S. (Olympia Fields)

Ms. Cynthia Davies, Eugene G. Field School (Park Ridge)

This German exchange program grew out of the success of the Illinois Humanities Council’s True Learning, True Teaching program. Established in 1996, the IHC’s True Learning, True Teaching program offers committed teachers an environment where they can concentrate on three R’s of their own: Reflection, Renewal, and Reinvigoration. These free, weeklong seminars allow teachers who are interested in learning for learning’s sake to be stimulated intellectually and to be immersed in intellectual exploration with other Illinois teachers. Tuition and program materials are provided by the IHC.

For further information about the Illinois Humanities Council, please call 312.422.5580 or visit our website at www.prairie.org.

D A R E T O K N O W

# # #