2012 Amistad Curriculum Development Summer Institute

Greetings Scholars:

The New Jersey Amistad Commission would like to extend to you an invitation to submit your application to our 5th Annual Summer Institute at Montclair State University - August 6-8, 2012. IN RESPONSE TO OVERWHELMING INQUIRIES WE HAVE EXTENDED OUR APPLICATION DEADLINE UNTIL WEDNESDAY, JULY 25TH, 2012.  WE STILL HAVE A FEW SLOTS LEFT FOR PARTICIPATION.

This year’s consortium will culminate with a closing reception and 10 year anniversary commemoration of the signing of the Amistad legislation at the Newark Museum, Newark on Wednesday evening; August 8th, 2012 at 5:30 pm; housing will be available on Montclair University’s campus for institute participants.

The reception is free of charge and open to the public, R.S.V.P can be made at: http://education.state.nj.us/events/details.php?recid=17025

During the 3 days sessions August 6-8, 2012, fifty (50) educators will have the opportunity to work in collaboration with knowledgeable historians and scholars, experience multimedia historic presentations by “Living Voices”, and take part in film screenings and talks related to our themes for the year.  Thematic presentations will be accompanied with historical lectures, and participants will craft unit and lesson plans, study texts, topics, and ideas central to elementary and secondary social studies education. Selected fellows will have access to Montclair State University’s library collections, with time reserved to pursue individual research. Further, the Institute aims to prepare participants to return to their classrooms with a deeper knowledge of current scholarship in American History with an understanding of the significant contributions of African-Americans.
The thematic title for this year’s institute is:

”We Who are the Living Possess the Past” -  Civil Rights - Teaching and Learning America’s Contradictions

We will examine the civil rights contradictions in American history; as we define a nation created under sacred documents and ideals (the Constitution and bill of rights, etc.) yet have at the same moment often made specific decisions about who is protected or guaranteed rights, and those discriminated parties shift over time and space. This however, is not highlighted in our K-12 classrooms and students often graduate with a very surface understanding of the contradictions of civil rights in America.

My aim this summer is to equip educators with the tools and knowledge to begin a much deeper discussion about these civil rights juxtapositions, as well as some pragmatic methodologies for the classroom.

The 2012 Institute will focus on:

• The Constitution and Civil Rights
• The Psychology of  our  American Ethos and Its Contradictions
• The Eugenics Movement
• Women’s Rights
• Native American Encounters in the 19th century
• Peonage and Involuntary servitude
• Practical Applications for the classroom -  teaching and learning our contradictions in history

The Amistad Institute at Montclair State University will allow Educators a unique opportunity to be trained on the utilization of our web-based curriculum resource, a premier multimedia resource for teachers in the state but also allow a venue to receive professional development credit hours by enhancing their content knowledge and teaching methodology in areas of specific historical emphasis. The Amistad Summer Institute wants to guarantee opportunities for the multitude of district curriculum specialists and classroom teachers that will require training for statewide compliance with the Amistad legislation as well as the new Social Studies standards adoptions in 2012.
Completed applications should be submitted to the New Jersey Amistad Commission and should be postmarked no later than Wednesday, July 25, 2012. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis and applicants will be notified of their acceptance no later than 1 week after deadline.

Upon notification of acceptance to the institute, applicants need to submit an e-mail by Thursday, August 2, 2012 to Glender Terrell at amistad@doe.state.nj.us , which indicates whether or not they accept the offer. Please contact 609-984-6428 with any questions about the application process.

I look forward to receiving your applications-

In the Service of our Children -
Stephanie James Wilson